Gizmoe's 15 and a half, and has never been a social dog - he doesn't really approve of the existence of other dogs, preferring to associate with humans and cats. Sophie is an almost-six-month-old puppy, and a social butterfly - she'd spend the entire day at the dog park if she could, playing with all the dogs and people. My sister and I had been worrying about how to introduce them ever since I first met Sophie and started thinking about maybe taking her home with me...

The weekend went better than either of us could have hoped. We introduced them in the (fenced-in) backyard, both on short leashes; I'd filled a bag with a mix of All The Treats (broken up into tiny pieces), and the second Gizmo started barking and snarling at her we threw a little party, and suddenly the Big Scary Puppy wasn't so bad after all... :D Sophie never did manage to convince him to play with her, but he tolerated her following him around (and when he started getting stressed, or when she started getting frustrated, we'd throw another treat party); and by the third day they were almost socializing - bopping noses at the water bowl, (sort of) sharing my lap, doing homework together - Sophie's two weeks into Basic Obedience, so we were practicing her "sit"s, "down"s, and "stay"s; and Gizmo actually sat for treats too. :D

Next time, we'll see if Sophie can convince Gizmo to chew on a squeaky toy with her... ;)