Trying to undo a villian's damage

[Nancyf]

Hi, I'm new here, just rescued Bella. She's seven months old and my first small dog . She was abused by her previous owner and I'm the fifth place she's been. We have fallen in love, she's been quite easy. We are just over two weeks in and she has just started to pee in the house without barking to let us take her out. The only problem we had been working on is her around other people, she gets nervous and bites new people. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Bellabean]

How about have the new person give her a little treat before they try to touch her?

[Faboosh]

I'd keep people from touching her for a while. Let her around people, but rather than imposing others on her by touching her, let her approach them if/when she's ready. She's likely biting out of fear, so be patient with her and let her decide when someone can touch her for a while.

[Nancyf]

She's not very impressed with treats, I've been trying the "look don't touch" method but people don't always listen. I have plenty of time, I just don't want her to be frightened. She has no problem with my husband or son, she loves them! Grandma, well that's another story....

[Lovetodream88]

Awesome that you rescued her. I look at these little ones faces and I will never understand how people can abuse them. Is she biting when she approaches new people or when they approach her?

[theporkieyorkie]

I agree...I would tell people "please don't touch" and let her come to them...if she wants. You can also give the people treats to throw to her so she associates strangers with good things(treats)!!

When you have a dog that has fear aggression issues, or aggression in general, you take on the responsibility of not only keeping people safe from the dog, but you also have to keep the her safe from them!! I know because I have a dog with who has fear aggression issues. One bite to the wrong person is all it takes, no matter what their size is. I have to watch my little guy closely out in public and/or when people come over...ESPECIALLY kids. They are loud, they move fast and they give of excited energy....all things that set him off!!


I would say that you might want to start taking her to public places to socialize her...like dog obedience....or a dog park or even to pet stores. She' young enough where you've got a really good chance at nipping that behavior in the bud. It's probably going to take some time. She's going to have to build up her trust and her confidence and you are going to have to show her consistent leadership to make her feel secure and lots of love so she realizes that not all humans are bad.

It seems like a lot of yorkies are one person/one family dogs anyways. They are loyal, loving creatures. I can't imagine why someone would abuse their yorkie.


BTW...Both of my boys were rescues and both of them totally regressed in potty training when I got them.

Princeton piddled everywhere in my last house and he now scratches to go outside and he rarely has accidents(unless I am not home to let him out). He's not perfectly potty trained...and if you aren't right there to let him out when he asks, he will pee or poo in front of the door...but he is a TON better!!

Ricky was supposed to be pee pad trained. When I got him, he peed everywhere!! He got in a routine of going outside this summer, but he still rarely asks to go out and he still will pee in the house, no problem. Recently, I decided to try the pee pads...after he's been living with me for 5 months, and to my surprise, he used them. It took him a few days to get good at it again...especially for #2...and now he's really good at it. Neither of my boys are perfectly potty trained, but they are MUCH better than they were when i first got them.

So, it might be similar with your little one. It may take a few weeks and a little work to get her into a potty routine. With her moving so much and all that she's went through, there may be an adjustment period.

[bailie]

That's brilliant that u rescued that poor little girl, and u both have fallen in love,,, to me that says it all .. I have trained my babies to use pee pads wen they were young , they ask to go out now BUT wen the weathers bad they will use them lol maybe Bella is scared to go out god only knows wat she wen thro but she has her lovely mom now , good luck to both of you I ll be watching for updates on her progress in the future . Xx

[yorkiemini]

Bless you for giving this furbaby a forever home
Heaven knows what 5 different home have created in stressor for her. I guess it will take lots of patience on your part. She has probably had a real confusing life for such a young one.

Hang in !

[gracielove]

Right now she needs to have her confidence in you and her new home built up. I would not rush trying to get her around other people. When she feels secure with you then slowly introduce one person at a time. Slowly and quietly bring just one visitor in to see her. Don't push them on her but let her decide how she wants to approach them. You could overwhelm her at this point and either stop her ability to adjust all together or actually set her back quite a bit by rushing her.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Here is a recent post I did on another thread and it just echoes what others have said to to with her. A biter has just escalated beyond the initial aggressive stage to vicious out of fear but with some training, time, settling in and overcoming her past horrors, she will learn to stop aggressing. She will learn there is nothing to fear in time and with re-training, her behavior will modify. It will take time and patience and lots of love but you can do it. Once she's settled in, I'd start her working learning obedience, challenging games and lots of good, healthy exercise to keep her busy learning and achieving a team membership with you.

Thank you so very much for taking this poor dog and giving her a real chance to be a wonderful, happy and healthy, fulfilled dog with a great life ahead of her. You are wonderful!

