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Thank you so much for anwering my post.
I have just been watching them together again and the big dog always approaches with her tail as high and as curled upwards as it can be...she goes in for a sniff and then she almost imnediately puts her front paw on the little one's shoulder area and then the little one growls - at which point the big dogs tail goes from up high to about level with the base of her body and her ears perk up and she jerks her head away for a second - as if in shock - quickly followed by increased interest - hovering/towering over the smaller one - she also starts pushing her with her snout (definately increased pushiness and determination after that first growl)....and she just looks like she will not walk away from the smaller one any time soon. I have not let the situation go any farther than that.
When I see her fixate visually, her tail is up high and I would say her body does not look particularly stiff - until the little one runs - and then the big one's neck will stretch out and she will chase (she has tried climbing over a couch to get to the smaller one twice). She will stop when given a firm command to do so but obviously I could not leave them alone together.
I agree, I am nervous and they know it and it helps none of us! I need to get over it or at least pretend that I am not so nervous.
I try to not give in to the smaller dog's stress but at the same time I can't allow her to be hurt.
We will continue with the leash walking. The only problem is the big one tugs so badly that I don't know if they realize we are even walking together...I can barely keep up! She was not trained well on a leash so this is a work in progress.
We are comitted to ensuring that both dogs are happy and we want the big dog to feel at home here - she really is worth the effort.
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