6months old shih tzu aggressive to new shih tzu

[tignows 14]

Hi, I am having a problem introducing my new shih tzu(female) which is 2years old to my old shih tzu(male) which is 5 months old. Since the first day they are always fighting. I keep them in the living room but the problem is the new dog have to be always inside her crate because if she goes out, my 5 month old male shih tzu will start sniffing her first then he would chase the female everywhere it goes even if he sees that the female is already mad and eventually they would fight. It's been 2 weeks already, my 5 month old doesn't have any problems when the female shih tzu is inside her crate. A while ago I tried watching them again together and now my 5 month old wants to hump the new 2yr old shih tzu but she refuses and already mad (Take note: I don't intend to let my 5month old hump the female since he is still not at the right age) but my puppy doesn't mind the fact that the female is angry, he would still insist which resulted to fighting again. I don't know what to do with them anymore. Every for 30 minutes I let the female out of her crate but guarding her because of my male dog. Will they ever get along? And by the way my 5month old is very playful but my new 2yr old female only wants to sleep all day. I hope you guys can help.. I don't want to put my new dog on her crate forever.

Edited May 17, 2015 by tignows

[Missysmom 24,975]

Welcome tignows and Sanji so glad you have joined us! When you have a chance please posts pics of your furbabies, we'd love to see them!

i just wanted to welcome you and your furbabies, I know I'm of no help with your problem as we have only the one pup. But I know someone will be along shortly who can help!

[Meiko'sMom 402]

I am sorry I am no help either with this problem as I only have one tzu.  But I did want to welcome you to the group, and truly hope that someone has some good suggestions for you.

 

[Pawz4me 6,802]

Welcome!

Are either one of them altered (spayed or neutered)?  Or are both intact?

[Sophie's Haven 17,464]

That was going to be my question also regarding who is fixed and who is not. Humping is not an issue with me but all my guys either have been neutered or spayed.......it is a form of play in my house. I have 7 Tzu and 6 are rescues.........6 females and 1 male ranging from age 4 to 12. Bailey (5) the male tends to be the boss in the house over the others.....he is the alpha male and my Allie (4) is the alpha female..........and Winnie (6) is a alpha want to be. My guys are like brothers and sisters if they cross each other they have it out..........I do not let them carry on I put a stop to it.........Bailey has to do "TIME OUT" in a chair for a few minutes and then things are back to normal.  With my guys they know when Momma is not happy and if I say "STOP THAT"  they go their separate ways............and within minutes they are either napping or back to playing with each other again............

My suggestion is take the two that are fighting and put them on a leash and each day if time allows go for  long walk....if you can 3 times a day........in the morning.........noon and early evening.........some dogs tend to have a lot of energy and if you can expel that energy then tend to be calmer. Plus having them both together will get them use to each other over time and they will follow your lead.........just remember your the BOSS..........keep us posted on how things go and welcome to chatter where you will get lots of information from people that have experienced some of what your going thru..........not to put a damper to your problem but some dogs will never get along with each other.......kinda like people..........I had 2 male Border Collies that hated each other........over time they just stayed away from each other.....if one was laying on the front porch the other was on the back porch..........

[tignows 14]

Thank you for the warm welcome guys. There's no problem with my new 2yr old when I let her out of the crate because she just like to sleep and walk a little.. problem is my everytime she moves or walk or even lying down my 5 month old becomes aggressive like he doesn't want the female in this house.  Just uploaded my profile pic as requested. that's sanji my 5 months old and he's not neutered since he is still young. I do really hope someone will be able to help me with my problem. Thanks again guys

Edited May 18, 2015 by tignows

[Marlen 5,860]

Hmmm, how were they introduced? Did you just bring the female in the house? Also, you're trying to keep the female in the crate, to keep her protected etc but have you thought of getting a crate for your puppy as well?

At this point, judging from everything you've said, I'd guess he's the one having an attitude problem, and he should go on a "time-out" whenever he acts that way. 

Other than that, long walks work as well. Every positive interaction while on neutral ground(the road, the park etc) should encourage him to see her as a roommate, and not as an intruder.  

[tignows 14]

when my wife goes to work i crate my 5 month old puppy and let the new 2yr old roam in the living room, but everytime i do that, my 5 month old starts to become hyper and won't stop barking. he also bites the crate like he wants to get out really bad. I tried walking them together, the new one is very easy to handle because she just follows while my 5 month old always stops and doesn't want to follow and wants to go on his own way and when he sees another dog from a house or a stray dog he just loses his mind trying to engage the other dogs while barking non-stop. they don't have a problem when they are outside because of distractions i think. but as soon as we went back to the house, my 5 month old goes back to his aggression on my new shih tzu so i have to crate the female again. No they were not introduced coz my friend just gave the 2yr old female to me because she can't take care of the dog anymore. I tried letting them sniff each other since the first day but that didn't calm my 5month old. 

