Cautiously and safely

When we bring a new dog into play time, we generally try to introduce him to the first couple of dogs one at a time. We do this either by keeping dogs outside during the introductions or have the owners hold their collars. We will start by introducing the dogs least likely to interact much at all and just let the two share space. Then we will bring in one who is very friendly but curious and will 'visit' with the new dog. After this, if the new dog is doing well, we will let the other dogs visit a few at a time. If we have a dog in the group who is pushy or growly, we generally introduce him last.

All this usually takes a couple of minutes at most and your dog is off playing in no time.