Help!!Do I need to lose my little Girl to Save Her Life
 

I am at my wits end and my heart is breaking. My little 1 1/2 yr old female (Neesa) is attacking my 6 yr old Husky X with no provocation. He is scared to death of her and is now starting to fight back. She is a 10 lb fury and goes right for his face and has bitten my husband in aboout the worst place possible while being pulled off the Husky. When we were pulling her off him, my extremely mild mannered 7 yr old Rottie (whom Neesa has also attacked), joined in and tried to also attack Neesa. I have read Cesars books, Followed his methods, Hired a behaviorist (at $100 an hour), to no avail. It will feel like she is getting better and then WHAM ! she attacks. Sometimes I can catch the escalation and intervene before the Red Zone, but other times it is out of the blue. She came to us at 5 mths and had an attitude with the Husky from the start. I know that I have loved not wisely but too much and have humanized her. The behaviorist has me being much more strict, no couch, no bed, little overt affection unless she is calm-submissive, more walks, more socialization, crate at night..but her big problem really seems to be the Husky. She is staying with my daughter right now with her 2 large dogs and is not causing any real problems yet? I am scared to death that while I try all these methods to keep her, the day will come when I do not stop the fight in time and she will be hurt or killed. Would an electric collar on vibration help. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her. I so have another little male and the big dogs love him, groom him, etc. What is happening. PLEASE HELP!

Maybe they are both alpha so they are fighting for dominance? I'm not sure how to help you. However, when she attacks, pull her off and pin her down (on the neck) to show that you are alpha. That's how we trained our dog...If she's doing better at your daughters...you could still see her there...Sorry, I'm not much help...

Wow, that is a real mess. Are they all spayed / neutered? Have you had them all in for vet checks? How long has this been going on? Is there a certain place where the attacks take happen? Has Neese always been a little scrapper even when playing?

If she were my dog she would be in an X pen or on leash. I'd bring her out of the pen with the other doggies, only on leash, and if she growled back into the pen she'd go. I'd not let her get close enough for an attack. As for pinning her etc....... I wouldn't bother it would simply be back to solitary LOL. They learn very quick from social isolation (from you).

For off leash running time the big dogs would come in and I'd take her outside separately and shut the door. So for the next several months I'd completely change her living pattern and make her earn back a place in the family.

She'd be very aware that her life was quite restricted as long as she didn't play nice :) The solution is tons of your time and complete consistency.

I would be careful with Cesar's methods, as the show says, they are not to be performed at home.... He is a great guy, but we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes when the camera is rolling, thus training in that manner without having a consult with him would be incomplete, you may miss something important.

Has she ever been to obedience classes for general manners? Maybe some basic training on how to listen to you would help (while she's away from the other dogs) so that you have more control over her when she returns, so that situations do not escalate as much.

I'm a big fan of training in a positive manner, I believe you can be strict but there is still a right place for affection. I'll say though, I've never dealt with a problem dog, my only experience is with problem horses. Maybe try a different type of behavioralist, someone who works with positive reinforcement and see if it works. Some animals get angrier when you remove that affection, I'm not saying don't be strict though (it's hard to explain).

I would advise you to keep them separated especially if the big ones are starting to fight back, last thing you want is for your well mannered Rottie's instincts to kick in and severely hurt your little one. Take some time to work with her. I would watch her body language carefully, see if her attacks are dominance based or fear based. If she is scared then taking away affection will make it worse, if she is dominant it will take some work to fix.

Have you had her all her life? I'm almost leaning towards a fear thing (but I haven't seen it so I couldn't know for sure). My little guy has started snarling at large dogs and it's completely fear based. So I use positive reinforcement and body blocks to protect him and show him that it's my job to keep him safe.

Hope something in this ramble helps... Good luck, I believe that there is good in every animal, it just takes the right person and method to fix the problem.

I am very sorry this is happening to you all. I am sorry I dont have any good advice for you either, but I do wish you the best in whatever decision you make.

Someones going to have to be rehomed her or the husky

If she is fighting for Alpha position, it is because you are not being Alpha enough. I would think both dogs would have been fighting from the beginning though if this is the problem,

One thing I've noticed with mine is that they will hold a grudge, and retaliate at a later date, with the dogs or the cats. Did any of the large dogs (esp the husky X) ever step on her or hurt her in any way accidentally? You do need to protect her from that, or she will protect herself.

