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Originally Posted by mamisabrosa  Thank you all so much for your encouragement. I have read the Cesar Milan books, walk ahead of him outside, make him sit for food. You guys have Yorkies, you know how incorrigible they can be. He was born like this. He was the runt of his litter and he was bullying them when I met him. At the time, I thought it was irresistable, but I'm not embellishing, he locks his jaws onto my Poodle when he attacks him. I pull him and it would literally pull my 8 lb Poodle off the ground. I have to pry his jaws off. He is just a little gangster. His best friend is a Rottweiler named Capone (and he dominates him).
Cosmo is my heart, but I suck at being his leader. It's almost like owning a fighting breed where everyday is battle of the will (and bladder). He's like crack though, I know he's bad for me, but I just put the pipe down. 
I will try the belly band. |
I think you have to be very attentive and reward Cosmo whenever he's not picking a fight with your Poodle.
Get Cosmo on a leash (definitely use a harness because of the trachea issues) and approach the Poodle. As soon as Cosmo shows even the slightest sign of acknowledging or going for the Poodle, correct him with the leash with a quick tug--just enough to divert his path and his attention. Then, if he looks up at you, give him a treat--not just any treat, but something that he really, really likes. I know they can sometimes have laser vision if there's another dog nearby, but correct him until he looks at you, at which point give him the treat.
Keep doing this until he's more interested in you than in your Poodle, and be prepared to really dole out the treats. Once he gets the hang of it, you can move him closer to your Poodle and let them interact . . . but as soon as he gets even the slightest bit aggressive, correct him with the leash and give him a treat when he responds to you.
I know it's not that easy, but you have to try to work with him. You said you've read Cesar Milan's books. His show, the Dog Whisperer, is helpful, too if you haven't seen it. Be careful not to try some of the techniques he uses on the "red zone" dogs he encounters, such as pinning the dog by the neck, which I truly believe should be left to a professional. But his show is great for showing 1) how important it is to quickly correct your dog at the very first hint of unwanted behavior, and 2) how the dog owner needs to be more stubborn and consistent than the dog he's training for the training to be successful.
Eventually, he'll begin to associate good behavior with good things, but you have to be 100% consistent and work with him multiple times a day for this to work. If you have success with your Poodle, work with Capone, too, or any other well behaved dog that you can "borrow" from a friend for anti-bully training purposes.
Good luck!