HELP NEEDED...major aggression issue

[BBolender88]

Alright, this post may be long but I am in desperate need of help asap. Any advice will be appreciated...I am beyond frustrated.
My yorkie is a female, 4 years old, and only 7 pounds but you would think she was a 100 pound attack dog with her actions. My yorkie has always been territorial but has recently gotten MUCH worse. My husband and I also have a large dog and two cats, my yorkie most always gets along with our other dog and female cat, but ALWAYS tries to attack our male cat and we have had him for two years. When I say attack, I mean she gets vicious...I think her head even spins. When she attacks, she latches on with her teeth and nothing i do can get her to let go other than my hands literally prying open her mouth. Now she knows this is wrong, she definitely gets disciplined when she does this. I pop her butt(not hard but enough that she knows she was wrong) and give her "kennel time." After she is punished, she begs for my forgiveness, so she has to know she was wrong, right? We do our best to make her understand that she and the other animals are "equals," but she still gets in her "moods" sometimes. And ohh geez, does she get jealous!! Whenever she is not the center of my attention she just gets this "look" I swear she like looks at me out of the corner of her eye and glares, but I try to ignore that and continue to give attention to the other pets.

She was also raised around lots of other dogs but is still extremely aggressive with others. I can't even take her on walks because she growls and tries to bite every person and dog that she sees. When another dog comes around her, even if she is at a dog park, she instantly tries to attack them. My grandmother also has a yorkie that tries to kiss my dog while my dog is trying to attack her. This is NOT normal!! I'm so embarrassed to take her anywhere and honestly don't know what to do. She has even attacked a chow and a rottweiler!!...what is wrong with her?!!

Also, she doesn't like most people. She is very picky on who she "accepts." if anyone comes into my house, she immediately goes into attack mode and starts to bark and growl...even at my parents who she likes. She has gone so far as to chase and try to attack my 12 year old cousin until I picked her up. I do discipline her when she acts like this. I put her in her cage or close the door to my room...but even then she whines to get out no matter how long I ignore her or scold her. She stops for like maybe a second and then starts again. It's like she doesn't care to listen. Whenever I have multiple people over my house, she acts terrified and hides or wants me to hold her. But if I hold her then she growls at anyone who approaches me.
There was one incident that happened at a family gathering, where she was in the living room and my uncle was in the doorway facing away from her. As he was standing there and talking, my yorkie literally just ran by, bit his leg, and kept running. WHAT?!! This dog has never been hurt, beat, or attacked by anything...ever!!
She even tries to bite my husband if he tries to give me a kiss goodby in the morning when I'm in bed...and she loves him...somedays more than she likes me!!

She is not yet fixed and I am considering getting her fixed in order to calm her down. I have looked at calming remedies but I don't really want to give her medicine that will make her tired or lethargic. I have thought about professional training but that gets expensive and I don't want them to force me to train her to stay off furniture or not be able to sleep with her, and so on. All of my animals get the same treatment, not just her and they're normal, sweet, and just fine with others. I just want her to be nice, that's all!! Why can't she play normal and nicely with others? I am so sick of spanking her butt(even though it's not hard) and giving her kennel time...I feel horrible when I do it and like a bad mommy. She gives me a look that breaks my heart!! I stay firm with her and keep her in the kennel for a while, but still it crushes me and I would love for her to be a friendly dog.

PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!! my husband and I are even considering having kids but are afraid she will attack them. Getting rid of her is OUT of the question, that's just not going to happen. She's my baby just like all of my other pets.

Please help and share your advice...any advice is greatly appreciated and will help!! Thank you!!

[Harrysmum]

Oh dear - sorry I don't know the remedy - BUT...

Firstly, I wouldn't even consider having children until this problem is fixed - just not worth the risk.

And secondly, I would never, ever 'spank her butt' - however soft it seems to you, she's tiny in comparison to you - you might actually be reinforcing the aggressive behaviour....

[Winkandshiny]

I agree with Harrysmom, you spanking her butt will only make her more aggressive. I'm new to Yorkies, but even in other breeds it's the same spanking makes a mean doggie.

[capt_noonie]

If you don't want to spring for professional training, I would have them separated. Either that or let them fight it out. As much as I do break up fights, I read again and again to let them fight it out and let them figure out who is alpha. Of course I wouldn't recommend this with a big dog and small dog, but a yorkie and cat is about the same size for the most part.

My Toto is aggressive with any dog bigger than him (5 lbs), so I have to keep him on a short leash on walks, not let him get too close to other dogs, not let him get pet by kids, etc. Thankfully he and Uni get along for the most part, unless they fight over a toy.

