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Originally Posted by sunlit_16  I have two yorkies that I love so very much - Maximus (22mths), and Bruno (10mths). Up until about 2mths ago, they were the sweetest dogs ever!! They were both overly people and other dog friendly....then Maximus started to become 'snappy and grumpy' when other dogs would come to 'say hi' by sniffing him. Now he still loves people - but I can't even put him down at the dog park b/c he actually lunges, snaps, growls, and tries to bit other dogs!!  I am so upset and depressed about this! This aggressive dog is not my normal happy Maximus!!  Anyone have any idea what in the world could be going on? We have had a couple upsets in our lives recently - but I dont' think that they alone explain these behaviors! (We went through the IKE thing in Sep. & had workers at our house for 3weeks afterwards, & Bruno - his little bro. got attacked by a silkie in early Sep., & we moved in Aug.) PLEASE let me know if anyone has any advise on how to help him over come this!!! I want him to be happy!!!! |
Many women/men on here will give you very sound advice, but I wanted to let you know, My girl did this, too. She did it suddenly. She was very well socialized and adored animals- all animals. Cats, pigs, dogs, birds, etc. Then the chihuahua next door wouldn't stop barking, and then, the kicker? Another chihuahua actually lunged at my daughter, then at her when she growled and snarled. Yup... that was it. She was done. To top it off, she resource guards me, and a lot of dogs will approach me to lick my hand or say hello. I'm not bragging and saying I'm the dog whisperer, I just get a lot of love from dogs. Chewie hates that, too. A lot. And would snap, growl, lunge, and snarl.
I nipped it in the bud quite quickly. She's now a lot better. What worked for me was consistent exposure to dogs- in a word, doggie play dates on Sundays, and every other week doggy day care. I know you have a companion, but I'm speaking of other dog exposure. She still loathes chihuahuas, but, It won't change. My daughter is terrified of them, and Chews is so in tune with her family, that she picks up on it, so it just feeds into it. Our trainer is working on the resource guarding as well, but The consistent exposure worked nicely.
There are people on here that will point you in the right direction. Follow their directions, I'm telling you, their suggestions worked for the guarding even before trainer started helping- even a way to get her to sit. I love that there is such a wealth of knowledge on this board.