:help: im in a right dilema...ive recently bought a yorkshire terrier puppy and shes setteling in great.my other yorkie fran(whos 13 and not very well)has took to her really well and they even lay together.the problem is my 6 year old lhasa apso male is refusing to have anything to do with the pup and is showing aggression everytime she goes near him(hes showing his teeth and growling)which is very suprising as he is such a good natured dog with other animals,although at times he has shown signs of an aggressive streak at times eg when foods around,im in a right dilema as to what to do as i cannot leave the puppy any where near him even though she keeps wanting to make friends with him.

my mum is refusing to get rid of the new puppy and i really dont want to get rid of my dog either.could it improve if i had him castrated or do you think he will still say the same with the pup regardless as he doesnt want her in his territory??? please help:help:

Aw Jody,

I'm not entirely sure on this one. It could well be that if the pup is bouncy he's just worried about her bouncing too much.

The only things I could suggest are to review what you're doing with the dogs and reassuring him that he's top dog of the dogs, not of the whole family.

The pup will grow up to know that he is a higher rank than she is, but for now he needs to make sure she's not going to take over.

Make sure that you feed him first (I know he won't have as many meals as her but when they are fed at the same time, feed him first), that if you give any tit bits, she has to wait until he's had his.

There are other ways as well to reinforce this but for now just try and do what you can to make sure he knows he's a higher rank.

There's a dog that we walk with who snaps at dogs when they get too close and has snapped at Takara before, but now Takara can go right up to him and follow him and he doesn't care because she has submitted to him in the past.

Good luck!

but surely he realises she is a puppy and not a fret to him,shes even wary of going near him now and when she does she cowars at his feet sometimes for him to sniff at her and he just growls and bares his teeth.i have been trying those techniques since we got her,greeting him first,stroaking him to,and ignoring him when the pup goes close and he starts growling.

i think the best thing to do is talk to the vet about having him castrated as it may help,but im very doubtful as he is an older dog now and hes set in his ways.its just very suprising as when i got a kitten last year he was all over her licking her and playing with her so this behaviour is very strange.

if anything i thought it would have been my other yorkie who was a little mardy with her(as she is old and not very well)but she loves he to bits and so does the pup and all she wants to do is make friends and play with koochi(male dog).

I'm no expert on introducing puppies to older dogs, Jody, but you'll get some good advice here if you want any more:

http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?showforum=4

Cheers, Carrie

Aw I'm sorry that's not worked Jody,

You'd think he would know but some dogs react in very strange ways!

He wouldn't have been worried about the kitten because she's not a dog (in case you didn't know that! :lol: ) but if you think it's very strange behaviour for him, perhaps get him to the vet anyway to be checked over. Sometimes, aggression can indicate an underlying medical or neurological problem although I doubt this is the case.

Perhaps just ask your vet about his behaviour, or contact a behaviourist who might be able to tell you more. I've heard Katie Patmore is very good although she is expensive.

Please don't give up on them, usually they'll sort it out between themselves, especially dogs and bitches, it's usually bitches who will fall out longterm. Or you can get it sorted.

But if one of them does have to go, it should be the yorkie pup that is sent back to her breeder imo. Her breeder should take her back and Koochi has been your faithful companion for 6 years.

Good luck! I hope you don't have to let go of either of them.

Having him 'done' probably won't cure the problem. It seems to be the first thing suggested as a cure-all these days, when it should be a last resort - having tried training methods first.

I'm going to sound like a stuck record here, but an indoor kennel, at least for the pup, would probably be a help. It's a place to retreat to, and very specifically one dog's territory - and easier to defend than a basket ;)

It also enables you to leave the dogs unattended, in complete confidence that you won't be coming home to find that one of them has become 'lunch' :suspect:

It helps if you can provide activities that focus both dogs away from each other. Whenever Brude has been too lively (and he can do that purey by looking the wrong way), we've found a 20 minute walk with the other dog enables them to tolerate each others' presence, and focus on the walk. On returning home, they generally settle easier.

We found a black lab recently - walking the streets - and whilst we were hunting his owner, somebody who thought they may know him became doubtful when they saw our dog with him. The owners were equally surprised. 'Gunner doesn't like other dogs'.

How long has this been going on for Jody?

its been going on for about 2 weeks,and hes showing absolutely no signs of tolerating her if anything hes getting worse he attacked the cat other day and snapped at the puppy this morning as well as trying to have a pop at me and my mum:( ,he has had tendancies like this b4 but only usually with the cats if they go near his food,i just dont trust him ive even had my old dog fran separate from him for the past month or so at night as she has fits and hes pinned her down b4 and gone for her while she was fitting,just because she fell on him and woke him up.at first i thought he may be scared of the puupy but it seems he isnt at all.its such a shame as hes such a lovely dog with ppl.:(

as far the cage method i already have that in place,she has her own bed in a dog cage in a totally different room to him.the puppy was laid in the garden asleep so he came over for a stroke when he noticed her there he walked off growling in the process scaring the s*** outta her!

im wondering if a muzzle will be a good temporary solution at least if the pup does go near him he cant bite her

It's all sounding as though somebody needs reminding he's a dog - and not the head of the household :mad:

Are there any men in the house?

Is his aggression linked to your hormone cycle (don't laugh, Brude gets too big for his boots once a month, when he thinks I'm 'on heat' :suspect: )

Is he carried at all? Does he sit on the furniture? Is he fed before the people in the house?

A muzzle won't actually cure the problem, and could just result in him becoming aggressive towards the muzzle bearer

It's all sounding as though somebody needs reminding he's a dog - and not the head of the household :mad:

Are there any men in the house?

Is his aggression linked to your hormone cycle (don't laugh, Brude gets too big for his boots once a month, when he thinks I'm 'on heat' :suspect: )

Is he carried at all? Does he sit on the furniture? Is he fed before the people in the house?

A muzzle won't actually cure the problem, and could just result in him becoming aggressive towards the muzzle bearer


oh he certainly nos where boss of him.no hes like it when he feels like being a mardy git,he isnt carried at all,we dont alow the dogs on the furniture,and the dogs are all fed at the same time as the cats usually after weve eaten.i think im going to have to have words with the vet about possible solutions for the problem.

a friend claims that you can get tablets from the vet that calms aggresive dogs down...but i havent got a clue:huh:

I really feel that he should see a vet as this could be anything. Pain makes dogs aggressive, possible deafness or partial blindness would also have the same effect.
If he's snapping at people and animals when they wake him up, it could be that he can't hear you very well and is shocked by you being there.

However, despite what you say, the fact that he is snapping at you and your mum indicates some confusion about who's higher in rank. A dog/wolf would never snap at the pack leader.

Also - I'd be inclined to go with the crate idea rather than a muzzle.

If pup is crated while you're not there to supervise then he will know he still has free roam and she is not stopping that. He won't be able to get at her to snap at her and if you put a muzzle on him, he's likely to associate it with the pup and make things even worse.

Try not to confine him as he may feel it's pup's fault and it could make things worse.

a friend claims that you can get tablets from the vet that calms aggresive dogs down...but i havent got a clue:huh:
Is that the stuff they give to toy dogs who are skittish when showing?

I'm sure it was mentioned on another thread I've read today, but I have no idea where or in what context :confused:

Edit: I've found it! Medusa recomended something called 'Rescue Remedy' for cats who needed calming down :thumbsup: