# Advice on introducing a 9 wk old puppy to a 1 yr old puppy



## littlecreek86 (May 1, 2017)

Second post in a day, I'm on a roll :smile2:. 

Our friends recently brought a male golden puppy home (~ 9 weeks old by this weekend). Our 1 year old male golden, Summer, is a high energy, super friendly puppy (has the excessive greeting 'disorder', so getting him calm is training in progress). Loves dogs and people to the point of desperation. What is the best way to introduce the two puppies (one tiny and one big) to each other? We don't want Summer's great excitement to freak out little Bourbon, but we would really like them to be friends, and we want to introduce them in the best way possible. Any advice is much appreciated!


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

This is key: Be sure that you have made sure your puppy has had plenty of hard exercise in the days leading up to the meeting. Off leash hiking, playing with another older dog, retrieving, swimming etc. Something that will help make sure he's not overflowing with energy. Don't let him sleep all day and then go over to visit the new puppy. 

Have your friends hold their puppy. Have your puppy on leash at first to help control him and let him sniff the baby. If the younger puppy is wiggling to get down and shows no nervousness, go ahead and put him down, keep your dog leashed in case you need to grab the leash quickly. Use your judgement on letting go of the leash based on how wild your dog is.

Have a couple stuffed toys, tug toys etc. handy to distract, a soccer ball or something. Stuff to help distract your puppy. Another fun idea could be a $10 plastic wading pool from Walmart, playing with the hose and bubbles with your puppy entertains him and the younger one can join in. If you're in an area where you all could just go on a nature walk as a group, that could be nice. Obviously it wouldn't be too far but something so your dog isn't lasered in 100% on the pup.

The biggest concern isn't that your dog is going to hurt the puppy on purpose, it's that he might jump on the puppy and injure a joint in his excitement. Just keep a close eye on how it's going. If the younger puppy shows any worry or fear, pick him up. Use treats to reward good behavior by both dogs.


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## littlecreek86 (May 1, 2017)

Thank you so much, that's great advice! Should they hold the little one sort of closer to Summer's level so that Summer doesn't try to jump up on them (despite being leashed)? I really like the idea of having distractions or taking it outside somewhere so Summer isn't fixated on Bourbon. Thanks again!


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## Summertime15 (May 15, 2015)

I'm in the process of introducing my new female Golden puppy (got her at 8 wks, she is now 10 wks) to my exuberant 2-yr-old male Golden. I have 2 rules. One, they must play with a long soft tug toy (so teeth go on the toy and not on each other), no direct contact play allowed. And two, the 2-yr-old is encouraged to stay in a Down position, not standing. Play sessions are only a couple of minutes, and as soon as the energy level starts to rise, I separate them with a crate or x-pen. So far it has worked out pretty well. But, I've been so protective of the puppy that I neglected to realize that the older dog needs protection too, as he got inadvertently smacked in the eye (thankfully no serious injury as confirmed by my vet).


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## littlecreek86 (May 1, 2017)

Oh good point - I would never have thought of the older one needing protection too! Thanks for the awesome tips on staying in the down position and using a tug toy to avoid direct contact. I hope we are able to make it a really successful intro session with all the advice we've got here!


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## littlecreek86 (May 1, 2017)

Update:The meeting went off very well - thanks to all the advice! Summer instinctively knew Bourbon was a baby and stayed in the 'down' position the whole time! He also totally tolerated Bourbon's cute little puppy antics, which included the baby chomping on his tail playfully. We kept Summer on the leash the whole time though, and despite his excitement (even after days of extended exercise and doggy playdates), he was very gentle. It was such a delight to watch them both!


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## Audog (Mar 17, 2017)

littlecreek86 said:


> Update:The meeting went off very well - thanks to all the advice! Summer instinctively knew Bourbon was a baby and stayed in the 'down' position the whole time! He also totally tolerated Bourbon's cute little puppy antics, which included the baby chomping on his tail playfully. We kept Summer on the leash the whole time though, and despite his excitement (even after days of extended exercise and doggy playdates), he was very gentle. It was such a delight to watch them both!


It's kind of amazing how older dogs seem to know when a puppy is around and seem to adjust and allow puppy antics. Put them together in 6 months and it will be a different play experience


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