If this is her problem, Cesar is correct when he says that separating the two won't fix it, the problem has to reoccur in order for you to correct her, but it needs to happen in a controlled environment. She will give a signal, whether it's a look, or she becomes very still right before she attacks, and you have to watch her to pick up on it.

I would separate them any time you cannot watch her, and have her on leash when you are watching her. Also, praise and treat her when she acts appropriately in his company. Praise the good, interrupt the bad, as soon as you see her signal, before she moves her butt off the floor or couch, you need to be there to interrupt (Ah, ah), block her (stand in front of her and between them), walk towards her to make her move backwards and sit, and maintain this control until she becomes submissive. Then you start all over again. Do this over and over with her on leash, until you are positive your interrupt will stop her.

When you first try her off leash, you have to be in a position to protect the Husky X and her. He should also be reprimanded for any threatening moves.

You have to really allow time (like a weekend) when you can do the initial training, sitting there and watching for her signals. If you can't see her signals, then this will not work, as you have to act before she moves. If you can do a successful weekend, and have learned her signals and have caught her each time, then you may be successful at stopping this behavior.

And your mental attitude has to be that you love her dearly, but this behavior will not be tolerated in this house, ever. If you do not come across to her as this serious, she won't 'get it'.

I also found that my dog benefited from more attention from me, as this was part of his problem, he was feeling insecure about the other dogs. He did get possessive on the bed, and still, rarely, will go after one, but he's easy to interrupt now, as we've been doing it for 2 years. I do allow them all on the bed, but only if I am watching him closely. Sadly, he is no longer allowed to sleep on the bed at night bc of this behavior, as I cannot trust him once I fall asleep.

crates
 

why not keep her separated in a crate and only take her out by herself. almost like living alone. she can not attack if she's in a cage. and she can't get hurt by the bigger dogs if she's in a cage. that way everyone is safe.

I think if you already tried someone to make her change her behaviour and it didn't work you better find a new home for her quick.. if your Husky decides to fight back it will be only once..
I don't think you would be happy as well having to deal with them separated all the time.. or worse.. in cages.. it's not fair for them and it's not fair for you as well..

my mum had 2 yorkies (sisters) that were always fighting to each others... my mum loved both of them and we tried for a long time to make them live in peace and be friends.. well.. it didn't end up nicely.. they were pretending to be friends for a long time and my mum left them together.. one day she was out to the supermarket and on her way back.. one of them was dead...

i hope all goes well.. and good luck with your babies..
:)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

In your case, I think this 'alpha' nonsense will make things worse.

Some dogs will NEVER get along. Especially with terriers, who can be prone to dog aggression. A lot of people who live with larger terriers (like APBT's) actually live with crate & rotate and that's just what they do. It's not something I'd ever personally want to do, but it sounds to be like she would be happy as an only dog, or maybe a smaller male companion?

We have had our yorkies (2) since 2 of my schnauzers passed away and at the time we had our 3 schnauzers the little female (about 7 or 8lbs.) tryed to boss the male, which was about twice her size. She tried several times and then one day he picked her up and we ended up having to have her sewn up around the head and eye. We had had him neutered but she was determined she was alpha. After that it helped some, but, the vet told me to NEVER leave them alone with each other. I hope your problem works out, it hurts to have to rehome one because of something like that. It scary to think of one getting hurt or killed too. I don't think he was as hard on her as he could have been, with her being female, but it scared the heck out of me.

In my oh-so-humble opinion, I feel, she needs to be re-homed, to a one dog only, home.

She is too small to defend herself, and you need to remember, dogs are pack animals, and often, all the dogs will join in & attack one dog, and kill that dog.

I know it would be very difficult for you to give her up, but having her killed, is not something you would want.

I know you received some wonderful advice from ppl. I would just be so afraid that before the training could start working an incident would occur in which she would get hurt by the bigger dogs. I know you love her dearly and don't want to see her hurt. I feel for your situation. You sound like you really love your dogs and want nothing but the best for them. Good luck in whatever you decide!

We have two males that have lived together for three years. One being a silky fixed and the yorkie not fixed. Then one day the fighting started. We tried everything neutered the yorkie. Put one on medicine. (last resort). Nothing seemed to work. Now the male yorkie lives with me. When the silky comes to visit even after three months if they see each other they start in. We keep them separated. They both get along with my three females. We just rotate when they visit. Who get to come out. They have to be behind closed doors. I would love to know why after three years they all of a sudden hate each other. Good luck and if you figure it out please share.

