[Yorkiemn]

Forgive the long message...Our 5 year old YorkiePoo, named Laci, has been an incredible dog since the day we got her. We have only had one issue with her which has been potty training. But other than that, she has never been aggressive towards any of us or visitors...she loves people. When we play I might get my hand in her mouth but she has never once even bit down on my hand.

Some dog history: We used to have a beagle, named Copper, who was 10 years old when we got her. They never had any issues whatsoever. Copper passed away last year. My mother has a MaltiPoo, Gracie, who Laci loves to play with....as long as Graci isn't growling at her so she doesn't get too close to my mom if she is sitting by her. If Gracie isn't by my mom and Laci jumps up by her Gracie just goes and lays down without incident.

Our boys wanted to have another bigger dog around the house and we finally agreed. We looked and looked for the dog we all thought would be the right fit for our home. So, we got Bentley, a 12 week old Great Dane/Mastiff/American Bulldog Mix. (My husband raised Great Danes when I met him) Bentley is 27lbs and all puppy. He loves to chew and to cuddle when laying down and sleeping. Within the past week we have taught him to sit, lay down and have gotten potty training down to him standing by the back door to go outside. He is an extremely smart dog.

Here is the trouble....Whenever Laci and Bentley are in the kitchen or walking around with any of us, they can be standing right next to each other with no issues. I can have them sitting next to each other on the floor training them to sit, lay down, etc (which Laci already knew but I figured Bentley may learn from her too). And then...when we all sit down to watch tv, she will lay on the top portion of the couch (kind of like a cat), or be laying in my lap, or over near the arm of the couch...when Bentley starts to move and comes anywhere in her direction she starts growling and showing her teeth. She has gone after him many times so far, twice she successfully got out of my hands before I could catch her...but it is only when we are sitting down watching tv. Why only the aggression then? Why not all of the time? If Bentley is chewing on a bone when sitting in my son's lap, she can comfortably be laying on the foot extension from the seat of the couch. The instant he stands up she growls. She had stood and let him sniff her....she has sniffed him...all without issues. They even played around outside. Because of the incidents we have been trying to keep them separated in different rooms unless we are all up walking around..,and then there are no issues. What do we do? I have even been trying to spend more time with her so she isn't feeling abondoned, etc.

Some history that may play a part: When Laci was about five months old we were on a walk. As we came home she went running up the driveway to my son, with me standing at the end after taking her off the leash. All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I see the next door neighbor's spaniel sprinting off after her. Just as their dog got Laci in it's mouth, our son got to the dogs and was able to snatch Laci back. Laci trembled for a long time. Big problem, the neighbor didn't have their hunting dog on a leash. He thought she was a rabbit. They had three of them at that time, so I became very concerned for her safety. They apologized left and right and ever since then have had them on leashes. Laci has even learned that, when she goes outside she will run over to the property line, right where she knows those dogs can't get to and barks...although we don't let them outside at the same time anymore so she is barking at nothing. She does it for dominance I assume. Could that one event have such an affect on this relationship?

What kind of training should we do in order to calm the aggression she has for Bentley? Can someone direct me to any online training which we can start with? Laci completely knows I am dominant over her. She does whatever I have told her (other than our potty issues, which we also have not had since Bentley came into our home)...up until now. Is she just afraid of his size? Is it just the issue of a new dog coming into her domain? With training how long would you think this may take to make things a little less tense for her? We will do whatever training it takes...we love them both too much to give up.

Thanks so much for making it through the long story. We just need some help to make it better for Laci.
Lisa