When introducing your new Golden Retriever puppy with your other household pets, there must be a thought out technique. Placing the puppy in your home free to roam with the old animals is not the easiest or the safest recommendation. You have to consider the worst possible situation and that it likely will occur. There are certain steps to making this transition an easy one. Here are some ideas to keep in mind and some tips we have found work quite well.
Some breeders suggest that you take a little towel or old shirt and rub it gently on the new puppy, its siblings, and its parents; this allows the scents of what the puppy has been used to, to get on the towel. We've found this can be useful, but generally isn't that necessary. The younger the pup, the more this might be helpful, but also, the younger the pup, the quicker they should be bonding with you and not a towel! If you do use a towel, place that towel in the other animals resting area. For example, if you have a cat and you know she likes to rest a certain place on the floor than you should place that towel on that area of the floor. Your cat or dog will go over to the desired area and have to smell the towel. This is the first step to allowing your existing pets to notice the change in scent. After a few hours, your pets will at least become a bit familiar with the scent of your Golden Retriever.
You will also want to place a towel or toy that your pet has been using or slept with in the crate with the new puppy. This will allow the puppy to smell the scent of your pet.
Once the puppy is home with you, you will want to keep the puppy in a separate area of the house where the other animals cannot get to. They will become curious, though, and will be able to smell the new puppy from underneath the door. A few days of this will allow both pets to become accustomed to the scent. You may want to think about allowing the face to face introduction at this point. However, we must stress the importance of holding both animals so that they are protected. The puppy should become a bit submissive of the animal that was already there and the animal that was already there will most likely become protective and on guard. After a few trials of this face to face introduction, the two will begin to calm down and sniff each other. The scent will be familiar to both because of the introductions you had implemented early on. This will help ease their fears because the scent will be somewhat familiar.
There may be some growling and paw raising but this is to be expected. You should just allow this to occur unless you feel that your new puppy is in danger. This is a natural part of the introduction process. After a few minutes, you should put the puppy back in the crate. Each time you take the puppy out of the crate to mingle with the other household animals; you should extend the amount of time by a minute or two.
Please remember to never leave your puppy and the other animals alone together. This is very important and should not occur until you are 100% certain that everyone is comfortable. It is also recommended to give the resident animal lots of extra love and attention to boost their confidence. In kind, the pup as well, perhaps out of sight of the other pet. Many times, the old pet will come to feel threatened by the new pup thinking they are being replaced. This causes the old pet to be on the attack. Extra added attention will help ease that fear and allow for a much easier transition.
If you want all your pets to get along and become friends, you must allow this is happen naturally, on their own time. The natural progression of this introduction should be allowed the time to run its course.
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