Wow. So sorry you are going through this. Multiple dog households can have some issues.

I would certainly keep them separated until you can get some training. If the training is not possible ~ then I would consider re-homing the Yorkie.

Tough call, I know.

Husky cross? What's he crossed with?

Just thinking... I did have problems with Peek a Boo taking over the house, when I first brought him home. I felt sorry for him coming from the pound, so I let him get away with just about everything. My 2nd Yorkie had passed on at 16 years old, and I had a GSD and a Maltese. I was very laid back as an owner, bc my dogs were all getting old and they knew the routine and the rules so I didn't do much training.

Peek a Boo first attacked the Maltese, grabbed his ear which then bled alot. After thinking on it a while, I think Peek had a problem with him bc he was all white. I did a forced butt sniff and they settled down. I don't recall any problems after that, other than he would steal the food out of the GSD's bowl (so big Peek could live in it) and occasionally he would jump at her face, but she would just turn her head away and he always ended up with a mouthful of very thick neck fur. The GSD thought she was a little dog and tolerated small dogs extremely well.

Then the GSD (Biggie 'D') and the Maltese (Little Lou) passed on, and Peek a Boo became very depressed. Then we saw Tinkerbell at the Humane Society and felt sorry for her, she had been returned twice and there was no line of people waiting to adopt her. (Same place I adopted Peek from and I only was able to get him bc my Mom volunteed there and called me as she filled out the paperwork.)

When Peek kept attacking Tink on the bed, I knew I had to make some changes. I could not allow these attacks to continue. The second time he went for her, he was asleep over my head on my pillow, and when he launched himself over my head to get to her, he planted his hind feet in my eyes and pushed off against the upper part of my eye sockets. In short, it felt like my eyes were being ripped out of my head.

He ran so fast he ended up sticking his head in her open mouth, and had tiny cuts to his upper, lower and inner lids. If she had bit him, those would have been puncture wounds, and he would have had another set under his chin, which he did not. That was his last night on the bed. ( When I take a nap, I put just him on the bed so he still gets cuddle time).

I never thought to tell him 'No'. And when I did, he turned his head away from me and would not look at me for a day and a half. I was heartbroken, but determined to stop this behavior. I watched Cesar's and Victoria's shows without fail and learned what I needed to do.

Then I thought they would just not get along, and Tink had come with her own set of behavioral problems. Then I found Sapphire. She was closer to Peek in size and color, so she came to live with us, too. Six months later, I found a Biewer that was being rehomed, so we went and brought her home.

Sapphire was shy at first and it looked like Peek liked her, or would tolerate her at least. Infinity, the Biewer, was a little more out going, and Tink thought she was a big squeaky toy, again bc of her coloring. But she was closer to Tink's size so I wasn't too worried, until I saw Tink dragging her across the floor by the ear! Well, that had to stop, but Tink was coming along pretty well with her training so I added some things, like no dragging others around by the ear, and specifically 'Be gentle' and 'easy' bc she tends to play rough. She knows what I will allow now so not too many problems anymore.

I let nothing go now, and they know it. Well maybe little growly skirmishes, but it better not escalate beyond than. Infinity aggravates all of them at times and gets redirected. Tink and Peek argue all the time, life is a competition for them.... who is first to the door, then out the door, then out the doggy door, and back in. They both hit the doggy door at the same time once and almost got stuck in it together. None fight over food or treats, never did. They will sit nice and wait their turn. Occasionally they share their food. They love going on walks together, but I have to take Tink and Infinity separately to deal with some issues and my back. I can walk Peek and Sapphire together... they are good together or alone.

I really want this to work out, so I always pay attention to what they're doing and how they are feeling each day, and I compensate. Like if Tink is looking for trouble, I'll walk her longer, or throw some toys for her to chase, things like that. If one appears to be sad... I make extra cuddle time just for them. Give and take, and teaching them how to get along. Cleaning, combing, feeding, petting, belly rubs, treats, walks, and naps, and putting groceries away and finding hidden toys in the bags. Making the bed with all four dogs on it. Buying bows for all, and having them sit in a row waiting for the new bow to be put in their hair the same way they wait their turn for treats. The GSD looked great with a Yorkie bow on her head. Putting Infinity on the bed when Daddy's still asleep to wait for his alarm to go off. She goes right for the head and body slams him, them licks him to death. How could he wake up mad???

