I have a docile 4.5 year old female spayed Chihuahua who is about 7 lbs. She is very laid back and pretty much just hangs out and is an all around well behaved good dog.
We just got a 4.5 month old puppy about a week ago (shih-zhu terrier mix). He is a tiny bit bigger than the Chi. When he is fully grown I believe he will be about 10-15 lbs. I think he is overall well behaved for a puppy(except around the Chi). He is crate trained, pretty much housebroken, walks well on a leash, is learning “no bite” (we sub toys and kongs with treats when he goes for our hands). We definitely put the pup in the crate with a kong when we go out for short errands.
My husband works at home so the dogs are supervised pretty well and not left for long periods of time (3 hours tops). Before we go outside, I make them sit to be leashed and before we come back in I make them sit before I go in first, etc. I never reprimand them be name, and more often than not, they come when I call them by name. I train both dogs (using treats). The Chi can sit, stay, rollover, do a 360. The pup at this point I am happy with sit, and stay, I will progress as he gets older.
When we walk the dogs, they walk well together. However, inside, the puppy gets too physical after awhile. My problem is how much should I let the Chi and the pup socialize? My Chi growls, shows her teeth and generally shows her distaste when she has “had enough” of the pup. However, due to her diminutive size vs the pups larger size she isn’t really strong enough to “fight him off”. He really loves to torment her and doesn’t seem to get it and know when enough is enough.
Our current plan had been to let them go at it for a few minutes. Growling and snapping occur, running and chasing go on and after a few sessions, we call it quits and get the puppy away from the Chi by squirting him with a mist of water. At that point I generally sit on the floor with him and play with him and spend quality time with him to redirect his energy. He plays really well with me, tug of war, tossing squeakies about, etc.
I am all for letting them determine who is boss, however, how far do I let it go before my Chi gets hurt or it changes her personality to live in fear in her own home? Are we doing the right thing by letting them go at it and then redirecting the pup after the Chi has endured fair bit of “bad manners” from the puppy?
