Need Help With Yorkie Who Attacks Please

[aladinsane33]

My Yorkie whom I got when my daughter got divorced has all the comforts of home, is very well loved sits on my knee, all of these things, but he knows he does not share the bedroom, he does not walk/run ahead on and off the lead, in other words he knows his defined role, indeed I can stop my Yorkie from unnecessary barking by clicking my fingers that is because he knows the boundaries, without these boundaries the dog just does not know what to do, where to go, how to act or anything in between. One thing however I have never been able to do for my Yorkie is to get him to desist from attacking other dogs, mindful that he was a normal puppy, a lovely social dog until two years old then his whole world changed when he was attacked by an English Bull terrier and almost murdered in the accompanying melee, me too, now despite all I try, or do, his first line of defence is offence, and for the life of me I cannot stop it, and it gets me into loads of trouble with other dog owners who say he should be 'put down' ''no I will not get him euthanased for you or anybody'' comes the reply for something that is not his fault. If anyone has any idea [even if I may have heard it before] I would greatly appreciate their help.

[ChibiLuv]

Poor guy. Maybe enlist the help of a trainer. He doesn't need to be put down, that's horrible. Just avoid other dogs until you can get a professional to help you.

[kay miller]

Have you ever heard of the dog whisper he has a daily show on Nat geo. I think he is amazing. He deals with dogs " in the red zone" a lot, maybe you can find some tactics that may help.

[yorkietalkjilly]

There are no quick fixes to a dog with the history of attack and problem you describe. You can rehabilitate him to accept the presence of other dogs by helping him not to be afraid or hyper-excited by their presence but it will take some intensive work on your part and a great deal of persistent, short training sessions. If you really are interested in rehabbing your dog, I could give you some things that I would do if he were my dog but I wouldn't use an E-collar, alpha rolling or anything of an aversive form of training as Cesar Millan does on some of his shows. That kind of thing can shut a really fearful toy dog down altogether or possibly even cause him to mistrust you and there are other ways of rehab training that are not as scary for the dog.

[aladinsane33]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

There are no quick fixes to a dog with the history of attack and problem you describe. You can rehabilitate him to accept the presence of other dogs by helping him not to be afraid or hyper-excited by their presence but it will take some intensive work on your part and a great deal of persistent, short training sessions. If you really are interested in rehabbing your dog, I could give you some things that I would do if he were my dog but I wouldn't use an E-collar, alpha rolling or anything of an aversive form of training as Cesar Millan does on some of his shows. That kind of thing can shut a really fearful toy dog down altogether or possibly even cause him to mistrust you and there are other ways of rehab training that are not as scary for the dog.

Toby is nine years old in October,and having had him these past almost seven years I have had more scrapes with other owners, them even threatening me, but nothing would make me part with my wonderful highly intelligent little Yorkie, seriously I would die for him. He is without doubt the most intelligent dog I have ever had and I am 64 years old and have had dogs all my life and my late father before me. This Yorkie is unique, seriously if you had him for a week or so you would see what I mean. I love him to distraction and it is for a very good reason, the rapport we have shines through loads of people have told me this, but still he attacks other dogs on or off the lead and he means it, always goes for the throat [Yorkies were ratters] fierce little dogs and so he is with other dogs, fierce and belligerent and he is not bothered how big the dog is.


Sometime ago whilst walking him on the lead two Alsatians both off the lead attracted his attention, at first he wanted to be out of the way but, seeing this Alsatian come at him off the lead, it was trying to get hold of him, maybe only playing I don't know, but he launched himself at it and caught it underneath its eye holding on for grim life causing a lot of blood, this Alsatian could not shake him, hence the owner blamed Toby. It all happened very quickly I could do nothing about it, and this owner of these two Alsatians blamed me, excuse me I said, he is on a lead, your dog came at him, did it matter, not one iota, I suffered a tirade of abuse was told to get him effing put down and so it goes on, but I will not get him euthanased for something he is not to blame for.


