5. NILIF -- Nothing in life is free. This means the dog must PERFORM to get anything it wants. For Gypsy, because we were trying to reduce dominance that was already present, I chose to use the "down" command because it requires her to throw herself into the most submissive posture available. I have since started peppering "sits" into the program, just to keep her paying attention -- but the dominance problem is long gone, so I'm less concerned with how submissive she is. "Wanna cookie?" -- nothing in life is free, so the dog must "down" on command for the cookie. (BTW -- when you start introducing NILIF, carry food AT ALL TIMES -- you're still rewarding the dog for submitting - this is NONCONFRONTATIONAL. Reward for a LONG time, then wean off food sporadically, but still praise the behavior.) "Wanna go outside?" - dog must "down". "Wanna drink of water?" -- that's right. You're catching on. The dog gets NO freebies. She must *earn* everything -- food (you should see her slam her body on the floor for dinner!), play, petting, water, going out, going for a r-i-d-e, getting T-R-E-A-T-S, coming inside. Gypsy even has to "earn" the right to work on the agility equipment ... partly because I think it helps her attitude ("Ohboyohboyohboy, Alpha-mom made me down, I must be about to do something Good"), and partly because she's so excited to be there that she needs the extra control.
BTW -- there are other non-confrontational ways to establish dominance. Ignore a dog when it tries to initiate play -- and as soon as it gives up, you initiate the game yourself. Alpha dogs decide when the pack plays, and when it hunts. And I *do* like the idea of teaching a puppy or a dog to roll on its back and accept petting ... but it doesn't have to be a battle.
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. If I keep them apart for long periods of time, it just seems to make it worse, as if the little Sophia has been saving up all day to get in the larger Queenie's face. I might add that Queenie is constantly by my side and at my feet, around the house and yard and during walks, but lately Sophia has started to run around me, ahead of me, is leaning on me, etc. and she needs constant reminding as to who is the leader. I think Sophia may be trying to make a bid for a higher status. It is driving me CRAZY! I will definately consider all of the suggestions presented here. Once again, Pet Talk members have proved an invaluable source of great ideas and supprt.
Maybe their natural personalities make them like this? I'm not sure about any of it now that I think about it. I'm shocked that your Chis get along with your other dogs. My girls don't get along well with large dogs at all. Everytime they see my kid's dogs, they're so hyper and barky, I have to seperate them quickly. However, most of the time, they're pretty good girls and a pleasure to be around. I did think of one more thing. Did your girls start their original fighting when food was involved? I know D and D's first fight was over something I was eating. Even though food wasn't necessarily involved after that, the growling and "toothy grins" got worse. The only thing I usually have to do is speak to them firmly and authoritative and they stop. Believe me-I feel your pain and hope you don't have to rehome either of them. Please keep us posted and again, good luck with the problem. 
. I cannot rememer what their first fight was over, but they ended up under a king-sized bed and it was awful, trying to get them out and separated. Sophia was pretty bloodied up that time, although it always looks worse than it is. What I have done so far is remind Sophia that I am the boss and kept both dogs off my lap and away from my side 
Originally Posted by TimMc
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