New dog in home, other is scared.

Question
QUESTION: I recently acquired a Min. American Eskimo, Cub, and she is 7 years old and a very well trained dog. I have had her for just a few days now.
I have had my Toy Yorkie, Winston, for about 7 months now. He is 13 months old. He is our "baby" in the house.
I brought Cub home and ever since I have Winston won't look her way, and when she looks at him he runs and hides. Cub will only acknowledge him if he walks by, but she isn't too curious of him. Winston does get scared of her when she comes around for a belly rub or when she tries to sniff him. When we go for walks he walks as far away from her as he can get.
Not sure what type of things I can do to get them to play together. Maybe she is just too big of a dog for him to play with? Not sure if there is anything thing else you need to know besides that he is just plain frightened of her.
Should I consider finding Cub a new home or give it more time?

ANSWER: Dear Amy,

I'd give it more time, but I do wonder why you got a much larger and older dog than Winston for him to play with.  I also wonder what Cub's history is -- if she is so well trained, why did her previous owner give her up?  Try to find out if you don't already know, and find out what interaction she had with other dogs, particularly small dogs.  

Generally it's best to let dogs get to know each other at their own pace, but there are some things you can do to help their friendship along.  Any time one dog moves closer to the other dog, praise them both.  Sometimes tiny treats can also be used for reinforcement but skip it if/when you see even the tiniest hint of food aggression between them.  Try to ignore Winston whenever Cub is not around, and praise him when she is around -- he'll start to look forward to her presence rather than fear it.  And finally, whatever you do, don't coddle, comfort, or baby him when he shows fear of Cub; praise him only when he shows even the slightest bit of confidence or curiosity around her.

Best yet, do a Trainer Search at http://www.apdt.com and find a good trainer/behaviorist in your area to come to your house, size up the situation and give first-hand recommendations.  I'd hate to see something happen which I couldn't foresee given the info I've gotten.

Good luck and thanks for writing!
Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com


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

QUESTION: The owners gave her up because their son had allergies. They had Cub, and a Chow Chow as well as a Pom/terrier Cross which they all gave up as well. So she has been around other dogs. But I do feel now that I should have got another small dog for Winston.
I just thought that since she was older, maybe she would be more reserved and Winston would like that, because he does get scared of even other small dogs.
I hate to be stressing out Winston since he is so small and I would feel bad for having to give Cub up but Winston was my first dog and I do have to take him into consideration first.
I have let the old owners of Cub of the situation and that I would keep them posted on whats going and and if I needed to find Cub a new home I would let them find it seeing as I have not had Cub for too long.

Answer
Dear Amy,

Since she's been living around other dogs, it's unlikely there will be a problem, but as I said in the first post, you can make Winston more comfortable around Cub by reinforcing curiosity or even any instant of non-stress.  Again, I'm not there so it's hard to see exactly how stressed he is.  I do think that if you re-home Cub and try another dog, you should work out something with the owner which allows you a "trial period" of a couple of days before you commit.  This way you'll be able to see Winston's reaction to the dog before you adopt.  You may find that Winston acts this way around any dog - if he hasn't been around other dogs until now it's not surprising for him to act fearful.  So again, do the exercises I wrote about with Cub or any new dog you bring into your home.

Suzanne Harris, BSc, CPDT
http://www.dogdaysUSA.com