Quote:
|
Originally Posted by HisNameIsHarley Well, Harley will be a year on March 10, 2006.. As far as why he's aggressive towards some people but not all.. I have no idea.. He HATES being rushed. IE when people come up on him w/o letting him smell and accept them into his 'bubble' and especially when they rush on him and carry their hands over his body.. That's when he REALLY gets defensive. His first experience with children was a bad one. We were sitting outside our local grocery store when two young children approached.. both were acting crazy, making lots of noises, jumping everywhere and being quite random (like children). Well even through all that Harley was ok and just sat on the ground at my feet watching them.. Then one of them came right up to him and kicked him.. Hard.. And he ran back behind the bench we were sitting on and tried to blend himself in with the brick wall..  I was so angry that the kid had hurt my dog that I scooped him up and babied him for a long time. And since he has HATED all kids. Anywhere from 3-13 if you're not atleast 5ft tall he's going to bite you or atleast growl and bark. The bark/growl/cry he makes while (wish he'd make it BEFORE he bites) he's attacking is a HORRIBLE sound.. It's very high pitched and he throws his 'voice' up and down the scale and he cocks his head to the left side and raises his hackles for all the world to see and he looks evil  .. And I have made sure that when people (espeically kids) approach him and ask to touch him I stay calm and assertive (sry I love the Dog Whisperer) and don't let any of my emotions run wild so they don't rub off on him. Like last night.. I felt comfortable with the little boy attempting to pet him bc he had done so well with the mother and daughter pair. I don't know if he's trying to protect me.. protect himself.. if he's scared.. if he's mad.. I don't know.. As far as people he's been around.. My goodness.. He adores my dad, my bf Will, Will's dad, my youngest brother Jacob, my Grandaddy, my uncles.. So I know it's no problem with men.. And he's fine with women as well.. But he has bitten my younger cousins..  And of course when they get bit they freak out and don't ever stop to consider that they should stand up to him. I think that if just once a child would get bit/snapped at and not jump away and hold their ground and tell him "NO!" very firmly and insisted that he be submissive.. I think it might help.. We have a full time trainor for our dogs at the rescue kennel where I work.. She is amazing.. I will try and speak to her today about his issues and see if she has any tips too..
Thank you so much everyone! I really needed your support.. I will pm you YorkieMum probably later on late tonight or tomorrow.. |
I REALLY think that is where his problems stem from, that little kid. Yorkies who haven't been raised around kids fear them alot of the time. Kids move fast and are loud. The kid kicking him made Harley think that kids are dangerous and mean. Dogs don't forget things that are tramatic. He definately needs some work to trust strangers. I would definately work with a trainer first and don't forget to tell that story about the kid, I think that was key. Until you can get him to trust others more, I would be very careful about where he goes in public if you aren't willing to put a muzzle on him. I would hate for something terrible to happen.
Good luck.