[MaxHollyNoah]

Hi Alison,

>I have been reading on various sites on the internet that you should let the dogs decide their own ranking and then go along with their decision.

I've also read something like this but I personally believe they don't need two leaders: If YOU are the confident and respectful pack leader, all the other dogs should look for directions from YOU. You want to control the relationship between the two dogs as well as establishing a strong bonding between YOU and each of the dogs. However, this would be a different story within dogs at a dog park or a dog day care since they are not living together all the time so their rankings will be decided among themselves.

>How long would you expect it to take before we see an improvement in Tilly's behaviour? Do you think they will actually start to play together and enjoy each other's company or do you think this would have happened by now?

I think the two dogs first need to be comfortable with each other before they start playing. How do they react to each other during the meal times? Do they respect each other's food and not try to take the other dog's food even if one dog finishes much quicker? How are their body languages?

Can you sit in between the dogs and pet them at the same time without one of them getting nervous or jealous?

Is your yorkie playful to start with? Did he play with any other dogs in a dog park or doggie day care? It is all depending on each dog's personalily and some dogs would never wrestle around with any dogs but others are so playful and start playing with stranger dogs in a dog park. My border collie mixes are more reserved so they don't wrestle with any stranger dogs, just among themselves.

Once you realize that your two dogs are very relaxed with each other, you can initiate a play by exciting them, i.e. "common, lets play!!" and if they respond to your invitation, direct each dog to the other so that they can start playing together. If they are not aggressive, you can introduce a tug of war to them under your supervision. If the new dog gets aggressive, put the rope away and finish the play. This way, she will learn that fun ends when she gets aggressive.

Hope things will work out with you and your dogs.