Chihuahua & Pit Bull

Question
Hello, I just got a tea cup Chihuahua which is 3 mo old, and my boyfriend has a pit bull that is 6mo.. old..Named Bubbs.. Bubbs is not mean at all, he is very laid back, and likes playing with other dogs, However my little baby rocky, is too small to play with him... I don't want Rocky to get hurt by Bubbs the pit bull..Is there anything i can do to keep them together, and train them or anything just so that they get along with eachother, and they play safely?

Answer
Dear Raquel, Thanks for the question. It may be possible to teach Bubbs to play gently, but probably not realistic. Gentle play by a dog that is so much larger than a teacup chihuahua will still be risky. A playful paw slap could injure your pup.

Before you can teach such a complex concept, you'll need to have in place a communication system and a reward system. Bubbs needs to know some basic obedience tasks.

To begin, make a list of behaviors that are relevant to the task you want to accomplish.

For example, Bubbs needs to know Attention, Sit, Down, Stay and Here. Another good behavior to teach would be a sort of OFF or Leave-IT or GAME OVER or EASY. This would be the cue for Bubbs to immediately discontinue playing and come to you or for Bubbs to lower his level of play. Teach Bubbs all these skills, not while he is interacting with Rocky, but when he is interacting with you and you have complete control over the environment.

Teach Bubbs 'Down" and practice Down in quiet locations. Teach Bubbs Here in quiet locations. After Bubbs knows Down and Here, practice in mildly stimulating environments. You could toss a ball and encourage Bubbs to play ball. After a few moments of play, stop playing, call Bubbs and work on Down.

This will give Bubbs the experience and practice he needs to learn how to lower his level of excitement. In summary, he needs to learn how to go from an excited state to a 'less-excited' state.

Practice in increasingly more stimulating environments. Finally practice when Rocky is nearby and then practice with Rocky really close. Let Bubbs and Rocky interact for a couple of seconds and then practice Here, Down with Bubbs. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Once Bubbs learns these skills, you have a method to interrupt the play when Bubbs gets too excited.

In the meantime, keep a leash attached to Bubbs so that you can safely interrupt the play. If Bubbs starts to play rough, tell him GAME OVER and then move him to another area, away from Rocky. His play ends when he plays too rough.

The sheer difference in size may or may not be a factor. It really depends on how Bubbs chooses to interact.

Happy Training!
AT
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