Hi there. I am new to Champdogs, but have been reading the posts all night and thought it would be a great place to come for advice. We have a 9mth old male yorkie - Ricoh and are adding to our family this Saturday with another male yorkie. Ricoh is well socialised with humans and other dogs in the park, street etc. We visited my brothers new puppy a month ago at his house and whilst we kept Ricoh on the lead he was a bit hostile to the other puppy (Cavalier K. C); growling and barking. We think it may have been that Ricoh had visited my brothers house lots of times before they got their puppy and had put his mark on their house. We have started taking him to puppy training classes and he met my brothers puppy there and all was well. I am a little worried about how he will react when we bring our new puppy (Hughie) home on Saturday. I have a cage set up for the new puppy in a space where Ricoh would'nt consider his (had to do a bit of furniture removal) and at first he appeared scared of the crate, but now just glances at it before running past will his ball. What is the best way to introduce the two boys? I thought we should do it in the garden, but dogowner friends have suggested several ways, so I am a bit unsure. My plan was to bring in the new puppy into the garden first and not make a big fuss of Ricoh or the puppy, just introduce them and then get the puppy settled in his cage. Then as it would be Ricoh's usual walk time-to take him out as normal, so his routine is not disrupted in way. He is a feisty little dog, but very loving and I do think that he will be jealous at first. Any advice would be very much appreciated-I want to get things right from the start. Sorry for the long post, but I look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes

It is going to be somewhat different than what would normally happen(introducing a new pup to a resident adult) as the dog you have is still himself only a baby. 

It will be like a toddler and a new baby.  You will have to supervise so that one does not tire the other or overwhelm the other.

I generally advise it is best to wait until the older dog is fully adult and trained before getting a new pup.  It is mature enough to deal with the youngster and set a good example.

You may well find your older pup regressing in his training including house training.  It will be a lot of work until they are both adult and you will need them to spend time apart as well as together regularly, and the same with training they will need training  separately and together.

In terms of the actual introduction, the best way really is to introduce them outside your home and then bring them into the house together.  That way they first meet on "neutral" territory, which sometimes helps to defuse any immediate feelings of threat. 

Thanks Brainless for your advice . It is very much appreciated and we will certainly make sure that that get time apart/together. We found it difficult to decide when was the best time to get a new puppy as much of the advice we sought before making a decision was varied. I can understand the theory about the older pup regressing so thank you for the warning. We are committed to putting in the work-and have a great "Dog Lady" (my sister-though I'm not sure she'd appreciate being called as such) who comes in every three hours when we are at work. I hope you don't mind if I get back to you for further advice if needed. Thanks again.

Thanks Cairnmania for your response. Is it okay to introduce them in the back garden or will our resident dog consider that his territory? If it's best to do it elsewhere how should we approach it, in terms of them having initial physical contact? Very greatful for your advice

I would say that a pup of 9 months isn't really yet old enough to really be thinking in terms of territory and dominance yet, though of course he is at puberty and may act out like a teenage oik, as she hasn't the maturity, so this is where care needs to be taken.  I would imagine that he is most likely to forget all about you and be pleased with a  new playmate.  You will need to ensure he doesn't overtax the pup, and vice versa pup doesn't overstep the mark making immature young man over react.

Your biggest problem is likely to be is that you may become pretty superfluous to the pups if your not careful as the company of their own species, someone that speaks their language likes what they like and plays like a dog is going to be some competition for their attention.

This is why you will need to do a lot of training with them seperately to get a real bond with them.

Thanks again for the advice. Will be sure to pay attention to your comments although my husband is pretty good at playing "like a dog" with our 9mth old puppy and he has got the language down to a T. I do feel more at ease after your advice and would love to post on how the new puppy is integrating with our resident dog if anyone is interested. Am bringing the puppy home tomorrow at 14.00hrs. Just one more question for now; When we first leave them alone together ( only for 2 hours-which will be on Wednesday) although the younger puppy will be in a cage, should I keep them in separate rooms? Very Best Wishes-Tracey

If one is crated then leave them together.