I have a friend that got a 6 year old Shitzu a week ago from a couple that could no longer keep her for personal reasons. My friend already had a 12 year old Lhasa apso. The dogs seem to get along alright apart from mealtimes when they are seperated as the older one snaps at the new one. As the week has gone on the new dog has started growling and snarling at the children (14 & 15) and my friends husband. She seems to be fine with my friend but she is with her all day. Sometimes she growls when visitors come to the house. The new dog was fine for the first couple of days. This behaviour has just started as the week has progressed. They obviously don't want this behaviour to get worse so they need some advice. I think it could be dominance related. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions as i'm sure others will have experienced this.

It is possible, though of course not certain, that the dog was like this with her previous owners or their friends. Many dogs are passsed on because of "personal reasons", but turn out to have a problem. When dogs first come to a new home, there is usually a "honeymoon period" where the dog works out who is who and what is what, and then the dog may revert to its previous behavour which was why it needed to be rehomed in the first place!

Having said that, i could also be wrong and it may be something that has just started!

Do you know how the children react with her, and do they ever try to stroke her while she is eating for example? They are of course older teenagers, so hopefully they will be sensible with her.One hopes so but it doesn't hurt to enquire. Re the visitors, it could be fear related, esp. if she was not very well socialised when young and not used to visitors, or forced to be petted and picked up all the time.

I'm not picking up any particular "signs " from your post, so it is difficult to give real advice. I always work on the principle of making people/visitors etc pleasurable for the dog, but at the same time you really need to know what the problem is or your friend could end up rewarding the dog for her inappropriate behaviour accidentally. I would recommend a vet visit to rule out any medical problem, then get the vet to refer you to a reputable and experienced behaviourist to assess exactly why the dog is reacting this way.

Lindsay