Alpha dog status

[yorkiepuppie]

Hello breeders,

I just recently added a male Maltese puppy to our family. I brought him home about 4 weeks ago when he was 12 weeks old (2.2 lbs). I have a 2 year old spayed female yorkie(Milu). She is 3.5 lbs. and very loving, very sweet, very gentle and she is very delicate. I had picked the Maltese puppy because the breeder said he is the most loving one of the litter and he was when we visited him.

I know the maltese puppy is going to get bigger than Milu, so I had hoped that Milu could achieve the "alpha dog" status while the puppy(Davinci) is still young. However, Davinci seems to be very hardy and rough when they play, he always makes Milu yelp, and he doesn't seem to stop when she yelps. he will bite her top knot or the fur on her face and drag her along and won't let go when she cries. Davinci also humps Milu sometimes. What I have been trying to do is to offer food, water, toy to Milu first always. However, my vet told me that no matter what I try to do, if Davinci is the alpha dog, he is still going to be the alpha dog in the house.

Previously, I had kept them together while I am gone, because I was hoping that Milu can stand her ground with the puppy while he is still small so that when he gets bigger he doesn't pick on her, but after seeing how rough he is with her, i started keeping them in different rooms when I am not home.

What can I do to make sure Milu doesn't get picked on by the puppy?

Here's some pictures of them together:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/my-...e-brother.html

Some Pix of Davinci the little butthead/love bug:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/my-...untie-ann.html

[yorkielady06]

Does Milu growl or snap at him when he is doing this? Does she have a way to get away from him when she has had enough?

[Ringo1]

Both your dogs are adorable and there is not much cuter than a maltese puppy!

I don't think there is a lot you can do to determine alpha - that is something the dogs will have to work out on their own. You can 'reinforce' your yorkie's status by doing the things that you are doing . . . but as your Maltese grows olders . . they will determine their own status and you will have to be ok with that! I know it's hard.

Sometimes I think my little Lucy has gained the alpha status over my 15 lb - very rough and tough Westie.

I had a maltese and generally he was very mild. My westie can get very excited in play and then he will start playing too rough by pulling Lucy's ponytail . . exactly the things you were talking about. That's when I step in and re-direct their attention with a pull toy or a ball . . . anything to calm things down a bit. I can tell when she's had enough because she will be trying to hide rather than play and yelp a lot too. However, I note that she bites Ringo's face like crazy but she yelps like the devil if he would even think about trying that with her!

I would not leave them alone together yet if you are concerned that your new maltese is too rough . . you have plenty of time for that later. I think that they will become best of friends . . just give it a little time.

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by yorkielady06

Does Milu growl or snap at him when he is doing this? Does she have a way to get away from him when she has had enough?

the only time milu growls at davinci is when he tries to take her chew toy or her food. i wish milu would growl and snap at davinci more to teach him not to be so annoying to her.

she used to be able to get away because only she knew how to climb the stairs, but davinci learned very quickly how to climb the stairs. so now she can't really get away from him anymore. sometimes she goes in her little house, davinci still sticks his head in her house and bite at her face and paw.

i started keeping them in separate rooms when i go out. but my concern with that is i had really wanted milu to learn to handle herself with davinci, and i feel like maybe i should keep them together while davinci is still small, that way milu can toughen up and learn how to deal with davinci as he grows bigger.

what do you think? is there anyway to teach milu to toughen up? she always acts like a little baby and just runs to me to be picked up if davinci is irritating her. i think maybe i baby her too much and that is why she is not asserting herself. (i was told by one of the breeders i visited that Milu does not know she is a dog)

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by Ringo1

Both your dogs are adorable and there is not much cuter than a maltese puppy!

I don't think there is a lot you can do to determine alpha - that is something the dogs will have to work out on their own. You can 'reinforce' your yorkie's status by doing the things that you are doing . . . but as your Maltese grows olders . . they will determine their own status and you will have to be ok with that! I know it's hard.

Sometimes I think my little Lucy has gained the alpha status over my 15 lb - very rough and tough Westie.

I had a maltese and generally he was very mild. My westie can get very excited in play and then he will start playing too rough by pulling Lucy's ponytail . . exactly the things you were talking about. That's when I step in and re-direct their attention with a pull toy or a ball . . . anything to calm things down a bit. I can tell when she's had enough because she will be trying to hide rather than play and yelp a lot too. However, I note that she bites Ringo's face like crazy but she yelps like the devil if he would even think about trying that with her!

