[sskills]

We have an 8 year old Yorkie that we rescued from a family before he went to a shelter. We had a fabulous Yorkie for 11 years, but lost him to heart problems. We have had Riley for about a year and a half. We've spent over $2000 on trainers including a two week boarding training. He's a sweet dog 90% of the time. He goes berserk if the doorbell rings or he sees/hears another dog. We know he was being attacked by a large dog at his previous owner, but know little more. Riley does not easily relate to new people who visit our home, but accepts them after we have demonstrated they are not a threat. He has some quirks that we can live with, but he has now started biting. He will be laying on the couch napping beside my wife and will jump up and nip her. No triggering event that we can find. This weekend Riley bit our 6 year old grandson on the ear. Same situation, no triggering event we can imagine. Riley has bitten my wife during one of his doorbell tantrums requiring antibiotic treatments. At the suggestion of the vet he is already on Prozac and Trazodone and those have helped, but not eradicated the behaviors. The problem is that these events are increasing in frequency with 4 biting events in the last week. None have broken the skin but have left red marks. The vet referred us to a veterinary behaviorist, but he has not contacted us as requested. We really do not want to give up on Riley, but we are considering it. We can't have a dog in the house that is a threat to our family.

Any ideas from all you fellow Yorkie owners? We've read most of the related posts on Yorkietalk and can't fink a solution.

Babs and Shaw