{"id":2283,"date":"2015-10-20T17:11:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-20T17:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lbpost.com\/articles\/life\/pets\/dogs\/"},"modified":"2015-10-20T17:11:48","modified_gmt":"2015-10-20T17:11:48","slug":"dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/pets\/dogs","title":{"rendered":"How to Introduce the Newest Addition to Your Pet Family"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignleft size-full wp-image-33706\" style=\"float: left;\" src=\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Cleo-swell-senior-dogs.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>The dog trainer is in to answer your questions. Alexandra Macias, owner and operator of the Long Beach-based Alex Macias dog training, will be sitting down and answering readers&#8217; pet-related inquiries.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Dear Alex,<\/p>\n<p>My husband and I just adopted another dog. But haven\u2019t brought him home yet. How do we&nbsp;introduce them, and make sure they get along?<\/p>\n<p>-Josephine<\/p>\n<p>Hi Josephine,<\/p>\n<p>When introducing dogs to each other, it\u2019s important to meet in a neutral location. We don\u2019t&nbsp;want either dog to feel territorial or protective of the space. Follow these steps during the introduction&nbsp;to keep the peace:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Have both dogs on leash, and approach each other slowly. Watch for the following signs of possible aggression:\n<ul>\n<li>Ears down and back<\/li>\n<li>Stiff body<\/li>\n<li>Stiff tail<\/li>\n<li>Raised hackles<\/li>\n<li>Gums\/teeth bared<\/li>\n<li>Body leaning forward<\/li>\n<li>Lunging<\/li>\n<li>Barking\/growling<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>If any of these signs are noticed, they may not be a good match.<\/li>\n<li>If none of the above are seen, keep walking by each other at a safe distance. Continue to&nbsp;watch the body language.<\/li>\n<li>If things are still running smoothly, let them briefly sniff each other\u2019s rear ends. Nose to rear&nbsp;is how dogs check each other out, and is less confrontational than nose to nose.<\/li>\n<li>If we\u2019re all still getting along, go on a walk together. Moving keeps their minds off of each&nbsp;other, and focused on something other than meeting a new friend. Continue to keep an eye&nbsp;on each dog\u2019s body language throughout the entire walk.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Following these steps should set both dogs up for success. If you\u2019re nervous, don\u2019t hesitate to&nbsp;contact a dog trainer or behaviorist for help. WOOF!<\/p>\n<p>-Alex<\/p>\n<p><em>Alexandra (Alex) Macias has been a certified Dog Trainer and Behavior Specialist since 2008, and is the owner of Alex Macias Dog training, a Long Beach-based dog training company. To ask Alexandra questions for a future article, leave them in the comments below, or email her at <a href=\"mailto:alexmaciasdogtraining@gmail.com\">alexmaciasdogtraining@gmail.com<\/a><a href=\"mailto:alexmaciasdogtraining@gmail.com.\">.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Above, left: file photo.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The dog trainer is in to answer your questions. Alexandra Macias, owner and operator of the Long Beach-based Alex Macias dog training, will be sitting down and answering readers&#8217; pet-related inquiries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":67637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1018],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pets","tag-ask-a-dog-trainer","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/158"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=2283"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}