My Golden Retriever Puppy

Question
QUESTION: I recently got a Golden Retriever puppy for Christmas who is now 4.5 months old.  I also have a Lhaso Apso Puppy that just turned 10. Both of the dogs are Female. Last week, the Golden started a fight with the Lhaso.  It was really scary because the Golden had the Lhaso by the neck and started to shake her.  My husband came running in the room and got the Golden off of the Lhaso.  Then, it happened a couple days later again because the Lhaso was sniffing a blanket outside were the Golden had finished off a bone.  She ended up biting her leg and the side of her body.  My Lhaso was o.k., just shaken up a lot and her leg was a little sore.  We have since removed all the bones and don't let them have anymore.  We even give them treats separately so they will not growl at each other if one gets close to the others treat.  My Lhaso also growls if the Golden gets too close to something she has.  Today, I noticed the Golden was wrinkling her lip and starting to get upset when my Lhaso got too close to her toy she was playing with.  My question is, is this something that can be corrected, or will it just get a lot worse?  I don't leave them alone together when I am not home, and now we are watching them closely to see if anything is going to happen.  I don't want to have to get rid of my Golden, but I am afraid if this behavior continues, I might have too.  I am afraid next time, the Golden might injure my Lhaso or perhaps even kill her.  I was discouraged today when I talked to a lady at the Golden Retriever Rescue that said that it will never work because the Lhaso is breed to be the dominant one.  So, if you can offer me any advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you,
Darlene

ANSWER: The lady at Golden Retriever rescue was wrong; even though the Lhasa can be a dominant dog, the problem here is not the Lhasa, it's the Golden (is your Lhasa ten years or ten months?) NO four and a half month old puppy should be demonstrating ANY sort of possessive aggression.  This puppy must have come from either a puppy mill or a breeder who wasn't properly managing her litter; your puppy is demonstrating an aberrant behavior for its breed type and certainly for its age.  From your description, it appears the Golden precipitated this problem; even if the Lhasa demonstrated overt interest in the Golden's bone or toy, a four month old puppy does NOT respond with aggression.  If anything, the older dog initiates a fight (in situations where one is under six months of age.)

Acquiring any puppy means you have to do your homework.  You need to find a legitimate breeder who is breeding for type and temperament; you need to put your name on a waiting list, because such breeders  usually have lines of people waiting for their puppies.  This breeder will want to interview you, all members of your human family, and meet your other dog(s) as well.  A contract for spay/neuter will go out with every single puppy and papers will be withheld until certificate of spay/neuter is delivered, unless you are purchasing a show prospect in which case you will have to endure even closer scrutiny.  Possessive aggression can be inherited (just as can any sort of aggression) but it can also be acquired when puppies are not getting adequate nutrition from their dam (mother), have to fight for resources, and the breeder isn't paying sufficient attention to weight gain.

I can't determine temperament in your Golden from here; if it's important for you to keep this puppy, you need to obtain expert evaluation of your situation.  I suggest you find a certified applied animal behaviorist. You can try this link, supposedly an organization that checks educational and professional credentials in the US and internationally:
http://www.iaabc.org/

Meanwhile, this situation will need very expert behavior modification and, due to the Golden's young age, a successful outcome seems less than probable.  More than likely the relationship between her and your Lhasa will always be, at best, tentative; at worst, fight on sight.  Be certain the Golden rescue you are working with is actually a not for profit organization with foster homes and an experienced trainer giving advice and evaluation.  Also be certain that they are aware of this puppy's extremely aberrant behavior (for her age); while it's possible your Lhasa somehow (outside of your observation) precipitated the Golden's response, she is still far too young to be engaging this older dog physically, and she is also exhibiting (head shaking) a serious flaw in her prey drive (Goldens are supposed to have "soft mouths", they do not normally demonstrate kill instinct, especially not so young.)

Attempt to find a professional to help you evaluate this situation and make a decision regarding whether or not to go forward, or to rehome the Golden.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I did get the Golden from a breeder. Well, a person who's dog did not mean to get pregnant and did?  The mother was all golden and the father was golden and Lab retriever.  I do take her to Puppy class on Wednesday nights and I was going to ask him about it also.  Do you think I should still consult a behavior specialist.  I have already put a lot of money into this dog, and I want to try and work it out if possible!!! I have not had another  incident, but I don't know when it will happen again and I don't want my little Lhaso hurt, she is 10 years old. I have heard of a couple people now that told me that their little dog has gotten killed by their big dog and that scares me.  If you honestly think there is a flaw in her prey drive, is it worth working on, or is it best to give the puppy to someone else that does not have another dog?  I know it is hard to say without observing the dog and even if you did observe the dog, she might not do it then.  What if I had a behavior dog specialist come over, will they be able to tell how her behavior is and her temperment even though she is not showing the agressive behavior at the time?  I so appreciate all the advice you gave me so far, thanks.

Answer
It's a good thing that you're socializing this puppy in puppy kindergarten but this puppy has a problem.  This means your kindergarten instructor BETTER know what he's doing, or the problem will get worse.  ONLY positive reinforcement should be used for any training that's being done (and that should be minimal training) and ONLY other puppies at her exact developmental stage should be in that class, observed and closely supervised.  Since she has possessive aggression (even if she was reacting to something the older dog did inadvertently), the wrong approach by the wrong trainer can create a nightmare, for her and for you.

The "breeder" you spoke of is NOT a breeder, but someone who is not vigilant and allowed her bitch to become pregnant.  That person doesn't know what she's doing; because her Golden mated with another breed (mix), her litter must have been quite large.  The "breeder" was most likely not observing to be certain all the puppies were receiving adequate nutrition from the dam (mother), who may have been overwhelmed with such a large litter (such a breeding can produce up to 15 puppies.)  Your puppy may have had to struggle for resources (mother's milk), she certainly did demonstrate an extremely unusual aggression at a very young age in regard to your older dog.  A behaviorist will be able to observe both dogs and their interaction, take a full history of behavior from you, will most likely want to talk to the veterinarian regarding the health of both dogs, and is much more capable of teaching you how to develop the relationship between your two dogs so that aggression of that sort doesn't occur again.  But there's still no guaranty; you see yourself that the dogs are developing animosity.  This may have been a one time event and I hope that's the case, but your friend was correct when she said a large breed dog can kill a small breed dog (faster than you can get out of your chair.)

Give it some serious thought.  In my opinion, it's worth paying the behaviorist even for the first consultation if it helps you to feel that you've done everything possible to salvage this situation.  Please keep me posted.