how to stop from snapping - YorkieTalk.com Forums

GucciMyGirl · 04-12-2006, 04:23 PM

Help!!! I need to know how to stop Gucci from snapping at myself or some other family member. Gucci is 22 mts old. She only snaps at us when she is resting on my bed or in a comfortable place in house and I go to lift her to bring her down to her crate for the night. She does not want to be bothered, I raise my voice and tell her NO Bad Girl, but she still snaps. She has sharp teeth and it hurts...Does anyone else have this problem? and how to I nip it?

Gina

SnowWa · 04-12-2006, 08:06 PM

If this is the "only time" she snaps, I don't think it's a real big problem.

I had the "sweetest, most loveable, gentle little dog" in the world (actually about 24 pounds). I had her for more than 10 years, and she did the same thing. She never bit anyone in her life and loved everyone. But, if she was on my bed (or any bed for that matter, and sometimes even the sofa) -- we learned that she thought she had died and gone to heaven, and we had better not try to move her. She would growl, show her teeth, snap at us, etc.......but, she never actually bit anyone. She just tried as hard as she could to be as ferocious as she could be so that she could stay where she was at. She especially did this if she had the opportunity to sleep with my granddaughter. For sure, we weren't going to get her off the bed then. She really "loved" sleeping with children.

BUT -- I could overcome this. I'd just tell her to knock it off, pick her up, and move her. This could be done. It's just that most people were afraid to even try.

Again - I want to assure you that this dog never growled at or bit anyone in her entire life. She just had this "Leave me alone - I'm in bed" thing. Frankly, she was so happy there that I never moved her unless it was absolutely necessary....which was rare!

****** Reread your post and you said that your dog is actually "biting you." This is a little different from my dog. I guess she is like my dog (totally loves being on the bed)- but goes a little further trying to stay there. If you can somehow stop the biting - the other part isn't so bad.

Good luck - Carol Jean

MyTrixie143 · 04-12-2006, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GucciMyGirl

Help!!! I need to know how to stop Gucci from snapping at myself or some other family member. Gucci is 22 mts old. She only snaps at us when she is resting on my bed or in a comfortable place in house and I go to lift her to bring her down to her crate for the night. She does not want to be bothered, I raise my voice and tell her NO Bad Girl, but she still snaps. She has sharp teeth and it hurts...Does anyone else have this problem? and how to I nip it?

Gina

Try calling her to you and coaxing her to you with a special treat. Once you get her attention and she comes to you, you can give her the treat, don't give her the treat unless she comes to you. It has to be something that she really wants. Also, does she snap everytime you go to pick her up at any time or does she only do it when she is resting? If she snaps at you anytime you pick her up then she needs a completely different approach to the problem.

Jaspermom · 04-13-2006, 03:25 AM

I have that very same problem with Dreama! Only at night, and only when she knows the reason we are picking her up off our bed is to put her in her crate.

Dave found a way around it!! (really impressed me, lol) He put a leash on her early in the evening, and when he wants to bring Dreama to bed, he stands up, tugs her gently toward him, and picks her up. She seems to know that way that he is in charge, not her, and she doesn't snap!! I am so happy that my hubby has taken a hand in his pup's training!! HOORAY!

Good luck!

YorkieRose · 04-13-2006, 05:08 AM

Where you allow a dog to sleep determines the way it ranks itself in the
pack"..sleeping on the leaders bed means they are equal or higher..you as the pack leader have lost credibility.
Being the pack leader is very stressful for a dog..when they return to being one of the pack, they enjoy life more, they are healthier, less stressed...Dog Whisper.

Muffie's Mom · 04-13-2006, 05:21 AM

You didn't mention IF your dog is asleep when you go to move her.

I know our elder one, Muffie, does NOT like to be woke up.

I would first of all make sure she IS awake.

Then I would entice her off the bed with a treat.

Oscar's Mom · 04-13-2006, 05:35 AM

Does she know you are there or are you waking her up from a dead sleep. If someone wakes me up, I am pretty snappy myself!

Just talk to her a few seconds before you pick her up...coax her into thinking it is o.k. to move. Oscar has only ever snapped at me when I was trying to brush out a mat...so now we keep him clipped...no more mats that way! He is now a happier puppy. One more thing, does she get on the bed by herself? Maybe keeping her off of the bed in the first place would be an easy solution???

