Day 2: 8 wk old female boxer & 4 yr old male chihuahua. Will they ever be friends?!!?

[awoww]

Hi there,

It is day 2 already and my boyfriend and I are becoming a wee bit stressed out. I understand it has only been 2 days, but i just wanted to ask a few questions and have a hopeful answer from you guys.

We got our boxer female 2 days ago, and she was 2 hour drive away from where we lived.
She had 3 brothers and 2 sisters that she would play with all the time. The boxer is awesome, she gets along great with kids, other dogs, etc.

I have a 4 year old chihuahua who used to be really playful with big dogs, until he met my moms dog ( who was really mellow and DID NOT want to play at all and would nip at my chihuahua when he would taunt her) and lived with her for about 9 months when he was 1 yrs old.

Theres a brief background of both of them

Im not really understanding their signals, my boxer always loved to play and box (of course) but my chihuahua doesn't , yet he taunts her and his tail wags? But when the boxer is about to lunge at him my chihuahua would nip at her ( not violently or anything) then he would wag his tail after? like he wants to play? I don't get it!!!

We were told to supervise them , but i did not think it would be this difficult since my chihuahua have lived with other dogs before! but i guess not this playful.

I really don't know what to do anymore, and both my boyfriend have not have any sleep at all!!

Boxer wants to play, chihuahua doesnt. will she ever understand ?

What should i do so i can get them to like eachother? or at least help my boxer to understand that toby does not want to play...

I feel really guilty for taking her from her brother and sisters and having all that play time with them and turning her world around and meeting a dog that does not want to play

I just don't know what we should do

[Cami]

Please, please... please, do not take this the wrong way. I am not trying to be rude! I replied to another of your posts but I can see that you are now feeling stressed instead of just excited and concerned about the situation.

I take care of animals for a living. I am not an expert by any means but I have a lot of exposure to many different breeds. Bar none....Boxer puppies are the most incredibly frustrating, high energy, non focused of the bunch!

This is of course just my opinion but Chi's......are not always the most friendliest of the bunch. I am not saying they are mean but they have a sort of Napoleon complex (a lot of smaller dogs do but Chi's rank near the top). Some can be a little on the troublesome side but their size allows for so much forgiveness. Meaning they like to stir up trouble and then run away to the safety of humans (want picked up or hide behind them). They might bark to get other dogs going or like you mentioned....taunt the puppy! A wagging tail isn't always what it seems. A dog knows what another dog is saying by HOW it wags its tail. Humans a lot of the time think a wagging tail means the dog is happy/friendly, etc....I've seen dogs about ready to fight and both tails were wagging. Fight ensues, ends and tails wag some more.

Since the situation is what it is you can do a few things to help. Stop trying to have them interact when the puppy is at full throttle. Do what needs to be done to tire her out away from your Chi. One on one play time with humans and toys before she has access to your Chi. Her energy levels will be a bit depleted so she won't have as much energy to burn. Let them co-exist when the pup is tired! A tired puppy is a good puppy. If she can't stir up as much trouble the Chi won't feel the need to stir up his own.

You have MANY months ahead of you where this sadly is going to get worse before it gets better. The combination you have between the two breeds might not be the best. It can work though and I am sure we have members here with Chi's and Boxers. Or Min-Pins and Boxers....etc....

Everything your pup is doing now at 8 weeks of age and 10 or so pounds it will still be doing at 6-7 months only she will be much bigger, stronger and faster. I have dealt with a Boxer pup who came to us just a few days shy of 9 weeks and 16 pounds who wants nothing more than to play with the cat. A cat who grew up with a Boxer literally they were 2 weeks apart in age and were the best of friends. She is not afraid of dogs and sees no reason why she should protect herself. Instead she got squished more often that I care to admit. Raine (Boxer) just turned a year old last week. I have just NOW started to see a change in her behavior towards the cat. She has started to lose the constant focus towards her. I would still never leave them alone since I don't trust Raine not to corner her on any given day (wanting to play only) but still accidents could happen. Cat has no self preservation mode!

In a sort of similar situation where another pet is smaller and more fragile than a Boxer and needs constant supervision when in each others vicinity. A year out and changes are happening but it is a long and slow process. We will get there but sometimes it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I share your concern and frustration!