How far should I let my dogs gowhen fighting?

Question

I have a chihuahua (Pancake) and a 50-lb Mutt (Shaik)
Shaik could no doubt hurt Pancake very easily, but Pancake is always attacking Shaik. Shaik is very submissive, so he will just stand there and take it, but when she keeps attacking him he will get mad and bark at her and king of lunge at her. Should I let him do what he's going to do? Would he kill her or hurt her bad? Or does he understand that she is small and that we wouldn't wnat him to hurt her? I'm just afraid that he's going to bite her bad and hurt her. Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, or tips?

Let me clear up a few things...
Shaik is not aggressive at all, he has never attacked anyone (dog or human). He doesn't even bark at strangers...
The other thing is that we DO assert ourselves at pack leader to Pancake. We pin her on her back and tell her no and don't let her go until she behaves. It has worked with everything but getting along with Shaik. She is just so sure that she is higher up than him. I'm just trying to figure out what to do to show her that it's not OK. And it's not like i'm letting my dogs fight, people, she attacks him and he will just stand there or walk away until he gets to a point where he will defend himself. I always break it up, but I'm just asking if I should let him defend himself?

Answer 1

The sheer difference in size means you should stop the attack immediately. Shaik may hurt Pancake one day without meaning to. He is trying to tell her to leave him alone and she is obviously not listening.

Since Pancake is doing the attacking, she should get a "time out" when she does...put her in another room for about 15 minutes. She'll get the hint.

Answer 2

This is not a very safe situation you should not allow your dogs to go around attacking each other. You need to affirm yourself as Pack leader. I have seen similar situations on an episodes of the dog whisperer. In one the lady was always so nervous that something was going to happen, her nervousness was not a positive for the dogs. She needed to be clam and assertive it was hard for her but once she started to relax the situation was better.

If Pancake attacks Shailk again you should tell her no or make some sort of assertive noise. If that dosent work you should put her on her back and pin her down in till she is in a submissive state. This is what a pack leader would do to a dog who is misbehaving, you must show your dogs you are the pack leader and attacking one another no matter who starts it will not be aloud in this pack.

If you have the national geographic channel I suggest watching The Dog whisperer. It airs Mondays 8 or 9 pm c, and typical has repeats during the week.

Check out
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/
http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/channel/dogwhisperer/index.html

Answer 3

SCOLD Pancake. Do not let her do this just because she's small. It's stressful to Shaik to have to deal with her, and he shouldn't have to. When they start to fight separate them immediately and make sure Shaik knows he's not getting the blame.

Answer 4

yes, there is the possibility if the larger dog should fight back that the small one would be seriously hurt if not killed. sounds like you need some serious training or attitude adjusting and not let the small dog attack ANYTHING. try using a indoor kennel in those situations. when the dog acts out, stop it immediately and kennel it for a time out. break the habit quick or risk losing both dogs. one to death and the other to the pound. you...are the alpha in the house, not the little one. there is nothing cute about an agressive dog

Answer 5

I don't think dogs have any concept of size. When dogs are new around each other they are always going to test for the Alpha position. But after a while it needs to stop. If outside I'd suggest spraying them with a water hose if they really get into it. But if Pancake is the one that is usually starting it, I'd keep a spray bottle handy and when she starts I'd spray her with the spray her with water and tell your NO, Pancake. After a while hopefully she will see this behavior is not okay.

Answer 6

it doesnt sound like the big one is too aggresive. he might just bite and lunge at her to tell her to stop it hes had enough i think it might be ok as long as you are there to make sure they dont kill each other. maybe pancake will smarten up. think of it this way if they were in the wild they would establish order by fighting, at least at your house they have a referee, you. my dogs fight once in a while and if its because one is picking on the other i let it go for a second and then separate them.

Answer 7

Me, personally I don't like chihuahuas. They are vicious little curs that are the most prone to bite, fight and be irritating. If you let your rat dog keep at it, eventually your bigger dog is going to get sick of this crap and beat the crap out of the runt. Or kill it. It's like the little guy picking on the big one at a bar. The big guy usually ignores the little one, but eventually the little guy will get beat up. You should either separate your dogs, or get rid of the chihuahua, or get a muzzle for it. Give your other dog a break! The poor thing!

Answer 8

You need to teach Pancake some manners--aggression will eventually get him hurt! The word 'NO' is simple for a dog to understand!

Answer 9

if the dogs have been around eachother for a while they are just playing. i had a 80pound german shepard and a 10 pound apricot poodle, the poodle would always attack my shepard and my shepard would lie and let the poodle get at her until she had enough then would growl n get mean, but they know not to hurt eachother. if they are knew to eachother then keep an eye out on them cuz they will be fightin for ground and attention to you. good luck

Answer 10

Don't let your dogs fight at all! Stop them immediately! A very strong NO! should do the trick. If not, them separate them and calm them down individually. Fighting dogs is never acceptable.