I really wish I could turn the clock back but I cannot ,hence one unfortunate outing where he was first attacked by this English Bull Terrier almost murdered by it, this little Yorkie is now more or less condemned to a life on a lead, even then he attacks other dogs. I have tried everything with him, I mean at nearly nine years old it takes him under a week to learn new things, but I can make no progress with re- socialising him, getting him just to accept other dogs seems as far away now as it was following that fateful day way back when. He probably detects my anxieties to, as I do not trust other dogs either, and shudder if I see a large dog off a lead coming towards us, but then that attack on my little dog all those years ago has probably left an indelible mark not only on Toby, but on me too.. .

[yorkietalkjilly]

Now is the time for you to forget what happened to him in the past if you are going to rehabilitate him. He's living in the now. He's just a high-energy little terrier with a determination to keep himself safe by striking out. If you take charge in a firm but not mean or angry way, let him know that kind of behavior is no longer acceptable, that you expect better of him now and give him something more important for him to focus on as another dog passes him by, over time, one dog at a time, he'll begin to see that having other dogs around is no reason to go ballistic.

He can learn impulse control with regard to other dogs if you have his brain under your control. If you have their brain, you have the dog's body. Obedience training and having him trained to obey your every command is a good way to start to reshape his behavior and get him used to obeying you, not his impulses.

I would start out by taking out a few chunks of warm, boiled chicken - nothing else and no kibble, liver or milk bone treats. You've got to use meat for this training. Feed him a lighter than normal dinner the night before and skip his breakfast that morning so he's good and hungry - very food-oriented and willing to do anything to get his food. Take him out on the lead, keep him walking even with you - heeling - and when another dog approaches, cross the street to the other side and haul out the wonderful smelling piece of chicken, held right in front of his little nose in your closed fist so he can't get to it. He'll be VERY focused on that food. Keep that fist of chicken right in front of his nose as you walk him in a tight, very fast circle as the dog passes by on the other side of the street. You want the smell of that meat to that very hungry dog and that fast walking to totally keep his mind and nose busy working on things you are doing and nothing else.

If he starts to focus on the dog, turn and go the other way in the fast circle, say "look - chicken treat!" and bend down and touch him on the flank or shoulder with your chicken-filled fist to make him turn his head from looking at the dog and get his attention back on it and immediately move your open your fist slightly so he can see part of the chicken to the front of his muzzle and allow him to almost get it. If he's really hungry, he'll be far more interested in that piece of chicken than he will be in that dog. And if you have him walking fast enough in that circle at the same time, he'll be so busy trying to keep up with you and trying to get that meat, he'll forget the dog. It's not easy to walk a dog in a fast circle while holding chicken down against their nose but I promise you, if he's really hungry and that chicken is warm and fresh, he'll focus on that and trying not to fall over his own feet as he is walked in that fast circle. Once the dog has walked on past and he hasn't barked or growled, give him that meat as a reward and praise him.

Repeating that exercise will slowly desensitize him over the next days and weeks to what other dogs are doing and teach him to focus on what you two are doing - walking fast in circles and trying to get his meat and in the mean time, he'll begin to see that dogs passing him by are not such a big, bad thing and besides, he'll begin to associate seeing dogs approach with something good to eat. That kind of rehabilitation over and over until he's desensitized to other dogs being nearby can reshape a dog's reactions to other dogs as long as you take charge, keep him focused on walking and sniffing/eating that chicken and don't allow him time to focus on anything else.

Once he's staying quiet and accepting dogs walking past, you can begin to change up your routine to allow him to look at them as long as he doesn't get aggressive and then, if he remains calm, give him the meat reward and praise him.

That's how I'd start my dog out in rehab training if he were dog-aggressive outside. The other dog will be on the lead so he can't come get your dog's training chicken so don't worry about that and always take him in your arms and go inside if you see a dog off leash coming your way.

[yorkietalkjilly]

I forgot to add that the morning of the training, you want to set him up for success to focus on that chicken. After that light dinner the night before & your busy fixing the warm, boiled chicken with the scent drifting throughout the house, your hungry little dog will be FOCUSED on and ALERTED to that chicken cooking. He'll be constantly looking to you and asking you for it. He'll be expecting to get some. When it's done cooking, take it out, show it to him just above his nose and allow him to look at it up close, smell it, drool over it and develop a mad passion for it but never get a taste of it. It will drive him mad wanting it and you WANT that drive in him fully developed before your walk outside. Drain it, cool it some on the cabinet, saying over and over, "Mmmm, smell that chicken! You can get that soon, boy!" You are building up his focus and desire for the thing that is going to take the place of the passing dog's in his brain when outside on the leash.