Here's the copied post to try if you would like:

Aggressive dogs will usually initiate barking, growling, showing teeth to get people/dogs to move away because they are fearful or unsure of them. Sounds like she was upset by that experience of the family members, felt as if she had no control of what was happening and it made her unsure around people she doesn't know. Inviting people into your home one at a time to slowly desensitize her to people could help. Have the person come in, don't look at her, talk to or touch her, sit and visit with you while totally ignoring her and then leaving in 5 minutes or so could start to get her used to strangers being around and teach her there is no harm in them. After three or four have done this visiting-while-ignoring visit with you daily for two weeks, have each person now start to toss out treats on the floor near them from time to time for her though still strictly ignoring her. After another couple of weeks of that, a visitor could see if she will start to act friendly, approach or sniff by placing a hand down by the side of a chair, maybe with a treat in it. Allow them to briefly interact with her if she does approach but leave fairly quickly after she initiates their attention and to leave her wanting more. In time, with more visitors and time, she should regain her enjoyment of having people visit and interact with her.

[Sunnydayz]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Here is a recent post I did on another thread and it just echoes what others have said to to with her. A biter has just escalated beyond the initial aggressive stage to vicious out of fear but with some training, time, settling in and overcoming her past horrors, she will learn to stop aggressing. She will learn there is nothing to fear in time and with re-training, her behavior will modify. It will take time and patience and lots of love but you can do it. Once she's settled in, I'd start her working learning obedience, challenging games and lots of good, healthy exercise to keep her busy learning and achieving a team membership with you.

Thank you so very much for taking this poor dog and giving her a real chance to be a wonderful, happy and healthy, fulfilled dog with a great life ahead of her. You are wonderful!

Here's the copied post to try if you would like:

Aggressive dogs will usually initiate barking, growling, showing teeth to get people/dogs to move away because they are fearful or unsure of them. Sounds like she was upset by that experience of the family members, felt as if she had no control of what was happening and it made her unsure around people she doesn't know. Inviting people into your home one at a time to slowly desensitize her to people could help. Have the person come in, don't look at her, talk to or touch her, sit and visit with you while totally ignoring her and then leaving in 5 minutes or so could start to get her used to strangers being around and teach her there is no harm in them. After three or four have done this visiting-while-ignoring visit with you daily for two weeks, have each person now start to toss out treats on the floor near them from time to time for her though still strictly ignoring her. After another couple of weeks of that, a visitor could see if she will start to act friendly, approach or sniff by placing a hand down by the side of a chair, maybe with a treat in it. Allow them to briefly interact with her if she does approach but leave fairly quickly after she initiates their attention and to leave her wanting more. In time, with more visitors and time, she should regain her enjoyment of having people visit and interact with her.

I was going to also suggest the ignoring phase of introduction, but a little differently. Dogs by nature are very protective of their own house, because they are protecting you from invaders of the space he is protecting, it's his job. I might actually go to a neutral territory, such as a park with a friend he does not know, and again the suggestion of sitting and making no eye contact, as some dogs will interpret eye contact as a challenge. Have your friend sit at the park, quietly and make many passes back and forth past them. Then you can sit a short distance away once he stops barking at them and talk to your friend while ignoring the dog completely. I would only do that much on the first trip, and repeat this several times. Once you see your pup getting used to the interaction between you and your friend and gets to a calm point about it, you can then have your friend toss a treat his way, while still not making contact, like maybe just in the middle of conversation without stop. I'm not sure i would do this in your home though as he sees his home as his territory and something he will protect. A neutral setting will be more calming as long as its a quiet park, or place you meet. He should after a while start to see how other dogs act with their people and pick up queues from their behavior.

As far as the potty goes, I would start putting potty pads down in a potty pad holder, maybe a couple in his favorite places he has accidents, and use a spray on the pads that encourages them to go there. Also I would never reprimand n accident and just ignore it, but give praise and treats for when he gets where e is supposed to. Gizmo too was abused, and we are working out the kinks still but he has amazed us at how far he has come in just a few short months :-) regaining trust is the first thing that needs to be established. Gizmo was very afraid of us at first, he would yelp anytime my husband would pet him. It was like he associated a mans touch with being hurt, thankfully he fully loves and trusts him now :-) we have also trained Gizmo to potty outside on walks, but he is also allowed to use potty pads inside. We use have a large richell xpen for him, that fits his bed, potty pads, and food and water. He sleeps in there at night, and also naps during the day in it. I also put on soft music for him at night while we are sleeping so e doesn't feel lone by silence. I will take the signs I get from him on how he acts, and build my training around what he needs to make him feel safe :-)

I will definitely keep you and your pup in my thoughts, ad I'm sure itch the love you have for him, he will learn to trust and know not ll people are bad XOXO

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Sunnydayz

I was going to also suggest the ignoring phase of introduction, but a little differently. Dogs by nature are very protective of their own house, because they are protecting you from invaders of the space he is protecting, it's his job. I might actually go to a neutral territory, such as a park with a friend he does not know, and again the suggestion of sitting and making no eye contact, as some dogs will interpret eye contact as a challenge. Have your friend sit at the park, quietly and make many passes back and forth past them. Then you can sit a short distance away once he stops barking at them and talk to your friend while ignoring the dog completely. I would only do that much on the first trip, and repeat this several times. Once you see your pup getting used to the interaction between you and your friend and gets to a calm point about it, you can then have your friend toss a treat his way, while still not making contact, like maybe just in the middle of conversation without stop. I'm not sure i would do this in your home though as he sees his home as his territory and something he will protect. A neutral setting will be more calming as long as its a quiet park, or place you meet. He should after a while start to see how other dogs act with their people and pick up queues from their behavior.

