Welcoming A New Dog Into Your Home? How To Have A Successful Integration ft. Linda Hughes

When that adorable new puppy or rescue dog joins your household, the dream is harmony, but the reality often involves chaos, stress, and sometimes even conflict between your existing dogs and the newcomer. What if there was a better way?

Crufts Champion, Expert Naughty but Nice Dog Trainer, Lauren Langman sits down with Linda, a competitive obedience trainer who recently introduced a tiny one-kilogram poodle puppy to her household of three Border Collies - including one particularly reactive dog who typically doesn't tolerate newcomers. The surprise? Linda reports the integration has been "simple and straightforward," though certainly requiring work and knowledge.

This candid conversation reveals the stark contrast between traditional approaches to dog introductions and modern, science-based methods. Linda shares how her journey through positive training transformed her understanding of canine body language, management techniques, and the importance of advocating for resident dogs. You'll discover practical strategies like using neutral territory for first meetings, creating safe spaces with gates and crates, and managing resources to prevent tension.

Perhaps most valuable is Linda's insight into reading subtle canine signals - from a Border Collie's widening eyes indicating rising arousal to a puppy's resource guarding behaviours that need gentle intervention. Her month-long integration process demonstrates that patience yields results; her once-reactive Border Collie now plays chase games with the puppy she initially feared. What's a month compared to a lifetime of positive and fun interaction?

Whether you're considering adding a new dog to your family or struggling with integration challenges right now, this episode offers actionable advice that respects both the newcomer and your resident dogs. Most importantly, you'll gain the confidence to set your timeline rather than rushing based on others' expectations.

Ready to transform your multi-dog household management? Listen now and discover how to make your dog's world harmonious, even when it's expanding to include new dogs in your home.

Chapters

• 0:09 Introduction to Dog Integration
• 0:51 Managing Household Dynamics
• 2:42 The Importance of Feeding Strategies
• 7:30 First Meetings on Neutral Ground
• 12:55 Advocating for Resident Dogs
• 17:01 Top Tips for Successful Integration

Transcript

Lauren Langman: 0:09

Welcome to the Absolute Dog Sex in a Squirrel podcast. I'm Lauren Langman. I'm one of the world's leading dog trainers and it's my mission to help owners become their dog's top priority. In each episode, you'll discover how to gain trust and communicate with your dog like never before, creating unbreakable bonds that make you the most exciting part of their world. Okay, so today we're talking bringing home a new dog, or introducing a puppy to the household and, lovely Linda, you have just done very this. How hard has it been, how difficult has it been, how much of a struggle has it been to bring in a new puppy, and actually, how has it been? How difficult has it been? How much of a struggle has it been to bring in a new puppy and actually, how has it been different to what you maybe have done in the past?

Linda Hughes: 0:51

So it actually has been fairly simple, straightforward, but it has taken a lot of work and knowledge on my part to make it simple and straightforward.

Lauren Langman: 1:02

So give us a scenario who do you own and what are the household dynamics? So I take it, when we're listening to this simple and straightforward sounds like you own three happy-go-lucky Labradors. Actually, I know different. I know you actually own naughty but nice dogs who potentially wouldn't tolerate a puppy, let alone a one kilo puppy, the size of maybe a guinea pig or less, and actually a very, very opinionated puppy. And so he's quite bouncy and energetic and yet he's tiny, so this ball of fluff actually could be quite easily harmed. Yes, in a normal household, so the, so the.

Linda Hughes: 1:34

I have three border collies. I'll have three good colleagues. My oldest boy is 10 and he's about 20, 22 kilograms, so he's fairly large for a Border Collie but he's naughty but nice with other dogs but he's very good with puppies. But I know he disciplines puppies by putting his foot on them. So step one was we can't have Ping, which is we were talking about being off by the puppy and going just you behave yourself, because we've got this tiny little one kilogram puppy, poodle puppy, that he could just break his neck if you put his foot on it. So that was that's number one. But I knew that temperamentally he would be more accepting of the puppy than the other two, who are the two girls. The middle girl, another mad border collie I would have, I would expect her to ignore. And the, the most problematic one is my ulla, whom you love, who I love dearly, the best girl. We love her dearly, but she's she's so obsessive, compulsive, sensitive, reactive, everything, and I knew that she would find it very, very difficult.