Let him see you put the chicken in your treat pouch, tell him "You will get a bite soon!", hook it on your belt and leash him and walk him outside very slowly, you preceding him out of the front door always. Get him to stay focused on your hand on the treat pouch when you get outside by touching it and saying, "Mmm, want to get some chicken? Learn to focus on the chicken!" or whatever you want to say to keep him thinking about that chicken you have. Keeping him thinking about and focusing solely on that chicken is a huge part of the process at this point.

Now, take his leash up, place him beside your left leg and begin your walk and once you see another dog approaching, cross the street with him, take out the chicken(Finally!) from the pouch and place it in front of his nose and begin your very fast circle walk with that chicken taunting him in front of his nose. If you've prepared him by keying him onto that chicken earlier that morning, he'll now be very excited and VERY determined to get that chicken!!! He'll do anything to get his breakfast and learn to ignore everything else in the process. I'd just try it once or twice a day and then bring him back inside to eat his normal breakfast before he has a chance to encounter more dogs when he's not so crazy to get that chicken.

After a few days, you no longer need to withhold his breakfast the morning of the training as he'll have learned how good the chicken is, remember how badly he wanted it when he was soooo hungry and work to get it just as hard now that he knows the drill.

[Kerryn915]

In my experiences, these little guys are so stubborn and honestly if I'm walking my older more aggressive boy on a leash I will keep it very short and stop walking if he is showing aggression to people walking by or other dogs. If there is a much bigger dog I will pick him up and stop walking until they have passed by. Seems to have shown him to not be afraid and that the intimidation will pass and he will be fine. Now he doesn't bark or will bark at first but then he stops and watches the "threat" walk by and we move on.

[aladinsane33]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

I forgot to add that the morning of the training, you want to set him up for success to focus on that chicken. After that light dinner the night before & your busy fixing the warm, boiled chicken with the scent drifting throughout the house, your hungry little dog will be FOCUSED on and ALERTED to that chicken cooking. He'll be constantly looking to you and asking you for it. He'll be expecting to get some. When it's done cooking, take it out, show it to him just above his nose and allow him to look at it up close, smell it, drool over it and develop a mad passion for it but never get a taste of it. It will drive him mad wanting it and you WANT that drive in him fully developed before your walk outside. Drain it, cool it some on the cabinet, saying over and over, "Mmmm, smell that chicken! You can get that soon, boy!" You are building up his focus and desire for the thing that is going to take the place of the passing dog's in his brain when outside on the leash.

Let him see you put the chicken in your treat pouch, tell him "You will get a bite soon!", hook it on your belt and leash him and walk him outside very slowly, you preceding him out of the front door always. Get him to stay focused on your hand on the treat pouch when you get outside by touching it and saying, "Mmm, want to get some chicken? Learn to focus on the chicken!" or whatever you want to say to keep him thinking about that chicken you have. Keeping him thinking about and focusing solely on that chicken is a huge part of the process at this point.

Now, take his leash up, place him beside your left leg and begin your walk and once you see another dog approaching, cross the street with him, take out the chicken(Finally!) from the pouch and place it in front of his nose and begin your very fast circle walk with that chicken taunting him in front of his nose. If you've prepared him by keying him onto that chicken earlier that morning, he'll now be very excited and VERY determined to get that chicken!!! He'll do anything to get his breakfast and learn to ignore everything else in the process. I'd just try it once or twice a day and then bring him back inside to eat his normal breakfast before he has a chance to encounter more dogs when he's not so crazy to get that chicken.

After a few days, you no longer need to withhold his breakfast the morning of the training as he'll have learned how good the chicken is, remember how badly he wanted it when he was soooo hungry and work to get it just as hard now that he knows the drill.

Well thank you for taking the time to compose your reply, to my post [that was a mammoth effort] thanks again [phew I here you say].


Ok, I see what your indicating and will indeed try this that you mention, what therapists in the UK call loosely 'distraction therapy.' Historically I have tried many distractions with him, but we do not live in the past, my Yorkie walks with me on or off the lead by my side, rarely in front, he is a wonderfully well trained dog and never until he was two years old following this attack had I, well my daughter actually who owned him then had this trouble. Toby lived with two big dogs and never troubled them or them him.


