How to stop my Yorkie's aggression towards my Shiba Inu?

Hi there. Aggression between dogs in the same household is always a complex issue, so it's difficult to provide much specific advice without being able to evaluate the dogs in person and get a detailed behavioral history. In general, small areas like doorways or staircases where the dogs get very excited and are jostling each other to get through can be common triggers for aggression - it's possible that this could be consistent with what you're describing. In that case, we usually recommend teaching the dogs to go down in a more ordered way - such as having them both stay at the top of the stairs, then calling each one down separately for a reward. In some cases, having the "problem dog" carry a toy can be helpful as it keeps them busy with something else and gives them a different outlet for their excitement. If possible, I would recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate the dogs in person and help you put together a more specific plan to work on the problem. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist here: www.dacvb.org or a qualified trainer here: www.ccpdt.org

I'm sorry to hear that you're having these problems! Aggression or fighting between dogs in the same household is a complex behavior issue that's very difficult to address without evaluating the dogs in person, because there are so many factors to consider - it's important to assess both dogs' personalities, how they interact with each other when they're not fighting, how severe the fights are when they happen, what seems to trigger the aggressive behavior, etc. For this reason, I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can work with you in person to help determine why the aggression is occurring and put together a detailed treatment plan to address the problem. In the meantime, I would recommend keeping the younger dog on-leash whenever he is around the older dog to prevent any bullying or harassment, or using a baby gate or other barrier to keep the dogs separated until you are able to get some hands-on guidance in how to help them.

Oh dear! I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem. Aggression between dogs in the same household is a complex behavioral problem that's difficult to address in a forum like this. If you want to keep both dogs, I would strongly suggest getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate them in person and help you determine why the fights are happening. He/she can put together a detailed training plan to work on the problem, and may also recommend medication for one or both dogs as part of the overall treatment plan. In the meantime, since it sounds like these fights are quite serious, I would recommend keeping the dogs separated from each other to prevent further problems until you are able to get some professional help. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this problem! Aggression between dogs in the same household is a very complex behavior issue, and is a bit beyond the scope of what we can effectively help you with in this format. I would strongly recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist - he/she can evaluate Bruja and Tosha in person to help determine what is causing the aggression, and will help you put together a detailed plan for managing them safely and training to work on improving their behavior around each other over time. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org In the meantime, I would recommend continuing to keep the dogs separated until you are able to see the behaviorist - this will prevent the problem from continuing to get worse, and also keep the dogs from injuring each other.

Unfortunately, it's impossible to know how to give you the best advice without being able to observe the dogs. Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. Most people are not familiar with reading canine body language and training. Because of this, I recommend to work with a professional trainer. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Also make sure ALL the animals are spayed and neutered. Animals who are intact are much more likely to fight than pets who are sterilized. Best of luck.

Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. Most people are not capable of correctly interpreting dog body language. For that reason, your best option is to work with a professional trainer. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Best of luck.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this issues! It sounds like there are a few different things going on here with both dogs, which definitely makes the situation more complicated. From your description, I can't quite tell if your male dog's crate aggression issues are directed at the puppy only, or if this is more of a general problem and he also snarls and runs from the puppy at other times as well. This is important information to help determine what may be going on so that we can make suggestions. I'm not sure how old your new puppy is, but if she is younger than six months, aggression at this age is quite uncommon and very concerning. Possessive aggression (also called resource guarding) over owners is a relatively common problem that can often be successfully treated, but you would really need an expert who can help you in person. Particularly in a young puppy, a veterinary behaviorist would be your best bet to evaluate the pup and put together a detailed plan to start working on this problem ASAP. If you want to keep both dogs, this will definitely require some professional assistance and quite a bit of time and effort for training. I would recommend asking your veterinarian to refer you to a board-certified veterinary behaviorist for some hands-on guidance.