Dog to dog introductions

Help your dog make friends the right way

By adopting from AWL, our team will help you introduce your new dog to your resident dog.

In addition, here’s our guide to help your fur-baby make new friends in the future.

Step one: the first glimpse

Introduce your dogs to each other while they’re on-lead, from a distance of at least 4m. Watch their reaction - your dogs can approach each other if they both do any of these:

Play bows with a wide/broad tail wag
Can look away from the other dog and focus on their humans
Show mild interest in the other dog (without showing concerning behaviour)
Show moderate interest in the other dog but looks back at their humans at least twice

Step two: approach

Bring your dogs closer together and walk them parallel to each other, so they pass side-by-side, not nose to nose.

Good signs:

The dogs will move freely with loose movements – they won’t be stiff or upright
The dogs are showing an interest in each other but are not obsessive

Step three: meeting nose-to-nose

Allow the dogs to reach each other and watch how they react - make sure the first nose-to-nose greeting is for only one second before stepping away from the other dog and calling to your dog.
Keep walking in a big loop, and then do another nose-to-nose greeting. This time allow the dogs to say hello for two seconds. Repeat this a few times while gradually increasing the time they are allowed to interact.

Step four: loose-lead contact

Loosen the lead tension and let the dogs interact. Remember to move with your dog so their leads don’t get tangled.

Step five: free play

If both dogs have responded well to each other so far, remove the lead and allow short play. Let the dogs play for about one minute, then call the dogs away separately (don’t pull their collar). If you feel comfortable, release dogs for another two-minute play.

NOTE: If you have any reservations about the free play, leave the leads on and drop them so they trail behind. That way, you can pick up the leashes and move the dogs if needed.

Signs to look for:

Good signs	Okay, but stay alert	Stop the meeting
Dogs play together within 30 seconds Dogs play bow with wide level tail wags Dogs sniff nose-to-nose rapidly wagging upright tails Dogs sniff each other's backends Brief social contact, but then separate and explore the area Playing with mild to moderate intensity, with dogs able to separate and go back to their humans Playing, then the dogs disengage on their own Ignore each other, but are relaxed	Play is rough and intense, but dogs will part and go back to their humans Dogs remain stiff, and tails wag stiffly Dogs sustain direct eye contact Dogs pose bodies front-on to each other Either dog has hackles up One dog wants to play more than the other and is persistent One dog is afraid of the other. The confident dog gently asks for play, then ignores the scared dog and explores the environment	Either dog growls, lunges or barks at the other Either dog is trembling, high-pitched whining, straining on the leash or staring intently and the other dog without withdrawing their gaze Either dog snaps, growls, snarls, bites or nips Either dog chomps, clacks or chatters their jaw Either dog jumps up or over the other dog's shoulder Dogs are obsessive about each other, and you can't get their attention on you Both dogs completely ignore each other and try hard to avoid each other One of the dogs intimidates the other, and the frightened dog tries to hide or gets snappy Either dog is stiff and upright, with their tail or hackles up. And they're attempting to stand over the other Either dog immediately tries to fight

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