agressive behavior

Question
QUESTION: I recently rescued a 8 month old male chihuahua. I have a 7 year old pug also. My chihuahua shows aggression towards my pug and they get into fights. He fights over toys and food and sometimes just picks a fight. My pug is becoming afraid of him. Don't get me wrong they can get along. He was recently neutuered and I thought that would help but they still get into. Any help at all would be appreciated. Thank You, Kris

ANSWER: Hi Kris...

I think that having had the one dog neutered is going to help, but it takes time.  Testosterone remains for awhile and there are many stories out there about people bringing home a dog from just having it neutered and soon learning that it impregnated their female dog immediately after arriving home.

There's nothing really uncommon about dogs fighting and showing aggression when you add a new dog to the household, especially when you add a dog that has not been neutered or spayed and they're older. First off, dogs are pack animals and they will vie to establish who will be the dominant dog in the household - the "alpha" dog.  Our job is to make sure that their adjustment to one another goes smoothly and that no one gets injured with displays of dominance while establishing that "alpha" dog status between them.  As I said above, neutering should help but I also think that there are certain steps that we, as caretakers, need to take to keep things safe and calm.  

You didn't say how long you've had your Chi and I'd be interested in knowing.  How long ago was he neutered?  You say you rescued him, but did you get him through a rescue organization or find him or what?  What I'm getting to is if you have any background info. on him?  Have you had your pug for the whole 7 years?  And is he neutered also?  Are there any other dogs in the home? Do you ever notice the pug backing off when the Chi is aggressive?  When a dog accepts the other dog as being the "alpha" or dominant dog, they often will display submissive behavior by dropping down low or rolling over and displaying their belly.  Have you seen that happen?

Kris, when I add a new dog to the family, whether it be a pup or an adult, I always isolate the new dog for awhile and bring it out to be with the existing family dog for small periods of time (that increase in time) while totally supervising them.  If you can't supervise, then they can't be out together. Dogs are very scent driven and have a profoundly developed ability to smell things that we can't.  Therefore, while the dogs are separated, I like to bring the bedding out from the new dog for the existing family dog to smell so that it gets use to the smell of that new dog so as to see it as less of an intruder.  I do the same thing with the bedding from the existing dog - I put it in with the new dog to smell.  I don't use a crate or cage to separate the dogs - I think that can be very harmful for the new dog if the existing dog shows aggression and the new dog can't get away because it's confined. Confining the new dog to a small room is a better idea.

Food aggression is common and you see it a lot with dogs that have been abused and/or rescued.  I would never feed them together.  Feed them on a schedule and feed them in separate rooms.  Chihuahuas will gain a lot of weight if you free feed them (leave food out all the time), so I would feed twice per day and separately.

You can work on the aggression with toys, but you have to be consistent and I wouldn't be leaving toys out all the time until you feel that the problem is resolved.  Take a small piece of chicken (or something of your choosing) and cut it up in tiny little bits and place in a baggy.  Interact with the dogs by throwing toys for them or whatever.  Do you think that's possible at this point or not?  Let me know.  Assuming that you think that it is safe to do, play with them with a few toys and reward the Chi and the Pug when they play nicely and things go well.  Of course, feed the Pug a treat far away from the Chi (due to the food aggression).  Give the Chi a lot of praise and tell him what a good boy he is and do the same for the little Pug (don't want to leave him out).  If the Chi starts to growl at the Pug, very FIRMLY say "NO" and take the toys away and walk away for at least five minutes.  NO treats and no play.  You have to be consistent about this. Dogs learn by repetition. You also have to be patient because dogs just don't usually learn new behaviors over night - especially if they're new to your home.  

It can be very difficult when adopting a rescue dog in that it can take a long time for them to adapt to other dogs in the household (amongst other things).  Some never do adjust.  We just don't know what they went through before in so many cases and sometimes they're just too severely damaged by past circumstances.  But, one thing is for sure and that's that dogs really want to please us.  If you consistently let this little guy know when you're very happy with his good behavior and not so happy with his negative behavior, he just may catch on and surprise you by being a good friend to your pug.

I hope this information is helpful to you.  If you want to get back to me with answers to the questions that I've asked above, that would be great.

Jo Ann   

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

QUESTION: Jo Ann, I have my pug from puppy it is a girl. She does sometimes back up and other times she will go back at the chi. He was neutered on the 17 th of this month. I rescued him from a shelter and was told whomever owned him before should not have had a dog. He is not housebroken yet and did not know his name when we got him.I have him about a week and a half. Thank you for the advice on the food so I should pick up the food dishes if food is left in them and maybe leave them down only for a certain amount of time like 15 minutes. Kris

Answer
Hi Kris...

You've had this Chi for such a VERY short time and he was only neutered days ago.  I think you would be better off in two ways if you would isolate him in a separate room for awhile:  First, you can monitor them better as I discussed with you earlier today AND you will be better able to potty train him.  You NEVER want to get a new dog that is not housebroken and give it the run of the house, ever!  You can look through my AllExperts page under "answered questions" and see how I suggest that new dogs be potty trained.

The good news here is that your Pug is a female.  When I have a choice, I always add a dog of the opposite sex of the dog that I already have.  I have had male/female combinations that do just fine after an adjustment period (that's my preference) and I have had male/male combinations that do well together, but I have had female/female combinations that have been a real problem.  I really think that the problems that you're experiencing right now are due to the VERY short period of time that you've had this Chi and the fact that he was only VERY recently neutered.

Not only should you pick up the food dishes, you should NOT feed the dogs together or in places where one can get to the other's food.  Give them a half hour if they need it.  I don't want a slow eater to go without food.  

I think if you follow the advice that I gave you earlier (the first time I wrote you back), you will find that things will work out.  If you're having problems, write me back again.

Jo Ann