Tired dogs tend to fight less. Peek lived on a leash till he got out of the habit of attacking. I still watch for the signal though. He's not depressed anymore. He acts more like a puppy. He barks at me, he runs faster than the girls, he howls like a wolf in his sleep. He's my favorite boy. Tink's my favorite big girl, Sapphire, my fav little girl, and Finnie , my fav Biewer girl. All the girls are retired breeders. Peek is neutered, Tink is spayed, the other two will be getting spayed. Never noticed problems due to anyone being in heat. Peek is my little man, Tink is a tomgirl (but loves getting dressed up), Finnie is a clown, and Sapphire is def Momma's girl. They all known I love them all, and if one is down and gets extra treatment one day, there's no jealousy, bc they know I will do the same for them when they're having a bad day.

Walks help us all bond together, and makes them tired. Some days are better than others... we are a work in progress. And I protect them.
Hope this helps.

I am by no means an expert but can share my experience. Maddie, my Yorkie, is the boss. We did her an injustice when she was little and our only one, allowing her to think she was equal to us or even above at times. We have a American Stafforshire Terrier and Maddie has no problem trying to snap at him when he walks to close. We have had Ernie, the AmStaff in obedience and agility classes to keep him socialized and build the relationship with him in a positive way.
I don't think there is any way on earth to get Maddie to love Ernie, I realize that. I refuse to allow her to bully another family member though, especially one who can gobble her in one bite. We never allow them to be together unsupervised. Duing the days, Ernie stays in the office with hubby while Maddie has run of upstairs. In the evenings, when Ernie is with Maddie, I am always within reach of her and immedialty stop her negative behavior, in the beginning, this may have required me removing her from the room or placing her in a crate. She has learned that negative behavior toward Ernie gets her in time-out. Now, she will either go lay in her bed or in our bed to be away from him.
Lucky for us, Ernie ignores Maddie and usually goes out of his way to avoid crossing her path, poor guy and has never shown aggression of any kind. I hope you are able to find a solution that works for you all. We have great success with attending weekly classes at an obedience school.

I had to deal with a yorkie mix that was actually rescued. After she felt better she began attacking my other 2 females. All three of them were the same size though. I ended up rehoming the yorkie mix. My shih tzu was scared to death of this dog. The dog was absolutely gorgeous, and it was heartbreaking to see her fight badly to the point of drawing blood. Now she is in a better home, with no other dogs. The experience was terrible. but, I had to protect the other 2. I have had since they were very young, and they never fought, to this day my 2 females are great together.
about the dog training. I much rather try Victoria Stillwell's methods then anyone else. I do not agree with negative reinforcement , or any electric collars , pronged collars , anything that just encourages more aggressive behaviors. If you had your Husky for a long time, the fighting dog needs to be rehomed. Your Huskey must be really patient to tolerate such a small, aggressive dog. You know as well as anyone else that the Huskey could get to that other smaller dog and kill it .

Gracie is our alpha (& more humanized) one. "time outs" work for her as she hates to be isolated and away from what's going on. When she gets nasty with the others we muzzle her for a few minutes or put her in the bathroom... (though Izzy simply won't leave her alone (kissing her face constantly) inadvertently egging her on ---and a fight ensues usually after Gracie's patience has waned and has warned her multiple times with a low growl)
She comes out of the bathroom trying to save face with the others but restrains herself. now (most of the time) if we catch her starting to "puff up" we ask her if she wants to go in the bathroom -- or sometimes we just say "muzzle time" --- then she backs off.
So try the time out if yours truly hates being away from the family. We generally just leave her in 'time out' about 5 minutes.

