A good friend of mine has had a Black Lab/Rottweiler mix puppy since Christmas. Due to his job, the puppy- spayed- has spent a lot of time alone and seems to only listen to him, however has no problems with people and seems to be generally interested in other dogs- even though she hasn't been around them very much. Now he's been recalled and has asked if my parents can take her until he gets home.
My parents have two dogs: a spayed Boarder Collie/Chow mix and a neutered Weisenheimer- both do well with people and other dogs, however, the female is older and quite in charge.
I've never been in this situation before and would love some advice on how to introduce them and make this transition as easy as possible for all involved. Also, is this a good idea? My mom tends to freak out whenever she hears the word "Rottweiler." Please help!

To make it easier, introduce the dogs to each other in neutral territory that's not anybody's home. Places like the park or even a friend's house are good neutral locations. See how they get along. If everybody has a good time together, then see how they feel about having the puppy in their home territory.

With one person to a dog let them greet each other on neutral territory, like a park. Keep all three dogs leashed, just in case there is a problem. If the initial meeting goes well, have your friend bring the dog to your parent's place for a visit. It might help if there could be several such visits before the puppy is permanently introduced into the household. Not all dogs get along, if there are problems during introductions, don't expect them to disappear when the new dog is there for the long haul, in fact they may get worse.

Ultimately the final say as to whether the dog can stay or not is up to the primary care giver. Make sure your parents really want a third dog before going any further.

Also, what is a Weisenheimer?

quote:

Originally posted by all-creatures-great-and-small:
Also, what is a Weisenheimer?

LOL!!!!!!!!!!! I think it means Weimeraner (I can't remember exactly how to spell it). But weisenheimer is kind of like calling someone a smart a$$.

Yes, I know what the word itself means . What I couldn't figure out is what kind of dog it is, or if, in fact, it is a misspelling of Weimaraner.

LOL. I think weisenheimer is a pretty accurate discription for a weimaraner.

The word Weimaraner wasn't in my spell check and it said I spelled it wrong- clicked on spell check without really paying attention and took the first one that looked right at a quick glance. So much for technology- and laziness. haha.
And yes, my parents are happy to take on the third dog- I'm just hoping to make it as easy as possible- and never having had any experience with Rotties or part Rotties- I have my worries even though I've seen her in action and she seems great- yet she's still a puppy. She rolls over pretty quick but I'm concerned she'll try to be more dominant as she gets older. And our other female- who is the sweetest dog I've ever met- is still pretty protective and is IN charge. My parents pretty much said "It's up to Mauly if the new dog stays or not."
This dog is coming from another town and we could probably introduce them at a park, but she'd have to come home with us right after that. Any new suggestions- not ideal- I know. To be honest- I think it will go just fine- but leaning on the side of caution here...

Definitely introduce them at a park first. As far as the dog coming home right after the meeting, if they get along, it shouldn’t be an issue. But what if they don’t get along? Will you have to take the dog anyway? This could be potentially problematic. As I wrote in my previous post, problems at the introduction will not go away if you bring the puppy home. Plan to spend about an hour at the park during introductions. It is common for dogs, especially dominant ones, to be posturing, growling, and generally acting mean. If after an hour your dogs (still on leashes) still want to tear into the puppy instead of play with it then it is probably not a good idea to try and bring the puppy home.

we recently introduced an abused girl into our home with another dog. It took about two months for our older girl to establish dominance. Seeing as how it is just a puppy, the older girl will probably teach the puppy some manners and as she will be establishing dominance, you shouldnt have problems. Let them sort it out, its natural is what our trainer said. Once the old lady establishes that she is in charge the puppy will learn.