We have a 3 yr old fixed female long haired chihuahua and would like to add a 6 month old male un-neutered mal who has basic obedience, is crate trained, and part inside/kenneled dog. We will be doing a trial run this next week so any thoughts would be appreciated. I've handled him at our schutzhund club and he is very socialable towards people. He didn't get close to any of the other dogs but was interested in them and lunged and barked in the general direction. I'm told he lived in a household with a small dog (rat terrior) but was never around it. He is said to be aggressive towards cats and I wonder if our dog's small stature will insight this aggression?
I've read the introducing a new dog to the homw thread but thought this was a bit irregular so figured I'd start a thread.

Bob

I would keep the two entirely seperate.

My best friend raises chihuahua's and even the sight of my dogs tends to make them screech and run. NOT GOOD. The consequences of testing the theory could be dire.

Bob, I think a lot of it depends on your chihuahua as well. If the mal is dog aggressive, forget it. If not, don't let the chihuahua make him so. The positives are: female chi, more mature. I had some issues with 2 males, 1 chi and 1 GSD. Chi's can be big time instigators, and need to be monitored. They're also pretty possessive of "their" people and that may also cause problems. Mine was very aggressive to the shepherd at first. He slowly learned his lesson as the shepherd got angrier and less tolerant. They can never be fed anywhere near each other or be in a situation where they're competing for a toy or your attention. I've noticed that the attention thing can be even worse than toys.

The cat thing may or may not be a red flag. Most dogs know the difference between a cat and a dog, but if it's prey drive and not just cat aggression, you could have big problems. It wouldn't take much to learn this lesson the hard way.

What Deanna said surprised me in a way because the chis I know are very fearless and obnoxious, and usually cause their own problems. But if yours runs, the mal will most likely chase it. I'd definitely take her advice and keep them entirely separate, at the VERY LEAST until you really get to know the mal. Good luck!

Thanks for the imput thus far. Let me clarify about the Chi. She is overly friendly and does not meet the standards. She's about 8 pounds, a bit bigger than most Chis. This would not be her first time with another dog. We watched a male mini schnouzer (sp) for a few months and she kept her distance at first, not wanting to be bothered by the younger but larger Schn. Eventually she began interacting and initiating play sessions. I agree with the feeding seperatly and the competing for attention. We shall see. Thanks again.

Bob

Bob, she sounds a lot like my Chi. Very tough, athletic little dog, friendly to all. The downside is NO FEAR (or maybe we should call it common sense in this case <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />. They're not "shrinking violets" and can be quite provoking to larger dogs whose patience may or may not hold out. Be careful about supervision, because a 6mo mal isn't going to necessarily behave like his "true self" during the adjustment period. Continue supervision long after you feel like you can decrease it. As the mal matures and gets more comfortable in his environment, he may challenge the chi's rank. It can be done-it just takes a lot of commitment and precaution!

Thanks Jenni. I'm no so much worried about the Chi as she's so pleasant she'll stay away from bigger dogs. We weill see about a wired Mal though. I'll pick him up this Saturday.

Bob