My 4 y/o Yorkie is being aggressive toward new puppy

[LuvMyFurkidz]

My 4 y/o Yorkie, Lexi, was not welcomed by my 2 older Shih Tzu when I brought her home as a puppy. They would never play with her. Besides Lexi, I have just my lovely 14 y/o Tzu now (my 15 y/o had to be put down this past January).

Riley, the Yorkie puppy came home about 3 weeks ago & my Tzu just basically ignores him, except when he gets in her face barking & she will growl & snap. I found coins in a soda can has almost eliminated Riley doing this. He barks & jumps at my Tzu & Lexi whenever he tries to engage them in playing which has not worked.

My problem is my 4 y/o Yorkie, Lexi, who has been very spoiled by us as she loves to be loved, cuddled & made over, which my Tzu never really did. We love that as much as Lexi does. I know she hasn't received as much attention since Riley arrived as he does require my attention more to teach him. I do strive to give Lexi as much attention as I possibly can. She is first for feeding, etc. She had basically ignored Riley & stayed away from him. However, the past several days she has started fierce growling like I have never seen her do & showing her teeth & snapping at when Riley when he gets close to me, but only at certain times. I shout No! Stop! This gets Riley barking & jumping at her. I immediately remove Lexi & isolate her in the bathroom, gated off, for a period of time. She immediately stops the behavior once I have her out of the room. Most times this works, but other times it will start all over again once she is allowed to return with us, i.e. in bed at night or on the sofa with us.

I am so scared that she will attack Riley & really hurt him. She has never been this way with any other animal. Riley is only 2#; Lexi is 7.5#. Am I handling this correctly? Is there something else I should be doing? Will just being consistent with what I am currently doing stop this behavior? I would certainly appreciate any advice/suggestions you may have.

This behavior has broken my heart as I love my Lexi soooo much. She is my little girl & I adore her. One night she didn't get to sleep with me all night & that is the first time ever. I had decided to get Riley for Lexi to have a companion as I realize my Tzu will not be with us forever. I had hoped Lexi & Riley would eventually become playmates/friends. I love Riley so much & can't stand the thought of him possibly being hurt.

[Belladea]

Years ago I had the same problem with two little females I had. What I did to solve the problem was to put them on a double leash and walk them. Then I started walking by houses in my neighborhood that had unfriendly dogs ( behind secure fences, of course) and the brave little Yorkie mix (Bella) acted like the protector of the other little girl and soon they were friends against the common enemy !!! I figured the unfriendly dog behind the fence had no intention of being friends with my girls anyway, so why not use the situation to let my girls see they needed each other. I know it was unconventional thinking, but it worked. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" !!!! Forgot who said it. LOL

[MarkFromSea]

Originally Posted by Belladea

Years ago I had the same problem with two little females I had. What I did to solve the problem was to put them on a double leash and walk them. Then I started walking by houses in my neighborhood that had unfriendly dogs ( behind secure fences, of course) and the brave little Yorkie mix (Bella) acted like the protector of the other little girl and soon they were friends against the common enemy !!! I figured the unfriendly dog behind the fence had no intention of being friends with my girls anyway, so why not use the situation to let my girls see they needed each other. I know it was unconventional thinking, but it worked. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" !!!! Forgot who said it. LOL

Might have been Sun Tzu originally. At least the method if not exact words.
Walking together sounds like a great way to build a bond between the two.

Eventually they will have to work it out. Riley really needs to be the one taught to avoid Lexi when she is eating.... ect... remove or pick up riley when Lexi is eating... the older dogs get fed first, teach Riley to wait. Older dogs get the special attention first, Riley waits... Older dogs get everything first, the pup waits. When coming in from outside, older dogs in first, pup needs to wait, even walk in after you do.

There's a pecking order, the new pup is at the end of the line.... easier to follow that natural order... try to upset that.... could be a bigger fight down the road because the dogs will be confused about their place in line. Older dogs may think they need to reestablish order while the pup thinks he is higher up.... which will cause fights.

When Riley shows submission to Lexi on occasion, the queue is in it's natural order and things should be more peaceful. They'll probably play together then with no problem..
we just went through this twice in the last year, two new dogs.

[LuvMyFurkidz]

Thank you both for the great advice! I will be putting these suggestions into action. Today is supposed to be fairly nice out, so I can take them both for a walk together.

I noted this morning when Lexi started in with Riley with the insane growling, barking, she was wagging her tail the whole time. Do you think maybe she is trying to teach him something, being motherly???