After reading all your posts and giving this some serious (maybe too much) thought, we moved Fiona's crate out of our MBR closet and into our downstairs (finished basement) utility room. The MBR closet was not working for Lisa and me, and I don't believe it was helping Fiona "learn her place" in the family pack. Our house is not large, a rambler (or ranch, depending on where you're from) with a full finished basement, but Fiona is now more isolated when she is in her crate.

She has been with us 6 weeks now and while not as frequent as in the beginning, her crying for attention, her "jazz hands" (standing on her back legs, saying "pick me up"), and her demands for attention while in her crate, are not acceptable.

On the other hand, this dog is so cute I can barely stand it; Operation Tough Love (aka: groundwork) really is tough...

I don't think I'd move it that far personally. The idea is that you control the choicest sleeping place(the bedroom) not that she gets kicked from her pack every night.

Stay the course and you won't regret it. Think of it as pushing the reset button on your dogs behavior.

Have you done any reading on what an extinction burst can look like? Sometimes it gets worse right before it gets much better.

 Quote: Cathy Goessman

Stay the course and you won't regret it. Think of it as pushing the reset button on your dogs behavior.

Have you done any reading on what an extinction burst can look like? Sometimes it gets worse right before it gets much better.

Extinction burst is exactly what I thought. And judging by the look in her eyes, I'd wager she can handle it and come out smelling like a rose. She looks tough. Stay the course. You'll regret it if you don't.

Keep in mind one thing, though. In a lot of ways, it may be like pushing a reset button. However, some issues may linger and require management for life. If she is a hard or a truly dominant dog, she'll comply with obedience and rules, as it's the easier path to get what she needs/desires, but she'll always be hardwired to get her way. My dog knows her limits very well, but still tests those limits, and she's not even a hard dog.

JMO

 Quote: Cathy Goessman

I don't think I'd move it that far personally. The idea is that you control the choicest sleeping place(the bedroom) not that she gets kicked from her pack every night.

Stay the course and you won't regret it. Think of it as pushing the reset button on your dogs behavior.

Have you done any reading on what an extinction burst can look like? Sometimes it gets worse right before it gets much better.

I agree with Cathy here -- No need to "cast Fiona down to the Dungeon" (so to speak) ... Just somewhere else in the General Vicinity upstairs that is NOT inside your MBR Maybe a hall bathroom or the laundry room ???

2 bitches can be unpleasant.

It's great you've got Fiona in a crate at night and out of the MBR. Your old dog deserves her place . No reason that Fiona needs to go in MBR at all. Fiona can be loved and trained in the livingroom, kitchen, TV area, whatever. When you retire to go to bed, Fiona can go in her crate, and learn to be grateful about it. She knows what's up, she's not an infant. If she's crying in her crate, she's not afraid. If you are firm, she will accept your rules. "Here's a treat, stay, be quiet, see you tomorrow."

It is not really possible, in my experience, to control pack rank, between dogs.

But feeding and resting places are things worth fighting about, so if you control that, you can limit most squabbling.

The biggest challenge in terms of where to keep Fiona's crate is dealing with the way Fiona reacts anytime she sees Molly; Fiona really does go "full Cujo". To keep the peace, we have had to keep the dogs completely segregated.

We once tried putting Fiona's crate in the living room. We then let Molly into the room. Fiona was beyond belief; I wish I had video'd it.

I really don't want to banish her, but if she is not behind a closed door from Molly, Fiona is a loud, angry, vicious little Yorkie... Maybe I should try again? If I do try it again, the camera's will surely be rolling this time.

Here's what I would do.

Little Fiona needs a pack structure boot camp, which would include being on a leash, tethered to your belt 24/7. Any little displays of aggression can then be corrected instantly, and there's no danger of her actually attacking the other dog.

NILIF--nothing in life is free --would be the rest of the boot camp. She would receive nothing, not food, water, permission to go through a doorway, without "earning" it by complying with a simple command.