We walk to my garden allotment and if I can see well ahead of me I let him free from the leash, if he sees another dog I click my fingers twice and call toby 'sit' he does this no problem, and allows me to put his lead on, however should this other dog come past him or near him [even without invading Toby's self space] he will attack it, then I have the explaining to do.


Toby has been to professionals for help, and more than once, it is nearly seven years now that has elapsed since that attack] albeit the common mode of thought is they can do little for him. At one such school they tried training him to do things that were not alien to him insisting I stay away, which I had no problem with, then reporting he was/had no problem with basic training, and disattending other dogs .


No, no problem at all following basic commands, this little Yorkie picks things up so very easily and learns so very quickly but not when it comes to other dogs, despite what therapists assert he attacks them with a ferocity that would maim them and seriously I would never venture to pick him up when in confrontation with another dog, that would, depending on how things progressed, endanger me, as previously,actually this is what I did instinctively when that brute of a dog was roaming ownerless, it then attacked me when I was busy smashing it to an inch of its life to save my little Yorkie, one of the reasons why I would never have a retractable lead again as one forgets in such instances to snap it shut, then of course your tied in knots as Toby tries to evade this other dog chasing him.


He has not been /was not just physically scarred, more than 100 stitches in his back end and rear paws, a torn open nose requiring stitching, a rip across his tummy which endangered his life and needed emergency vetinary intervention but mentally too he is scarred, and hundreds of pounds spent on rehabilitation has not helped this little dog. Is it me, well maybe but he is the same when my wife or son takes him out, and really they have no where near the control of him that I have. Please read my other post[s] thread to see my ethos here in training Toby, even the best trainers who have wrote books have stated that retraining after dog attack is a long and arduous process, they are not kidding. Seriously if I were to give you this little dog, he is a [for want of better wording] a proper Yorkshire terrier [not a toy or miniature tea cup or anything else these breeders bring to the fore], he will teach you things, he finds a way of communicating his wants to you, there is little one needs to assume for Toby, this is notably one of the things absent in all other dogs I have had that endears me to him. It is not what I can teach Toby but rather what he instinctively' intuitively knows [which is the basis of all IQ tests]this is what makes him so clever, so bright a little dog.


On a separate note . These little dogs were ratters, as you probably know they were bred to kill rats in the mills in middle England widely rumoured but not known to be crossed with a Skye and Manchester terrier and inherently it is in their breed to kill rats and despite the different, for want of a better word 'nuances' of their owners buttons bows and the like, Yorkies, true Yorkie terriers cannot be prevented from doing what is innate in their breed, whether the smaller Yorkie type terrier tea cup or whatever will try and kill rats I do not know, but neither do I think these are true Yorkies either. Regards Rob

[yorkietalkjilly]

LOL. Yes, I've had Yorkies for years and I have read many books and articles about the Yorkshire Terrier and am very aware of the origin of the breed so, knowing so much about this breed, I know you can use that ratter focus and determination he uses on other dogs to channel into something else he's been pre-programmed to focus on with equal purpose and intent when he faces a dog. Food for a very hungry dog usually keeps them very focused and intent on getting to it, particularly if they are hungry for the first two or three days of training and they've been tempted with it for 30 minutes or more just prior to almost being given access to it.

If he's extremely fond of a certain toy, chewie or ball, you can use that to take outside and shake in front of him as a distraction but most hungry dogs are most interested in food for distraction/desensitization training and as a reward when they do what we want them to do.

No matter what he's been through, he can move on as I had a tiny 3 lb. Yorkie, Jilly, attacked by a 65 lb. dog, and the dog had her up in the air in its jaws shaking her and biting away at her, she had seizures, choked, went silent and I thought she was dying from a broken back but she had surgery as soon as I got her to the ER vet, stayed in the hospital, came home, had rehab and had no residual fear of any dog.

