What happened to my sweet puppy?

[anniemm]

Hello,
I was very excited to pick up my new puppy this past Sunday. for the first couple of days she was sweet as can be. We went to the Vet on Sunday for a check up and she is great. I immediately started to take her outside to potty and at night I let her have a puppy pad. She did wonderful and last night she didn't even go on her pad.
Yesterday I had her outside and when I picked her up she growled and tried to bit me. she sounded very viscous and angry. I told her no and we went in the house. She was doing very well today but tonight she started acting in the same way while we were out for our last walk..or should I say run. I do not show emotion but it really bothers me and I hope she isn't going to be a viscous dog.
Most of the time she is very sweet. She is a biter and I am trying to nip that in the bud. She scared the heck out of my Golden Retriever, who jumped on the couch to get away from her. She likes my dachshund/poodle but she plays very rough and he doesn't like that. she just wants to bite everyone and everything. I could use some advice. She is my first Yorkie. I have wanted one forever and finally had the opportunity to get one. I have been reading books about Yorkies and reading different threads on the forum. I just could use some advice. I hope she will grow out of all this. I really love her.
Thank You
Anneimm

[tb98rock]

Is it a playful growl or serious? I give teddy a stern no and ignore him till he calms down when he gets too aggressive...if it occurs while she's hyper just tell her no and leave her be but if it's random I'd definitely start correcting this quickly like I tell teddy ouch no bite during play time when he's aggressive and he runs around in circles as if he was in serious criminal trouble

[anniemm]

It is not a playful growl. She is angry and I am telling her no. It has happened outside when she is on her leash so I can't ignore her and walk away but I do take her inside and put her in her pen. She is normally very sweet and playful. I just want her to stay that way without the aggression. Thank you for replying!

[tb98rock]

Originally Posted by anniemm

It is not a playful growl. She is angry and I am telling her no. It has happened outside when she is on her leash so I can't ignore her and walk away but I do take her inside and put her in her pen. She is normally very sweet and playful. I just want her to stay that way without the aggression. Thank you for replying!

Be careful approaching her then give her a no and take her in to timeout good luck!

[yorkiemini]

How old is she? If she is very young she may be missing the part where her doggie mom sets the boundaries and she has her puppy siblings to play with. You have not had her very long. Maybe she is missing her previous situation and just needs more time to settle in. Sounds like your other dogs are not being aggressive toward her, but sometimes puppies do play too rough, and they have those sharp little teeth. Does she cuddle with you at all.

Im sure others who breed and know a lot about young pups will come forth and give advise. Hang in!

[SirTeddykins]

How old is she? She will be going through maturity stages, like children, for the next few years and growling, nipping and biting are all normal because they need to make sense of the ground rules you should be establishing in order for them to fit in successfully in your home.


If she's really a puppy, I wouldn't worry about the growling too much. It's hard to say what's going on without an age, otherwise.

[BorderKelpie]

Any chance she was a singleton pup? I've noticed singletons seem to have some issues with that. A litter of multipe pups gets used to lots of physical contact and learn how to deal with frustration. Singletons don't have competition and never get the chance to learn how to deal with frustration and get grumpy like that.

Just a random thought. I helped someone with a singleton pup a few years ago. I wish we had started her sooner than we did. She had some serious temper tantrums when another dog and sometimes humans touched her. She got used to it with a lot of patience and treats, but still gets a little short tempered with some dogs at times.


Remember, too, terriers are a little tougher natured than Goldens and poodles. Not mean, just determined. Maybe that's what you're seeing? I love the scrappy attitude with my Yorkies, but they do have a 'harder' temperment than my poodles.

Any chance you could video her tantrums and give a little more history on her? Maybe some of the more experienced folks here can see what she's doing.

Best wishes!

[anniemm]

She was in a litter of four and she is 10 weeks old today. I did read the article on bite inhibition and noticed that most of the time she doesn't bite down hard. She cuddles with me all the time. She has been very good about going either outside to do her business and if it is overnight she uses her puppy pad if she has to go. She is eating and drinking and playing. She is chewing everything she can get her teeth on and if she starts chewing furniture or hands I replace with a chew toy. I will be buying more today. She seems to like hard furniture legs so I will look for something hard. I gave her a Kong but realized it was for medium dogs. She is chewing on it anyway but I will get her a new one for her size. It is just the viscous outbursts that worry me and I want her to know who is boss. Thank you for replying!

