Introducing a New Dog to Your Pack

Here is a simple trick that helps when introducing dogs to each other or even people for the first time. I discovered this trick years ago and it has never failed me.

NOTE: That being said, please remember that there is always an element of risk when you are dealing with a live animal that has a mind of its own and certain sensory capabilities that can detect and cause reactions to environmental factors you are not aware of. Do not assume this is a failsafe technique and always be prepared to respond to an unexpected result.

Before you bring your new dog into the house or yard to make first contact with others, swap their collars or leashes.

Dogs are descendants of wolves. Wolves live and die in the pack. The pack has a social order that is largely based on their strongest sensory asset, smell. Dogs are the same. The world of the dog is dominated by scent.

When a strange wolf arrives in a pack, the other wolves quickly determine whether or not he belongs not by sight or sound, but by smell. If the new arrival doesn't smell like the rest of the pack, he is instantly driven out or killed.

Dogs have retained this instinct. Most of the time it doesn't run so strong in them that they are likely to attack the new arrival, but the trick of swapping collars between one of the dogs and the new arrival greatly enhances the acceptance of the new dog into the existing pack because it associates a familiar scent with the new dog.

Recently I extended the logic of this tactic to help deter our newest pack member, Bella, from behaving aggressively toward human visitors.

Bella is a 130 pound American Mastiff who came to live with us because her previous family feared she would attack and injure visitors. When strangers came near on the street or guests came into their home, Bella had a habit of charging them and had to be physically restrained.

Being such a large and powerful canine, Bella was extremely difficult for the lady of the house to handle, so the family reluctantly decided to give her to me, knowing that I had a secure yard and experience in rehabilitating aggressive dogs.

When Bella arrived, she exited her previous owner's car and when she saw me she instantly went into an aggressive posture, straining at the leash, growling and barking.

I had Bella's owner bring her into the house, with my dogs secured out in the back yard. I asked him to remove Bella's leash and give it to me. I took the leash and wrapped it around my waist like Ellie May's belt.

Then I had him release Bella. She charged up to me and came to an instant halt with her nose several inches away. She sniffed the leash around my waist and instantly her tail dropped and started wagging, her head lowered, and she started nudging my hand with her nose in a desperate plea to be petted.

The owner was astounded and told me that Bella had never warmed up to a stranger in such an instantaneous manner before.

Bella met my dogs about an hour later with the employment of the collar trick, only we had to tie leashes around necks instead of collars. An American Mastiff neck is a little to large to get a Pit Bull's collar on.

The meeting was a success, with no aggression or fighting.

Since that time we have had numerous visitors to the house, and each time I've had those visitors either hold a piece of Bella's old leash (I cut it into 1 foot sections so I have plenty of scent material in the event of multiple visitors) or put a piece of it in their pocket we've had no problems with her old tendencies.

Without this little trick, Bella sometimes reverts to her old "Hey, you don't belong here and I'm going to make you leave!" attitude, but those tendencies are declining and she is well on her way to full rehabilitation as she gets more experience with meeting new people and animals.