Edited May 18, 2015 by tignows

[Marlen 5,860]

Normally, what happens is that they're introduced at a neutral environment, like while on a walk etc, especially since we're not talking about a puppy that can't go on a walk. 

When I got my puppy, he was 2 months old, not vaccinated, so no way I'd let him on the road just so my older one could sniff him  lol 

I see some real issues with your puppy. If he's so reactive when he's so young, no offense but I don't want to see what will happen once he grows up and he gets a really dominant attitude....

I would suggest a trainer, asap. Like, tomorrow if you can. At this point, even if we were to tell you of all the things you should do, a trainer will be able to closely observe the situation and help you by giving you hands-on advice and demonstration. 

Right now, my guess is, your puppy is the boss of the house, at sucha young age, and he thinks he rules. 

As for the crate, was he crate trained when he was younger or did you introduce him to the crate when the female came home?  

[Pawz4me 6,802]

It sounds as if your five month old puppy is quite the handful.  Given the number of problem behaviors he's exhibiting, I totally agree with Marlen that getting a trainer for some hands-on advice is the best thing to do.  Better to start getting things under control now than to allow his bad behaviors to continue and worsen.

[Marlen 5,860]

True, he's still young and should take training really well. Normally, I train mine and expect a relapse when their teenages, at 9-12 months. So far so good, none of my boys had an issue with that at all. 

However if you leave him be, long term, you'll likely face other, more serious behavioral problems. 

I can't really state all the things you should "control" but the walk, his food, his grooming and all that are essential. Since stating allll the stuff that you're doing with him is nearly impossible, an objective observer is necessary, and that's the trainer  

[Luna 8,676]

Is your new female spayed?  A 5-month male puppy isn't quite ready to breed, but his hormones are starting-up and he's thinking about it.  He has - as well - been the only dog in the house for some time.  I generally let the "new dog on the block" fight it out with the existing dogs, simply because that's what dogs do.  Obviously, if I think anyone is going to get hurt I separate them, but for the most part it's best to let them work it out on their own.  JMHO.

[Shihtzumummy2 4,675]

I could not agree with you more Markella, I just remember how it was with my previous fur babies Pippa and Hadlee. We planned to have Pippa, and knew of her from the day of her birth. Her breeders in Auckland, two and a half hours away from us,  rang to tell us that they had the litter and that one of them was mine. I have to explain the situation here so that you will understand the process we were about to encounter.

Previous to Pippa, we got a fabulous little Cavalier King Charles Spaniel we named Lizzie. She was our new baby after our gorgeous Golden Cocker Spaniel Charlie had to go to the Rainbow bridge at 17 years of age.  Lizzie was exquisite, we found her through the NZ Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Register. So off we went further North to pick up Lizzie. She became my shadow, such a darling little girl. However, she would not eat, we hand fed her, we did everything we could to help her gain weight but nothing we did helped. We just accepted that she was always going to be a slim little girl!!!! Baring in mind she had all the tests available at the start of her life, but quite unexpectedly one Sunday afternoon, she collapsed on our front lawn. We were both there, I ran to her and could see her distress. Peter my darling hubby,  came running too when he heard my screams. He took her off me and began to administer CPR while I ran to the phone. Again Grant our wonderful Vet, who lives on a farm near us, told us to rush to the surgery where he would open up for us. We did that, all the while Peter was giving Lizzie mouth to mouth, OMG I was hysterical as you can imagine. Grant and his lovely wife took over and told us after a while to go home,  and that they would take Lizzie to their place to nurse her though the night! The next morning at about 5 am she died, Grant and his wife were with her. They were so nice to us, but so sad too. After Post Mortem it was revealed that she had a massive cardiac imperfection,  and should not have survived for two months let alone six!  Now to the moral of the story, sorry it's so long but I wanted to explain the situation we found ourselves in. I'd lost my lovely Cocker after 17 years, and now Lizzie had died after six months. I was so depressed, as one can imagine if one is a dog lover!

