I would be careful with Cesar's methods, as the show says, they are not to be performed at home.... He is a great guy, but we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes when the camera is rolling, thus training in that manner without having a consult with him would be incomplete, you may miss something important.
Has she ever been to obedience classes for general manners? Maybe some basic training on how to listen to you would help (while she's away from the other dogs) so that you have more control over her when she returns, so that situations do not escalate as much.
I'm a big fan of training in a positive manner, I believe you can be strict but there is still a right place for affection. I'll say though, I've never dealt with a problem dog, my only experience is with problem horses. Maybe try a different type of behavioralist, someone who works with positive reinforcement and see if it works. Some animals get angrier when you remove that affection, I'm not saying don't be strict though (it's hard to explain).
I would advise you to keep them separated especially if the big ones are starting to fight back, last thing you want is for your well mannered Rottie's instincts to kick in and severely hurt your little one. Take some time to work with her. I would watch her body language carefully, see if her attacks are dominance based or fear based. If she is scared then taking away affection will make it worse, if she is dominant it will take some work to fix.
Have you had her all her life? I'm almost leaning towards a fear thing (but I haven't seen it so I couldn't know for sure). My little guy has started snarling at large dogs and it's completely fear based. So I use positive reinforcement and body blocks to protect him and show him that it's my job to keep him safe.
Hope something in this ramble helps... Good luck, I believe that there is good in every animal, it just takes the right person and method to fix the problem.
__________________ Kendra Harley, you were the light in my life, rest peacefully my love! |