Quote:
Originally Posted by FryFry  Leo has recently started to show signs of aggression. He's been a nipper/biter since I got him but it's gotten worse over these 2 weeks. I've been doing everything I can think of; a firm NO. I'd put him on time out, I would redirect him with a toy, but nothing seems to work. The toy thing worked for a while but now it really doesn't. He's an extremely hyper puppy, and he's now beginning to harass my poor JRT, whom will just sit there and do nothing. I always have to pick Leo up in order for him to leave my JRT alone, and Leo will growl and bite my hands and squirm like crazy. He also has a habit of picking up random things outside; sticks, rocks, acorns, leaves, ect. I swear I'm taking something out of his mouth every 10 seconds. Tonight I had him out and I noticed him lay down and start chewing on something. I bent down to grab it out of his mouth, as I always do and he snarled at me. He lifted his lips and literally snarled. It was a very scary experience, especially from a puppy so young! I've raised 3 dogs from puppies. My Golden retriever never did anything like that, Zoey my female Yorkie was the sweetest/most laid back puppy. Leo is a total terror. He recently started biting at mine and my family members faces. He'll be totally sweet one minute then it's almost like he turns into a totally different dog. Whenever he bites my hands/fingers, it's not just a playful bite/chewing type thing, he literally clamps down really hard and leaves teeth marks. I have to pry his mouth off. I'm definitely going to start him in puppy classes once he has had all his shots, but until then is there anything I can do differently? I really don't want him to grow up to be aggressive, I want to nip this attitude in the butt before it gets worse! |
Sounds like a typical Yorkie to me. Welcome to the club!
All jokes aside, many yorkies are like that. They were bred to be killers and to me, they are some of the most difficult and aggressive dogs I've ever dealt with. I love my dog to death but he is by far the most aggressive dog I've ever dealt with.
The first thing I tried was the spray bottle. It worked for a while, but then it turned into a game where he would bite at the mist as I sprayed it at his face.
His behavior would get slightly better but still not good, so I tried the treat method. It worked wonderfully. He was the greatest dog in the world when he was getting a treat but then he started to pick up on the idea that "I am only going to do this for a treat and no other time." I couldn't even fake him out by pretending to have a treat because he knew when I did and did not have one - he's a clever bastard.
So then I tried the "slamming pots and pans" to get his attention. When there is behavior you don't want, you make a loud noise so he will correlate the bad behavior with the noise. It works but again it turned into a game and he would bark at the pots and pans - stubborn dude he is.
Turns out that the best method is a firm smack to the ass. Not too hard, just a quip equivalent to the nip of a mother to correct bad behavior, or how Cesar Milan pinches the skin to the point of a wimper.
Cesar is the most stubborn dog I've ever dealt with. The only thing that worked was the actual physical contact, whether it be a smack or a pinch.
I've seen some people who have had good results from actually biting the dog back to duplicate the reaction of a mother or other dog.
It's just a shame my Shepherd Chow died shortly after I got Cesar. He would have been a great role model for Cesar - that dog was wonderful in every way. He would give Cesar some gentle nips when he would act out. More time with Shemp would have done wonders for Cesar I'm sure.