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Old 11-25-2008, 01:59 PM   #4
Bhikku
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Huntsville, AL
Posts: 274
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I acted very quickly when she did that and made sure she knew that I was upset, I didn't let her back on the couch OR bed for the rest of the night.
Good deal.

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She has never shown aggression yet with toys or food. She LOVES food though and will just grab it out of your hand if she sees you are going to give her some.
I would recommend a "nothing in life is free" (NILIF) training program, especially since it sounds like your pup has a little bit of attitude which could turn into aggression issues. In this case, it would mean every time before you give the pup some food, I would make her do something for it (if she isn't well trained yet, a "sit" is good enough). This reinforces that you are giving it to her, she is not taking it from you.

Also, I would teach the command "leave it" by putting a treat on the ground and teaching her not to eat it until she's told she can. All this reinforces your position as pack leader, which makes your reprimand when she gets aggressive with your daughter have a little more clout.

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the last couple days I noticed that my daughter grabbed her and she kinda snapped at her which I didn't say nothing about because she has to defend herself and I know that wasn't her fault, my moms dog has done it before.
Here is a link to an article called "Teaching Children to Respect Dogs" - Teaching Children to Respect Dogs Hopefully it will help you avoid a bite.

I would teach your daughter to let the dog come to her, rather than grab at the dog, at least while the dog is young, feeling insecure, and is still acclimating to a new pack. If Stormy snaps when she's grabbed suddenly, it's probably a fear response, and if she gets used to getting her way when she snaps (like, hey, I snapped and the little girl put me down! I should do that all the time whenever I get a little anxious/irritated and people will leave me alone!) it can escalate into a big issue. Lots of little dogs learn to communicate with their teeth because it's tolerated. It shouldn't be, in my opinion.

That being said, from what I've read, yorkies are a little high strung when it comes to kids, so an occasional snap when startled is not going to be uncommon if kids are rough with the dog. The best thing to do is to teach the kids in your family to treat the dog with gentleness and respect; if they do, the dog will have no excuse for biting.
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