Lauren Langman: 2:53

And when you say difficult, what might you expect from a dog like Ulla bringing a new dog into the house? And you guys, when we're talking to you, this could be a new adult dog, this could be a new puppy, this could be a new rescue dog, this could be a new dog to your household, and I think that's a really important bit.

Linda Hughes: 3:07

It's a new rescue dog. This could be a new dog to your household and I think that's a really important bit. It's a new dog to your household. It's just a new member of the pack.

Lauren Langman: 3:11

I would have expected her to go for the puppy. Okay, so there's a chance of some sharpness, yes, and I think that's really uh important and and good to be aware of. Is there any sharpness there? Could there be any sharpness there? Is there something we need to identify or acknowledge? Okay, so when you tell me it's been pretty simple and pretty easy, what's helped with that or what's enabled that, or why is your journey different today than it was, say, five years ago, what's what's?

Linda Hughes: 3:32

changed my whole journey through absolute dogs and pdt and everything.

Lauren Langman: 3:37

Wow, that's cool that is pretty cool. So your whole journey has changed the way you potentially manage a multi-dog household or introduce a new dog, or introduce a puppy, or even travel away with your dogs.

Linda Hughes: 3:50

My understanding of dogs, my ability to read dogs, my ability to see what's happening in front of me, to plan, to manage all of that.

Lauren Langman: 3:59

I'll give you a really quick example. I'd love you to give me some examples. Last night I've got a new team member here. We were having dinner, and when I'm having dinner I really want to know that my dogs are still cared for, because I know that sometimes I'm working 12 hour days, maybe 15 hour days, sometimes 16 hour days too long a day, I get it, but I choose to work that. My dogs don't choose for me to work that. So when I've got long days I will have a team and I definitely have help. So those of you go, how do you do it all I have help.

Lauren Langman: 4:22

And I heard this awful screaming. No one was getting hurt, no one was dying. It was someone's being fed and I'm really angry about it. And so I chatted to our new team member and I said to him okay, if you're gonna feed, you actually don't let anyone know you're gonna feed. So the first rule of feeding for me is it's impromptu and we don't know anyone's gonna be fed. And he was to give blink a meal, because blinks sort of to be honest, she's actually quite light. A lot of the time she's been out in the gardens a lot, she's running around a lot and so actually, she is a dog who runs quite light and so she was having a meal, but not everyone was having a meal, and so when he was giving that food, he ran it past everyone. So everyone saw it, everyone realized blink was having food and everyone realized they were not getting food, and so, like chaos ensued. And so for me, if I'm going to feed everyone, fair enough, I'm going to look at that dynamic.

Lauren Langman: 5:13

But also, if I'm going to feed one dog, I look at that dynamic, and what I would do, personally, if I'm going to feed blink was the dog that was getting a bit of a top up, a bit extra. What I would do is I would put everyone in gardens or spaces where they're happy. So for me, I've got you can see, we've got quite a cool setup. We've got front yard, we've got backyard, we've got a side garden, we've got a garden over there. I put the dogs out into different spaces and then blink would go in and into a pen or a crate or another garden where she can have her food, but nobody else knows she's having her food because I haven't started preparing it until everyone else is out. So everyone else goes out and then I'll stop preparing it.

Lauren Langman: 5:45

However, I might do it completely differently. I might do um, everyone out and blink gets a scatter feed somewhere. Or I might do let's go in the van for a road trip and let's give blink a kong in the van. Like I just vary it. And the thing that I don't realize or I suppose I do realize more and more is that other people don't do that and that's where chaos ensues because you can imagine it, they think it's feed time and not everyone gets fed. And the frustrations there, disappointments there, and suddenly you got screaming and I was just really shocked at quite how noisy wild was, just because she thought blink was gonna get fed without her. Like it really shocked me because she's just not with me, but I've really ditched the routine on my feeding um, how about you?

Linda Hughes: 6:23

but what you're saying is your knowledge of what could happen. Oh, so it gives you foresight so that you can then manage a situation and set a situation up for your dogs to be successful.

Lauren Langman: 6:34

Brilliant. Thank you for translating for the poor world that's trying to cope with the speed and and what we're doing. High five to that as well, linda. And because it is, it's that, it's that prep and planning and it's so ingrained in me to do it. Now it's so ingrained is is to okay, you need a bit extra, because I I ditch the bowl, I feed raw, I feed a variety of good kibbles as well where I'm training, or hand hand cooked foods.

