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  #1  
Old 12-11-2011, 05:40 PM
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Default my chi is being really mean to the new baby

Arwen has been my whole world for over a year, but my husband and i are moving to our own place, so arwen will lose the companionship of our room mates dog. They're thick as thieves- and she's never been alone. So i contacted the same breeder i got arwen from, and she offered me one of her new puppies for free. I drove five miles last night to get her- and let me tell you, arwens being extremely mean. The new puppy is nothing but happy to see her, her tail gets going and she tries to clumsily follow her around the house, i gave the puppy a small chew rope, as shes teething- and arwen (god love her) took every one of her toys up onto the couch and well out of the puppies reach, she growls whenever the puppy comes near her- if she has a toy or food... she's never ever been like that before, and it worries me. She even snapped at her last night for trying to climb up on me. I've never allowed her to behave that way, and punished her by kicking her of of my lap. Arwen is my baby, i love her more than anything. But it breaks my heart to my new baby get her feeling hurt so much. what can i do to ease the relationship between them? the new dog is a female too, but completely submissive and sweet, where arwen has always been dominant and coy. I'm paying a lot of attention to arwen too, but i cant ignore the new puppy, because shes so young that she needs a lot of attention
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  #2  
Old 12-11-2011, 05:57 PM
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Give Arwen (love the name, btw) time to adjust. I bet they will thick as thieves in no time. Delilah does not like my new puppy, so she is allowed to warn the puppy away if Babushka starts trying to bug her. This is how they learn their place in the pack. Let them figure it out, it is normal. Your interferring in their getting to know one another, quite frankly, can delay their becoming friends. As long as no blood is spilt, all's good. And all my dogs steal each other's toys alllll the time. lol
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Old 12-11-2011, 06:00 PM
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This is completely normal. Although.. I have to admit, if I were you, I would NOT have gotten a second female. When getting a new puppy, it's a good idea to get the opposite sex of whatever you have (it reduces sexual competition and thus means less fighting).

That being said.. If taking the female back in exchange for a male puppy isn't an option, Arwen will likely get used to the new addition. Just realize that she may never LOVE her (and she doesn't have to). Right now she's just making a very clear statement to the puppy: "I've been here longer than you and I'm the boss." Let her do it. As long as she's not attacking the puppy, it will be fine. I would definitely make sure you get the new puppy spayed before she goes into heat, though. All those hormones tend to make two females get really snippy towards each other.. (There's a reason we use the word "bitch" as an insult! )

Zoey (my Jack Russell Terrier) used to steal toys from Teddy, push him away from me, growl at him over food or treats, etc. She did try to give him a warning snap to tell him to back off from certain things. For that I would put her out of the room for a few seconds and let her back in when she was calm. She was allowed to growl, show her teeth, take stuff away from him, push him around a little bit.. but she was NOT allowed to corner him, bite him, pin him down, etc. Nothing that could physically hurt him or traumatize him. The rest of the stuff, even though it seems mean, is her way of communicating that the puppy is below her on the totem pole. Eventually Zoey became best friends with Teddy. She only bullied him for the first two weeks or so. Then she started keeping her distance and was pretty much disinterested. But after maybe a month she started to play with him, groom him, sleep curled up with him, etc.

If you keep her from doing what she's doing, it will take longer to establish a hierarchy, and you might just exacerbate the dominance issue when they're older because they never had a chance to work it out on their own. Right now, Arwen is training the new puppy. You need to let her do that while also keeping the new puppy safe. I know it's human nature to want to protect the weak little puppy, but you need to communicate with Arwen as her partner. Don't scold her for expressing her dominance, but let her know when enough is enough (for example, if the puppy has gotten the message and backed off but Arwen is still pressing her).

Until they're friends, you need to keep them separate while you're not there to supervise. If Arwen is allowed free run of the house, don't change her routine on her by putting her in a room or a crate. Instead, put the new puppy in a crate (it'll help with house-training anyway). That way Arwen can't hurt the puppy when the new puppy is hassling her to play and her nerves are frayed. It happens to the best of them.

Don't worry, this is all normal. Some pairs go through it and some don't. It just depends on the dogs.
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Last edited by Kaila; 12-11-2011 at 06:07 PM.
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Old 12-11-2011, 06:06 PM
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I'll admit that my preference was originally for another male dog, but the breeder offered me her free of charge, so i took her. Maybe once its just the two of them with the male out of the picture she will be nicer?
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Old 12-11-2011, 06:13 PM
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Yeah, she might also be trying to be more dominant because there's a male in the mix. A male gives them something to fight over (a lot like humans, huh?). For now, just try to referee their interactions while you're there to supervise. When you're not, they're separated so that there can't be any dangerous interactions between them. A puppy only needs to be seriously attacked by another dog once to develop a lifelong fear/hatred of other dogs.

Developmental Stages

Socialization with other dogs takes place between weeks 3 to 12. Socialization with humans takes place between weeks 7 to 16. (Remember, try to have your puppy meet 100 new people by 16 weeks old!)
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Old 12-11-2011, 06:16 PM
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has anyone had two female chihuahuas and had them love and be happy with one another?
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Old 12-11-2011, 06:25 PM
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I have 6 females and they all get along great. Twiggy and the new baby are best friends and they sleep together all the time. Twiggy and Delilah are great friends and share a bed, too. Delilah just is not too sure about the puppy, but will eventually get used to her. And while the rest of the girls may not share a bed together, they do all share the couch and play together.
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Old 12-11-2011, 06:27 PM
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YES! Females can get along just fine with other females. Give it time. So far your little one has been the princess. It takes them a few weeks to warm up to another new puppy or addition. I do not find my females get along any better with my males than they do with the other females for the most part. Is Arwen spayed?
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