In January when Blu is 14 months old we want to adopt a female rescue husky. We have read that they will need a proper introduction and have no idea what that means, can someone explain that to me?

I have had multiple dogs before but they have all grown up together so I am clueless.

Forgot to say that the female will be between 1 & 2 years old if possible



This picture is of Blu at 7 months

I don't have anything to add, but I will be following this closely. It's a fantastic question I'm curious to hear about as well.

First, of couse, you need to ensure that they're properly chaperoned; then a good play at a theatre followed by dinner (or the other way 'round is you're so inclined); then yo make sure they're in their respective houses by no later than midnight ....

and, since probably isn't what you intended and getting a bit more in line.  

The best way that I've heard of to introduce two completely strange dogs to each other is to take them for a walk on a leash someplace that is new to both of them.  Two people, two dogs, two paths - you want to come upon each other (on parallel courses that meet), almost as if it were happenstance.  Walk along a bit and let the dogs continue to walk with you; then stop and hold a conversation with the dogs relaxed (we hope) beside you.  During this they should have the opportunity to sniff and relax - as long as you're both relaxed.  

Going at this the other way you do not want to:

• have them meet on "their" home ground. There's no better way to start a dog fight than to bring a strange dog onto the property of the other.
  
• have them meet "head on". That puts them into an adversarial position from the get go.
  
• have them meet someplace where's there's a lot of confusion. A park is good so long as it's not filled with kids, for example. You want them to both be relaxed.
  
• be tense about the meeting. This is the worst possible scenario. They can tell when you're nervous and it will heighten their natural nervousness.
  

Other will probably have something to add, this is the approach I've used in the past and have seen others use and it seems to work well.

Thank you AL, I really appreciate the answer and will try that.

I also need to say that it is pretty sad when this post gets 51 views and only (1) person answers it.

Tyler, I hope we can get some more opinions but I really have not had much luck on this forum except for AL.

Blu'sMom wrote:

Thank you AL, I really appreciate the answer and will try that.

I also need to say that it is pretty sad when this post gets 51 views and only (1) person answers it.

Tyler, I hope we can get some more opinions but I really have not had much luck on this forum except for AL.

weekends are slow on this forum and a couple of us were out of town on the nt washington trip.

Sometimes I don't have a solution to what is posted so I just read it to check it out.
But yeah @aljones is always here, he's the man!
The forum has been super slow the past few days. I come and refresh many times every day lol

Blu's Mom.......I read your post, but since I have never introduced 2 dogs that would be housed together, I felt I would not be a good tip giver. Therefore, I never replied. If you have questions on training or nutrition, I'm there for you, haha. I am sorry though that no one really gave a response, luckily we do have Al, who is here most of the time, and has a world of knowledge to share.

I always want people to feel welcomed here on the forum, there is nothing worse than to have a question and receive no help. Weekends are slow on the forum, especially during the summertime. I actually feel bad, because I used to reply to most posts, even if I didn't have any knowledge on the subject, just to keep the question at the top of the page, but I was informed many months ago that I needed to stop replying to threads like that. So I keep my fingers quiet, lol, I do not wish to express negativity on the forum, but, I do feel for you and your frustration.

Al gave you excellent advice, I have read other threads here that are similar, and what he said is what others have said, keep the introduction in a neutral place and have someone else be with you to help. I wish you luck, and please, keep asking questions, there are many of us here that are happy to help.

I am yet one more person who read your post but didn't post a response, in my defense though I was searching for a thread that recently discussed this and someone posted a link of a previous discussion on the topic and this post had diagrams and detailed explanations...but I couldn't find it. Btw, I can see why not many people get very far with the search feature, by typing in "introducing two dogs" "introducing new dog" I got February's Ice cream HOTM, hiking posts, etc, but not the posts that actually talked about introducing two dogs anyways, the post explained it very much like Al has posted to.

When I've introduced another to my existing husky, the "new" one has always been a puppy...the proper protocol is a little different so I wanted to post something that directly related to your scenario.

I do hope you stay around!!! And would love to see Blu's new bud!

I edit this to include: I even remember (I think, haha) who posted the link in the other thread, is that helpful in a search?

I found it!!! No wonder I couldn't find it in search, the topic was kinda totally unrelated, anyways, I found it by posts with authors name

Here it is: https://www.itsahuskything.com/t1023-how-i-introduce-new-dogs