Older Dog and New Puppy?

[animallover409]

Hello, I am new here and this is my first post thingy. I just had a quick question.I have an older male dog (Lucky) he is 9 years old, he is a black lab mix, and my family and I are thinking about getting another dog , but younger, maybe even a puppy, the new dog will probably be 1 year or less old. My dog loves other dogs, and loves playing, but I also have 2 cats, and I want them all to get along. I was wondering on how I should introduce them all and if I should let them play or what? Sorry I cant say what kind of puppy/dog we are going to get because we are going to look at some tommorrow. Any advice you could give me on how to introduce them, and what I should do, would be great. Thanks a lot
Samantha

[BagelDog]

Make sure you introduce them in neutral territory, like a park or somthing. If you bring the puppy into your home, Lucky might feel threatened, even if he does love other dogs, and it could end up bad.
And, if Lucky like others dogs, a puppy might be good, because it will be easiest to teach how to love cats. If you go get a shelter dog, already past his puppy stage, he may already not like cats and kill yours. But since Lucky is an older guy, a pup might not be good.
But overall, do what is best for Lucky. He was there first, and if he doesnt want another dog, dont get one. It wouldnt be fair to him. Take him to meet any puppy you get before you get it. If he doesnt like it at all, no matter how much you want it, dont get it. That would be like having an only child for 9 years, then suddenly deciding to get a baby, regardless to the 9 year olds opinion.
I hope it all works out good.

[juliefurry]

when I got a friend for my dog Mack I had my husband stand at the front of the driveway holding the new dog's leash and I went in the house and got Mack. Mack isn't used to going in the front yard that's why I had them meet there. Mack seemed to like her immediately so everytime any of them made a positive sign I rewarded them A LOT! You have to remember to reward him for even good signs that he shows to the puppy. Even if he just sniffs him act like he's just won you a million dollars and praise him like crazy. Don't leave them alone together either, for a while, make sure one or both is kept crated when you are not around (crated or in seperate rooms). Also make sure that Lucky is fed first, given treats first, and shown attention to first. This way he will not feel left out. Atleast that is what I do, I feed my two older dogs first before I feed my new puppy (same goes for the treats and the lovin). I feed them and do everything in the exact order that the dogs came to us in (first Mack, then Shelby, then Hannah).