GucciMyGirl · 04-13-2006, 02:05 PM

I should clarify myself better, Gucci is not sleeping when I try to take her off my bed , she is comfortable if she is on one of our beds and doesn't want to go to her room downstairs. This happens when she is in the family room to, she has a throw cushion bed and when we are ready to go upstairs to sleep my husband would try to pick her up to bring her into crate she snaps at him and nips the skin a little. Normally she is a good sweet dog during the day, I will have to lure her with the treats. I will let you know how that works. Thanks!

JeanieK · 04-13-2006, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

Where you allow a dog to sleep determines the way it ranks itself in the
pack"..sleeping on the leaders bed means they are equal or higher..you as the pack leader have lost credibility.
Being the pack leader is very stressful for a dog..when they return to being one of the pack, they enjoy life more, they are healthier, less stressed...Dog Whisper.

Agreed. And the dog whisperer would tell you, that to eliminate the problem, you will need to establish yourself as the pack leader. Which, if the dog thought of you as the leader, it would NEVER snap at or bite you. I suggest that you go to his website.

http://www.dogchannel.com/dog/expert...aspx?WT.srch=1

yorkieK9trainer · 04-13-2006, 02:26 PM

Please e-mail me. There are a few ways to do this, but I need to know if you're home most of the time and a few other details. My first recommendation would be to have you attach a kennel lead to a harness or collar that she normally wears and just let her drag it around. You might even want to do this and put her bed before she goes there on her own...maybe even add a treat to keep her there. The idea is that you want her to get comfortable somewhere that she is inclined to snap at you again. Only this time she'll have a leash attached to a harness or collar. DON'T reach for the leash when you want her off. Stand normally and tell her, off/come-whatever you want. If she doesn't respond the first time (and she most likely won't!) THEN you reach for the leash and have it in hand (make sure there isn't any tension on the leash yet) and tell her once again the command of choice and give her a tug. You decide how firmly you want to tug. Too soft and she may give you the doggy finger, and depending on her size, too hard and you might injure her- HIGHLY unlikely. However after only one day of you asking her only ONCE to do something and her getting pissy then correcting her for having to repeat yourself, you'll notice her attitude has changed for the better and she'll be MUCH more responsive. But still, contact me because there is more to this (not much) and a few other ways. And NO, bribing her and spraying her w/ H20 aren't going to fix this imo! lol
Hope to read from you soon.

puppylove123 · 04-13-2006, 02:32 PM

i read somewhere on here the other day about when your dog nips you, you are suppose to yell in high pitch and walk away like puppies do in a litter. hope this helps!

SnowWa · 04-15-2006, 11:35 PM

I just can't see me "yelling in a high pitch and walking away." I know a lot of people have mentioned doing this. But it just isn't me.. Maybe the other pups in the litter do it -- but I'll bet the mother dog doesn't do this. She probably just nips the puppy right back. Or - I have seen mother dogs just quietly get up and move someplace else.

It kind of made me laugh to think about doing this because when my pup was going through his puppy teething stage, if I had a big family here - there certainly would have been a lot of yelling going on!!!!!! I'm sure I wouldn't have enjoyed that.

Have many of you found "yelling" effective.

Carol Jean

yorkieK9trainer · 04-16-2006, 11:16 AM

"i read somewhere on here the other day about when your dog nips you, you are suppose to yell in high pitch and walk away like puppies do in a litter. hope this helps!"

Yeah, but we're not dogs and your dog knows this. Please give him/her more credit. "When in Rome..." You're dog will be just fine learning to "speak" human, no need to regress back to the ice age just to try to communicate w/ an "animal". This is your furbaby, show him what you want and if you feel they then know what you want and they don't comply, they get in trouble for it. And when they're right, they get praised.

Dogs are wayyyy smarter than people give them credit for, I think the most important thing is to remember that they're dogs and we're humans and there's no need to "speak dog", just teach them to "speak human". Yeah, it's very important to know what you're dog is thinking because this will help you teach him/her to "speak human". That's all.

Dawn125 · 04-16-2006, 03:04 PM

I really agree this is an pack order issue and your dog is establishing dominance and you really need to re-establish that you are the leader. I think too many yorkie owners put up with agression because they are just little tiny dogs and don't pose much of a threat. I would take away the privilege of sleeping on the bed for now.

