Dog Meet and Greet

June 8, 2018 10:12 AM

I will be dog sitting a dog I had formerly puppy raised as a service dog. I currently have a dog that was going to be a service dog for the organization but has instead been deemed a fine specimen and will be a breeder dog instead. Tomorrow, service dog and my breeder dog will be meeting to see how they get along and to determine if dog sitting the service dog is in the cards.

The service dog will be coming to my home tomorrow where he will meet and interact with my breeder dog. I would like for this to go smoothly and safely. What should I be aware of and how do I safely introduce these two dogs?

About the dogs:
Service dog: about 3 1/2 years old neutered male lab. He's super friendly, loves people and other dogs. When I was puppy raising him he was a joy and got along with my small maltese (although my maltese wasn't impressed with him).

Breeder dog: 2 1/2 year old intact male lab. Best word to describe him is exuberant. He does get easily excited and when on walks will react to other dogs by straining at the leash and wanting to go see them. He has not shown any aggression. However, last week he was charged by a loose dog but the situation was deescalated quickly and he easily walked away from it. During any training events with the service organization he has been happy to see the other dogs in training and is friendly toward them and once he meets them, calms down and was able to focus on the training at hand.

They are both friendly happy dogs with sweet dispositions. And I'd like for the meet and greet to go well. Please advise me on any tips to make it fun and safe. Do I keep them both on leash when they meet? One of them? If things are tense between them, how do I manage that?

posted by Sassyfras to Pets & Animals (3 answers total)

Ideally, they'd first meet on neutral territory and off-leash. Sometimes dogs that are on a leash are more apt to be reactive/aggressive because they feel like running away isn't an option if things go south.

Failing that, have them meet on neutral territory on-leash.

No matter if they've met before or not they'll need to be closely supervised. Be right on top of them and watch how they interact closely and make sure there are plenty of treats around. Make sure you've picked up and put away all of your dog's toys until they've spent some time together.

For at least a few hours I would make sure that they are either under my direct supervision in my line of sight or separated by a baby-gate or door. Over that time you might bring out a few toys to see how they react to having the toys around. Put out plenty so neither of them feel like they're a scarce resource. I occasionally watched one of my neighbor's dogs and he got along great with our dog except that he absolutely HAD to have whatever toy my dog wanted and any toy of her's the neighbor dog had he absolutely could NOT be allowed to keep. As soon as the toys were put away, they were best friends but if there were toys around it would escalate into fighting pretty quickly.

Otherwise just go slow and keep a close eye on them until you build some trust that they're not going to try and murder each other when you're not looking. If they start getting reactive with each other, separate them and start over.
posted by VTX at 10:31 AM on June 8, 2018 [3 favorites]

I find it easiest to have dogs meet on neutral ground. So take your pups on a walk, and meet at the end of the block, for example. Wait for them to relax a bit around each other, then walk home together.
posted by hydra77 at 10:32 AM on June 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

If they're not sure of each other a "pack" walk. Where you & the other dogs owners take both dogs for a walk together is a nice non threatening way for them to get to know each other and actually a good thing to do to help them bond even if they do get along. Be very careful giving out treats & toys around them as high value object can throw up power dynamics.

Exuberant dogs can be a pain in the neck for quieter more serious dogs. Look for the quieter dog giving signs they are being stressed out by the other dog getting all up in their face. Lip licking, looking away, yawning etc, a normally calm dog may snap just to get the point across to a dog that is so damn happy it is missing all the signs the other dog isn't enjoying it.

Make sure the service dog knows it's "off duty" (no harness or service coat etc) when meeting up with the new dog so it doesn't have to worry about that as well.
posted by wwax at 10:52 AM on June 8, 2018 [3 favorites]