[yorkietalkjilly]

I'll just throw out some more thoughts for what they are worth.

You might try putting a furry costume with headpiece that covers/protects the little victim's ears & body during the training also. The thickness can protect & possibly deter your fighter. It may add some confidence & sense of protection to the other dog. It may not work at all but just try it & see what effect this has on each dog during this training period.

Some desensitization training of your fighter to your other dog getting affection is also in order. Exercise your little fighter with a good walk or game of fetch so she's really good & tired. Be sure she hasn't eaten or had treats for at least 4 hours. Have someone loving & petting her little victim from a distance as you are distracting your little fighter with a high-value treat. Don't feed it to her at first - just hold it in your closed fist & bring it very near her nose & slowly start to open your hand to expose a bit of the, warm, delicious-smelling boiled chicken. Run that fist all around her, causing her to turn & dance around and if she starts to watch the petting going on across the room, open that hand quickly - but don't let her get that food - just show it & re-distract her.

That's it. Only about 30 seconds the first time & then tell that person to stop petting & walk away, taking the other little dog with him, as your fighter will want to go over & smell all that scent from the person on its proposed victim. It could cause her to become jealous & attack then.

I would wait a bit then rub a washcloth over your little fighter, getting her scent all on it, crate or have someone hold her or leash her & then go rub that washcloth all over your other dog, which is still out of the room & only then re-introduce it without fanfare yourself, with a bag of chicken treats attached to your waistband, open at the top & have your helper follow you into the room, the helper coming over & sitting down beside your fighter, gently petting her this time. Sort of rustle the treat bag as you come into the room with the other dog & your helper following. WATCH your little fighter as all settle in & use another piece of bait chicken from the treat bag to keep your fighter from showing renewed interest in the other dog until a little time more has past. Keep that treat bag with you at all times - actually on your person. Your dog will tend to watch & obsess over YOU, not the other dog just due to that.

Later, repeat the exercise - keeping it very short & sweet at first & then letting each session get a bit longer as your little fighter starts to associate all that petting & loving of her usual victim with the pleasure of warm boiled chicken! After she gets pretty good at not paying attention to the loving across the room, reward her with the actual chicken to show her that there is a real reward tied to the other dog's getting attention as she stays away from it.

The key here is not to hurry this training. Don't flood her with it but do be consistent with it about 3 times a day at first - then you can increase the training episodes' length.

Over time she should come to associate that dog's petting/loving with good things & not want to agrees, especially as she learns aggressing involves mommie giving her consistent discipline. If after a while you begin to say "chicken" when you offer the fist full of treat, later, if you sense/see tenseness in the air or body language showing alerting, just say "chicken" & see if the little aggressor won't come running toward you - not her living chew toy. Of course, you can use any word you want when you offer the closed fist of food but later, just the word should detract enough & start the dog away from an alert or fight. Praise & reward her ANY time she stops alerting on the other dog & turns away - that's a big, big step she's taken & should get her a nice, genuine praise & nice treat. It's a lot of trouble to take but this method has worked very effectively with some dogs & it sure beats all the trouble & tension & agrees from escalating fights so it is worth it. Combined with the gentle discipline, it can retrain & teach your little fighter that you are in control, only you run things & you are going to keep order.

Also, try moving the dogs' beds to different places, change the food bowl positions in the room - anything you can to show that things are changing around your place. It will be your intention to keep your fighter out of her usual patterns during which she developed some bad, bad habits as you employ the NILIF methods for all her other needs & activities.

Those are just some scatter-shooting thoughts to think about & possibly try.

I also like Victoria Stillwell's methods of training. Almost anything but intimidation, cruelty & fear can work to redirect/retrain a dog if you put your mind to it, go slowly but stay loving, gentle, persistent & patient.