04-12-2006, 04:23 PM	#1
GucciMyGirl YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 550	how to stop from snapping Help!!! I need to know how to stop Gucci from snapping at myself or some other family member. Gucci is 22 mts old. She only snaps at us when she is resting on my bed or in a comfortable place in house and I go to lift her to bring her down to her crate for the night. She does not want to be bothered, I raise my voice and tell her NO Bad Girl, but she still snaps. She has sharp teeth and it hurts...Does anyone else have this problem? and how to I nip it? Gina

04-12-2006, 08:06 PM	#2
SnowWa YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,992	If this is the "only time" she snaps, I don't think it's a real big problem. I had the "sweetest, most loveable, gentle little dog" in the world (actually about 24 pounds). I had her for more than 10 years, and she did the same thing. She never bit anyone in her life and loved everyone. But, if she was on my bed (or any bed for that matter, and sometimes even the sofa) -- we learned that she thought she had died and gone to heaven, and we had better not try to move her. She would growl, show her teeth, snap at us, etc.......but, she never actually bit anyone. She just tried as hard as she could to be as ferocious as she could be so that she could stay where she was at. She especially did this if she had the opportunity to sleep with my granddaughter. For sure, we weren't going to get her off the bed then. She really "loved" sleeping with children. BUT -- I could overcome this. I'd just tell her to knock it off, pick her up, and move her. This could be done. It's just that most people were afraid to even try. Again - I want to assure you that this dog never growled at or bit anyone in her entire life. She just had this "Leave me alone - I'm in bed" thing. Frankly, she was so happy there that I never moved her unless it was absolutely necessary....which was rare! ****** Reread your post and you said that your dog is actually "biting you." This is a little different from my dog. I guess she is like my dog (totally loves being on the bed)- but goes a little further trying to stay there. If you can somehow stop the biting - the other part isn't so bad. Good luck - Carol Jean __________________ http://tinypic.com/ipxhmb.jpg A Yorkie is worth a thousand words. Last edited by SnowWa; 04-12-2006 at 08:10 PM.

04-13-2006, 03:25 AM	#4
Jaspermom Yorkies Rock My World! Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,721	Same here! I have that very same problem with Dreama! Only at night, and only when she knows the reason we are picking her up off our bed is to put her in her crate. Dave found a way around it!! (really impressed me, lol) He put a leash on her early in the evening, and when he wants to bring Dreama to bed, he stands up, tugs her gently toward him, and picks her up. She seems to know that way that he is in charge, not her, and she doesn't snap!! I am so happy that my hubby has taken a hand in his pup's training!! HOORAY! Good luck! __________________ Glad Mom to Jasper, Wosie & Dreama, RIP sweet babies.

04-13-2006, 05:08 AM	#5
YorkieRose No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South Florida Posts: 8,577	snapping Where you allow a dog to sleep determines the way it ranks itself in the pack"..sleeping on the leaders bed means they are equal or higher..you as the pack leader have lost credibility. Being the pack leader is very stressful for a dog..when they return to being one of the pack, they enjoy life more, they are healthier, less stressed...Dog Whisper.

04-13-2006, 05:21 AM	#6
Muffie's Mom And now Missy's Mom, too! Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: FL Posts: 1,496	You didn't mention IF your dog is asleep when you go to move her. I know our elder one, Muffie, does NOT like to be woke up. I would first of all make sure she IS awake. Then I would entice her off the bed with a treat. __________________ Pat...Mom to Muffie & Missy! Our Photos are HERE Missy on Dogster Muffie on Dogster

04-13-2006, 05:35 AM	#7
Oscar's Mom My Little Biker Dude Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,065	Does she know you are there or are you waking her up from a dead sleep. If someone wakes me up, I am pretty snappy myself! Just talk to her a few seconds before you pick her up...coax her into thinking it is o.k. to move. Oscar has only ever snapped at me when I was trying to brush out a mat...so now we keep him clipped...no more mats that way! He is now a happier puppy. One more thing, does she get on the bed by herself? Maybe keeping her off of the bed in the first place would be an easy solution??? __________________ ****************** Debbie G. - Oscar's Mom ****** PRAYERS FOR ALL THOSE KICKING CANCER'S BUTT!!! **************** RIP SHARON 8-10-63 to 9-21-08

04-13-2006, 02:05 PM	#8
GucciMyGirl YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 550	I should clarify myself better, Gucci is not sleeping when I try to take her off my bed , she is comfortable if she is on one of our beds and doesn't want to go to her room downstairs. This happens when she is in the family room to, she has a throw cushion bed and when we are ready to go upstairs to sleep my husband would try to pick her up to bring her into crate she snaps at him and nips the skin a little. Normally she is a good sweet dog during the day, I will have to lure her with the treats. I will let you know how that works. Thanks!

