Max bit me!

[Maxman]

Every time there is someone at the door,Max flips out,starts barking and going nuts!Today when the pizza guy came,I went to pick Max up and put him in the other room so I could answer th door,and he bit me,not hard,but,it definitely wasn't a playful bite!this is not the first time he has done this,I yell at him and say NO!!BAD!!!he always looks sad,like he knows he was wrong!!!but this is not the first time he has done this.he is normally a terrific dog and he wouldn't hurt a fly,and he listen very good,I'm not sur what to do,is this normal?what should I do? Thanks!!!

[ilovejoel]

Hmmm Joel does that "mad bite" only when i'm taking something really good out of his mouth, he just did it today on a walk when I took a chicken bone away that he found.
But what I do is definetly dont pull my hand away so he thinks it doesnt bother me and I also push my hand farther in his mouth, so I do the opposite of what he thinks im gonna do. He has been doing it less then before.
Hope that helped

[Teresa Ford]

Question: My Yorkie guards my shoes when I leave them by the door. My kids tease her with my shoes. She goes nuts barking and snapping at them please help !

How to change mild guarding behavior

Maybe your kids think it is funny to see a small Yorkie act ferocious about your shoes. Like you I worry about guarding, and know it can snowball in to a real obsession and even transfer to more items. Talk to your children and tell them it would not be funny if a big Rottie acted that way, because their bite could really do damage. It is not a good way for a Yorkie to act either. She could bite someone while trying to protect the shoes and that would be very bad. Tell them everyone must work together to make her stop. #1. When she guards the shoes say a very firm 'ENOUGH' and just ignore her and walk right by. If she is leaving the shoes and guarding the area around them go to #2. Say a firm 'Enough' and squeak her toy and toss it in the opposite direction, away from the shoes. If she leaves the shoes that is good, she is not too obsessed with them yet. Praise her when she goes to the toy, and say 'Good Toy' and you can even give her a tiny treat or little bit of play time attention. #3. If she won't leave the shoes for a toy or treat, then you have to use aversion correction. Say the cue word, 'ENOUGH !" if she keeps guarding barking and so on, squirt her with one quick blast of water. That will break her obsessive trance. Also a rolled up pair of socks can be thrown at her from across the room, it is ok to hit her with the socks, they will not hurt her, only startle her. It is better if she doesn't see someone toss the socks, that way they seem to just appear and jump on her. Which is exactly what you want her to think. I know some trainers shake a noisy can of pennies but, with Yorkies I have found a squirt of water or rolled up socks works better. Noise seems to trigger more barking. #4. You can change your own habits. Don't leave the shoes where she can get to them. You could buy a very cheap plastic box/bowl with a snap shut lid and put the shoes in it. Or toss them in a closet. #5. Give up the shoes, throw them away. From now on be quick to stop any guarding in the future.

[lillymae]

Have you tried a squirt bottle yet ? The second he starts barking give him a squirt or 2.

[gracielove]

It sounds like a bit of the old "small dog syndrome" if there really is such a thing. He has taken to guarding his area and feels he is protecting you. You need to make him know he is not in charge. Teresa's suggestions sound like they would be helpful.

[dmg1029]

Leia does not like to be left behind... we were in the car, I was getting out to put gas in... she wasn't being left... my t shirt had crept up, i go to get out she jumps from her seat in the passenger seat to the drivers seat and i get nipped... a rosey red mark about the size of a dime on my back... OH BOY... did she know she was in trouble... and yes it did hurt... So now if I'm getting out of the car I certainly don't turn my back on her...

Mom....

[Deadbug]

I had a Max that did this. He's territorial. We'd call mine "Max-hole" because of this.

You're going to have to teach him to "go to his house" when the doorbell rings. It's the only way to protect him and the person on the other side at the same time. Unfortunately, I don't think you'll ever get him reliable not to attack a stranger.

Have someone ring the doorbell and just after tell him to go to his house. Make sure it's someone he knows and loves. As soon as you put him in his house, give him a treat. Keep doing this until he gets it.

[yorkietalkjilly]

All excellent advice you have gotten. Here are some ideas you might think about or try out in case those don't work with your dog.

