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Sharing Scents Before Introducing Dogs to Each Other
I was recently reminded of an idea, shared by Martha Hoffman and attributed to the late John Rogerson. The idea is to introduce two dogs who don’t know one another by first exposing them to their respective scents, before they meet in person. I can imagine this could remove some of the intensity of sniffing when the dog-dog meeting occurs.
Here’s how it’s done: the pet parent for each dog takes a small towel, rubs it on their dog (making sure to rub their mouth, ears, paws, genitals and anus) and then the pet parents exchange towels. Each dog then has the opportunity to explore the scents on the towel to their heart’s content, essentially getting to know the other dog before ever meeting in person.
I’m wondering if anyone has tried this before. I’ve done this occasionally when a new puppy is going to join a home where an adult dog already lives. I also encourage parents of a newborn baby to introduce their dog to a blanket with the baby’s scents (pairing it with soft talk and stroking) prior to actually bringing the baby home.
Would love to hear people’s thoughts on this!
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7 Replies
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This is quite fascinating to think about. It makes tons of sense to me. Is the author of this technique suggesting that the intro is done over a certain amount of time, or as a one time thing? I’m curious that if the information gathered is pleasing or upsetting for the dog, would we know? Or would this only be “gathering data” and no emotional information supplied afterwards, by the dog? I mean, would we know if a set of dogs would like each other or is that too big of a jump from sniffing a towel?
So many questions!!!
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Having not heard about this approach directly from John Rogerson, I’m only guessing that this is a one-time thing, to swap scents prior to an actual meet and greet.
Regarding whether it’s helpful, I was thinking this:What if you have a dog who you already know can be a bit tense or intense when first approaching/meeting/sniffing another dog. So, you already know this dog can be challenging or need extra handling care when intros occur. This would be a great dog on which to test the scent swap. I’d select other calm, socially appropriate dogs as my new dogs to greet (at first), and then assess whether the advance step of sniffing a scented towel has a favorable impact or not.
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When I adopted Titan (behavior euthanasia save from a shelter I volunteered at), I hired an ACAAB to help for several reasons in the very beginning (4 sessions).
One of first things they did was swab the mouth of Titan with their finger and then offered it to Kaiden, even wiping it on his mouth. I honestly was taken back and surprised at the approach.
In my opinion, it may give them some info prior to meeting but I do not necessarily think it would help the dogs tolerate or accept each other. I would ask, how could it?
In my case, I strongly think it had zero influence on their relationship when meeting. In fact, due to other events and circumstances, Kaiden and Titan had to be separate for the 6 years I had Titan.
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That must’ve been a challenge, to keep them separated @jenz .
For sure, it’s not a miracle ‘cure’ for ensuring dogs love each other when they finally meet. But I meet a lot of dogs who want to sniff very intensely, maybe even assertively, when first running into an unknown dog, and I’m wondering if the scent swap beforehand might take some of the ‘edge’ off.
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I have had separated dogs for 13 years- it was my normal! Now, that I only have Kaiden, it is so different not having management in place!
I understand what you are saying- I guess studies and trials and sharing info would be a start to determine if it could.
I have more questions on how it could than thoughts that it could! (just my opinion, of course!) Still a good conversation piece!
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It’s a lot of stress to do the 100% separation, I’m sure. Glad you’re enjoying a single dog now!
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As much as I hate clichés, it is the end of an era for sure
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