Lauren Langman: 6:58

But I'll sometimes feel over someone. People say how do you do that when you got 10 dogs? Well, the way I do it is, I feel over them and I go, you feel a little bit heavy or you feel a little bit light, and so they'll get a bit extra that way. But it is always oh, you're going back in the van to travel okay, you have a handful in that crate. Or you're going back here you have a tripe stick, or you're doing this, you have that, but you're always kind of like moving it, but but also you're always thinking ahead and you're ahead of the game.

Linda Hughes: 7:22

Whereas a lot of people don't do that. They don't have that foresight of what the result is going to be in what they're doing. So for me, bringing this new dog in, I probably, five or ten years ago, would have brought the puppy in. I would have penned it. I was into pens at that point so it would have gone in a pen, but I would have probably tried to introduce the other dogs to it in the house fairly early on. That didn't happen. So the puppy was brought home. It was penned. The other dogs were kept separate. I've got a baited community. There's plenty of baby gates all over the place, so they were other dogs were never in the same room. They knew it was there because I think I can smell it bubbles here, I smell here.

Lauren Langman: 8:12

There's a stranger in the place. I've got a very funny story on smelling things very quickly skittle. The other day I had a friend's dog come to stay. She's called sheba the queen of sheba, nonetheless than the queen and the queen of sheba was staying in the house and she was on skittle's bed. Now skittle was in the garden so skittle didn't even really know she was in the house because actually most of the time I manage my scenario. So you're out, you're in. It's like a rotation system once you're in 10 dogs there's no going back. You, just you, you. You live a multi-dog household so you're kind of used to rotating and managing and everything else.

Lauren Langman: 8:43

Anyway, skittle got on her bed last night and she literally went and just like, looked like really horrified. You know when some dogs are prickly like hormonal looking. She's had that prickly moment with some dogs that even notice blinks, just so sweet and nice she doesn't notice anything. Skittle honestly looked like she'd stood in a porcupine. She was just like horrified that she could smell the queen of shiba on her bed and she was like this is not okay and it's a, it's a pmf bed, so it's like a massage bed, so you can't really wash it or it's a. It's a and it sets like a magnetic. Yeah, I've got a very nice bed. Not when you wash sk all livid, but that type of thing, right, some dogs smell, so they'd have known.

Linda Hughes: 9:22

They knew Bobble was in the house. Yes, they knew he was in the house, but they didn't didn't get to mix with him. And then a couple after a couple of days I mean he was, he was going out for a walk on his own, so he'd go on the van but he would get a little wander and then go back on the van and then I'd take the others for a little sniff around. And then I went to a friend away from home and I was giving the dogs, the two girls who were the two most problematic. They were having a little leg stretch before I went to a training session.

Linda Hughes: 9:52

So I took the puppy out of the van, carried him to this heathland, let the girls go for their wander, put him down on the ground and walked and they both came back and went oh that's, their eyes were out on stalks. They knew what, he, who, they knew he'd come from home, they knew the connection. But they there was the first face-to-face meeting and I said come on, let's walk, and they won't move forward. He tried to run after them I love it.

Lauren Langman: 10:26

They knew he came from home.

Linda Hughes: 10:29

I did that was the same smell. Oh, that's that thing that's been.

Lauren Langman: 10:32

That's that little gray thing that's been at home and they can imagine like that little grey turd yes, or that chunk chaser toy that I never got to get hold of.

Linda Hughes: 10:45

She would just be like a little fluff. They ran off. He ran after them, this little black thing running after them, he's so lovely, they outran him and he just went. Oh okay, then I'll go back to my mum. I haven't got him on a line, a lead or anything. Just let him go. Let him get on with it. That's a nice scenario Neutral territory. Sandy was a bit afraid of him, but also a few days in, I think that's really important.

Lauren Langman: 11:13

Actually, a lot of people wouldn't be able to do that. They're so desperate to make them make friends. I've had people um say to me, oh, we let them meet.

Linda Hughes: 11:26

When we went there, when the pup was like four weeks old and I'm like really well, I've got no interest in letting my dogs meet at four weeks old like I don't want to meet. No, no, it's been, it was it, I did it. The. The full integration took a month, just day by day, by day. Change.

