How to introduce a nervous senior dog to a new puppy stress-free?

Question

I have a small, nervous, senior rescue dog who doesn’t like other dogs and I have to move into a house with a labradoodle puppy that is about a year and a half old, in July. We’ll have the upstairs to ourselves so I’m not nervous about separating the two, but how do we minimize the stress either dogs are under and best introduce them to live together? Pet's info: Dog | Chorkie | Female | unspayed | 8 years and 9 months old | 6 lbs

Dr. Strydom, DVM · Accepted Answer

Always introduce dogs in neutral territory. So, not on the property at all. Somewhere like a local park so they can meet each other without anyone being territorial. Do this a few times before moving in. Keep both dogs on leashes so you have control over them if things go awry. If the dogs are not spayed/neutered that should be done because raging hormones often causes fights especially when females are in heat. I would also suggest start using Adaptil diffusers (calming dog pheromones) in the house starting a couple days prior to moving and refill them every 30 days for the first couple months. I would also get Adaptil collars for both dogs to wear starting a few days prior to the first meeting. These particular calming chews (Solliquin) also help quite a bit. https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/site/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?s=adaptil&hierarchy=&sort=score%20desc https://worldtails.securevetsource.com/itemView/view/198944_HomeDelivery.pml?productId=117298

How to introduce a nervous senior dog to a new puppy stress-free?

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