My yorkie is really aggressive with me

[Alvi]

Hey guys,

I have a Yorkie, he's 2 years old and he kinda does anything he wants, I never really managed to "train" him, he already went through two trainers and the second one is proven to be great but for some reason he only listens to me when he's on a leash...
And by doing anything he wants I don't mean like sitting on the couch etc, but I can never hang out with him more than 10-20 minutes, once I stop patting him he looks at me and starts barking and growling at me. He never feels guilty or regretful with anything even when I yell at him or whatever.

I end up leaving him in the kitchen when I'm not home because I managed to make that place dog-proof. And in the other rest of the time he is in the garden (he is a bigger yorkie).

I am moving somewhere else in half a year-ish and I will no longer have a garden and I really need to figure out a way to stop this aggression or I will have to give him away, and the problem is that nobody wants a dog that bites, isn't loyal and in less words he's a lot of trouble for someone

[Wylie's Mom]

First, welcome to YorkieTalk .

I don't have specific experience with this issue, so the only advice I can give is to continue working hard w/ the trainer. It sounds like he thinks he is alpha, don't you think? What does the trainer say his issues are / where are they coming from?

[yorkietalkjilly]

The way your dog behaves is totally up to you. In my opinion from the little I have read about this relationship, you are his pawn and dance to his tune. He's got you trained and trainers can't train your dog to do what you want - you must.

First thing I'd start ignoring this boy and make him earn your affection, attention and pride. Believe me, he'll raise a big stink at first and growl and bark and do everything to get your attention but you should only give it when he's doing what you like - not when he demands it. He's a product of what you've made him so now begin to make him into a dog that learns that his owner won't look at or pat him unless he's lying quietly. Once he does that, look down at him and smile, say "Good boy" and toss him a treat.

Now, you've got to make him learn this lesson. Ignore him and make him earn your attention by eventually lying down on the floor and going quiet. Once he does, look at him, smile, say Good boy and treat. He only ever gets your attention when he goes quiet. It takes stamina on your part - you will have to FORCE yourself to ignore his fits and pawing and growling - but the very second he behaves like you prefer and goes quiet, reward him with that look, smile, praise and treat.

Start him on one of the good "Nothing In Life Is Free" programs where he gets nothing - no food or toys or chewies or walking through a door or walks or gets to jump up onto the couch or bed with you without first performing a command, such as "Sit" or "Down/stay" - whatever you want him to do. He doesn't get to walk in front of you ever. He cannot paw you or come up and begin to lick you right now - that's a form of dominance at this point so push him gently back when he does and say "uh oh" and then have him "Sit" or whatever and when he does, now smile, praise, pick him up and you two kiss and snuggle and cuddle. If you do it right, dogs love this "game" and love to learn how to do what you want so they get what they want - it's kind of like hunting for them - but they are working to get their resources and dogs are used to and love to do that.

Have him sit and wait before you feed him. Slowly increase the amount of time he must sit quietly until you put the food bowl down on the ground - say 5 seconds to 10 seconds and up to a full minute in time. This will allow him to learn impulse control and he'll sit there quietly until you put the bowl down because if he gets up or barks or growls, you say "uh oh" and put the bowl down on the counter and turn your back on him for a good minute. He'll learn that staying in the sit position with no sound coming from him gets him his food faster and he'll work to learn how to do that and will actually begin to do it. Then, try it again, tell him to "Sit" and hold out the bowl and wait until he's stayed there a while and is controlling himself before you give him his food.

All toys and chewies are yours are are kept with his training tools - leash, harness and so forth. He only gets toys when he lies down or sits up and begs or whatever you want him to do and then he gets his toy. Allow him to play with it for 15 minutes and then have him "sit/stay" and walk over and pick up the toy and put it away. This will quickly teach him that the toy is yours and his time with it for now is limited and give him something to look forward to - his next play session. This is the way it is during the next two months of training - toys controlled while you are home.

When you go out, leave him some toys and kong toys filled with treats or chewies, things to keep him busy but when you are home, for the next two months, toys are controlled by you.

When you walk him, precede him out the door and don't allow him to walk out in front of you, always keep him beside of just behind you until he's under your control. I'd walk a dog like this at least twice a day. And he doesn't get to bark and growl at other approaching dogs, either. Walk him in tight circles and use a high-value food treat right in front of his nose to distract him from going off on passing dogs. Keeping him busy walking and trying to get that piece of luscious chicken out of your hand while a dog walks by will keep his attention on the walking in the circle, avoiding your legs and feet and the food rather than the dog and he'll learn that passing dogs are not that bad and associate them with good.

Set some boundaries and if you tell him "no" and he keeps on doing something, get up and stand him down. Arise, lock your eyes on his, point your finger at him and say "No" a second time as you advance into him, walking right into his space and backing him away from whatever he's doing. Stand there over him until he lowers his head, turns away and leaves. Do this every time he doesn't obey your "No". If he's on the couch and won't stop something, do all of the above except scoot over sideways and claim his space until he's forced to relinquish it and then follow him wherever he goes, eyes on him and finger pointing until he learns "No" means stop doing what you were doing!

Those are a few of the things NILIF will have you do. Google the term and you will find a bunch of free programs to read and pick one you like to follow. If you do that and get your dog under control, he will start to show you how smart he is and how hard he will work to get your attention the right way. In time, you can begin to do some obedience training once he's learned some self-control and is respecting your leadership. After a while, if you train a dog properly, you can leave him free in your home when you are gone as he won't have any behavior problems or chew up your furniture and things - that is, if you leave him with toys to play with and give him a rich life when you are home. A bored, hopeless dog without any training or fulfilling relationship with his owner will often demand attention, tear up the house and eat the woodwork but not a happy, fulfilled dog with a full, meaningful life. Most likely you'll be amaze at how willing this dog is to work with you.