How To Introduce A New Pet To Your Current Pets

• January 24, 2020
• Fizzion Clean

When it comes to bringing a new pet to your home, you are bursting with excitement and really eager to introduce the newest addition of your family to everyone else, including your current resident pets. However, it might be a bit difficult for your current pets to adapt to the latest addition of the house or vice versa. For this very reason, it is important to create a thought-out and structured method in order to introduce and bring in the new pet. Having a process like that will assist in slowly easing in the new pet into the lives of your current pet or pets. These introductions, whether to your current pets or even children, should take place in an environment that is comfortable and safe for everyone.

Choosing the Right Pet For Your Home

Even though every pet deserves a home, there are certain pets that are adaptable to a certain type of environment when it comes to mingling with other pets. When picking the right pet for your household, you need to really think it through by placing a lot of factors in mind before going ahead with the whole choosing process. Below is a list of those factors that you should consider before choosing a pet that is right for your household.

1. Firstly, you should get all of the information that you can about the cat or dog that you are planning to bring home. If that specific animal is known to live peacefully among other pets then introducing them to your current pets won’t be much of an issue.

2. In certain cases, it’s not ideal to bring in a pet that has had a painful or traumatic experience in its life, in a home that already has pets.

3. The pet’s personality plays an important role as well. A playful pet might be more eager to mingle with other pets, as compared to a pet that prefers to be by themselves.

4. It is beneficial to get a pet that has almost the same habits as your current pet. For instance, if your current pet loves to soak in the sun by lying all day, then choosing a new pet with that very habit will help in introducing the two pets with each other.

5. Bringing in a new kitten or puppy might not be the right choice, especially if your current pet is old or prefers to be alone. Young pets are often looking for the attention of the older animals in order to feel nurtured and protected. But, older pets that weren’t ready for all that might view it as a disturbance.

How To Introduce A New Pet To Your Current Ones

Dogs
When it comes to dogs, they are known for their territorial instincts. If you already have a dog, then introducing a new pet is going to be a long journey since the current dog will see the new pet as a potential threat at first. Therefore, you need to follow certain steps to ensure that all pets get along.

Firstly, when you bring in a new pet into your house, keep them separated at first so only their scent is in the air. Dogs are known to recognize everything by the scent around them. Hence, slowing acknowledging the unknown scent of another pet will be the first non-visual introduction. Furthermore, you can use a toy or blanket that belongs to one dog within their sniffing range so both pets could familiarize themselves with each other’s scent. This applies if you are bringing in a new dog as a pet in a house that already has a dog.

If you brought in a new dog, then let it walk around the house for about twenty minutes a couple of times every day. This will allow the dog to become used to its new environment and to new people who live in the house. Plus, the dog will be leaving its scent everywhere which is going to help other pets recognize it more often. Moreover, let your current dog play around as well since this is a confusing phase for them, but make sure to keep the new pet away or in a different room during that time.
When you finally allow the current dog to meet with other pets, make sure it’s in a safe and enclosed area, for instance, the fenced backyard. This will allow the pets to mingle with each other and get familiar with each other safely.

Cats
Introducing cats or dogs to a household that already has cats is a whole different process since cats are different from dogs. Firstly, if you are bringing in a new cat, you need to create a space for the new cat that is separated from the others. This space should have numerous hiding places (they go there when they feel threatened), feeding dishes, water, a litter box, and scratching posts. The current cats should also already have a territory of their own with all of these features. Initially, you should give your attention to all of the cats and keep a lookout for any signs of tension or stress.

Once your new pet gets comfortable in their space, allow the current cat to meet with the new pet in order to get familiar with its scent. This might take a while. Then allow them to familiarize themselves with each other by sensing the other one through closed doors. Once they appear to look comfortable with the other one, let them meet and carefully observe them. If you view a disturbance among the pets then separate them and let them meet each other again slowly over time. Throughout your meetings, reward them with treats once they’re together. It can take time to achieve a comfort level when it comes to introducing pets, especially new cats, with your current cat.