04-13-2006, 02:26 PM	#10
yorkieK9trainer YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North eastern Illinois Suburbs Posts: 1,669	Stop! Please e-mail me. There are a few ways to do this, but I need to know if you're home most of the time and a few other details. My first recommendation would be to have you attach a kennel lead to a harness or collar that she normally wears and just let her drag it around. You might even want to do this and put her bed before she goes there on her own...maybe even add a treat to keep her there. The idea is that you want her to get comfortable somewhere that she is inclined to snap at you again. Only this time she'll have a leash attached to a harness or collar. DON'T reach for the leash when you want her off. Stand normally and tell her, off/come-whatever you want. If she doesn't respond the first time (and she most likely won't!) THEN you reach for the leash and have it in hand (make sure there isn't any tension on the leash yet) and tell her once again the command of choice and give her a tug. You decide how firmly you want to tug. Too soft and she may give you the doggy finger, and depending on her size, too hard and you might injure her- HIGHLY unlikely. However after only one day of you asking her only ONCE to do something and her getting pissy then correcting her for having to repeat yourself, you'll notice her attitude has changed for the better and she'll be MUCH more responsive. But still, contact me because there is more to this (not much) and a few other ways. And NO, bribing her and spraying her w/ H20 aren't going to fix this imo! lol Hope to read from you soon. __________________ "Big things come in small packages" http://www.myspace.com/yorkiek9trainer

04-13-2006, 02:32 PM	#11
puppylove123 Waiting for my Little Girl Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: miami, florida Posts: 1,313	i read somewhere on here the other day about when your dog nips you, you are suppose to yell in high pitch and walk away like puppies do in a litter. hope this helps! __________________ Nicole Im getting my girl in 2 months!!! I Marie and My Little Girl!

04-15-2006, 11:35 PM	#12
SnowWa YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,992	I just can't see me "yelling in a high pitch and walking away." I know a lot of people have mentioned doing this. But it just isn't me.. Maybe the other pups in the litter do it -- but I'll bet the mother dog doesn't do this. She probably just nips the puppy right back. Or - I have seen mother dogs just quietly get up and move someplace else. It kind of made me laugh to think about doing this because when my pup was going through his puppy teething stage, if I had a big family here - there certainly would have been a lot of yelling going on!!!!!! I'm sure I wouldn't have enjoyed that. Have many of you found "yelling" effective. Carol Jean __________________ http://tinypic.com/ipxhmb.jpg A Yorkie is worth a thousand words.

04-16-2006, 11:16 AM	#13
yorkieK9trainer YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: North eastern Illinois Suburbs Posts: 1,669	"i read somewhere on here the other day about when your dog nips you, you are suppose to yell in high pitch and walk away like puppies do in a litter. hope this helps!" Yeah, but we're not dogs and your dog knows this. Please give him/her more credit. "When in Rome..." You're dog will be just fine learning to "speak" human, no need to regress back to the ice age just to try to communicate w/ an "animal". This is your furbaby, show him what you want and if you feel they then know what you want and they don't comply, they get in trouble for it. And when they're right, they get praised. Dogs are wayyyy smarter than people give them credit for, I think the most important thing is to remember that they're dogs and we're humans and there's no need to "speak dog", just teach them to "speak human". Yeah, it's very important to know what you're dog is thinking because this will help you teach him/her to "speak human". That's all. __________________ "Big things come in small packages" http://www.myspace.com/yorkiek9trainer

04-16-2006, 03:04 PM	#14
Dawn125 YT Addict Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Central California Posts: 445	I really agree this is an pack order issue and your dog is establishing dominance and you really need to re-establish that you are the leader. I think too many yorkie owners put up with agression because they are just little tiny dogs and don't pose much of a threat. I would take away the privilege of sleeping on the bed for now. __________________ Dawn (Brandy & Titan's mom)