Six weeks after her attack, out walking, she went toe to toe through the Cox fence with a huge, snarling German Shepherd dog 12 x her size but I whisked her up and back home fairly quickly as I feared the GSD might try to climb that fence to get at her! She never had any subsequent dog fear but I never showed any anxiety around her when we were outside as I knew she would feed off my fears. I calmed myself and got relaxed before I took her out realizing my anxiety would just travel down the leash to her. And I carried a huge, auto-open umbrella to whoosh open to discourage any dogs I might see coming out way off lead. That big old umbrella suddenly flowering open in front of us certainly has discouraged many a hostile dog to just go the other way!

And I never take a dog for a walk without it being on a short, secure leash - not ever. It's too dangerous these days with so many dogs out and about.

Just because many professional trainers couldn't help him themselves doesn't at all mean he's beyond all help. All it takes is teaching him he's not in control when other dogs approach and that he should look to you for direction when they do.

YOU CAN RETRAIN BASIC BREED INSTINCTS TO SERVE YOUR PURPOSES! It's true - herding dogs do it every day by not killing their charges, trained attack dogs are called off before killing, dogs who scent out drugs and bombs use their seeking/hunting skills not for food for themselves but to find things we train them to find, etc.

It sounds like since the attacks, Toby's been allowed to become the more powerful member in his pack when other dogs approach him and feels he needs to attack them because he's never really been persistently stopped with training in mind, never really appreciated any boundaries set for him around other dogs or been successfully retrained in another way of dealing with being around other dogs. But certainly, he can change his ways. Even old dogs can be rehabilitated psychologically in the right hands using what he knows and his instincts and a lot of persistent retraining.

Do you mind if I speak frankly? It's only my impression from your very few posts here on this thread and I could be totally wrong but I'm trying to help so only consider it if you feel like it and please know I'm not trying to upset you but merely examine the story your present and assist you with helping your dog. Here goes: To me it's likely the human anxiety he lives with that may be the biggest block to his psychological rehab around other dogs as you tend to dwell on all the bad things that have happened still in your descriptions related to his attack problem. Believe me or not, your smart little dog picks up on that from you and your family and he becomes anxious and dreads other dogs and what could happen when they approach and he just lashes out due to stress, anxiety and fear.

It's natural for us to recall with horror when our dog and our own person have been so dreadfully attacked, our dog near death due to other, huge dogs attacking them but you can change that mindset and move on past it to help your dog. You can. With the right trainer with the right dog skills, you dog can be helped. I've worked with dogs just as bad off as yours around other dogs and humans and used the same training type techniques described on this thread to bring them around to acceptance in time with love and infinite patience and doing the same things over and over and over and keeping them interested in working toward our goal - so I know it can work magic in a troubled dog. It sounds as if you've almost given up on him ever being able to learn how to be around other dogs and unless he's brain-damaged or ill or injured/in physical pain, he can learn how to adapt with the right methods and an upbeat, patient trainer who knows when to do what. Many people give up on dogs like this and just live with them as they are or surrender them to shelters or rescues. I'm encouraged you are still reaching out to try to learn now to help your beloved, loving, smart little Toby. He sounds like your soulmate!

You might ask a friend who has a dog who you don't fear will try to attack your baby to work with you two the first month so you are not as anxious as you see that dog approaching on the lead from the end of the block while you are starting in retraining Toby. Or hire a dog trainer to walk his trained, well-behaved dog past Toby as you teach Toby not to focus on him but what you are asking him to focus on. Using all your skills and persistence, you can do it!

After you have trained him to accept dogs approaching on leash, you can retrain him not to focus in intently on other dogs by watching his ears, eyes and body language and disagreeing with that intensity which in him probably always amps up immediately to attacking. As soon as he begins to prick his ears, widen/slit his eyes to alert on another dog with intensity, begins to grow still while tensing his muscles, you instantly snap him out of it by - all at the same time - clapping you hands, saying "leave it!", immediately standing up and touching him on the shoulder/flank or moving him out of his spot and giving him the command to lie down in another spot away from the other dog with his muzzle on the floor by telling him to "relax". And standing there staring at him until he follows through. Only walk away the moment he gives in and relaxes in the down, stay.

If you practice that same routine over and over, in time he will learn that he will always be stopped and disciplined for focusing in intently with attack in his mind and will begin to control his impulses to do that and he will actually start to police himself and begin practicing avoidance of other dogs by turning his head and or body away from them as they enter his presence. It doesn't mean that he can't learn to socialize with them in a while later but for the time being, he'll learn his job now is not to attack but to avoid alerting to them and give them their space and he will do it on his own. Dogs always like to anticipate us and if he knows you will ALWAYS step in a stop him - because you are more determined than he is - he will give it up and avoid alerting on other dogs by giving them their space.

