Is there ever too many dogs in a house? I mean what brings more joy than a pack of dogs, right? All the nose sniffing, ear twitching, head tilting and those eyes that can speak so much without words.

Meet Sweet Pea. She will be with me and my pack for awhile, while her owner goes through an emergency situation. So, I am pet sitting/fostering this girl. Her owner said she is a jack russell mix but I see chihuahua and beagle. Who knows but she is a sweet heinz 57 dog. Gotta love those mutts!

I had her with me for a few hours now and already I am getting to know her. Right now she is just missing her owner a lot. Keeps wanting to go outside and try to find her. Poor Sweet Pea. She lays by the door with her face turned towards it. Waiting…hoping a familiar face walks in.

I think it is very important to introduce a new dog to my pack the right way, especially if they are all gonna be living in the same home together. You dont want the new dog thinking it can dominate over the rest of the dogs. The pack can take a few days to adjust but the new dog cant bully them around.

I learned from the owner that Sweet Pea is a little possessive about her owner and her toys. Also, she has some insecurity but she is doing good so far.

Because of her past abuse and her nervousness I decided it was best to introduce her to my pack of dogs one by one. Which keeps her calmer than having a whole pack of dogs sniffing and barking at once at her.

First, I introduced Princess to Sweet Pea because she is the top dog (alpha) of my pack. If they don’t get along its a wrap. Sweet Pea did growl and snap at Princess at first but I realized she doesn’t like another dogs face right in her face. Her tail was down and she was nervous. So, I walked them together and they did fine. They seem to accept each other now. As long as Sweet Pea doesn’t try to dominate Princess everything will be fine.

After that I introduced Lady. Now, when she first meets a dog and gets excited she likes to nip and try to get the dog to play. So, I had to calm Lady down before getting her too close to Sweet Pea. A little lip went up on Sweet Pea but I stopped it before it got any worse. It is important to catch it before its too late. Lady is curious about Sweet Pea but they are tolerating each other.

Now, last but not least the boy of the pack, Mr. Oliver! There was no problem there which I knew there wouldn’t be because she is a girl. His little tail wagged and Sweet Pea just stood there trying to figure out where her mom was. I wonder if she ever got flirted with from other male dogs?

Most people would be happy with that outcome. Not me, I had to take it one step farther and see if she could walk with my pack. That is important to me. If she can handle walking next to my dogs she will do just fine. And guess what, she did! Thay all walked with each other or should I say walked me.

While she is in the house for the next few days I am going to keep her on a leash to make sure everything goes as plan. I need the ability to grab her fast if a scuffle starts between her and one of my dogs. So far so good. Once she starts settling in, than that’s when her personality will shine.

Also, I will be keeping her in a crate while I am out and about because its never a good idea to keep a new dog out unsupervised with the pack. I don’t need to come home to any hurt dogs.

As you can see she is a little over weight. Her owner spoils her a lot but while she is with me I bet she will lose some pounds with the walks and less treats. I will keep you updated on her and the pack. Remember, its always possible to introduce a new dog to a home with other dogs. It just has to be done slowly and you cant lose patience.