Chinchilla attacking new puppy

Question
Hi!

I just got a new puppy (a Bichon Frise) and my chinchilla who is about 8 months old has become very aggressive toward the puppy and is biting her every chance she gets.  These attacks are completely unprovoked by the puppy.  

We also have two cats and the chin never bites them (bounces off them sometimes, but doesn't bite).  Of course, we had the cats before we got the chin, so that might explain why the chin is good with them.

So my questions:  Will the chin stop biting the puppy over time?  Is there anything I can do to make the chin stop biting the puppy?

Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi there,
You will have to keep the chinchilla and the puppy away from each other until they get used to one another. Keep in mind that the chinchilla may never accept the puppy. Since cats and dogs are different species, your chinchilla is used to cats but doesn't have a clue what a dog is and is probably terrified of the puppy. You shouldn't give her the chance to bite the puppy as it isn't fair that a new puppy is allowed to be bitten, it will grow to be unhappy in its new home if it keeps getting attacked. Can you keep the chinchilla and the puppy in different rooms or keep the chinchilla in a cage when the puppy is there? You can try introducing them slowly on neutral territory, not a room that the chinchilla is familiar with. The problem is that a chinchilla won't understand the no command like a dog would so it's hard to train the chinchilla not to attack. The stress for both the puppy and the chinchilla is not good. The chinchilla may look like it isn't afraid but that is probably why it is attacking the puppy and I'm sure the puppy is scared when the chinchilla attacks her. If you want to keep them both and they never get along, you may have to keep them apart for the safety and health of them both. Some species just aren't meant to get along, it would be nice if they could live together but chances are that they won't because it's not natural for either of them. Your chinchilla could also be jealous of the new puppy that is getting all the attention so try to spend time with the chin but make sure that she doesn't learn that she will get attention when she attacks the puppy or this will encourage her to do it more often. I hope that you manage to get it sorted! Good luck with them both!