moosedt
New member
i just got my first bully , her name is maggie . she is seven months old and wants to play with my other dog which is a shih tzu ( 7yrs old ). my shih tzu wants nothing to do with her. any suggestings?
First, Welcome to EBN, and Maggie looks like one big sweet heart !! Your Shih Tzu has been an only child for 7 years, hasn't had to share space, belongings, attention, love or anything else, Your Shih Tzu is the Alpha Dog in the house, or in the pack, however you want to connect the dots. There's a new kid on the block, a new member to the pack, They first need to familiarize themselves with one another, a great place to do that is on mutual ground, Out away from the home, because your Alpha leader has already claimed the house, and looks at Maggie with resentment, and an invasion of territory. Knowing your Shih Tzu is much smaller, don't let that fool you, it means nothing, Your Shih Tzu will retain the leadership role. My suggestion, is to walk them both, away from the house, neutural territory, side by side, let them smell one another, let them find common ground, allow them to both know equal attention, and whatever you do, never do for one what you havent done for the other, Always, always, always, treat them both equally, unless one is punished for a reason. The neutural ground should allow them time and space to become familiar, when introducing my second English BD to the house, I purposely bought duplicate toys, both had their own. Thinking a good long walk together, should diffuse the situation, you may need to also seperate the two for short time periods. Introducing them slowly. I'm sure many others will be along with more great advice, This would be my start. Of course the obvious things to watch for is water and food bowl dominance or aggression, each of my boys have their own feeding bowls, but both drink from the same water bowl. Mine met away from the house, on neutural territory, shared some time getting aquanted, and still time to time, they will steal a toy from one another instead of getting another toy, but most importantly they play together real well, and are shadows of one another. Your also facing a major age difference, and I hate to say this, but your English Bully will steal your heart in a very short time, you have to be consistant with your actions towards both, and please stay on the board, and keep us updated on the progress, as well as asking more questions, you'll find EBN hard to be beat for great information, the best pet owners in the country, and experience of no others when it comes to our Bully's, and just think, your Shih Tzu will benefit from your visiting this site as well. Welcome again, look foreword to seeing you around.i just got my first bully , her name is maggie . she is seven months old and wants to play with my other dog which is a shih tzu ( 7yrs old ). my shih tzu wants nothing to do with her. any suggestings?