SDR Education 
ADOPTING WHEN YOU HAVE ANOTHER DOG
Keep your puppy safe from other dogs - even the ones who already live in your house!
- NEVER, NEVER, NEVER EXPOSE YOUR NEW PUP TO A LARGER DOG WHEN YOU ARE NOT ACTUALLY HOLDING THE PUP. We have personally witnessed an adult dog who may be a real sweetheart otherwise, get irritated with typical puppy behavior and grab him and kill him in the flash of a moment - shaking and breaking his neck before you can even make a move to help. The puppy may have simply been coming up to the bowl for a drink of water or playfully nibbling on the other dog's foot. Don't ever say, “My dog is too sweet to harm a flea.” It doesn't matter! This is the dark part of animal nature - a tendency you will NOT know about if you have not had much experience with canine puppies and adults in groups. Please take our word for this so you won't be crying later. We know from painful experience!!
- Choose a Neutral Location Introduce your puppy to your "resident dog" in a neutral location so that your resident dog is less likely to view the newcomer as a territorial intruder. Each dog should be handled by a separate person. Holding your new puppy securely, begin the introductions in an area unfamiliar to each, such as a park or a neighbor’s yard. If you frequently walk your resident dog in a nearby park, she may view that area as her territory, too, so choose a less familiar site. If you are adopting your puppy from an animal shelter or neighborhood adoption site, you might even bring your resident dog to the location and introduce the two there.
- Use Positive Reinforcement: From the first meeting, help both dogs experience “good things” when they’re in each other’s presence. Let them sniff each other briefly, which is normal canine greeting behavior. As they do, talk to them in a happy, friendly tone of voice; never use a threatening tone. (Don’t allow them to investigate and sniff each other for too long, however, as this may escalate to an aggressive response.) After a short time, get the attention of your resident dogs and give her a treat in return for obeying a simple command, such as “sit” or “stay.”
- Puppies usually pester adult dogs unmercifully. Before the age of four months, puppies may not recognize subtle body postures from adult dogs signaling that they’ve had enough. Well-socialized adult dogs with good temperaments may set limits with puppies with a warning growl or snarl. These behaviors are normal and should be allowed. Adult dogs who aren’t well-socialized, or who have a history of fighting with other dogs, may attempt to set limits with more aggressive behaviors, such as biting, which could harm the puppy. For this reason, a puppy shouldn’t be left alone with an adult dog until you’re confident the puppy isn’t in any danger. Be sure to give the adult dog some quiet time away from the puppy, and some extra individual attention as well.
- Until puppies are about 4-6 mos. old they are prone to become easily frightened and will scream for their mama. This highly alarmed scream can cause an adult dog to attack the pup. Your adult dog may be very sweet and you think they would never be 'mean' to the puppy. Most of the time they would not, but it only takes a moment to kill a delicate puppy by shaking it and breaking its little neck. Your dog may even be playing with the pup and it turns too rough for the pup and he begins to scream for mama and it turns ugly. The puppy senses his own vulnerability and nature tells him to call for mama - only mama is no longer there to protect him. The highly excited state that causes the attack is instinct and you would never imagine your adult dog, whom you love, could do this.