Introducing Puppy to Cairn Terrier

FrenchieDante · Jul 5, 2014

Dante comes home this week & I need to introduce him to my moms two dogs. She will be his babysitter when i'm away. She has a chihuahua mix who is sweet & "human-obsessed" & probably won't bother with the puppy. It's her cairn terrier i'm worried about. He's sooo sweet towards people but barks and pulls at other dogs. How should I introduce them??? It's essential that they get along & i'm nervous.

Tuko · Jul 5, 2014

I would try introducing them in neutral territory, so doing it somewhere other than your mother's place. Her dogs will be more defensive if they feel a new dog is invading their space.

davidh · Jul 5, 2014

Most adult dogs will tolerate a pup, but some don't take to them very well at first, but with time they usually come around. If the Cairn terrier has a bad habit of pulling on other dogs, that one may need a little more work. Just take it slow and let them get to know each other and watch the pup closely.

MaplesMommy · Jul 5, 2014

The most important part is that YOUR energy needs to be calm. If you already say you're nervous thats not going to help. Your nervousness will EASILY spread to your dogs who then become nervous as well which might turn into aggression.
Meet somewhere neutral,be calm, and let them sniff each other. Usually if the Terrier is a little dominant towards other dogs the pup will feel his energy and very likely be submissive. It is important though that your mom is not pulling him back by his leash and that his leash is loose(if you want to have a leash on him), Tension on the leash will make him tense up as well.
So stay call and let them figure it out.
Dogs usually dont have a kill instinct towards other dogs.Even if the terrier tries to snap at him your pup will probably not fight back.It is very,very,very rare that theres a fight between an adut and a baby.

Disciplining on the other hand is something totally different. If the pup gets too rough with him or hurts him dont panic if the other dog snaps at him.Thats how dogs communicate and how a puppy learns.Usually though they dont have to use their mouth,they always use energy and body language first.