Thank you for the advise
 

Thanks to all for your words of guidance and wisdom. This is a terrible situation, and you have given me wisdom from the heart and your experience, it is truly appreciated. Neesa is currently staying with my daughter while I examine my options. I am going to contact the Behaviorist for a follow up and see what she can advise. I can not in good conscience, crate her all the time and juggling dogs does not seem to be the best life for them. She is not left out when I am away from the house but is kenneled with my other Yorkie for company. These attacks are so sporatic that I can't figure out the trigger. She will occasionally give sign that the attack is imminent by getting tense and making weird noises that sound very much like she is having an anxiety attack, then she stalks the poor guy until she traps him and flys at his face. Other times, no warning. She will simply attack. Once she is in attack mode, nothing stops her but snatching her up and she will fight to get back at him like something possessed. The Husky will cower and lower head and tuck his tail between his legs, all the while giving he piercing glances and lips raised. Lately though he has been retalieting. 5 minutes before this, she will have been licking under his face/mouth and rolling on her back, totally submissive like a puppy, I am considering these options, umbilical,obedience classes,vibration collar but still keeping the option of re-homing open. She has shown some minor signs of food and toy aggression with my daughters Golden and Rottie but it was nipped in the bud and so far nothing more serious. I have watched one of my Yorkies 20 years ago killed by another dog and I simply can not live through that again. My first responsibility is to her but I feel that I need to make sure that I have not given up on her/us if I just need to retrain myself. I have also been examining the energy of the Husky and find that he is quite nervous, really always has been (Shelter rescue abandoned at approx 10 weeks), He will spook at a paper falling to the ground. I am wondering if she is threatened by his instability and it feeds into her agression towards him. Please God, help me to make the right decisions, a life depends on it.

Others may or may not agree with me on this. But I DO NOT like the idea of any kind of vibration or shock collar. To each his own, but this just seems cruel to me. JMO of course.

Is Neesa spayed? If so, when?

Just to make sure I said this: If you decide to train her, she is on leash(other end in your hand or tied to you), or in a crate, or a room with the door closed. If you forget one time that could be the last time.

As your daughter may have stopped her from aggressing with her dogs, (what did she do?), you'll still need to train her with your dogs in your house, but it also makes me think there is hope for her.

I have to admit, as Tink has baggage with her, the only way I get through to her is by yelling. If I talk in a normal tone, she doesn't listen and will argue back. If I act very upset, and look her in the eyes, and go off on a loud rant, she will then cower and drop her head and lay down. She gets a look on her face like 'Oh no, Mommie is really upset with me... I'm sorry, I went too far'. Only then will she stop. I don't like doing this with her, but there are times when compliance is not an option. Each time I have to correct her behavior, I try to tone it down a notch, and am working at getting her to listen when I speak normally. But coming from a family with 6 children who must have played with her constantly, it makes some sense that she reacts this way.

When I first got her, all she wanted to do was play. She would get so wound up playing, she would go to Red Zone and knew to bite my hand to make me drop the toy. I tried the 'Ouch!' technique, but that did not stop her. On the 4th day here, she hit my cheek, just below my eye, with her teeth, but her mouth was closed. Well I know why she ended up back at the Humane Society.

I watched her for quite a while. She wanted to play all the time, and as I thought about it, that's probably the only time she got attention. She didn't know anything else to do. She would also growl when I tried to pick her up to get her off the bed. I tried working with her during play, to stop before she got too excited, but it wasn't working. I decided to do an Alpha Roll on her. I thought I could do it bc as a tech I was good at holding dogs and cats, especially difficult ones, so, as a last resort, that was my plan.

I tried playing with her a few more times, each time she became uncontrollable, so it was do the Roll or return her to the H.S. She went for my face again, so I quickly grabbed her and held her down on her side. She was fighting me, and I didn't have a good enough hold of her, so I let her up too soon for the Roll to be effective, but I didn't want her to hurt herself either. I thought well, maybe it would have some effect on her, but it didn't. I would have to do it again.

So we started playing, and she bit my hand hard. I grabbed her and laid her down... this time I had her. It took a bit for her to stop fighting me, but finally she relaxed. I held her down, but very slowly began to loosen my grip, and she layed there. I finally let go, but started petting her for a minute or two, she was finally totally relaxed. I said ' Okay, you can get up now', and she did.

From there I could use the "Ow!" technique, and she has learned bite inhibition very well. I never thought I'd ever be able to trust her again, but over time she is proving herself to be fairly reliable... no intentional bites, and learning to share her toys. (I bought a few sets of duplicate toys to confuse her).

I never intend to use that technique on her again... I shouldn't have to, and it is not good to keep repeating it, as it can break a dog's spirit, which I do not want to do.


One thing, when you pick Neesa up when she is in the red zone, what do you do then? Hold her till she's calm? This would not be good, as she'll see that as a reinforcement of her behavior. She needs to be put on the floor with a leash (you can use a slip-lead, just be sure to put one leg through the noose too so she doesn't choke), and you need to match her excitement level, or she will not hear you.