Once he's learned to accept other dogs being around him, it's only training in the next steps before he's becoming social with them again. But we can cover that part when he's ready.

Sorry, this is so long but I'm truly trying to help you help your dog but use what you want, disregard the rest and consider I don't have all of the facts I'm sure and am going only on my impressions from what you've shared in responding.

I'd have him checked thoroughly by a vet first and get some mild sedatives perhaps for the first two weeks or so of early training but probably the sedatives aren't really necessary, in truth, just your willing determination to help him. And I think you can do it!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Another way to train him to accept another dog in his presence when out walking is to essentially flood him with the experience over and over in short, very frequent sessions two or three times a day for 4 or 5 days a week. It's not a method I favor but works for some and it's okay as long as you don't over-intimidate, over-work, hurt or scare the dog in the process, keeping the training very upbeat, matter-of-fact but firm, showing him what to do and what will happen each time he reacts inappropriately and always re-affirming who is the leader.

Bear in mind that Yorkies have a tendency toward collapsing trachea so only use the presence of the collar up high to for him to feel you have control of him and never pull on it or apply pressure on his neck with the collar. You can achieve the best results using a collar high on his neck but have to be exceptionally careful there is no pressure on the front of his neck or use a harness for this training. If you do use a collar, use it very carefully for only the first few lessons until you've got more control of him and switch to a harness.

You can use a friend with a well-behaved dog to walk past and, with Toby's collar up high at the top of his neck, just under his jawline, either snap his lead gently or touch his shoulder/flank with your left hand when he alerts on the other dog and say "ignore" and keep walking him forward very fast. If he has trachea problems, use a harness instead and you can snap the lead a little stronger but not hard enough to scare him. If he tries to turn aside or looks back at the other dog, walk him in a fast circle and then forward again. Don't allow him to win and pull toward the dog or go after the other dog, using your lead, your leadership skills/body language and commands and your actual hands and legs blocking him to control his behavior.

Or stop in place, bend down and put your hand in a clinched-position over the back of his neck(replicating an alpha-dog "bite") as you say "ignore" or "leave it" when he begins to go ballistic as the other dog approaches, keeping his collar up high on his neck for the feeling in his mind you have maximum control but careful not to allow it to cause any pressure(or use a harness) and holding his lead upward and taut but not tense, holding him in there in place while the other dog proceeds on past.

The moment he gives in and relaxes you instantly relax the lead and begin to move immediately forward in a very fast walk, saying "good relax walkies" or something like that to tell him he did the right thing and it's time to walk again and one more, not allowing him to turn to look or go after another dog as you block and control him with the lead and your body.

Take a deep breath. Redo the whole lesson immediately a few times in a row. Have the other dog trainer keep walking his dog back and forth by him as you show him that if he begins to get excited, you will discipline him by lead snapping, blocking and keeping moving forward or hold him in place until he relaxes and goes quiet and then moving immediately forward again.

I'd do this for 10 minutes or so per session as often as your helper and his dog can work with you. After each session, give him lots of real, heart-felt praise and treats and water(he'll likely have done a lot of panting during the lessons and walking) and have a good, long play session with him out in the back yard to help him work off his tensions then.

Eventually, if you are always consistent and very persistent in firm-but-gentle disciplining while retraining him on what is expected of when when another dogs walks past, he will begin to see that you will ALWAYS stop him from reacting to other dogs, no matter what, and in time, this wild little guy will begin to get with your program and behave as you'd like.

He'll constantly have setbacks but just keep up the same reaction you've chosen to reshape his problematic behavior and he will eventually stop the inappropriate behavior 99% of the time. Dogs are dogs and not perfect and occasionally a dominant dog approaching with his tail high and a hostile stare will tick off even the most well-behaved dog but that's when the dog owner steps in and reminds the dog of his boundaries and redirects him to the proper behavior.