We searched high and low for another puppy, and finally after a few months we found a breeder in Auckland that had a litter. We had to go immediately to look at the litter and choose which puppy we wanted. they were only a couple of days old. We both chose the same Pup. We were besotted with her, she was our little princess. We had weekly photos sent to us, and we also visited every two weeks. Once she was home with us she was my constant companion, went everywhere with me. The local children in our immediate vicinity and who's parents are our friends, used to phone after school to see if they could come and play with Pippa. She was totally spoilt rotten lol. I was never ever short of puppy minders, or puppy walkers I can tell you. Eventually when Pippa was about nine or ten months old,  we adopted Hadlee another Cavvie but this time a black and tan, Pippa was a Blenheim,  he was gorgeous, and became a shadow to my hubby. They adored each other. and so too did he adore Pippa and I, however Pippa showed signs of jealously from day one. We really did have to work hard to get her to accept him. It took ages for her to do that, but it did happen after months of training. In the end they were totally devoted to each other. One has to remember that she was everything to us, and then along comes this intruder, who was also a male and not fixed either I may add. Well the first thing we did was to have both of them fixed ASAP, that helped enormously, but there remained some conflict between them. Mostly from Pippa. She had to learn to share not only her space, but her parents and everything else that goes with being part of a family. Through that experience I learned heaps about dog behaviour and sibling rivalry. You as the parent created the situation, and you as the parent must take full responsibility to teach your dogs to get along. That is achieved by patience, kind firmness and a lot of time and effort from everyone involved. Its very natural that your puppy is jealous, its  baby still, and needs time to adjust. Just be there and teach them to get along by being fair to them both. Hope this sheds some light on this delicate situation to help the transition in your home.

[Marlen 5,860]

Oh Ellie   My heart broke as I read the post, I have to admit I had to wipe away tears...

Thank you for sharing that story with us... 

And I totally get what you mean.   

[Shihtzumummy2 4,675]

Oh Ellie   My heart broke as I read the post, I have to admit I had to wipe away tears...

Thank you for sharing that story with us... 

And I totally get what you mean.   

​Thanks so much Marlen, I have to say that it was one of the darkest period of my life, I so loved my little Lizzie, and due to the fact there were no litters available in NZ anywhere for ages, I just went into a very bad place. I needed something to nurture, but I couldn't fill that need no matter what we did. Hubby was desperate for me, but eventually Pippa and Hadlee came along, and I was rewarded with two amazing little dogs. Just as loved as our boys today are.  Unless you are a true animal lover you can not understand how much our precious little beings mean to us. Last night I shed tears for Adam Ant, thinking he would pass, but thankfully he didn't, thanks of course to Pam and her Hubby. This forum is so amazing, its so therapeutic to me, and I learn so much truly I do.  

[ParadiseTzu 11,275]

Oh Ellie, I am typing this with tears in my eyes and I feel so bad that you had to go thru this. Did Pippa and Hadlee live to old age? I am so glad you have Sam and Bob now and they bring such joy to your life.

[Shihtzumummy2 4,675]

Oh Ellie, I am typing this with tears in my eyes and I feel so bad that you had to go thru this. Did Pippa and Hadlee live to old age? I am so glad you have Sam and Bob now and they bring such joy to your life.

​yes they did actually, they both lived until they were 13.5 years. Both lived happy energetic and fun lives until their 11th year, I had another 2.5 years of total nursing care to both, sadly both developed the dreaded heart issues common with Cavalier's, and other degenerative diseases of old age like Arthritis, blindness and deafness. I was rather housebound for the last 18 months of their lives, but that comes with the territory when one loves as we do our fur babies.  With the right medication they had very happy lives before that. They both had to go to the Rainbow Bridge together, a day hubby and I will never forget. But at least I did have lots of lead time to come to terms with that, although it's never easy. My boys came straight after that to fill that dreadful space we were left with.  Thank for your kind words, they mean a lot to me

 

​

[ParadiseTzu 11,275]

Also need to add that I am in the process now of acclimating two furbabies to one another. It is now after two months going very well. Our female is five and we got her at 12 weeks. We have spoiled her and spent every hour with her that we can. Take her everywhere we go. I give in to all her demands and justify that by thinking, well she is perfect, minds perfectly and does nothing wrong so why shouldnt I do everything thing she wants. Ok, now we get this aggressive little 8 week old male puppy who invades her home and jumps in her face. She responds by growling and snapping like she just might bite him. Oh, no, what has come over my perfect angel!

I kept him away from her except for a very short carefully supervised period each day. Outside in the yard at first seemed to work better and then inside, I sat down on the floor with them.  And BTW, he has NEVER been afraid of her, he would back off about a foot when she snarled at him and sometimes bark at her. Good or bad, I have always been glad it didnt cause him to be a fearful puppy.