This little dog is effectively re-arranging your life and your household to suit her idiosyncrasies. But you are bigger and smarter. She needs firm-but-fair structure and clear signals of what behavior is okay with you.

Segregating the older dog is what Fiona is demanding. Give in to her and what will she demand next?

Richard, bear in mind what Tracy is saying, because, IMHO, there is something else in play here. No need for video... most of us have seen it before and/or can visualize it.

The escalation that you see in Fiona, when she's crated and Molly enters the room, sounds to me like barrier aggression. My dog does the same thing with strangers passing by my house, and the neighbors have commented on it. When my dog is fenced or staked out, she goes ballistic at the sight of a person or another dog walking past our house. However, if I am outside with her, and especially if shes off-leash, she doesn't go ballistic. If she shows some interest or a readiness to act, I can easily call her down and control her with OB commands.

As Tracy suggests, the better solution may be to tether Fiona to you and work on the reactivity, reserving the crate for bedtime and timeouts when Molly won't be in the same room. As Betty said, the actual location of the crate is irrelevant, as long as you can keep Molly from taunting Fiona (and when I say taunting, the mere sight of Molly sets Fiona off when she's crated). Maybe the basement would do for starters, then, when Fiona is better able to control herself, she can "earn" a spot closer to the rest of the family.

All JMO.

 Quote: Tracy Collins

Here's what I would do.

Little Fiona needs a pack structure boot camp, which would include being on a leash, tethered to your belt 24/7. Any little displays of aggression can then be corrected instantly, and there's no danger of her actually attacking the other dog.

NILIF--nothing in life is free --would be the rest of the boot camp. She would receive nothing, not food, water, permission to go through a doorway, without "earning" it by complying with a simple command.

This little dog is effectively re-arranging your life and your household to suit her idiosyncrasies. But you are bigger and smarter. She needs firm-but-fair structure and clear signals of what behavior is okay with you.

Segregating the older dog is what Fiona is demanding. Give in to her and what will she demand next?

Tracy, thank you for the feedback; we are calling it "Operation Tough Love" and have been working it for about two weeks. Fiona is either on a leash or in her crate at all times, but we are still hesitant to allow she and Molly in the same room without them both on leash and both on DD collars; Molly is generally tolerant of other dogs, but just that: tolerant. As of today we have DD collars for both dogs, so we may try a walk on opposite sides of the road this weekend.

 Quote: Duane Hull

Richard, bear in mind what Tracy is saying, because, IMHO, there is something else in play here. No need for video... most of us have seen it before and/or can visualize it.

The escalation that you see in Fiona, when she's crated and Molly enters the room, sounds to me like barrier aggression. My dog does the same thing with strangers passing by my house, and the neighbors have commented on it. When my dog is fenced or staked out, she goes ballistic at the sight of a person or another dog walking past our house. However, if I am outside with her, and especially if shes off-leash, she doesn't go ballistic. If she shows some interest or a readiness to act, I can easily call her down and control her with OB commands.

As Tracy suggests, the better solution may be to tether Fiona to you and work on the reactivity, reserving the crate for bedtime and timeouts when Molly won't be in the same room. As Betty said, the actual location of the crate is irrelevant, as long as you can keep Molly from taunting Fiona (and when I say taunting, the mere sight of Molly sets Fiona off when she's crated). Maybe the basement would do for starters, then, when Fiona is better able to control herself, she can "earn" a spot closer to the rest of the family.

All JMO.

Duane, thank you for the guidance on the sleeping arrangements. We are going to leave Fiona's crate downstairs for now. It's not as isolated as it may sound, and it is the least disruptive to our family. As for Fiona's aggression toward Molly, it is in crate, out of crate, inside, outside, thru doors, in her sleep, etc. Although we have not had an "incident" between the two in a while now, it has all been due to controlling the dogs' environment.