New friend on the block...actually in the kitchen

[Lilah Charm]

Hello all! My lovely little yorkie lady is lilah charm. Lilah turned one last December and we have had her since she was twelve weeks old. We have a large family with young children and raise livestock, lilah does great with all of it and is our only dog. Yesterday a ten month old puppy who needed/needs a new place to live came home with us. She is a yorkie mix but she is thirteen pounds (s**tzu?), lilah is not quite five pounds. She has a long story starting out in LA, ending up in a high kill shelter where she was picked up by a rescue(?) for two weeks then ended up for two weeks with a mama with two young kids living in an apartment in the affluent 'pearl district' with two very young children who quickly realized she could not have a dog and well, now she is chewing on a bone in my living room. She is spayed and vaccinated, de flead and groomed, she is playful and very friendly, not barky and generally seems to be very well mannered. Still working on the potty thing but seems to mostly have it down. So now you have the background, here is where we are at: I have totally thought it might be fabulous to get lilah a best friend! I was kind of thinking a full blown yorkie and a young pup. I loved having lilah from the moment she was ready to join a human family, I am glad to have controlled her environment in a safe an healthy way that has really supported her development, also I want to make sure she is the boss and that she is secure. That was how I imagined that scenario. Iris is the yorkie mix's name. She is a sweetie, maybe she could be lilah's best friend? Maybe we should just give her a great home until we find the perfect one? I am looking for words of wisdom, advice and questions that will make the situation clear and help me make the best decision for lilah and iris (and our family) thanks guys!

[WannaBe]

If they get along well what better home could she have?! Go for it.

[Lilah Charm]

Originally Posted by WannaBe

If they get along well what better home could she have?! Go for it.

Well so far, I am not sure. Of course lilah has to establish her dominance and i know she is a dominant girl from our play dates so I am not surprised. Se barked for an entire hour after I brought iris home. A whole hour. Wow. As she is getting a little older she has gotten a titch barkier, I understand that a tendency to bark goes with the terrier-tory more often than not but wow. And more barking has ensued. We are petting her first and she goes through te door first and iris is in the car seat in the back and lilah is in the front so I think we are doing that part mostly right- let me hear ya'lls opinion on how much to let lilah be the boss too, I don't want to allow her to be a high strung bully. There has definitely been good playing but it gets out of hand and turns into a fight- that is not happy or good! Is that expected while they establish roles? Will lilah chill out when she is sure iris knows that my li is older and smarter? Biggest worry is that iris is so much bigger than lilah. Bigger than I realized.

[Lilah Charm]

Tried to edit to add that playing is great and dominance establishment is normal but I am worried about it being a fight and lilah getting hurt. I don't want to be overprotective and create a spoiled monster but She is quite tiny andni am surprised at te drastic difference in size. I need a sounding board for normal transitional conflict an safety boundaries (as I say this lilah wagged her tail and invited iris to play, so confused!)

[Cherie6446]

The dominate dog will dominate - you can not make one dominate over the other. They have to work that out. My Zoey is 6 lbs and her friend is a Maltese rescue and he weighs 13 lbs. she is the boss, period.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by Cherie6446

The dominate dog will dominate - you can not make one dominate over the other. They have to work that out. My Zoey is 6 lbs and her friend is a Maltese rescue and he weighs 13 lbs. she is the boss, period.

Exactly. They have their own high social order and their own communication. In most cases, they do work it out eventually!

[Lilah Charm]

Originally Posted by Cherie6446

The dominate dog will dominate - you can not make one dominate over the other. They have to work that out. My Zoey is 6 lbs and her friend is a Maltese rescue and he weighs 13 lbs. she is the boss, period.

It is comforting to hear that your size difference is working out. I know that I do not get to decide who is the dominant dog but I do want to make sure tha I am setting us up for a positive experience wether it is a short term 'foster' or a long term relationship and that I am not having unrealistic expectations about everyone's safety and well being. Today was a much better day- they were actually cuddling in the morning, they are playing much better this evening and lilah is not so wacky barky. Eight pounds is a huge differene though I mean OmG! Lilah is a rail and iris is thick with skin, she looks like a chocolate lab puppy honestly. Just the poop size, pee amount and food consumption difference is already amazing. I imagine lilah not having a potty available when I hear other people say there yorkie's are potty outside only dog and I can't imagine it - she is so tiny and skinny that the famous Columbia river gorge winds would blow her away! But iris... I'm not sure a potty pad is a good idea for such a humongous (13 lbs instead of 4.6) dog, outside just makes more sense. Anyway, working through though, feeling it out, still looking to expand my repotiore of thoughtful insight- thank you folks who answered me