Dog Health Questions: Small dog training help?!?!?!?

i have a chihuahua mini-pin mix, her name is Lily. she is almost 7 months old, i've had her for five months. she is very agressive to other dogs if they are much bigger than her. i just moved to NY and my brother has a pitbull. The pitbull is very sweet but Lily often attacks her. I'm worried that the pitbull might get fed up and hurt my dog. Also, Lily occansionlly bites people. How can I stop this agressive behavior? I tell her no and give Lily a smack on the butt when she gets agressive, but that just makes her more angry and she bites more. How can I show her that the pitbull is not a threat and get her to stop bitting me/the pitbull?
thanks.

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It's best not to have her close enough to the pitbull that she can actually bite. The pitbull sounds like he/she has a wonderful temperment but even the best behaved dog can be pushed to it's limits if another dog repeatedly tries to bite it. Even a small nip from the pitbull intended just to be a warning could result in serious injury for a small dog like a chihuahua. It can be quite challenging to teach very small dogs that they don't need to be overly aggressive to compensate for their small size. When it comes down to it, your chihuahua is not showing confidence and it does not believe it can take on a large dog- it is fearful and that is why it lashes out. Smacking the dog is not the way to teach it. It wont work to teach a small dog not to be aggressive by being aggressive towards it. First off, if it is biting you it does not respect you as a leader and protector. Try doing things to teach the dog you are the boss. Like always go through doors before your dog, put a leash on the dog and step on it towards the dog's neck gently so the dog is forced to lay down, this puts the dog in a submissive spot- do it repeatedly throughout the day and the dog will learn nothing bad will happen and eventually wont struggle at all. Make the dog sit before you feed her. Etc Etc you get the idea. Have her on leash when she meets the pitbull but don't leash the pitbull. If Lily lashes out simply say no and give a sharp tug on the leash. Do not touch her or say anything else to her. You may also want to have a safe place for her to go to like a small crate. Don't let other dogs around the crate and don't bother her when she is in it. It is her haven and she needs to feel that she has a place to go if she needs to get out of a situation rather than being aggressive. I know it all sounds easy but in real life getting rid of aggressive behaviour is very challenging. But once she learns to respect you as a leader things will improve. Don't think you are being mean either because dogs crave a leader and need to know their role in the"pack". You will have a happier, nicer dog if you show your authority but you don't need to do it in an aggressive manner. Hope that helps a bit. If all else fails consider a personal dog trainer that specializes in fixing aggressive behaviour.

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• I have a one year old Yorkie Poo who weighs about three pounds and she went through the same thing when she was a puppy. It's small dog syndrome (not a technical name) the vet explained that my dog was over aggressive to try to prove dominance.. kind of like a survival tactic. In my case my dog grew out of it... she now plays with other, always much bigger dogs all the time. The best thing to do would be to keep a close eye on her and watch the dogs she's around. Once she feels safe this behavoir should stop.