A Protective Yorkie??!!

[Emmsmom]

My little man is sevens months he isn't fixed yet either. He has gotten to be really protective of me. He follows me all over the place and if he is on my lap and our shepherd comes over he will snap at him. He even fussed at my dd tonight. he didn't snap at her tho and it wasn't a true growl either. I think he was still upset because the shepherd was still around. He has never growled at anyone before. I take him wiht us to my dd's gym and all the girls love all over him and he is fine. Strangers can rub him and he is fine. I get after him when he does it and he will calm down. I am wondering if this is because he isn't fixed yet or if he is just really protective of his "mom". Any suggestions would be great. I havent gotten him fixed yet becuase to be honest I am scared to. I have talked to several people with Yorkieswho died after being fixed. SOOO I am really scared to try it .

[Stormy]

Originally Posted by Emmsmom

My little man is sevens months he isn't fixed yet either. He has gotten to be really protective of me. He follows me all over the place and if he is on my lap and our shepherd comes over he will snap at him. He even fussed at my dd tonight. he didn't snap at her tho and it wasn't a true growl either. I think he was still upset because the shepherd was still around. He has never growled at anyone before. I take him wiht us to my dd's gym and all the girls love all over him and he is fine. Strangers can rub him and he is fine. I get after him when he does it and he will calm down. I am wondering if this is because he isn't fixed yet or if he is just really protective of his "mom". Any suggestions would be great. I havent gotten him fixed yet becuase to be honest I am scared to. I have talked to several people with Yorkieswho died after being fixed. SOOO I am really scared to try it .

I have 3males that I have not had neutered.....much to afraid. I lost a 9 mo old puppy to anesthesia, so I don't know if it would stop them or not...but mind are the same with me...so overprotective and the biggest who is 10 lbs attacks either of the other llittle guys when they get to friendly with me or if he does not get to greet me first when I come into the house.
They are sooo loyal and devoted to their mamas.

[hle_625]

Chloe is really protective of me and her daddy. When she is in our lap and Daisy gets near she always snaps at her! She loves attention.

[Emmsmom]

Thank you so much! I was worried that I might have a dog with issues LOL So I take it this is the norm when it comes to some Yorkies. Well I won't say the norm but it isn't anything that is shocking LOL . I know I treat him just like a baby so I am sure that doesn't help any. But he is my baby tho. I have an 8.5 year old and she will always be my only. SO this is as close as I will ever get to another baby. LOL

[FirstYorkie]

Shocking? No, definitely not. Yorkies can be aggressive.

Acceptable, though, is another question. This type of behavior tends to escalate. You need to watch him VERY closely and determine exactly when he is guarding you - is it only from the other dog? Is it also from your daughter? How about your husband? Watch not only for growling/snapping, but also for precursors to that - rigid posture, staring at those approaching you, etc.

Based on what you observe, you can decide where to go from there. If it is only the other dog he objects to, there are things you can do to help with that. If he's also protecting you from your daughter, you've got a more serious problem on your hands. There are things you can do in that case, too, but consulting a trainer would be the wisest thing!

[Emmsmom]

Last night we tried a few things. It seems to be who ever he is licking and laying on at the time. He was laying on my dd's lap and he was licking all over her. my husband went to touch her hand and Diesel fussed at him. The shepherd did the same thing and he got all bent out of shape. It doesn't really seem to be bad right now. but i will keep an eye on it. My grandmothers dog is really bad. He shows teeth growls and tries to bite. Anyone can hold Diesel and cuddle. He just seems to have this attitude at home.

[FirstYorkie]

I REALLY think it would be a good idea to consult a positive trainer or behaviorist ASAP. I know you don't want to hear this but, more likely than not, Diesel's behavior will escalate. The odds are not good that it will go away on it's own, even with neutering.

Good luck to you and keep us posted, okay?

[scrappysmom]

MY scrappy is like that if Im laying down and my cats come around me he snapps at them and chases them away from me ,

[envrobear]

Moose is very protective of me. She will even lay on top of me if she hears a noise in the middle of the night and will growl. That I am ok with, but Lil Bear and Moose and I were at petsupermarket 2 nights ago and she start growling at this kid. I told her to stop which she did but was on guard the rest of the time....now the kids dad scared me but there was something about this kid that rubbed moose the wrong way.

Lil Bear is protective over my mom, but mainly when my mom is not feeling good. Since my mom has had to go on disability lil bear will watch her and growl at stragers if they come near mom when she doesn't feel good.