As far as the potty goes, I would start putting potty pads down in a potty pad holder, maybe a couple in his favorite places he has accidents, and use a spray on the pads that encourages them to go there. Also I would never reprimand n accident and just ignore it, but give praise and treats for when he gets where e is supposed to. Gizmo too was abused, and we are working out the kinks still but he has amazed us at how far he has come in just a few short months :-) regaining trust is the first thing that needs to be established. Gizmo was very afraid of us at first, he would yelp anytime my husband would pet him. It was like he associated a mans touch with being hurt, thankfully he fully loves and trusts him now :-) we have also trained Gizmo to potty outside on walks, but he is also allowed to use potty pads inside. We use have a large richell xpen for him, that fits his bed, potty pads, and food and water. He sleeps in there at night, and also naps during the day in it. I also put on soft music for him at night while we are sleeping so e doesn't feel lone by silence. I will take the signs I get from him on how he acts, and build my training around what he needs to make him feel safe :-)

I will definitely keep you and your pup in my thoughts, ad I'm sure itch the love you have for him, he will learn to trust and know not ll people are bad XOXO

I'm going to disagree a little bit in this particular case because the dog is a new rescue, previously abused and untrusting of people in general. I kind of agree on the neutral territory for some level of desensitization training of a biting dog but with a new rescue, they are usually fearful, anxious and unsure to their very last pore from all they have been through and now trying to settle into a new home and adjusting to new owners/pack leaders. It is so stressful to a troubled, unsure, young dog to change homes and change everything about her whole life and I doubt at this stage this dog is feeling that proprietary of you or the home yet. Still, the security of the home she is just growing comfortable in, getting to know and beginning to accept is probably far more reassuring for this new, anxious rescue doggie to learn how to relax and engender trust in while meeting strangers rather than all of the excitement, scents, noises and unknowns at a public park or outside yard for this type of desensitization training. It is typically very hard to interact meaningfully with an abused dog you are just getting to know while the energies of the outside world are competing with the relaxation and guaranty of security you are wanting the dog to feel when a stranger comes around. Early on, I would want this dog to feel settled, secure and calm when a stranger comes into the home and I just fear all the excitement most dogs feel when outside would counteract all of that in this particular case.

[Sunnydayz]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

I'm going to disagree a little bit in this particular case because the dog is a new rescue, previously abused and untrusting of people in general. I kind of agree on the neutral territory for some level of desensitization training of a biting dog but with a new rescue, they are usually fearful, anxious and unsure to their very last pore from all they have been through and now trying to settle into a new home and adjusting to new owners/pack leaders. It is so stressful to a troubled, unsure, young dog to change homes and change everything about her whole life and I doubt at this stage this dog is feeling that proprietary of you or the home yet. Still, the security of the home she is just growing comfortable in, getting to know and beginning to accept is probably far more reassuring for this new, anxious rescue doggie to learn how to relax and engender trust in while meeting strangers rather than all of the excitement, scents, noises and unknowns at a public park or outside yard for this type of desensitization training. It is typically very hard to interact meaningfully with an abused dog you are just getting to know while the energies of the outside world are competing with the relaxation and guaranty of security you are wanting the dog to feel when a stranger comes around. Early on, I would want this dog to feel settled, secure and calm when a stranger comes into the home and I just fear all the excitement most dogs feel when outside would counteract all of that in this particular case.

I absolutely agree he should first learn to trust and feel safe with his new people and new home first and foremost. I have seen though that once they bond and trust their new parents, they will become very protective of not only their people but their home as well. Once the pup is secure with his home and people, he should feel safe after that to go for walks and such in quiet areas, where he will know his people are there to protect him. I would just fear that once he knows their house is his domain, he y be a bit aggressive in protecting it you know ? Where as a neutral territory would take that pressure of protecting the home off the pup. I would definitely get him used to his new home and people first. I did not take Gizmo out in public for about 2 months after rescuing him. It could be tried both ways to see what makes the pup more comfortable as well :-)

[yorkietalkjilly]

I still like the home for the early desensitization training of meeting new people in a relaxed atmosphere for a rescued abused dog unless OP feels her biting is protective of her new owner. Most likely though, her biting at this point is simply from her anxious distrust of people and strangers as she has little trust in them due to her abuse. I do like outside training for a dog who's self-assured, rather bossy and needs a period of distraction for his desensitization training. The distractions of outside are perfect sometimes for that type of dog.

[lisaly]

Thank you for rescuing your little girl. The love she will bring you will be immeasurable. Welcome to YT. I live about fifteen miles from you, but I've been going to a vet a few miles past you for over fifteen years. He is very gentle and truly honorable. I wish you much joy, laughter, health, and love with your pup.