7yr old maltese keeps attacking my pitbull mix puppy

My in laws have a 7 year old male Maltese that will not play with my female Pit bull/Chow mix puppy.

The Maltese attacks every time she tries to play and he's always biting her making her yelp. My puppy would leave her after that because she is pissed that he keeps doing so (biting). I am worried when the puppy gets older she will attack him and really hurt or even kill him.. The puppy is only 3.5 months old and won't back down from him. She holds her own.

This is my first Pit Bull puppy and she's a great dog but when them two get anywhere near each other it's a war..... What can we do to get the Maltese to stop being so aggressive.. Any help will do

Thanks,
Scott








Hi Scott
It's pretty normal for an older, resident dog to resent the intrusion of a new puppy and some skirmishes are to be expected. Most of the time these 'spats' sound worse than they actually are and unless one of the dogs/pups is actually getting hurt (in that case firmly but gently correct the 'aggressor' and separate the two) it's often best to allow them to work it out between them.

You can find more information about this on my Introducing A New Puppy page which might help.

Pitbulls are great dogs and can make awesome family pets, but they do have a natural tendency to being dog-aggressive when adult and will play rough even as puppies. They rarely start a fight, but will finish it if provoked. Unfortunately due to their (undeserved) reputation, this breed will not get a second chance if something bad happens so it's important to be extra vigilant at all times.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about this right now as your little girl is just a pup and these two will most likely settle into a relationship that is friendly, or at least tolerant, given time. If however, they do continue to conflict when your pup is becoming more mature, then you will need to supervise them at all times to make sure no one gets hurt.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your puppy.