[JUDY's2yorkies]

Both of mine act that way sometimes,now I am not sure if its because he is a guy pup,because my female is the worst,the male is more kicked back and the female is more jealous of everyone or thing,lol,even a certain toy can pull up this behavor,oh well,they are great with people usually,just don't someone try to touch me without touching her first..she needs to be queen boss

[Jenn218]

I know that my little guy gets protective too. I know it is best to talk with your vet or seek training for it because it is said to get worse. I think though, sometimes it is just how they feel too....just like we get sometimes and not what to participate in something, share something or just want to be left alone.

I too baby my guy and treat him as if he were an actual human son. He knows he is safe with me and therefore he wants to be my guardian. And I am proud to have a little guy that loves me to much to try to protect his mommy!

Sometimes, if my husband puts his hand on my leg or acts like he is doing something to hurt me (like tickle me or something) and I tell him to stop or make a fuss over it....Mojo gets upset. He will growl and act like it is biting.....at first, we thought he was being protective and now, it is like he is playing with us, just wanting to get into the fun....he doesn't bite my husband, but will growl and go for his hand....it is weird....and hard to explain...it isn't a bite of aggrassion, but a nimble and lick of play...if that makes sense?!

Now, when it comes to a guy coming over.....if he doesn't know the guy (and it is only guys....which, he was never mistreated by a men and I have never been mistreated by a man either, so I don't know where it comes from), but he is like an outdoor guard dog. You know the ones that will bark at anyone driving down the driveway, and not wanting them to get on the porch by the house, etc. He just does NOT like the mail man, the UPS man, etc. I honestly think he feels the need to protect me from them? I do not know why, but I think he thinks he is doing the right thing. He has never biten them, but he lets them know that he would if he had to.

He was also never around kids much.....okay, even though I always took him to school when my daughter went to public school and I picked her up or dropped her off. He even went on field trips with school too. He always went shopping with us, craft fairs, vacations, even to my office when I worked at the university. I think that kids are just loud and they scare him sometimes. Like the summer I had to babysit my neice and nephew (then ages 5 and 7). It was only the 5 year old boy that bothered Mojo! He after all, was a five year old boy...no matter if you told him not to bother Mojo or go into my room (which is Mojo's safe room - crate, etc), he wouldn't listen. He was always running around and being loud or throwing Mojo's blanket and toys....Mojo really hated him.....He did bite him twice that summer, both times with warning before hand. To be honest, I hated to punish him because I knew what he was feeling. BUT since that time, he has not biten my nephew or any other person. Partly, I think, he feels more comfortable around kids (which, they know when they enter my house to follow my rules because of little Mojo being underfoot) and too my nephew learned to behave better!

Too, I wondered at the time, if it was a jealousy thing with kids. The kids that bothered him were always the smaller ones that were more his size, louder and didn't know better and that maybe got more attention? The jealousy with my husband (yes, he is jealous of my husband sometimes) is not an aggressive jealousy....he just wants to be included.....he jumps on my husband and just starts licking him like he hasn't seen him in awhile or gets a toys or nylabone or something and paws at my husband to get his attention away from kissing me to play with him. This again, doesn't happen all the time (maybe it is when he is feeling lonely or like he needs more attention or maybe because I give him more attention then most people do with their pets).

Then, there are times (not all the time) that he will only eat if someone is there by him. There is no reason for aggression towards food because there was never a need to guard his food, even before we got him. I think it is a game to him...as he gets bored and he is a picky eater. For example, if the German Shepard is in, he is more likely to eat his food with her sitting by him looking at him, then just having his food sitting there. OR if you try to get his food, he will growl and try to nip you....we do not encourage this play because that just elevates the thought of his food getting taken away or the need to protect it. Again, this is not everytime he eats and I could count the number of times he has done this on my hands....okay, sometimes he does bite you, but other times he doesn't. I think again, this is a game for him.....he is a picky eater and it is hard to get him to eat and to find food he enjoys to eat (haven't found any food that he really actually enjoys to eat yet).

Okay, it might sound has if he is bored....but BOY is he not bored! I know that no matter how spoiled they are or how many toys, chewies, treats, they get to play with, they can still be bored. He isn't.....he is always played with and when he gets bored with one activity or toy, he gets another one or lets you know he is tired of it. Okay, sometimes he does lay on the desk with me....but that is his choice.

Sorry for the long post, but sometimes I just don't understand why our little furbabies do what they do. I know that I might be wrong in thinking this, but to me, my little guy doesn't appear to have any real aggression issues. My little guy normally does not get nervous or aggressive around strangers even most men....He has a few that he has picked out that he just flat out doesn't like for some reason.....and I am the type of person that believes that dogs sometimes know things about people that we don't. I do not approve of his nips that he has done, but looking back over those situations, I would be nippy too if I had to put up with something like that.