Introducing a new mature dog to resident sheltie....

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bwibwigouza

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A friend is giving away his GSD/Labrador mix and cat and has offered to give them to us. The dog and cat are coming for a visit early May before we decide whether or not they are a good fit with Mozart. The GSD is a 6 yrs old female that has already been spayed. Whereas Mozart is a 6 months old sheltie that is in his adolescence :rolleyes2: not neutered yet but he is rather scared of big dogs. What are some signs to look for to see if they'll be good buddies? What can we do to make them befriends each other quickly? Also, has anyone got any experience to share on introducing dogs to cats? Mozart has never seen a cat before though he is usually nice and friendly towards animals smaller then him. The cat is a 1 yr old male but he has not been neutered either. Thank you in advance.
 
generally it is better to be totally neutral area, front of the house still might count for "mine" but it is better than doing it the house IMHO. I do not like introducing on leashes either as it might increase arousal/ i.e. I have no place to escape... big secure open area usually is less threatening.
Dogs that meet each other sideways, parallel, mimicking each other postures - usually means dogs are well matched and friendly towards each other
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_7dl4c-IrM
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/how-dogs-meet/page1.aspx
 
Thank you for the links to those clips. They are very informative. One other question, if the dogs were introduced without leash, what should I do if my sheltie runs away from the meeting? This has been what he has done before whenever he sees a bigger dog...even when the other dog is still a few feet from him.
 
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