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Originally Posted by rubysmum  Hello- I need some advice please. I have an 11 week old yorkie called Ruby and also a 3 year old yorkie called Lily. The new puppy is settling in well apart from one major problem! I asked the breeder ( who incidentally bred our first yorkie Lily) for a submissive female and it seems Ruby is the opposite a very dominant little girl!! The main problem I have at the moment is that she bites everything, this is expected i know but she has graduated to being quite aggressive and biting faces , hands etc. I have tried the "no bite" techniques, put her in her crate etc but to no avail. I know she is very young but she seems intent on biting us and has actually gone out of her way to do so. Can you give me any tips on whether this is normal( our older yorkie never did this) and what i can do to curb her behaviour? Our older yorkie if very submissive even to the puppy and she is starting to get bitten too. thankyou for any advice you can give. |
I was thinking as I read your post that I am living with a very similar situation, only instead of having an older dog I have pre-existing cats (that think they are dogs). Daisy (born 6/9/09) has these moods where she is very over-excited; she will mouth anything that is remotely nearby and go out of her way to bite a cat's tail or legs. I am not very concerned about this because her body language is playful, 'bowing' and jumping around. If her teeth were barred and I could see her gums, her ears were flat back, etc. it might be a different story. Still, I need to play referee a lot of the time. I have one cat that will bear hug the puppy, like in a wrestling match!
That said, Daisy will also nip at my toes when she is in this mood; she will do the same to my face, ears, and nose if they are within reach. I see this as something I need to consistently put a stop to, so that it doesn't become acceptable behavior as she grows older. My biggest tool is what I call 'withdrawl of affection.' She nips and boom, I say leave it and she is down on the floor and ignored. This is the only thing she seems to understand because it is an immediate consequence; her puppy attention span just won't allow for anything else.
With all of this, I don't really feel that Daisy has an aggressive personality. She has the confidence of a terrier who will sass me when I tell her no, but is also very loving and cuddly when she is calmer. She knows when to back down in a tussle even if I have to remind her of this at times, which I feel is much better than a completely submissive attitude.
I should also mention that I do have a gentle cat who is very uncomfortable around the dog, but only when she is manic. I am careful to supervise and make sure this cat has an avenue to get up or away from the puppy if he chooses.
How would you describe your puppy's personality overall?