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Originally Posted by jsalford79  I just got a yorkie puppy last Sunday. He is now 8 weeks old. Weighs 1.5 lbs. He is very sweet when he wants to be but he has started this agressive biting stuff. I give him a firm NO over and over but he seems to ignore me. I bought him one of those Kong toys to chew on when he gets in this mode.
Is this a "teething" stage or some bad aggression that needs to be dealt with?
I would prefer to have him stop biting all together. Would it be better to give him the Kong toy or use a water bottle on him to try and make him stop? |
The closer the punishment is to the behavior your trying to reduce, the faster the learning. If you want to stop biting behavior doing something to the mouth area reduces it the fastest. That's why I suggested moving your hand further in the mouth causing a slight gag reflex. The longer the time in between the punishment and the behavior the less likely the animal will associate the two things. In other words, the spray bottle would have to be right beside you and the spray should be immediate, even 10 seconds can make a difference. Some people say that they rub clear deodorant on their hands, and this probably would reduce licking, not sure about biting since that can be done without much of a taste. The chewing toy you give isn't given as a reward but a suitable replacement for your hands. A firm no is different than a screaming no, and the more agitated you get, the more agitated the dog gets. Sometimes you can tell when the dog is getting worked up, and you need to give him a chewing toy before he bites on you. Mainly it's the teething stage, not an agressive stage, but how you react to all of this can make your dog more aggressive.