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Introducing a new Border Collie puppy to a 1 year old


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Good morning,

 

I am new to BC Boards and this is my first post. We got our first female border collie (Willow) a little over a year ago and she has been an extraordinary pet. She is about 1 1/2 years old. She does not herd, but we are a very active family and we keep her exceptionally busy hiking, running, and playing. We are introducing her to our new male border collie puppy (8 weeks old) this weekend and I was curious if any of you could give me some insight as to what our family should expect and possibly some tips to make the transition as easy for my female as possible. She is very sensitive to change and we normally have to give her an adjustment period, even for something as silly as moving her crate a few feet out of it's normal position. However, she is well socialized and plays very well with other animals. She gets regular play dates with other dogs and follows directions acceptionally well from us while playing. Play dates take place both at our house and at other homes. I would love to have any tips any of you could offer for this transitional period. Does anyone have suggestions? Should I place the new pups crate near my females or should I keep it in another room? She is never in it for more than a couple hours at a time, but it is her safe haven and I don't want her to feel as though her space is being invaded. Should they eat in the same area? When we bring the new pup home, should we first introduce it to her outdoors? The new pups jobs will be similar to hers, so she will need to get used to him being with her often. It is also important for me to note that our female has lived with another dog before. For about the first full year of her life, we had an older Golden Retreiver female that she loved and adored. This dog has sadly passed on, but when she was still with us, our border collie got along very well with her and we never had any issues. I think she has become lonely and would love another companion. Any advice?

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Initially, I introduced my pup to my 2 resident dogs through a baby gate, one resident dog at a time. The pup was in room A and the resident dog was in adjoining room B and there was a gate in the doorway. Subsequently the pup was in an X-pen and the older dogs had the run of the house as always. In the beginning there was almost always a barrier between the older dogs and the pup and it was the pup that was confined. The pup slept (sleeps) in my room in a crate and the older dogs sleep where they want.

 

I feed my dogs seperately.

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I introduce new dogs to the old crew one at a time. The new one is confined more with a crate in the living room, so everyone can safely get a sniff. The old lady gets a chance to see how rambunctious the new one is, the new one gets a chance to see how crabby the old lady is. I always feed in crates, but everyones crates are lined up in a row, so I still have to correct a little snarkiness, but not much.

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My dogs are completely accustomed to having strange dogs come, find a place in the pack, and then move on to make room for a new one, because I do fostering of border collies. So perhaps my advice is less useful, but I always introduce them outside in the yard, with the fence between the pack and the new dog, at first. Then one at a time inside the fence in person, adding a dog every 5 minutes or so if things are going well. Then inside with all of them after about 20 minutes outside to make sure there won't be any issues. This usually works just fine.

Good luck and welcome to the BC boards. :-)

D'Elle

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I do the outside deal but I don't worry about a fence between them. Unless it is an adult dog that I don't know well enough to know if it's going to be a problem my dogs are pretty accepting.

 

I start with the friendly ones then move up one at a time. Ending with the jerk Mick. He's old now and really doesn't have to many issues other than showing all who enter our pack he is king of his women. Which means puffing all up and peeing last on everyone's spot!

 

I guess I'm just not a worrier unless something tells me there is need to worry.

Your 1 year old female sounds like she will be fine. She meets other dogs and gets along so sounds like the pup will be fine.

 

I wouldn't crate them right next to each other at first, give a bit of privacy to each even if that means across the room. I feed all new dogs in a crate till I know they aren't going to go nosing into anyone elses bowl. That is against all the rules and things can go haywire over dog food stealing. Every one here has a set place to eat. We don't vary.

 

congrats on your new pup and welcome to the boards!

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