Lauren Langman: 11:35

Give us a couple of tips and a couple of um pointers as to what you did, because I I'm the same, I use gated community. I I'll carry them a little bit. If they're a pup and if they're an adult dog, I might have the dog who's most neutral, off lead and a dog who's maybe like even the pup they're not necessarily neutral because what they want to do is say hello, yeah. So actually sometimes I'll put that dog on a lead, so I'll put the neutral dog. So I remember um walking with easy and she could. She could greet another dog and carry on. But if that dog carried on annoying her, yeah, she'd have to go, go away.

Lauren Langman: 12:04

And so because I didn't want to go at the dog, I would put that dog on a lead and I would walk mango, for example, great example and mango be on a lead, easy would be off lead, mango, be going, I'm a friend, I'm a friend, I'm a friend. I'm a friend like tigger. It's like having a friend like tigger and then you've got like little piglet in the or and piglet in the or don't really need a tigger who's bouncing at their face all the time, that type of thing.

Linda Hughes: 12:25

So I, I'm, I make sure that I've been advocating for the big dogs, constantly advocating for the big dogs, because this puppy has attitude, yeah, and has taken over their world. Yes, uh, he's very strong, he's very confident, far more confident than Orla, really. He just takes everything in his stride. There are certain things he reacts to, but not anything to worry about. He's very good, very confident, very, you know, in your face, very feisty. So there's a lot of I've done a lot of advocating for the big dogs.

Linda Hughes: 12:56

Give me an example of how you might advocate so, for instance so first of all, out on the walk, ola looks at him like he's something you know nasty that the cat brought in. Oh, look at that, you know, and not quite sure what to do, and I just would go it's okay, ola, don't worry, you're okay, don't worry. And she'd go. Oh, really, I just think I'll go away. But it just gives her that reassurance and then gradually, gradually, she's got closer and closer to him. So last night at the cottage he was on the sofa with a tune. The two girls came up and he actually tried to get them to go away. He went yeah, breathe, look at him. So I went, look at him. So I went it's okay, girls, it's okay. And I've just pushed him back, you know not, I'm not horribly, but just moved him back. So I was like saying you go back there, these that you're all right, girls, you're all right girls and then all got up on the sofa and laid down let's move ourselves away.

Linda Hughes: 13:58

No, to sit next to him, oh, sit with him. He was like okay, so she's laid down on the sofa, he trots along the sofa and she looks at him and I watch her eyes. So she looks at him and he's actually being nice at this point and he's trying to lick and her eyes are like nice and I go good girl, and you're doing, and I know that her arousal's going up and I'll go. It's okay, oliver, you're okay, and if I see a lip start to go, then I'll just move him away.

Lauren Langman: 14:32

I don't tell her off or move her.

Linda Hughes: 14:36

I just move him out of the equation. And so the more I advocate and the more I reassure them, the more confident, the more confident they get around him, you know, and I think ultimately Ulla and Bobble will be great friends. I think they'll play chasey games, because he's already chasing her and she's watching him come and she's actually been chasing him around the garden at home. My only concern is that sometimes she has to jump over him because he stops as far as she's allowed to fly, so she jumps to not stand on him. Oh, they sound great. So it's coming. It's coming, but he will do things like big dogs laying down on the floor. He gets a toy, he goes up to the big dog, he drops the toy by the big dog and then he stands back and barks at them. So there's this little snap yappy thing and the big dog's going. Mom, I don't know what to do here. So funny.

Lauren Langman: 15:36

Well, I think we should do before we head out of here because I think we've got some great listeners I think we should do a quick tips tennis, like classifier tips to introduce a new dog and I'm gonna say little and often, and it's not like a race, so you don't have to race. That's my top tip. No, number one is take your time, take your time, take time. They're going to be together a long time if they get on well.

Lauren Langman: 15:57

I was dealing with a customer this week whose dogs have fallen out and he's just put them on calm canine actually and already having good results. So his dog has gone on to calm canine after attacking his other dog and they've always lived together. One's rising two and the other's six, and suddenly one's attacked the other and never had it before, both in time males but, but no hormones in the house. So, and no female hormones that I'm aware of in the house, and so he's on calm canine. But also, you never really want to get into that situation. It's much harder when they've got a fallout. So, yeah, fast is not the way for me.

Linda Hughes: 16:27

Slow and and successful and short, like little sessions, go on yes yes, so also be careful of resources, thoughtful on them for sure, very, very careful about toys, bones, food, anything that's around, because there could be some some competition and pups, pups like the one I've got believe they own everything, everything well, they also don't see the danger?

