[chachi]

Originally Posted by KelseyRose

During my research about Yorkies, before I got Jo-jo, I noticed that almost all the dog philosophies I knew, that I used to train service dogs (labs) before, were different from Yorkie owner's philosophies. Much different. So when I finally got Josephine I tried to find a happy medium between both styles of training, but I tend to favor those ideals I used on my labs and to be honest it's worked fabulously. I'm telling you this because I know on Yorkietalk some of my philosophies aren't agreed with and I want you to keep that in mind when I give you my advice. I'm new to this whole Yorkie thing and while everything with my little Jo-jo has gone great all dogs are different and I don't know if my dog is the norm or not.

Anyways my first instinct is that the marking is a dominance behavior and since your is old enough you really should look into getting him neutered. If he hasn't been marking for a long time neutering could stop it all together, just as long as a habit hasn't been formed. Also new things brought into the home, like new furniature and guest's belongings can often cause dogs to mark so if possible take him up to the new object ask him to sit and give him a treat, play with him a little, let him investigate the new object, ect.

As for the growling and baring of teeth, that is NOT okay. I don't care if he was spanked, when a dog is hit on purpose (though you should never hit your dog) or accidentally they should respond with tucking their tails and/or whining to show their discomfort. Submissive behavior. While growling is one thing and I don't really see it as something too dominate, baring the teeth is another thing entirely. I suggest an alpha roll, but not in the traditional sense. I was taught the alpha roll a bit differently than others learned it. All you do is gently get your dog to lie down, put him in-between your legs and roll him over onto his stomach. At first he'll try to wiggle his way out, but after awhile he'll calm down. Once that happens it's up to you when to release him. Do this once a day and whenever he shows dominate behaviors.

Have your mom do it too and see if things improve. I really do believe in this version of the alpha roll and paired with plenty of exercise and command training usually solves most aggression problems. Good luck.

Thanks for your perspective