Big dog. Little dog. Adivse please.

Factual Questions
1

I acquired a 20-pound Chihuahua-ish dog (Chewie) about six months ago. He gets along great with my 50-pound Shepard mix (Dini), but hates my brother’s 100-pound Bull Mastiff (Moose). Their first encounter was - less than successful. There was barking. There was growling. So we’ve kept them separated.

Since then, every time they’re near each other (with one or both restrained), Chewie goes into Possessed, Head-Swiveling-Completed-Around-His-Neck attack-dog barking. And Moose kindof snarls, and yawns, and then snarls again.

So I thought: they need to just work this out the old-fashioned way. We put them in my Mom’s backyard yesterday. They ignored each other for a bit. Then Moose came over for a sniff, and Chewie went to barking and snarling. Moose lunged at him, and brother got a hold of Moose. Chewie then reached a level of high-pitched squealing bark I have never even heard before, while jumping up and diving teeth first at Moose’s head. Neither dog was hurt.

Chewie lets Dini (male, despite the name) dominate him without any hystrionics. I really think Chewie would quit with the hissyfits if Moose were free to establish dominance. The tricky part is, Moose has bitten smaller dogs before, and broken skin.

So what do you think? Can these dogs be friends?

2

Some dogs just don’t get along. Two of our male Newfs had to be kept seperated their whole lives due to a personality conflict. They were fine together at first, but then something “doggy” ocurred and they were never friends again.

Don’t just let them go at it- the vet bill will be a drag and you don’t want either of the dogs damaged.

They don’t get along. They have made that very clear. Keep them apart.

3

And by apart, I don’t mean in the same room or area on a tether. I mean apart as in not in the same yard, or even house. It isn’t fair to them.

Most well-trained dogs see their time on leash as work time. They will be even more likely to exhibit strong behaviors on leash, because they are working- protecting you or whatever. Often dogs who interect well with other dogs in an off-leash environment (like a free-run dog park) will behave more agressively when they meet on leash.

At least, that’s been my experience with large, working group breeds.

4

Keep 'em out of each other’s sight. One good chomp by a mastiff might be enough to permanently de-activate a chihuahua.