Serra: Introductions

I know I've posted about this before, but MAN is it amazing what a difference introducing dogs on a walk makes. I've seen dogs go from stressed out barking messes to just strolling along next to each other in 10 minutes. And that 10 minutes can save a person weeks or more of trying to remedy a botched introduction.

Because we have a fenced back yard with plenty of space for the dogs to roam, and because it takes 2 people to properly introduce new dogs on a walk, I often will just have two dogs meet in the back yard where they can move away from each other if they feel they need distance and the dogs can set the speed of the introduction. While this works somewhat, with Chima it often can take two to three days before she relaxes enough where I don't have to be so hyper-vigilant and careful about managing things.

Because Serra seems to have a bit of Jack Russell in her and occasionally charges at dogs to get them to play with her, I knew that Chima would not react well to her so I enlisted my husband and off we went on a walk.

We started off with the dogs on the outsides of each of us. Sometimes we have to start across the street from each other but this time we could start walking together. The key to success is watching the dogs body language so you know when they have gotten relaxed. Then you bring them a little closer together. I also like to have them do what I call stealth butt sniffs. The person walking the dog in front walks at a normal, leisurely pace with the dog leashed next to them. The other person lets their dog get up close enough to get a little bit of a sniff in and then they immediately slow down and create some distance before the front dog has time to get nervous about the sniffing. This gets repeated several times until the dog isn't really interested in more sniffing. Then we switch places so the other dog gets their turn sniffing.

Typically at this point following the sniffs the dogs noticeably relax and are fine being walked side to side. We walk back to our house and instead of going inside we end the walk with off leash time in the back yard - just the two dogs and us. At that point the dogs are old news to each other and other than doing a bit of sniffing they do great.

Serra and Chima, sniffing and keeping calm

This walk I decided to let Salinas out to join Chima and Serra and the difference between her reaction to Serra and Chima's in the back yard was amazing. Chima was relaxed enough that she just lay down after a bit in the grass while Serra was playing and bouncing around. Salinas on the other hand stayed on her feet and did a lot of avoidance of Serra and obviously wasn't that comfortable.

Chima, all chill after her walk and Sal, still working on getting relaxed

Hanging out after introductions to Serra

Are they all best buddies now? Not at all. Serra is a 1 year old dog who is very puppy-like in her play and she tends to get in Chima and Sal's face. Chima is doing her best to ignore this and keep her distance which makes me very proud. When I can tell she's had enough I try to step in and distract Serra but Serra has gotten a few reprimands from Chima to mind her manners. What people need to remember is not all dogs are going to be best friends. Just like the temperament of some people is really annoying to a person, the same holds true for dogs. But they can live together in relative harmony and that is what we are going for here.

The pictures in this post were taken immediately after Chima and Serra's introduction walk. If you want to learn more about how to do an intro walk and see pictures of it, check out this post over on A Day in the Life of a New Rattitude Foster Dog.