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by SirTeddykins

How old is she? She will be going through maturity stages, like children, for the next few years and growling, nipping and biting are all normal because they need to make sense of the ground rules you should be establishing in order for them to fit in successfully in your home.


If she's really a puppy, I wouldn't worry about the growling too much. It's hard to say what's going on without an age, otherwise.

Yep!

Basically right now, that little pup of yours is ALL about her mouth...they are very mouthy when young and this is totally normal.

When she does something inappropriate w/ her mouth, you want to shriek just like her fellow littermate would, as she understands that noise. Also, take a can an put some pennies or nails in it...when you want her to stop something, shake that can loudly and it will often startle them out of whatever behavior they are currently doing.

Originally Posted by anniemm

She was in a litter of four and she is 10 weeks old today. I did read the article on bite inhibition and noticed that most of the time she doesn't bite down hard. She cuddles with me all the time. She has been very good about going either outside to do her business and if it is overnight she uses her puppy pad if she has to go. She is eating and drinking and playing. She is chewing everything she can get her teeth on and if she starts chewing furniture or hands I replace with a chew toy. I will be buying more today. She seems to like hard furniture legs so I will look for something hard. I gave her a Kong but realized it was for medium dogs. She is chewing on it anyway but I will get her a new one for her size. It is just the viscous outbursts that worry me and I want her to know who is boss. Thank you for replying!

Good plans!

[calismama]

Cali was like that as a pup, and still is. She doesn't bite, but she growls a lot to let you know what she's thinking lol. She growled so much as a tiny puppy that she sounded demonic! None of her brothers and sisters were like that, and she is one of 3 litters. I think it's just her personality. For what it's worth, she is super sweet and loving! Just growls a lot.

[Tink04]

Originally Posted by yorkiemini

How old is she? If she is very young she may be missing the part where her doggie mom sets the boundaries and she has her puppy siblings to play with. You have not had her very long. Maybe she is missing her previous situation and just needs more time to settle in. Sounds like your other dogs are not being aggressive toward her, but sometimes puppies do play too rough, and they have those sharp little teeth. Does she cuddle with you at all.

Im sure others who breed and know a lot about young pups will come forth and give advise. Hang in!

My adopted cocker spaniel mix showed the exact issues you are describing. It hurt my feelings terribly... I took her to training, where they told me she is not aggressive, but scared and un-confident (I was skeptical in the beginning). Come to find out, she was taken from her mother way too early and did not receive the "boundaries" from her mamma. Since she was from a shelter, they had to go off what the person who dropped the liter of puppies off said (which I'm assuming they wanted rid of the puppies ASAP, telling them they were older than what they were). I hope within time and training, the problem goes away. With Maddie, we did training to where she would look to ME for anything - eye contact is important and praised. We established trust through training, and I do not have any issues with her aggression or growling since. Best of luck with your little baby. I understand that it hurts when they growl or try to bite, but with training, all is well Best of luck!

[Jkpal]

Can you lead her back into the house instead of picking her up...? It might make a difference with that sudden aggression. She's just a baby so try not to take her outbursts too personally (easier said than done, I know...Yesterday Piper dashed out the front door ran, across the street and not only would not come when called, but she was looking for ways to run away from me. Took about 30 seconds for me to finally scoop her up...Scared the hell out of me, left me shaking, but I fought back tears for about an hour because of my hurt feelings. Of course the whole event left Piper exhilarated cuz she thought it was just good fun. Geez, these little wonders of the world are just too, too much, but the love for 'em just grows and grows!)

[buddybear]

At 10 weeks I think the mommy dog would grab her by the nap of the neck and either give her a little shake or pin her to the ground and growl back, letting her know who was still alpfa/pack leader.
She may be trying to find her place in the pack but she still needs to learn who's in charge.

[anniemm]

I really do appreciate all the help. She had more episodes of the aggression today. My grandkids came over and she was great with them but she wasn't so good with me. I ended up putting her in her gated area to calm down and I walked away. I know there is so much going on with new people, new surroundings, and new dogs. She is now taking a nap and will hopefully wake up in a better mood.

[Russpilot]

Like was said above, everything is about the mouth at that age. Ideally, she would have stayed with mom and litter for a full 12 weeks before moving to a new home so her socialization may be a bit lacking. Don't worry, it will get better! Not to mention the other dogs will help her to find her way.