terrier mix snapping at family after getting a new puppy

Question

  Dear Patt,

         I have a Terrier mix (probably daschund)for Three and a half years. His name is Scrappy and just recently (in the last past week) started snapping at my sister. Now I just got a 3 month old poodle puppy in the last week and a half as well. Very suspicious huh. Anyway he's been really stressed out over this, his eyes were blood shot for the first three days we had the puppy (which is what he does when he's realy scared or stressed out by a new person or place he's never been before) and he wouldn't even look at the puppy at first. We got Scrappy from our local animal shelter when he was about a year to a year and a half. The shelter said he was a stray. Scrappy is a very scared shy  submissive dog. Over a friends house two years ago some guy who was over there kicked him, hard, and we've been having problems since with him since, like I said above, getting real stressed out and scared around new people and situation and a little snappy. We have however taken him to dog obedience and only take him by people we know and trust, on a leash, until he gets to know and trust them better. This has been working out very well, and he's got alot better at accepting new people and being in new and difference places. My parents just got a new dog a couple of months ago (a beagle) and although he was scared of the beagle at first,he got used to him fairly quickly and now they are really good friends and love to play with each other at my parents home in their backyard. The thing is hes never bitten a family member before. He's tryed to snap at strangers before (out of fear, hes too scrared to be aggressive)  so we keep a good track of him when he's around strangers, introducing them slowly with scrappy on a leash, before letting him around anybody off the leash. I personally have been attacked by strange dogs and understand and sympathize with others in that kind of situation. I would never put someone in that situation and have always tryed to be a good dog owner, for the dogs AND other people. But now I'm flabbergasted, he's never tryed to bite a family member before, ever. He's a very affectionate dog, and we've had him for years. I've lived with him at my parents house for awhile so he knows my sister and had lived with her, almost as long as he's lived with me. I think he's just stressed out over the puppy, and when I take him out again I'm not going to let him stay over anyone's house, even their's again without me, until he calms down (I brought him over there because I had to go out for the day and didn't want him to be alone) What do you think.

                  Thank you for your time
                            Crissy
                                Caradonna

Answer
CRISSY
THE DOG IS FROM THE SHELTER HE WAS THERE FOR A REASON OF COURSE, EITHER FOR A PROBLEM, SOMEBODY BOUGHT A PUPPY THEN IT GREW UP AND THEY DID NOT WANT AN ADULT OR HE WAS FEARFUL AND MISTREATED, ABUSED
THIS IS VERY HARD TO OVER COME AND TAKES ALOT OF WORK AND MUCH PATIENCE ON YOUR PART FOR THE DOG TO GAIN CONFIDENCE IN THE HUMAN AGAIN ESPECIALLY SINCE SOMEBODY ALREADY KICKED HIM HE IS A FEAR BITTER NOW.
YOU MUST TAKE CHARGE OF TWO DOGS U NOW HAVE A SO CALLED PACK!
A PACK OF DOGS NEED A GOOD LEADER THEY CAN LOOK UP TO AND TRUST FULLY, THIS WILL NOW BE YOU.  YOU MUST TEACH RIGHT FROM WRONG BY PUNISHING WITH A GRABBING A HANDFUL OF HAIR BACK OF THE NECK AND SHAKE OR JUST HOLD, LOOK INTO THE DOGS EYES AND SAY A LOUD FIRM NO NO.!
THIS WILL NOW BE YOUR JOB TO WALK THE TWO TOGETHER EVERYWHERE U CAN THINK OF CROSS BRIDGES, GO TO PARKS, GO TO PLAYGROUNDS, HAVE PEOPLE COME TO THE DOOR, HAND THEM A TREAT, STOOP TO THE DOGS LEVEL AND DO NOT PET THE FACE, BUT THE CHEST OR SIDES OR BACK OF THE DOG.  THEN PET AND PRAISE THE DOG AND HAND IT A TOY.

KIND REGARDS
PATT
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