Q: I had a 7-year old Yorkie and decided a second dog would be nice. Since I like larger dogs and have allergy problems, research led me to Airedales. We found a breeder with happy, happy dogs and decided to get one. I had a female Doberman when the Yorkie was a pup and there were NEVER any problems. Now we have an 8-year old female Yorkie and a 10-month old female Airedale and never a moment's peace. The Airedale is ALWAYS in the Yorkie's face wanting to play and/or boss her around and the Yorkie never wants to play and is always jumping or snapping at the Airedale. I don't know how to handle this. Most of the time they do seem to care about each other - they kiss all the time and always wag their tails at each other.
Problem # 2 - treats and toys. The Airedale doesn't want the Yorkie to have anything. Months ago they tried to take pigs' ears from each other without problems, now it's getting more serious. The Airedale has attacked the Yorkie a couple of times over treats (cookies), one time drew blood. They eat their meals together and there isn't a problem, when the Yorkie is finished eating the Airedale will go to her dish and finish what's left. It's the treat problem. It seems the easiest way is not to give them treats or toys when they are together. However, that just seems to be skirting the issue. I would like to live in harmony with my 2 dogs and not have these problems. I don't want to keep the Airedale in a crate her whole life because I'm afraid she'll kill or seriously hurt my Yorkie. This is the only sign of aggression that I have seen in this dog. She loves everyone and is always very happy. The Yorkie does perpetuate this problem too, however, she cannot hurt the Airedale. PLEASE HELP.
A: I hate to scare you here, but I'm pretty sure your Yorkie is in mortal danger. It won't be a matter of the Airedale not "caring" about her, it will be instincts and what they were both bred to be. These are 2 female terriers, with a vast size difference. Yorkies are frequently killed by larger dogs, because they don't back down. Two females--as your Airedale matures more, this is going to get worse.
Whatever you do, stop feeding them anything whatsoever when they are together. No food, no treats, no chew items like rawhide, pig's ears, cow hooves or macho stix. This taps into deep survival instincts in dogs, and will cause fights even between dogs not otherwise likely to fight. Between these 2 dogs, putting them in a situation of even thinking about competing for food could be lethal to the Yorkie.
If the Airedale kills the Yorkie, it will not mean that the Airedale is a vicious dog. It will be her following the instincts that nature and human selective breeding have instilled into her. Aggression toward other dogs of the same sex is normal for terriers. That goes for the Yorkie, too. Perhaps she got along with the Dobe because she was a puppy then.
An Airedale needs very diligent obedience training. That may be a problem for you, since obedience classes are full of dogs, and you're allergic! But it's essential that you establish and maintain good command control of her. For an Airedale, that takes a lot of formal training.
I think you're going to have to be very vigilant in order to have a chance of keeping these 2 dogs safely in the same home. I don't foresee the relaxed lifestyle you had in mind.
Your veterinarian may be able to recommend a behavior specialist to come out and evaluate the situation between the 2 dogs. There may be a lot you can do in how you run things in the house and handle the dogs to make things safer. This is the time to do something about it, because these problems get worse as the dogs get older. Even if they reached several years of age without a damaging fight, it could still happen after that. There's never a point where you can be sure of being home free.
On top of the risk to the Yorkie, both dogs may be learning through this experience to be more aggressive toward other dogs of the same sex in the future than they would otherwise have been. That is the kind of learning you don't want to have happen with any dog, especially a terrier.
It's unfortunate that you happened to choose a female dog for your second dog, because the chances of a male and a female dog getting along in the same home are quite good, even when they're terriers.
Many people do manage to live with a situation like this, and keep the dogs safe. It requires training, diligence, and a rather vigilant lifestyle, but it can be done. I hope things work out well for you and your dogs.