Well, she is exhibiting typical terrier behavior. I had a Shih Tzu for 15 years and I can tell you that they have a much calmer nature than a Yorkie. They have totally different backgrounds as far as what they were created to do and the type of temperaments that were needed in order to carry out their tasks. Most dogs that we call purebreds today were deliberately genetically manipulate in order to create a dog that could preform certain tasks.
Most of the smaller terriers, like the Yorkie, were bred to kill rodents in small spaces, like inside walls or down in holes. They were bred to have a very tenacious personality. Most love a good fight for breakfast and then would come back for more after lunch.
In your original post you were concerned about how excited she gets when they wrestle. Well, she is doing what a terrier loves best, fighting. It may be play fight right now but if I were you I would teach her to stop when you say so. Don't let her get too over excited. As she gets older she could nip a lot harder and your Shih Tzu is not going to be a match for her because he does not have that kind of nature. The Shih Tzu is a lover, not a fighter like a terrier. Right now you are teaching her that it is OK to fight. It is not your Shih Tzu that is really fighting here, it is your terrier.
They are dogs and dogs need boundaries. If you let this go it is possible that you could regret it later. You will see as she gets older that this type of activity could get more aggressive as she gets bigger.
I had my own issues with my own terrorist terrier puppy. It was a test of wills concerning who would win. I'm still not sure at this point just who was the victor. |