A friend of ours left island and for reasons beyond her control, is now unexpectedly stuck in Texas for the next couple of months. She left behind a small female dog, who I only met once and couldn't tell you for the life of me what kind of dog she was except that she was brown, white, and friendly as could be. Her roommate is now also leaving and cannot take the dog with her, and the landlord had decided that at the end of the day tomorrow, the dog will be taken to the Humane Society if it isn't out of the house.
She's asked us if we could at least pick the dog up tomorrow before she winds up at the Humane Society and help her find a temporary home. We told her we can hold onto her until the end of May, when I'll be leaving island for the summer and Chris will be caring for Paco (5 months) on his own, but that we would need to find another home before then.
Anywho, I've never introduced a second dog into a house…and now I'm suddenly doing it tomorrow! I figure I'll introduce them in the driveway, let them play a bit, then bring them down to our deck, more play, then in the house. Paco's really good with getting to know other dogs and pups so far, I'm hoping Sophia, the new dog, will follow suit. fingers crossed
Each will have their own crate and food bowls, I'll see how they react at feeding time, as Paco is used to being fed outside his crate. Any must-know information I should have before I dive in? I'm researching as I type this!
I wish you best of luck..it sunds like you have a good plan, let them meet outdoors, sniff, play bow and all the things dogs do to say hi..don't rush them and don't be alarmed if you hear loud snarks, growls or barks (from Sophie mainly..), it is all normal and OK, so long as it doesn't escalate to full on fights.
I usually have a squirt bottle readily available (with water in it) when I introduce fosters in our household..set it on strong stream mode as supposed to mist and if it gets rough..squirt them both and it usually breaks them up and redirects their thoughts, if nothing else, at least for a little bit.
If feeding times become issues just separate them while feeding, one in the kitchen and one in a bedroom (or something like that), or if you have crates for them both, in their respective crates..
Good luck..
BRAT has a wonderful list of things to do/know with introducing a new dog into your home.
I would be happy to share it with you off list, if you want it. brescue@wavecable.com
is my e-mail address.
Thank you both! E-mailing you now, Sharron. 
Let me know if you didn't get it, or you have any questions.
Paco is still a young pup and will probably love having a playmate. Thanks for keeping her out of the shelter!
We have Sophia now; she's a 4-year old chihuahua who is very human affectionate but apparently not so much with other dogs.
We wound up bringing Paco with us to pick her up, and they met in her yard. Paco was quite ok with being on a leash and she, never having needed one apparently, glad not to have one. She kept her distance and could only be coaxed near Paco with hot dog bits. If he gets to close and sniffy, she growls and snaps.
She was in her crate for the ride home, only a little growling if Paco got too close to her. Once we got here Paco was all "play mode" and she just wasn't having it. We put him with Chico upstairs to tire him out with play and let Sophia explore the apartment and get some water. We also put her in Paco's crate for a while and let her sniff around, then she got on the bed and snuggled with Chris.
Brought a tired Paco down to our enclosed deck, and brought Sophia out on it as well. Paco still wanted to play, but was too tired to jump on her like he had tried before. More growling and snapping from Sophia, but nothing major because Paco backed off. They are now napping on opposite ends of the bedroom; each with one eye open to watch the other, lol.
Sophia is used to long days in her crate and sleeping in a bed at night, but we're not sure if the bed will work out with two of them. We're keeping her out of her crate today and we'll see how she does in her crate tonight. She seems to love her crate; hopped right in in the car, so I'm hoping it won't be a big deal.
Working to find someone to carry her on to a flight to Texas to be with her mommy. We can't just send her alone because it is much too hot to fly pets from here right now. We have one girl going to Virginia for sure in June, but she won't have the time to drive to Texas from there and then go back. It'll be an interesting puzzle to solve!
edit I did get it, Sharron, and read through it with Chris before going to pick up Sophia. Thank you for that!
Shannanigan, my pleasure.
Keep us informed on how it goes.
I've got the two of them napping in close proximity for the moment; if Paco gets too nosey or playful, though, Sophia has taken to ducking under the bed until he goes away or calms down. She's a mellow dog, and seems to prefer everyone around her to be mellow as well.
Paco wants to eat her food, so I have to feed her in her crate. She avoids the crate like the plague, though; I'm guessing because where she was at, she was only crated when everyone was leaving, and she doesn't seem to like being alone.
Paco's getting more affectionate now that he has to share me, lol, but of course I don't mind that. He seems to get upset when she snarls and nips at him to get him to leave her alone; he's been chewing his left foot a lot lately and we're going to mention it to our vet next week at Paco's appointment. Sophia shakes if there's too many new people around AND Paco's excited, so we tell everyone to just leave her alone and not look for her under the bed.
It's difficult to get in touch with Sophia's owner long enough to really talk about getting Sophia home, so that's frustrating, but I'm sure we'll figure it out soon. So far, so good!
I always recommend crate feeding even for one… they learn that is a "good" place... and that they can eat in peace....
Maybe it's because my nerves are totally screwed up by seeing a loose dog today, but I feel bad for Sophia. It's so wonderful that you stepped in and offered to keep her for the month, but what would they have done if your care wasn't available? Would they have been fine with Sophia going to the Humane Society? Is getting Sophia to them in Texas the best answer for Sophia?
Bless you for opening your hearts and home to Sophia.
She would have gone to the Humane Society, but her owner definitely didn't want that as she called me nearly in tears over it - she just seemed to have not really thought her trip through, and now she's busy most of the day. From what I understand, the girl has had Sophia since she was a puppy 4 years ago, so they're very close.
If, however, Mommy doesn't get something done by the time I'm leaving for WV, Sophia will likely wind up at the Humane Society. One of the girl's friends here will be flying to the states in June and says she's willing to carry Sophia on if Mommy pays for the ticket, but more and more we worry that that's a big "if". We shall see.
Some good news! The owner in Texas found a friend on island here who will be traveling to Texas in a few weeks, and he came by and picked up Sophia to take care of her until then. He says he'll carry her onto the plane, and I'm so glad it worked out. I had actually had people ready to adopt her if I wound up leaving island before the owner figured something out, rather than sending her to the Humane Society, but I'm much happier knowing that the little girl will be home with her mommy soon.
Thanks to all who helped with advice on getting Paco and Sophia to at least tolerate each other!
