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Originally Posted by Aliya  Thank you all for your welcome and advice! I really need the support, because Dora is really difficult right now, and I've only had her for 1.5 weeks! I wish I had known about the possibility that it may have been too early to take her from her mommy. I'm trying really hard to do the right things and read lots about it. Dora has access to fresh water and food until an hour or so before bed each night, and she gets a decent amount of play and interaction. She's in her kennel area for about 7 hrs total per day (i work at home and take her out every hour or so); otherwise, she has the run of our downstairs, which is essentially just one big room. She seems to have plenty of energy and curiosity.
My worry, however, is that she won't stop biting me! I've tried the loud yelps + walking away (so that she learns that biting = no play); I've tried holding her little mouth closed and saying "no bite"; I've tried pinning her on her side so that she knows who's boss. Today is the first day I've really tried holding her mouth closed every time - I've been trying the pin-down submission thing for 2-3 days now. Each time, she just gets right up and comes back for more. I'm not sure if it's a game to her, or if it's serious - she doesn't wag her tail when she does it, and she sometimes growls. She struggles and tries to nip when I hold her mouth or pin her. Are these play behaviors or serious? All I know is that I'm terrified of hurting her (I can get really impatient and frustrated, which makes my movements quicker and less gentle than I would like) and/or of making her scared of me or disliking me. I'm probably most scared that she will become an aggressive or mean dog. I DON'T want this to happen - please help me figure it out! I really appreciate it! |
Well, it has already been established that you brought her home too young. So, she has to learn bite inhibition, but you can't wrestle her into not biting. Puppies bite and chew. That is what they do. Holding her mouth shut and pinning her down will probably give you just the sort of puppy you don't want to have.
You say you don't have patience and get frustrated. That combination does not make for a good yorkie parent. You not only need tons of patience. You, also, need to be very consistent in your training.
The best thing you can do, if you lack the patience in dealing with this puppy, is to place her in an ex-pen when she starts biting. Walk away. At least, this way she will learn that you will stop playing, when she wants to chew on you and bite.
You have a long, long way to go. I really hope you can learn to have patience with this puppy, because she hasn't even started teething yet. She won't begin teething until around 4 months of age. You haven't seen anything yet, until you see a teething yorkie. They are like little beavers. They'll chew on wood, sheetrock, metal, and carpeting. Good luck to you.