I would also reteach him who is Daddy in the home and who is the dog. Google the Nothing In Life Is Free method of training a dog that has lost his place as follower in the family and establish who the real leader is, so that he has to work to get what he wants and needs for several weeks and in the process, re-establishing your role as pack or family leader. Here are some of the exercises copied from the Internet:

Aggressive dogs are usually dogs with unclear roles within the family. In a pack, there is a top dog (alpha) and a "chain of command". If your adult dog bites or is aggressive with you, maybe he thinks he is top dog and feels you are trying to usurp him. Simple ways to show him you are alpha are:
· Not allowing the dog on furniture
· not petting the dog when he comes up and "asks" (demands) it
· waiting to feed the dog until after you have eaten and cleaned up your own meal
· never playing tug of war with anything.
· Always put toys away in an inaccessible place when you are done playing with your dog
· never letting your dog go through a door before you
· long down stays. Command him into a "down" tell him to "stay" and insist he stay down for 5, 10, or even 20 minutes. If he gets up, calmly reposition him and return to your seat. (You can train this while you watch TV.)

Max is probably not aggressive really, just was redirecting his feelings of hostility toward the stranger at the door to you when you interfered with what he saw as his job. You have to teach him you are the one to deal with strangers at the door - not him.

Also train him to stay away from the front door visitor and claim that space around the door, not allowing him to pass a certain boundary when someone rings or knocks. You control the front door area & he needs to know it so he has to be trained how you want him to act at those times. This training requires someone to help and ring the doorbell, knock on the door a few times a week once the dog has the long "Down, Stay" down pat.

Tibbe has to go to a place in front of a chair in the living room and stay on a rug there when the doorbell rings. I trained him in the long "Down, Stay" and then trained him to go to his rug when someone rang/knocked and do a Down, Stay while I was conducting business at the door. I used warm boiled chicken bits for the training and he worked very hard to get those treats as I saw to it he was very hungry each time I trained the door exercise in the living room.

When he started to rise from the rug as my door helper re-rang/knocked, I would step toward him with my hands out, holding eye contract with him, crouched over a bit, ready to move to either side and blocked him from moving forward as that person outside continued to ring/knock. When he would stop out of submission because of the blocking, I would point to the rug and then use a piece of chicken to lure him back to it. When he lay down and waited as long as I wanted as I held the chicken in my closed hand, I said "Release" allowing him up & he got his chicken. I didn't talk during the training as the voice can excite an already excited dog further, except to calmly say "Release", so just used my eyes, hands & body to block, finger to point & chicken to entice him back to his spot, lie down and wait. They learn to control their impulses to rise, advance & bark when chicken is the reward for staying down - and they know blocking is the other alternative.

Now, when he does occas. rise or step off his rug if I haven't kept his maintenance training up, all I have to do is look back and point and he will lie back down on his rug, because he knows if he doesn't, I will excuse myself & go block him, no matter who is at the door. He has learned I am way more determined than he is so he lays down again and stays. Using a high-value treat, I usually retrain this exercise now twice a month or so.

To me, if one has a highly excitable dog, training a dog to stay away from the front door when he knows someone is there is one of the hardest things to teach and remain fresh with the dog, so you need to keep maintaining this lesson. But it is very rewarding once the dog gets it! Keeps your dog from door-darting out and prevents you from having to touch him when he's in a high state of excitement and could redirect the aggression he has for the stranger at the door to your hand or arm. Biggest thing of all is you must stay extremely calm and patient during this training and be sure he's learned a good Down, Stay first and don't teach the door technique until you've been using the NILIF methods to reteach him to respect you as his leader.

I have to use this type training on Tibbe as he's indifferent to water or shaking pennies in the can or anything when he's excited by someone at the door. Only physically blocking him as I move toward him will get through to him in this state & discourage his strong desire to lunge barking at the door. And I've found he doesn't like the quiet, purposeful physical confrontation there in the living room with me and will give way & comply with less excitement than when squirted, shaking loud pennies in a can, telling him "No!" or anything that adds shock or excitement. He won't be redirected when that excited except with the quiet, purposeful physical advancing confrontation as I focus in on him. That's his trigger that gets through his excitement and signals a submission response.

But that is what works with my dog and my only reason for posting them in case you have a dog like him. Yours may be totally different & the other forms of training may be far more effective with Max so as always, use what works best for you and your dog.

(sorry the font changed when I did Spellcheck)