He is now 18 weeks old and while I dont think she 'likes' him yet, she accepts him. They travel around the house after us, side by side. They occassionally have play periods on the den floor. Maybe one day they will be best buds, I can hope anyway.

So ust keep at it, with close supervision and best of luck!

[Shihtzumummy2 4,675]

Also need to add that I am in the process now of acclimating two furbabies to one another. It is now after two months going very well. Our female is five and we got her at 12 weeks. We have spoiled her and spent every hour with her that we can. Take her everywhere we go. I give in to all her demands and justify that by thinking, well she is perfect, minds perfectly and does nothing wrong so why shouldnt I do everything thing she wants. Ok, now we get this aggressive little 8 week old male puppy who invades her home and jumps in her face. She responds by growling and snapping like she just might bite him. Oh, no, what has come over my perfect angel!

I kept him away from her except for a very short carefully supervised period each day. Outside in the yard at first seemed to work better and then inside, I sat down on the floor with them.  And BTW, he has NEVER been afraid of her, he would back off about a foot when she snarled at him and sometimes bark at her. Good or bad, I have always been glad it didnt cause him to be a fearful puppy.

He is now 18 weeks old and while I dont think she 'likes' him yet, she accepts him. They travel around the house after us, side by side. They occassionally have play periods on the den floor. Maybe one day they will be best buds, I can hope anyway.

So ust keep at it, with close supervision and best of luck!

​Sounds just like Pippa and Hadlee, they will eventually have it out, then I believe they will be best pals. Fingers crossed for that

[tignows 14]

Normally, what happens is that they're introduced at a neutral environment, like while on a walk etc, especially since we're not talking about a puppy that can't go on a walk. 

When I got my puppy, he was 2 months old, not vaccinated, so no way I'd let him on the road just so my older one could sniff him  lol 

I see some real issues with your puppy. If he's so reactive when he's so young, no offense but I don't want to see what will happen once he grows up and he gets a really dominant attitude....

I would suggest a trainer, asap. Like, tomorrow if you can. At this point, even if we were to tell you of all the things you should do, a trainer will be able to closely observe the situation and help you by giving you hands-on advice and demonstration. 

Right now, my guess is, your puppy is the boss of the house, at sucha young age, and he thinks he rules. 

As for the crate, was he crate trained when he was younger or did you introduce him to the crate when the female came home?  

​i only introduced him to his crate by the time I got the 2yr old.. I also think that he thinks he is the boss of the house. We just got home from a long walk and everything was fine but still the same by the time they went in, the 5month old is aggressive again to the new one. not like mad aggressive more like he wants to play more after that long walk but the older one doesn't want to as of now I put them both in their own crates and my young one won't stop barking at me and as always, biting the crate going crazy like he wants go out really bad. I guess finding a trainer is the only option left. I'm from the Philippines btw. I thank you guys for your giving your time to answer my questions. My 5month old is gonna drive me crazy lol

Edited May 19, 2015 by tignows

[Marlen 5,860]

I see...One reason he's also going a bit nervous is because he associated the crate (his confinement) to the new arrival. So, it's not a totally good association. I don't know what kind of trainer you'll find but my advice is this. 

Both my current dogs and my last 4 have been crate trained. All of my future dogs will be too.

Crates are so convenient for puppies! It's a place they relax in, they learn to stay alone for periods of time (helps prevent separation anxiety) and  they also learn to potty out much more quickly!

I honestly don't think I could have two dogs without having a crate! That being said, they have both out-grown it. It serves a puprose but only time we use it now is when I want to take them with me in a trip or when they want to sleep during winter (they go in by themselves).

So, even if he's restless, do not pay him any mind, teach him that going in is not actually a punishment, but more of a time-out, his own personal space to relax! There are a variety of videos in youtube that show how to crate train a young puppy, I think you will find it useful  

Edited May 19, 2015 by Marlen

[tignows 14]

nope. each of them have their own crate. I will try to crate them both..same same just got home from a long walk with those two, obedient during walk then aggressive to the new dog again once they got in. 

[tignows 14]

i'm losing my mind lol

[ParadiseTzu 11,275]

Details, please. Is it more of the same or has it escalated? My 2 that I posted about above are doing very well together. I basically let them work it out during their short sessions together each day and with very close supervision.

[Marlen 5,860]

lol Agree with Sandra. Has there been any progress? though from that message I'm going to guess no lol