Help please!!!!!!

[isabella_510]

so about 9 months ago, my family added a chihuahua mix (Coby) in to our house with my gsd Bella and rot and shepherd mix Chicka. Bellas always been sort of protective of me but lately she has been really agresive towards Coby. Ive tried correcting it, forcing her to lay down to be dominant over her, puting on a muzzle but nothing seems to work. she keeps going after him and making him yelp in pain. and now shes starting to go after Chicka whose almost 14 and geting old and her legs are going out. My family keeps threating to give her up so i really need advice. I cant give up my baby!!

[chelle]

Were Coby and Bella ever friendly? You said nine months ago, so how was it nine months, six months, etc ago?

What's Coby's behavior like? Does he/she egg Bella on or ??

What do you mean by "forcing her to lay down to be dominant over her" ?? Dominant over... who? (not clear)

How old is Bella?

Lots more info needed.! Can you afford to bring someone in to evaluate the situation? That's your best bet.

Sounds like your pack order is way out of whack. Again, a competent professional could do the best job to evaluate this!

[isabella_510]

Bellas 4, and we dont know how old Coby is. also hes a boy
when we first got coby they were ok they werent best friends but they were never at each others throats...
uhh and as for "puting her down" a family friend told us that whenever she misbehaves make her lay down and not get up until we say. its almost like a way to calm her down when shes misbehaving and acting rowdy.
sadly we dont have the money to put her in any classes or find out whats going on with her..
Coby usually stays to him self except for the odd times that he plays with her. he very rarely eggs her on but i repermand him for it..and every time i do, Bellas right there to chase him out even though i try to stop her...its getting out of hand and i dont know what to do..

[isabella_510]

also hes very clingy to my so i think sh might be jealous that hes always there...

[WVGSD]

Because of the size differences between Bella and Coby, you may need to keep them separated for the safety of Coby. Do you have crates or baby gates? It does sound as though Bella is jealous and, for this, you need to spend individual time doing things with her (walks, play, training classes, etc.). Lots of exercise may also be in order to help reduce her anxiety or frustration in the house.

Training classes are NOT that expensive and can be found in stores such as Petsmart, Petco and from local dog training clubs. Taking Bella through training classes will also give you individual time together and will help you be an effective leader rather than "dominating" her.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Poop, lost my reply to the board.

What I remember from it - yes, separating may be necessary and I would do that until I had Bella under control. Like said, size differences could be dangerous. Tethering her to you might help too - but I am not sure because it also rewards her spoiledy girl behaviors - someone else may have thoughts on that.

The book Mine! by Jean Donaldson talks about resource guarding and you may be the resource. I would get that - not sure if libraries would have or not.

MaggieRoseLee has some great training posts and links. Look for stickies in the puppy sections and elsewhere or PM her to see if she would post a bunch that might help for you.

Do NILIF for the two youngest dogs at the very least.

Bella is at that age where she is going to think about being big woman on campus given that the older dog is showing her age. You need to let her know that her job is to listen to you and that the other stuff is NOT her job. Giving her something else to do will help. Obedience training will help - doing dog push ups of doing multiple sits and downs, long downs, etc, will help her to "get" this.

Good luck and keep the little guy safe so that you don't have any regrets.