I would not leave them alone together yet if you are concerned that your new maltese is too rough . . you have plenty of time for that later. I think that they will become best of friends . . just give it a little time.

thank you so much for your input.

i think you are right, i will not be able to determine who is the alpha dog, i just really wanted milu to be the alpha dog because she is very well behaved. davinci is a love bug and a good dog, but i think he tries to be a bully sometimes. i had other dogs come visit, and when davinci tried to bully the bigger dog, the dog did an alpha roll and put davinci on his back, after the dog did that, davinci never tried to bully her again. i kind of wish milu would do the same thing, but i don't think it's going to happen.

davinci doesn't bit ME very hard, but when he plays with milu, he bites so hard, i know because he drags her by her hair, and also because i stick my hand between them when they are playing to monitor how hard he is biting her, and he bites her hard. sigh~ i hope he is just going through a phase and will chill out and be nicer to his sister.

Milu is too nice for her own good.

[JeanieK]

She doews not need to be the alpha dog. Being the alpha dog does not mean that you get to torment the other dogs.

YOU need to be the alpha dog and let the little one know that he cannot do what he is doing. Treat it the same as if he were treating your child that way. He evidently was not properly socialized. I know you said you got him at 12 weeks, but was he left with his mother all that time so she could teach him?

YOU need to claim the older dog as yours. He is not allowed to be with her if he is not nice. Go over to him and nip and snarl at him. Then make him back away from you as you walk toward him. Also give her food and let her eat first while he watches, then feed him. This does not have to be their entire meal, just a spoon full of cottage cheese, or a treat, but always do hers first.

There should only be one Alpha dog in the house and that should be YOU.
I'm sure as he grows older he will stop being so annoying to her, but meanwhile let him know that his behavior is not allowed.

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by yorkiepuppie

thank you so much for your input.

i think you are right, i will not be able to determine who is the alpha dog, i just really wanted milu to be the alpha dog because she is very well behaved. davinci is a love bug and a good dog, but i think he tries to be a bully sometimes. i had other dogs come visit, and when davinci tried to bully the bigger dog, the dog did an alpha roll and put davinci on his back, after the dog did that, davinci never tried to bully her again. i kind of wish milu would do the same thing, but i don't think it's going to happen.

davinci doesn't bit ME very hard, but when he plays with milu, he bites so hard, i know because he drags her by her hair, and also because i stick my hand between them when they are playing to monitor how hard he is biting her, and he bites her hard. sigh~ i hope he is just going through a phase and will chill out and be nicer to his sister.

Milu is too nice for her own good.

The fact that he is biting you at all is proof that he is the boss and you are not.

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by JeanieK

She doews not need to be the alpha dog. Being the alpha dog does not mean that you get to torment the other dogs.

YOU need to be the alpha dog and let the little one know that he cannot do what he is doing. Treat it the same as if he were treating your child that way. He evidently was not properly socialized. I know you said you got him at 12 weeks, but was he left with his mother all that time so she could teach him?

YOU need to claim the older dog as yours. He is not allowed to be with her if he is not nice. Go over to him and nip and snarl at him. Then make him back away from you as you walk toward him. Also give her food and let her eat first while he watches, then feed him. This does not have to be their entire meal, just a spoon full of cottage cheese, or a treat, but always do hers first.

There should only be one Alpha dog in the house and that should be YOU.
I'm sure as he grows older he will stop being so annoying to her, but meanwhile let him know that his behavior is not allowed.

Davinci was with his mom and siblings until I got him, but it seems as if he changed his personality when he came to my house. When he was at the breeders house, he used to get picked on by his littermates (all boys, him plus 3 other boys) and the breeder had to separate them because Davinci got picked on too much and didn't fight back. But at my house, he is so energetic and fearless.

i will work more on giving him time-out when he is being too rough with her.

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by JeanieK

The fact that he is biting you at all is proof that he is the boss and you are not.

actually i try to get them to bite me (my hand) on purpose to work with them to make sure they develop "soft mouth". it's what i learned from puppy school-make the puppies bite you very softly so they learn bite inhibition and never snap or bite people too hard no matter what happens.

i knew a dog who would put her own lips over her teeth when she bites people, it's so cute!

