[JadeD]

My first question would be what gender is the maltese? Are they both fixed? My experience has been that 2 males or a male and female are the easier dogs to get along from the get go. I am not saying 2 females won't get along, because they can. Females tend to be more dominant and one of your dogs will be the dominant one. They just need to figure this out gently and without a dog fight. I have 2 male dogs, a 7 lb Yorkie I just got and an 80 lb setter we have had for over 3 years. The big dog is laid back and I know that the Yorkie is top dog in the house and they did not even have to figure it out when I brought in the Yorkie 7 weeks ago, as the big dog is just that way.

As far as her being like that with you I would just keep correcting the behavior. Yelp when she nips at you so she knows it hurts.

Good luck, I hope it all works out for you. I was lucky that my 2 guys got along from the moment I came in the door with the new Yorkie and the big dog wanted to see what I had in my arms. I think he thought it was a cat or a rat or something, but one growl is all I got out of the big dog and nothing after that. I still put the little dog up when I leave the house, the big dog is left loose as he has been for the last year or so unless I will be gone more than 2-3 hours, which is extremely rare and then I put him in his crate as well.