It is stressful and takes time for pets to adjust to sharing their space and negotiating dominance. There are many steps pet owners can take to reduce pet stress and help ease the adjustment for new and resident pets.

General Information to Reduce Pet Stress When Introducing New and Resident Pets

• Remember that the well being of your resident pet is your primary concern and responsibility when deciding if or what kind of new pet you might consider adopting.
• Do your research about how the type of pet, breed, personality, age, activity levels and prior experiences of new and resident pets may affect their ability to get along. Carefully consider decisions about bringing a new pet into a home with resident pets.
• Check with your vet. Are both your new and resident pets in good health, neutered, free of communicable diseases and parasites, and current on recommended vaccinations? Neutering will help reduce territorial behavior. Healthy pets free of disease and parasites will feel less pet stress during the introduction and adjustment phase and will avoid the risk of transmission.
• Have realistic expectations that your pets may not become best friends.
• Recognize it may take a very long time for pets to begin to tolerate each other and get along. Cats are especially territorial and dislike change, and older established pets will be slower to adapt.
• Recognize that some pets are more social than other pets.
• Whenever you are not supervising the pets in the first few weeks, keep them in separate rooms even if there are early indications they will get along.
• If early introductions are not going smoothly seek help from a professional animal behaviorist or trainer. The longer a problem exists, the harder it is to correct.
• Reduce other pet stressors. Maintain the resident pet’s schedule, and make sure pets are getting adequate exercise, a healthy diet, and extra grooming, petting and attention from owners. To learn more about these areas of pet care, click on… Health, Exercise, Nutrition

Introducing a New Dog to Resident Dogs or Cats

• Let them become accustomed to each other’s scents by exchanging towels or small blankets that have been in each others’ beds.
• Confine the new dog to a room with water, a bed and toys. Feed the new dog close to the inside of the door and the resident pets close to the outside. This will help them become accustomed to each others’ scents and to make positive associations with the other animals’ scent. You can gradually move the dishes closer to the door and eventually prop the door ajar so that the pets can see each other.
• Practice obedience commands with new and resident dogs, especially “Stop,” “Stay,” and “Sit” and reward them with praise and treats, so you will have more control over them when they encounter each other.
• Reverse living areas. After a few days, when the new dog is comfortable, let him out to explore the other areas while confining resident pets to the new pet’s room. This gives all the pets the opportunity to become familiar with each others’ scents in a less threatening way.

• Supervise controlled meetings where all the pets are on leashes or harnesses on opposite sides of a room. Get the assistance of friends or family members to hold leashes. Provide treats to pets. Keep the visit very short. Be watchful for aggressive behavior and end the visit as quickly as possible if it occurs. Gradually try longer and closer visits.
• Avoid aggressive and/or fearful encounters. Start over again slowly if there is any sign of aggression or fear.
• If introducing a new dog to a resident cat, let the cat go and keep the new dog on a leash so the cat can explore the dog at his own pace.
• Continue gradually by giving them longer leash lines. If things are going well let go of the leashes but keep their leashes on to make it easier to prevent or stop any aggression.
• Use plenty of positive reinforcement and don’t punish. This will allow all pets to have positive associations with the time they spend together.
• Whenever you are not supervising the pets in the first few weeks, keep them in separate rooms even if there are early indications they will get along. Some dogs have intense hunting instincts and may attack other dogs and cats. They may never be able to be alone together.