[aladinsane33]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Another way to train him to accept another dog in his presence when out walking is to essentially flood him with the experience over and over in short, very frequent sessions two or three times a day for 4 or 5 days a week. It's not a method I favor but works for some and it's okay as long as you don't over-intimidate, over-work, hurt or scare the dog in the process, keeping the training very upbeat, matter-of-fact but firm, showing him what to do and what will happen each time he reacts inappropriately and always re-affirming who is the leader.

Bear in mind that Yorkies have a tendency toward collapsing trachea so only use the presence of the collar up high to for him to feel you have control of him and never pull on it or apply pressure on his neck with the collar. You can achieve the best results using a collar high on his neck but have to be exceptionally careful there is no pressure on the front of his neck or use a harness for this training. If you do use a collar, use it very carefully for only the first few lessons until you've got more control of him and switch to a harness.

You can use a friend with a well-behaved dog to walk past and, with Toby's collar up high at the top of his neck, just under his jawline, either snap his lead gently or touch his shoulder/flank with your left hand when he alerts on the other dog and say "ignore" and keep walking him forward very fast. If he has trachea problems, use a harness instead and you can snap the lead a little stronger but not hard enough to scare him. If he tries to turn aside or looks back at the other dog, walk him in a fast circle and then forward again. Don't allow him to win and pull toward the dog or go after the other dog, using your lead, your leadership skills/body language and commands and your actual hands and legs blocking him to control his behavior.

Or stop in place, bend down and put your hand in a clinched-position over the back of his neck(replicating an alpha-dog "bite") as you say "ignore" or "leave it" when he begins to go ballistic as the other dog approaches, keeping his collar up high on his neck for the feeling in his mind you have maximum control but careful not to allow it to cause any pressure(or use a harness) and holding his lead upward and taut but not tense, holding him in there in place while the other dog proceeds on past.

The moment he gives in and relaxes you instantly relax the lead and begin to move immediately forward in a very fast walk, saying "good relax walkies" or something like that to tell him he did the right thing and it's time to walk again and one more, not allowing him to turn to look or go after another dog as you block and control him with the lead and your body.

Take a deep breath. Redo the whole lesson immediately a few times in a row. Have the other dog trainer keep walking his dog back and forth by him as you show him that if he begins to get excited, you will discipline him by lead snapping, blocking and keeping moving forward or hold him in place until he relaxes and goes quiet and then moving immediately forward again.

I'd do this for 10 minutes or so per session as often as your helper and his dog can work with you. After each session, give him lots of real, heart-felt praise and treats and water(he'll likely have done a lot of panting during the lessons and walking) and have a good, long play session with him out in the back yard to help him work off his tensions then.

Eventually, if you are always consistent and very persistent in firm-but-gentle disciplining while retraining him on what is expected of when when another dogs walks past, he will begin to see that you will ALWAYS stop him from reacting to other dogs, no matter what, and in time, this wild little guy will begin to get with your program and behave as you'd like.

He'll constantly have setbacks but just keep up the same reaction you've chosen to reshape his problematic behavior and he will eventually stop the inappropriate behavior 99% of the time. Dogs are dogs and not perfect and occasionally a dominant dog approaching with his tail high and a hostile stare will tick off even the most well-behaved dog but that's when the dog owner steps in and reminds the dog of his boundaries and redirects him to the proper behavior.

Well, thank you for another comprehensive reply showing an interest far and above what I expected, and yes your right on just about every account you mention. I think your probably a behaviourist a psychologist or both, for you have me right and my little dog Toby too, your right on the button here. Yes again as I hinted at previously, you are correct in what you say when you indicate Toby feels through the leash my anxieties but, for me, stopping them is quite another thing as I fear larger dogs near Toby, and will indeed go out of my way to avoid them, that is essentially[as well as liking gardening] why I got an allotment garden so, as it were, I have somewhere where Toby and I can spend time, where he can have freedom from a leash and have a bit time out, for walking him as you seem to indicate has become an anxious time. Toby has never worn a collar,always a harness and nothing around his neck whilst at home.Your right again where you mention Trachea problems in Yorkies I fear he may get a dropped trachea and would hesitate to put him a collar on.
I so wish I lived somewhere remotely near you, as I believe your probably the panacea Toby needs but alas I don't so I will just have to get on with things and try the methods you mention. As you say nothing quick here, however, I will remain steadfast and try your methodology.. Regards Rob

