# Jealous Maltese



## bonnie18 (Mar 16, 2014)

Hi, I have had 2 maltese, a male and a female for around 6 months. They have gotten along very well. 

Recently I brought another maltese female into the mix.

They are between 1 and 2 years old. The male has become aggressive to the new little female, lunging at her and frightening her.

He is my shadow, and I have been trying to give him as much attention as he got before, but of course the new one is sharing me also.

I have had 3 maltese before and even if they weren't best friends they tolerated each other. 
Does anyone have any suggestions to help curb the jealousy? I would be happy if they would at least get along. Thanks, Bonnie


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## Kathleen (Aug 4, 2011)

Hi Bonnie,
I know how stressful this can be. I had a similar problem when we adopted Bunnie. Daisy and Max were both about a year and a half old, and Bunnie was 5 months. She was crazy, full of energy, always wanting to play, and they didn't like her and would hide under the couch from her, or Daisy would fight with her. Not serious fighting, but growling and lunging at her.
I had a behaviorist trainer come to the house to observe and work with us.
A few things that I learned - 
The most important thing that I learned, is to make your boy dog think that it is just the greatest thing in the world for your new dog to be around. So whenever you are holding or patting the new dog, give them both lots of treats and praise. Also, try to be aware of your own emotions. Dogs pick up on our feelings, so if you are nervous about them interacting, it might make your boy nervous and cause a reaction.
You want to be sure to "protect" your new dog, and not let her live in fear (if she is). This might mean keeping them separate until they all get along okay. If you can keep them separate with a gate or pen so that they can see each other and smell each other, that can help give them time to adjust.
They are all in their adolescent years, which is probably part of the issue. They will mellow out as time goes by. All of mine get along fine now, but it was rough going for a while.
It can help to walk them together if you can. I always walk Daisy and Bunnie together, and I think it makes a big difference.
A book that I found helpful is "Fight" by Jean Donaldson. 
https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Practi...89679558&sr=8-1&keywords=fight+jean+donaldson
Some if it is for more serious aggression, but I found a lot of book dealing with the "why" helpful. Maltese are usually such sweet dogs, that I couldn't understand their behavior.
You also might want to google "resource guarding." It sounds like your boy is very attached to you and might be "guarding" you as his own.
Positive reward based training, just basic commands, can make a big difference too. It can help them become more confident, and get rid of some of the extra energy. We did a lot of clicker training.
If things don't improve, you could consider working with a dog behaviorist who can help figure out why the behavior is happening.
I hope things improve soon! You must be very worried, but I know it will get better.


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## bonnie18 (Mar 16, 2014)

Hi Kathleen,
Thank you so much for your very insightful letter. You have hit the nail on the head with your comments and I am going to check out both the book and about resource guarding, i do think that it is part of the issue. 
I know what you mean, I was surprised because I have never had a Maltese that did this, but I have had mostly girls and he is very attached to me. 
I am going to take your words of advice and work with him and make him realize he is still just as important to me as he was before she came. 
Thanks again for taking the time to help me out with this, I will let you know how things are going along soon. Bonnie


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## Davi (Jun 12, 2017)

I think you need dog trainer help, I wanted to say something very similar to above comment
but now I can only agree with the commentator above


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## maddysmom (Mar 8, 2012)

:goodpost::you rock:Kathleen!


Kathleen said:


> Hi Bonnie,
> I know how stressful this can be. I had a similar problem when we adopted Bunnie. Daisy and Max were both about a year and a half old, and Bunnie was 5 months. She was crazy, full of energy, always wanting to play, and they didn't like her and would hide under the couch from her, or Daisy would fight with her. Not serious fighting, but growling and lunging at her.
> I had a behaviorist trainer come to the house to observe and work with us.
> A few things that I learned -
> ...


When I brought my second malt into my home, my first dog, who was the most lovable girl ever, suddenly became my devil child. On day 3, she had my puppy by the throat literally trying to kill her, which landed me in the ER with a bloody puppy. It was a nightmare to say the least!
I consulted with a trainer who after watching the two together advised that they were never to be trusted alone, at least until I knew it was safe.
What I didn't realize is two boys, or a boy and girl will fight but will eventually stop.
Two girls will fight until they make the kill.

So, for a year, I set up an xpen and kept them separated while I was away or anytime I couldn't be in the same room with them.
For my girl...there was no trigger when she would attack.
If she woke in a mood, she would go over to the puppy while she sleeping and attack her. 
No food, or treats were allowed while alone and any toys my first girl was protective over were put away.

Getting my third girl helped. My first dog, the killer, never once attacked this puppy, other than to show she was the boss in the house. The first girl was the odd man out, the 2nd and 3rd played nicely, the first stayed on my lap in heaven and the attacks slowed down.
Is it perfect now...lets just say that on my way out the door yesterday, my first girl, for no apparent reason attacked my second, again for no apparent reason. I separated them for the day.
It can work, eventually, but like Kathleen mentioned, having a trainer is key.
Good luck to you and :Welcome 4:


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