Mini-Kamikaze aggression and jealousy problem

Davindra

I have just given a home to a gorgeous, tiny 2 year old terrier. She is a very good girl in almost every way. OCD about house training, affectionate smart as a button...loves to run round garden like a dervish, but doesn't even want to wander further.

Dainty eater too...but she has me at my wits' end.

I was warned she was "jealous" and clingy, but she is also the most dog aggressive creature I have even come across, which is BAD because I took her in a a companion for my Yorkie whos long standing little friend died, and she is making poor yorkie's life not worth living, she is a bundle of nerves. She goes for her any time she spots a chance (not all the time though, it sort of "thought out").

It's not just the Yorkie, ANY dog and she goes crazy trying to get at it...including a leashed Akita (and if that ain't Seppuku I don't know what is) and GSD about 50 yards away today, she was in such a frenzy that when I tried to control her she tried to go for me. Even though she is good on the lead, walking her is a nightmare because of this.

She is being spayed tomorrow (I am hoping this will not only calm her long term, but slow her down for a couple of days so that maybe she'll get used to Yorkie). She is being crate trained (in a BIG cage) and I have even brought out a tiny choke chain to train her around other dogs (she slips the harness anyway) I try to control her, get her to sit, and reassure her. I am even ready to use a muzzel (my dear departed Yorkie had "issues" with nail trimming).

If I can't beat this problem I will have to find another home for her as an only dog (she would be wonderful company). The crazy thing is, I decided to take her BECAUSE she only stopped acting disturbed when she saw my Yorkie, and the body language, at first, couldn't have been better.

I would be grateful for ANY suggestion to try so I can avoid this?

Currently, I have Bill Sykes fighting pit bull trapped in the body of a tiny Yorkie cross.

I can't help feeling that the fact that I am not making headway may be *MY* fault.

LisaO

Your little girl has had 2 years to learn this behaviour so may take some time to "unlearn". So much will depend on her life & experiences before you took her. Would suggest you speak to a behaviourist who can advise on re-training & re-socialisation for her.

boomerang

Davindra wrote: »

I have just given a home to a gorgeous, tiny 2 year old terrier. She is a very good girl in almost every way. OCD about house training, affectionate smart as a button...loves to run round garden like a dervish, but doesn't even want to wander further.

Dainty eater too...but she has me at my wits' end.

I was warned she was "jealous" and clingy, but she is also the most dog aggressive creature I have even come across, which is BAD because I took her in a a companion for my Yorkie whos long standing little friend died, and she is making poor yorkie's life not worth living, she is a bundle of nerves. She goes for her any time she spots a chance (not all the time though, it sort of "thought out").

It's not just the Yorkie, ANY dog and she goes crazy trying to get at it...including a leashed Akita (and if that ain't Seppuku I don't know what is) and GSD about 50 yards away today, she was in such a frenzy that when I tried to control her she tried to go for me. Even though she is good on the lead, walking her is a nightmare because of this.

She is being spayed tomorrow (I am hoping this will not only calm her long term, but slow her down for a couple of days so that maybe she'll get used to Yorkie). She is being crate trained (in a BIG cage) and I have even brought out a tiny choke chain to train her around other dogs (she slips the harness anyway) I try to control her, get her to sit, and reassure her. I am even ready to use a muzzel (my dear departed Yorkie had "issues" with nail trimming).

If I can't beat this problem I will have to find another home for her as an only dog (she would be wonderful company). The crazy thing is, I decided to take her BECAUSE she only stopped acting disturbed when she saw my Yorkie, and the body language, at first, couldn't have been better.

I would be grateful for ANY suggestion to try so I can avoid this?

Currently, I have Bill Sykes fighting pit bull trapped in the body of a tiny Yorkie cross.

I can't help feeling that the fact that I am not making headway may be *MY* fault.

If you use a choke chain on her when she is around other dogs, the likelihood is she will associate the discomfort of the choke chain with the other dogs, and this will make her even more reactive towards them.

What you need to do is teach her to focus on your face when another dog is passing by, and gradually build up the proximity she can cope with without reacting. It can be a long aul' haul but it is do-able. You could do with some advice and direction from a good dog behaviourist - I can recommend some if you like.

I'm not sure that the dynamics between her and your other dog will change, though.

Davindra

To be honest with you I am not very impressed by Dog behaviourists.

To my mind, they are an expensive indulgence I just cannot afford.

I have been handling dogs all my life and apart from frequently contradicting each other, I have never heard any of them suggest anything that could not be found in "folk wisdom" anyway, which is what I am hoping to find here.

If I cannot change the dynamic between the two dogs I will have to accept that I must rehome her before I get too attached, because otherwise neither dog (nor myself) will ever have the life they need and deserve. These are both very people orientated little dogs who want to sleep on beds, sit on laps and come everywhere in cars...and you cannot do that if they have to be segregated.

Maybe it IS my fault for assuming that just because I got two tiny females (the other had a similar nature to this one, but was older) to meld into a team, that it will be possible twice. If that is the case, at least she is now spayed, and will not be going anywhere until I know I have found the best possible home for her.

Unfortunately, I have had to resort to the choke chain because we aren't even AT the "when a dog is passing" stage yet. She goes berserk whenever we have to walk PAST local dogs, securely held in garden. The only way to keep enough hold on her to keep her safe (I very much doubt if slipping her harness and diving into a neighbouring Rottweiler behind an electric fence is a good idea) sit her still and reassure her (just about the only way to get her to stop and remember you are there at all).

I don't think she will associate the chain with other dogs. When I first handled dogs they were always trained in obedience with a choke chain, and I have honestly never come across a dogs who was better on the lead. She is a natural...absolutely immaculate...and cannot even know the chain is THERE until she gets the urge to "hunt dog".

I have noticed that she is usually very placid, the body language between the two dogs is excellent, and only attacks my other dog when something else (a toy, dogs barking) has excited her, and she is in something akin to a collie's "hunting mode". Two other times she attacked were when I had to carry the other dog through tall grass, she attacked as I put her down, and when I brought them for an (excellent) walk together on identical harness and leads, but let them both OFF the lead inside the gate.
They encountered other dogs shortly before both incidents though, the adrenalin must have been running.

She submits to me of her own choice (the other dog willingly submits to her, she has no aggression at all really) and follows me everywhere (even now, just out of anaesthetic), and she rarely, if ever, wags her tail when approaching me or people, much less dogs (of course).

She seems to be in seventh heaven running free around the garden.
I am thinking this might be some kind of anxiety aggression rather than the usual "pack challenge"?

I am thinking of trying to CARRY her where I know there are dogs (when she is a bit recovered) see if it makes her feel safer? Just until she realises that they cannot get loose. Also, of course, she is getting a crash course in the way my gentle little Yorkie is SO not a threat. She learns lightening fast, so it may sink home.