THE PAIRING

Perhaps the scariest part of adopting a second dog into your home is the fear that your harmonious family may be turned upside down if the dogs do not get along. This is also true if you are adding a dog to a cat home. You love dogs and want to rescue another homeless fur baby. You think, I've already got 1, so might as well go for 2. Then you look at your precious little boston sleeping for a change and you think about how your life and home have a routine now. Then your mind wanders to visions of flashing teeth, growls, yips, bites and trips to the emergency vet. Suddenly you are not so sure that 1 is not enough.

These fears are perfectly normal. Don't over think it, just follow your heart to the second fur baby waiting for you. The good news is that dogs get along with each other far more often than not. Dogs at BTRNC and other rescues have been exposed to other dogs, sometimes several within the same house. Their foster homes know and will tell you if a dog is aggressive towards other dogs, cats, children, or all three. Sometimes if everyone lives closest enough, you can actually meet a foster dog in the presence of your dog first. If the dogs are instant friends, you will feel this sense of relief wash over you like a shower.

If you cannot do introductions before the adoption, introduce the dogs in neutral territory and on leashes. You should have someone helping you so that each dog has their own human at the end of their leash. Neutral territory ensures that neither dog will be territorial about visitors on his turf. Let hem sniff and watch their body language. Some dogs immediately try to play while others take awhile to warm up. Yes dear friends, dogs insist on getting to know one another by sniffing in the most inappropriate places.

Here is one rescue pairing that went really well. Meet Spice and Domino who seem to be telling their own story of meeting.

0.k. - we met, we like, now can we have a biscuit?

Let me tell you all about my life!

Now let us break bread together and seal the deal!

Cheers to Domino, Spice and all of our other successful pairings. Give it a shot, you may just be uniting your dog with their new best friend for life!