Quote:
Originally Posted by alaskayorkie  I know a lot of people -- especially big dog owners -- say let the dogs work it out on their own. But I stopped doing that when it didn't work. And since my dogs are smaller than most of the ones they hang out with, I didn't want to take a chance of them getting hurt.
Eddie would go postal on other dogs when he thought it was his job to work it out. Oh, that worked, but it risked him hurting the other dog or the other dog fighting back. Jillie had better luck, but her method was to lay on her belly and freeze. It didn't seem fair to her.
Now I intervene whenever there's an issue. I just put my body between the dogs and let them know what they're doing is not allowed. It lets the other dog know they're not going to win, and, more importantly, it lets mine know that they don't have to solve the problem. I will.
Surprisingly, once I did that a few times, they stopped having problems. Instead of trying to solve it themselves, they just wait for me to take care of it.
I would only let a dog handle it themselves if they're good at it -- able to turn back the other dog with just a snarl and not a bite. |
Excellent advice!
Joel is a terrier, and the puppy is... a puppy. Terriers hold grudges and seek payback. Puppies are idiots and just want to play, play, play.
You need to protect Joel from puppy silliness, and protect the puppy from Joel terrierism.
The 'lip quiver' is a sign of attack... mine do it when they see and seek birds and squirrels, I think it is actually a sign of adrenaline rush to the brain.