I also agree that spanking her is reinforcing the aggressive behavior. She tries to apologize to you bc she wants out of the crate, not bc she knows she did wrong. I would give a time out on a bed or a place where she isn't caged in. Time out for one minute or five minutes. Ignore her.

[SirTeddykins]

Wish I could help, Teddy who weighs just over four pounds cannot win the affection of my cat who weighs just over ten. I could never let them fight it out. For one, my cat has claws. Two, the interaction really stresses Teddy which has led him to marking my house. I don't know what the answer is besides considering an behaviorist. Perhaps some advice from a professional will help. If you call your local rescue shelter, they will have a behaviorist recommendation because they will use one in order to ensure the animals at the shelter are adoptable. It is worth a try to see if you can get some advice even over the phone. There are probably other reasons your girl is aggressive and the cat just happens to be the perfect target to take it all out on...


If you can get these other reasons, or figure out why the dog and cat clash, you'd have a more peaceful household, I'm sure! In the mean time, it would be a good idea to keep them separated.

[Kerryn915]

I'm my opinion time outs don't really work with dogs. U have to be the pack leader and yell in a louder than usual tone (scary sounding) like the pack leader of dogs would growl or bark to put her in place. She thinks she's the leader and that you are all under her command. Don't remove her from the situation but yell and then let her follow. It has to be a loud yell that she knows you are angry and mean business. Ignoring her after yelling will work better than time outs. I stumbled upon this remedy one day when I was breaking up so many fights with my 2 boys and also the younger one was starting to bite my kids! I went to break them up and I put my finger right in his mouth it was so painful! Anyway the next morning another fight broke out and I lost it... I screamed in such a scary loud tone that they both stopped and instant peace!! They both wanted to remedy and give me kisses... And honestly after that I can say I have maybe had one incident in the past month! It has to be a louder than usual yell and u can't follow up with a stern "no" so that if it happens again they learn.

[chickensmith]

I would do my best for now at keeping them separated. ...while the cat and yorkie may be the same size....cats have and use their claws....and can be quite disastrous. I was a vet tech and can tell you....one quick swipe will slice quite efficiently. I have many scars. I would not recommend lettin gb them "fight it out" at all. Cats are insanely dominant creatures...and they may never get along. I understand it's the yorkie showing aggression....I wonder if the cat has hissed or swiped at the yorkie at some point and now is seen as a threat?

[BBolender88]

Thank you all for the advice...I will definitely give some of it a try. Maybe the yelling louder will be helpful?

Also, I could never let them fight it out...I don't think my cat knows he has claws? All he has to do to upset her is walk by her. He has never even hissed at anything. Maybe he doesn't realize hes a cat but whenever my yorkie does attack him the only thing he does is cry and curl up in a ball...he never hisses or swats at her or anything like that.

I have been doing research and because I got my cat after my yorkie, she could think that he is "below" her. I've been more stern with her, by verbally warning her whenever she is doing something wrong so hopefully she will soon realize that I'm the mommy and the one in charge...not her.

Thank you again all!!

p.s. and when I spank her it's not like a real spank more like a tiny tap that doesn't even make noise...I would NEVER EVER even think about hurting my baby. The taps are so tiny and that's probably why they have never really worked...regardless I will stick to loudly and verbally reprimanding her instead to see if that helps.

[Maximo]

Yelling and verbal reprimands will likely only fuel her aggression, just like spanking, no matter how light.

I have 2 strong male Yorkies who will sometimes get out of hand wrestling or competing to bark at a trigger. I raise my voice with a "Nooo!" to snap them to attention, but then I redirect them to something positive or calmly tell them to "settle down." They respond to this because we focus primarily on positive reinforcement training.

It would be fruitless to continue yelling or reprimanding. All they would hear is 'blah blah blah' and they would feed off my negative energy. As the leader, it is better to show calm, confident, control.

From all of the issues you describe, these behaviors are usually the sign of a dog's lack of confidence. I would make sure she has a daily routine of activities that includes some brief training sessions for basic obedience/tricks. Make sure she gets rewarded with attention, praise, and treats for good behavior.

[Maximo]

Wanted to add that I didn't mean to make things sound simple. A lot of training and repetition will be required. Check out Victoria Stilwell's books and videos for help.

[Captainzing]

A reminder to my self to read this later

Sigh.

Mine thinks he's King Kong

[kay6688]

Shake a mason jar with coins in at her, works with my little terror every time - she actually has gotten lots better. She will attack our 6 yr old female when she comes in the door, so I keep the jar on a bench by the door & it really works. She is very rarely attacking her now.