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by yorkiepuppie

actually i try to get them to bite me (my hand) on purpose to work with them to make sure they develop "soft mouth". it's what i learned from puppy school-make the puppies bite you very softly so they learn bite inhibition and never snap or bite people too hard no matter what happens.

i knew a dog who would put her own lips over her teeth when she bites people, it's so cute!

He should NEVER put his teeth on a human.. The reason his personlity changed when he came to your house is because he is insecure. And he needs strong leadership. he got to your house and no one was serving the role as pack leader so he took the job.

By allowing him to chew on you, you are definitely NOT showing him tht you are the pack ledeer.

Think of him as very insecure foster child, and no one is showing him what to do. He is being allowed to misbehave, so he does not know where his boundries are. His actions are going to continue to get worse uintil you have said enough already and start to teach him boundries.

I suggest going to Welcome to Cesar Millan's Official Web Site | Cesar Millan there is a lot of help on the site plus you can oreder his books nd DVD's

Dogs do not understand TIMEOUT the only corrections a dog understands are instantanious. By picking him up to take him, to time out, he is associating being picked up (a reward) with the behavior he was doing at the time. and the being put in his crate (a punishment) for being good while you carried him to the crate.

You have tro know how a dog thinks. They do not reason, they do not understand human language and they only relate actions to what happens right that second. 5 seconds later is too late.

Think of them as infant, they do not understand language and you cannot explain why you are putting them in crate. They only know association. What happens immediately after I have done this or while I am doing it. I bit my sister and then I got picked up. I didn't do asnything while she held me, then I got put in my crate.

Lesson learned. bite sister more and squirm and bite after being picked up, or run when she tries to pick me up. Which people would think that means they knew they were doing wrong, but instead they are running because they know you are going to put them in the crate, and they do not associate it with the biting their sister at all.

[Nancy1999]

I'm surprised you're still having problems. I didn't know that the breeder had separated Divinci from the others, this bothers me, it's almost like he was bullied so he became the bully. You've gotten some good advice on this thread, I've never had multiple dogs, and so I'll bow out of the discussion. I do baby-sit for my grand-dogs, and while they were getting use to each other, I would just interrupt the fighting if it got too rough, usually within 24 hours they were playing well together. Some fighting I'd ignore, and some I'd interrupt.

[Ringo1]

The advice I was given is to intervene only when ABSOLUTELY necessary - as in don't let anyone get hurt. But puppy play can sound very dramatic.

I have a jealous, dominant Westie and he learned to accept Lucy by following a few simple steps:
1. Pay more attention to your first dog than your new puppy - for a while.
2. Do everything FIRST for your older dog so there is no jealousy during the adjustment period.
3. Supervise their interaction and limit their interaction if necessary. Use baby gates to separate them when necessary.
4. Spend time alone with each dog - walking, playing, training
5. Give each dog their own space where they can get away from one another.
6. Guarding resources (like me or toys) is not allowed and can interfere with their relationship.
7. Feed separately (for me this is necessary)


The first month was somewhat stressful . . . but now four months later, we've all learned to get along and quite happily. Sometimes Ringo is top dog and sometimes Lucy gets to be top dog. Of course, the owner should always be the top dog.

I'm sure the OP can do it too. Maltese are usually not as rough and tumble as Westie's and I don't think is going to intentionally hurt your yorkie girl. He's just a little puppy too - he's got a lot to learn yet. Show him how you want him to behave - he'll catch on.

Good Luck!

[Nancy1999]

After seeing this picture, it's clear that Yorkiepuppie has her work cut out for her, he looks like an obvious bully!

[bchgirl]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

After seeing this picture, it's clear that Yorkiepuppie has her work cut out for her, he looks like an obvious bully!

Yeah ya can spot 'em a mile away.

Man is he ever cute!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry Milu...you're cute too.

[Nancy1999]

I just remembered one thing that helped me with the grand-dogs is walking; it really seems to help. I know Cesar recommends it, and I guess it helps the dogs feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. I'd use the word "pack", but people attack when I use it! Davinci may be a little young yet, but I'd definitely try walking them together. It also wears them out, and they say a tired dog is a happy dog.