Lauren Langman: 16:50

I think they don't, they don't. So on that note, then another one for me with introducing dogs, to actually know your dogs, so you, like, you know alert. You said I look into her eyes, or, for example, I know that classic really can't handle a puppy on her face, she just can't handle it, whereas blink will let them jump all over her head. So I also know what I've got, what I haven't. Equally, and this is a really big one with blinking, though, she'll allow them to jump all over her head, which she allowed tokyo. When tokyo was growing up, I actually would often correct it or interrupt it or improve him and and stop it happening, because I knew that quite quickly once he grew up that was not going to be appropriate because he would be too heavy for her. So 17 kilos landing on her head wasn't going to work. So I actually think it started for me to go on.

Linda Hughes: 17:31

Yeah, I've been careful what you learn out of them to realize. Careful on the management, go on. What's your next one? So my next one would be do lots of introductions or lots of integration away from home, nice, nice, integration away from home, nice, nice. So on a lead, parallel walking, on a walk where it's safe, just just monitoring them, but do do a lot of it away from home, because then you haven't got the, the possessiveness or the territorial issues and then, in line with that, crates, gates, pens they all help for them to have a presence.

Lauren Langman: 18:07

It doesn't mean access, lifestyle, so actually everything is there, but it doesn't mean you grab it or pull it or go and play with it or grab the bobble through the bars and tug with him. It's there but it's not always something you go to.

Linda Hughes: 18:22

So mine are all in the routines. So Ulna's crates and she has several in the house her crates are her safe space. She needs that and when she starts to get angsty because she's she would get angsty with peeing, let alone bubble I just say to her well, if you can't cope, go in your house. Yeah, and she goes, goes in her house and she's no, she's safe there, and I just shut the door.

Linda Hughes: 18:45

No. And she's like, oh, thank god for, and I just shut the door. No. And she's like, oh, thank god for that I don't have to yeah, get you know, I'd have to police it all.

Lauren Langman: 18:53

Actually, my mom's way back, yeah, I think my last one and for me would be you don't have to play by anyone else's rules. So, for example, my mom would come over to the house and she'd say oh, it's cruel to keep them apart. It's cruel, no, actually it's right for me, it's right for the dogs, and so I do keep some of my dogs apart if I don't feel they're appropriate for each other. Right now, for example, blink and brave and skittles love each other, but they all play very rough now. Blinks had a surgery, so she's a little bit sore. Brave's got a spinal sort of condition, so she needs to be a bit careful. Sk. Skit was bonkers. So actually it's not always appropriate to have them playing or racing around.

Lauren Langman: 19:30

So so it's not anyone else's rule. It's your rule as to what's appropriate for your dog and what's appropriate for the, for each individual dog.

Linda Hughes: 19:37

So all the needs a lot more downtime she needs. She needs to have a break because she won't take it for herself. Yeah, and it's not good for her psychologically absolutely winding herself up. Absolutely the pup needs a break because straight away, being a toy breed, I noticed he's very. He could very easily have separation anxiety. Interesting so I'm straight away.

Lauren Langman: 20:00

He's lots of his pen and I'm, I'm away from him and the other thing in terms of integration. I know I was on my last tip, I want one more. You were brilliant, like he's straight in the car with you. Every time I said to you, linda, make sure he's traveling with you. Like, yeah, got that sorted everywhere you go. Right, because that's also separation You're in the same vehicle, but you are separated.

Linda Hughes: 20:16

Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, and I have a little system that I do with all my p the front seat next to me to begin with, about a week.

Lauren Langman: 20:32

Yeah, and I don't let it go on too long, yeah, so about a week, and my only problem they're nice, I quite like.

Linda Hughes: 20:34

From there I get a bit like oh I'm so cute, oh you're so cute but if you leave them there too long, I think they're just cute, they can't then it's more difficult. It is.

Lauren Langman: 20:43

It is the same as having them in the bedroom, like I have them in the bedroom for a bit, but then I'll transition down me.

Linda Hughes: 20:48

He's still in the bedroom but he's in a crate, but he's so cute, but he's got to be transitioned out, but yeah. So then he's because he's so tiny, of course the crate's in my van. I've been to all the conies that I've got, so I had to buy into a container because I could just imagine him slopping about in the back.

Lauren Langman: 21:11

Just so cute, just so cute. Well, linda, thank you. Introducing a new dog to your home doesn't need to be that stressful, doesn't need to be hard and, like you said, actually it's pretty easy through the absolute dog's way. It is well done, linda, linda.