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Originally Posted by Julz How old is Nala? Yorkies want to be the boss, but you have to stay in control. It honestly sounds to me that professional obedience training may be your only option. I only say this because she has numerous behavioral problems. If she is growling now, she probably will bite later if she is still young. I'm not trying to sound negative in any way. That is the odd thing about typing, no one can hear your tone of voice. I had a male Yorkie some time back and thought it was the cutest thing that he would growl if someone tried to take him off of my lap...it's kind of like a very small child swearing, you know its wrong, but for some strange reason it makes you want to laugh....but then if they do it when they get older, it isn't funny at all and you wonder what on earth those parents were thinking to encourage such behavior. Do you know what I'm trying to say? I did end up catching "our" mistake and correcting it while he was still young. My mom has 3 Yorkies, Angel has always been a little on the misbehaving side kind of like yours, but not quite as aggressive. It doesn't bother her to be punished in any way, she just thinks its all part of the game that she has created and that someone was nice enough to join in. Fortunately she is growing out of most of it. I would suggest obedience training, but here is something else you can try...Positive Reinforcement. Instead of trying to punish Nala for doing something bad, get her to do something you want her to and then reward her with a small dog treat (because those can add up very quickly and become too much food for your dog in one day), play ball with her, take her outside for some fun, and tell her what a good girl she is. EVERY time she does something bad, tell her NO, NO in a deep monotone voice. Then as soon as she listens, try the positive reinforcement ideas. This will be very time consuming in the beginning of your new training, but it will definetly pay off. Good luck! I hope this helps and that I didn't run on and on too much. Oh, EVERYONE in the family has to do the exact same thing with her or she will not catch on. Funny thing about Yorkies, they really are very much like children...you can tell them "no" a hundred times, but then as soon as you slip up "one" time, they think it is acceptable and you have to start all over. We do tend to think of them as human, but always, always keep in mind that they are not and really do not understand every single word we say and when they do something wrong it isn't just to irritate us...I personnally don't think they calm down until they are over 1.5 years old.
Julz |