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bhanish · 12-19-2019, 08:42 PM

Hey All,

I'm having a lot of trouble with my Yorkie. I love him so so so so much but we've gone through 5 trainers thus far and we are still having problems.

(1) The first training was when he was a puppy, in our home city, and it was a 6 week long puppy bootcamp. The trainers basically crated him a lot (sprayed water in the face), socialized him, and potty trained him. (2) Immediately after, my pup and I moved to another city for a year. The pup was an angel until 6 months when he started barking and getting aggressive (he also went to daycare every day). (3) We then got him a trainer to help with "positive reinforcement." She blamed the first trainer for all the aggressive behavior. Well, my dog started to trust me again with the positive reinforcement but he also stopped listening to me and would bark non-stop (neighbors were not happy). After that, we moved to another city for a year (which was very cold). He went to daycare there but walks were scarce given the cold. The daycare said my pup's behavior was erratic. Sometimes he would be great and other times he would nip at the trainers and other dogs. The daycare was very strict, so we had to take him out to undergo training. (4) The behavioralist focused on meds. By the end, my Yorkie was talking a benzo and trazodone. But all that did was make him very sleepy. We ended up taking him off of everything. Another vet suggested that my dog may have back pain and took x-rays. I took those x-rays to a specialist and he said there was nothing wrong with his back. (5) We moved back to our home city which has nice weather. We signed up my pup for pack walks and another trainer. This trainer was focused on stronger corrections. First thing we did was "tie-down" my pup in the house, that way he didn't feel like he had to guard the whole space. We also put a bark collar on him to control his barking, as his barking led to aggressive behavior. We did this for about 8 months, but I found my dog would bark through the zaps and I felt bad... although it did manage his aggression and barking. (6) We moved to a city nearby to be closer to work and signed him up for a daycare. All was well except my yorkie recently developed a habit of biting (roughly two months ago). Before he barked a lot (and still does) but he has never bitten anyone. Well now he bites anyone who comes to the door. The delivery guy claims my pup bruised him badly and that I was lucky he didn't sue me for thousands and reported me to SPCA (I wasn't there for the incident). But the biting has gone beyond guarding the door. He bit someone at the park. He hates children and hasn't bit any yet, but he basically ran after them and tried to climb them in the park. If I wasn't there, I think he would have bitten them. And he used to be good with dogs but now he barks at them too.

Every day is a real struggle. It's not fun walking him because he's always trying to attack people or dogs. I'm afraid to get on an elevator with him in case he bites someone in a confined space. And I'm TERRIFIED of children. I really don't know what to do. All the daycares, dog walkers, and friends say my yorkie is an angel when I'm not around. I just don't know what to do because I think he's going to get put down if he keeps up this behavior.

12-19-2019, 08:42 PM	#1
bhanish Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: San Francisco Posts: 65	Rehoming Help & Advice. Hey All, I'm having a lot of trouble with my Yorkie. I love him so so so so much but we've gone through 5 trainers thus far and we are still having problems. (1) The first training was when he was a puppy, in our home city, and it was a 6 week long puppy bootcamp. The trainers basically crated him a lot (sprayed water in the face), socialized him, and potty trained him. (2) Immediately after, my pup and I moved to another city for a year. The pup was an angel until 6 months when he started barking and getting aggressive (he also went to daycare every day). (3) We then got him a trainer to help with "positive reinforcement." She blamed the first trainer for all the aggressive behavior. Well, my dog started to trust me again with the positive reinforcement but he also stopped listening to me and would bark non-stop (neighbors were not happy). After that, we moved to another city for a year (which was very cold). He went to daycare there but walks were scarce given the cold. The daycare said my pup's behavior was erratic. Sometimes he would be great and other times he would nip at the trainers and other dogs. The daycare was very strict, so we had to take him out to undergo training. (4) The behavioralist focused on meds. By the end, my Yorkie was talking a benzo and trazodone. But all that did was make him very sleepy. We ended up taking him off of everything. Another vet suggested that my dog may have back pain and took x-rays. I took those x-rays to a specialist and he said there was nothing wrong with his back. (5) We moved back to our home city which has nice weather. We signed up my pup for pack walks and another trainer. This trainer was focused on stronger corrections. First thing we did was "tie-down" my pup in the house, that way he didn't feel like he had to guard the whole space. We also put a bark collar on him to control his barking, as his barking led to aggressive behavior. We did this for about 8 months, but I found my dog would bark through the zaps and I felt bad... although it did manage his aggression and barking. (6) We moved to a city nearby to be closer to work and signed him up for a daycare. All was well except my yorkie recently developed a habit of biting (roughly two months ago). Before he barked a lot (and still does) but he has never bitten anyone. Well now he bites anyone who comes to the door. The delivery guy claims my pup bruised him badly and that I was lucky he didn't sue me for thousands and reported me to SPCA (I wasn't there for the incident). But the biting has gone beyond guarding the door. He bit someone at the park. He hates children and hasn't bit any yet, but he basically ran after them and tried to climb them in the park. If I wasn't there, I think he would have bitten them. And he used to be good with dogs but now he barks at them too. Every day is a real struggle. It's not fun walking him because he's always trying to attack people or dogs. I'm afraid to get on an elevator with him in case he bites someone in a confined space. And I'm TERRIFIED of children. I really don't know what to do. All the daycares, dog walkers, and friends say my yorkie is an angel when I'm not around. I just don't know what to do because I think he's going to get put down if he keeps up this behavior.