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by aladinsane33

Well, thank you for another comprehensive reply showing an interest far and above what I expected, and yes your right on just about every account you mention. I think your probably a behaviourist a psychologist or both, for you have me right and my little dog Toby too, your right on the button here. Yes again as I hinted at previously, you are correct in what you say when you indicate Toby feels through the leash my anxieties but, for me, stopping them is quite another thing as I fear larger dogs near Toby, and will indeed go out of my way to avoid them, that is essentially[as well as liking gardening] why I got an allotment garden so, as it were, I have somewhere where Toby and I can spend time, where he can have freedom from a leash and have a bit time out, for walking him as you seem to indicate has become an anxious time. Toby has never worn a collar,always a harness and nothing around his neck whilst at home.Your right again where you mention Trachea problems in Yorkies I fear he may get a dropped trachea and would hesitate to put him a collar on.
I so wish I lived somewhere remotely near you, as I believe your probably the panacea Toby needs but alas I don't so I will just have to get on with things and try the methods you mention. As you say nothing quick here, however, I will remain steadfast and try your methodology.. Regards Rob

Oh, Rob, I'm so glad you are willing to try to help your sweet guy as so many would just give up on a little guy like this and some, as you know, would surrender him or have him put down! You surely love him to bits and I believe you can take firm but loving charge of him, show him with your firm but matter-of-fact & never scary/frightening training what is unacceptable and acceptable when he meets another dog out on the leash and once that's behind him and he's doing that well, can advance further than that in how to re-socialize him so he can be around dogs in a home setting, after further retraining/re-socializing him there. Those are a whole new set of training sessions.

Even after his re-training in dog socialization, I'd tend to keep a lead on him for quite some time in a home-setting when he's around other dogs until he's gone more than two years without trying to attack and if he can go that long w/out flexing up on another dog, it will show he's likely as predicable as any dog will be around any other dog in any social setting.

No, I'm no behaviorist or anything like that, I've just always worked with helping dogs since I was a teen, foster dogs and otherwise, many of them deeply troubled and learned what different things work to help them from my own experiences over the years, and read just about every book I can get my hands on, in print or audio, about canine behavior. You can, too. Read your local and other cities libraries out of all their canine and canine body-language books and scour your second-hand bookshops for dog behavior /body-language books that are not older than 20 -25 years(older than that they are usually so old-school that they aren't helpful) and you will learn how to help your baby and rehabilitate him. Read all you can about positive-reinforcement training, too. Lots of information is on the internet, too. Let me know if I can help in any way. Jeanie

Keep us updated on how he's coming along, won't you please? And good luck and blessings to you both. Jeanie

[windwalker]

"but still he attacks other dogs on or OFF THE LEAD and he means it, always goes for the throat [Yorkies were ratters] fierce little dogs and so he is with other dogs, fierce and belligerent and he is not bothered how big the dog is."



My question is if you know he attacks other dogs, why is he "Off the Lead". I can see others getting upset with you and your dog, "You have a responsibility to control your dog in Public". Its commendable your looking for help correcting the problem but please leash and control your dog in public till this problem it reliably corrected

[aladinsane33]

Originally Posted by windwalker

"but still he attacks other dogs on or OFF THE LEAD and he means it, always goes for the throat [Yorkies were ratters] fierce little dogs and so he is with other dogs, fierce and belligerent and he is not bothered how big the dog is."



My question is if you know he attacks other dogs, why is he "Off the Lead". I can see others getting upset with you and your dog, "You have a responsibility to control your dog in Public". Its commendable your looking for help correcting the problem but please leash and control your dog in public till this problem it reliably corrected

I would strongly suggest you read again and re-read if necessary the whole of this diatribe and not just skim read or jump to conclusions, and then ask yourself this, would you like to be put on a lead for the rest of your life. Read the whole of this thread and all of the posts and then if your still asking this question inform me again. He is let off the lead in my garden or where I can see him as far as the horizon goes, no one can say for sure what is round the corner and for him this corner nearly cost him his life. Noticeably Toby was on the lead when he struck out at this Alsatian I talk about elsewhere, so then who's responsibility was it then- or does he or me shoulder the blame for that to- really if you have nothing constructive to say please then refrain from saying anything at all.