Two Shibas

Cooper and Pickle still do not get along. We have had them in our new apartment for about 3 months now, and Pickle for 4 months. Cooper still hates Pickle and will not stop trying to "dominate" him. Pickle makes the situation worse by not ever leaving Cooper alone. He has that annoying little brother personality that really pisses Cooper off.

Cooper's fine when they're both outside on walks. He doesn't really mind when Pickle shoves him out of the way to sniff whatever Cooper was sniffing first. He doesn't really care if he's the "pack leader" or not; Cooper likes to either be in the front or dawdle behind everyone (Pickle and Cooper never fight over who gets to be leader). Cooper also could care less where Pickle pees or poops and doesn't feel the need to over mark the area.

It's in the house that gets really bad, annoying, and frustrating. Cooper will bully Pickle and scare him so badly Pickle doesn't leave his kennel. When he does venture out, Cooper stresses him out by growling every time Pickle moves. When Cooper's lying down having a nap or just relaxing, Pickle comes out of nowhere and jumps on Cooper and tries to make Cooper chase him. I know Pickle's still a puppy but he should really learn to tone down when everyone's relaxing. Usually I yell at Cooper because he's the one that gets loud. Pickle never makes a sound when he's playing with Cooper and I don't think he can even growl. I feel bad for always yelling and disciplining Cooper because it really isn't his fault all the time. Corey gets on my case when I yell at Pickle because he feels sorry for Pickle. He can't help that he's undersocialized; that'll be the fault of the breeder.

Because Pickle has socialization issues, I think this is made harder because of Cooper's constant bullying. Pickle isn't able to relax because he's wary of Cooper being mean to him. When Corey and i watch TV too loudly Pickle freaks out and hides or he paces. And you know what happens every time Pickle moves; Cooper growls. I think it might almost be best if we gave Pickle up to a family that has the time to socialize Pickle and bring him out of his shell. Maybe Cooper was meant to be an only child but I still want him to have Pickle around. Granted Pickle enjoys Cooper's company way more than Cooper enjoys Pickle. I just feel like I'm taking the easy way out but at what point do you say enough is enough. I don't feel like this is healthy for either dogs because Cooper's getting more and more stressed and I'm sure Pickle's stressed more than we could imagine as he isn't as vocal as Cooper. But I'm afraid of Pickle going to the wrong home; I'm afraid someone might abuse him or drop him off at the pound when they realize that he is a lot of work. It's not that I'm afraid about the work, we are making slow progress, but it's just the fact that I can't stand listening to the damn dogs fighting all the damn time. I put Cooper in his kennel when he's being a dick but as soon as I let him out he's all over Pickle again. And Pickle doesn't know when to just give Cooper space and leave him alone.

I just don't know what to do and I feel like a horrible dog owner. I do get frustrated with Pickle because he is so terrified of everything and has too many issues but I feel like he's my responsibility now. I seriously want to call Cesar Milan and have him help me with my anti-social pup and jealous Cooper.