biting
 

I am having a problem with Pebbles when she has something in her mouth that she is not supposed to be eating and I try to take it out of her mouth, she bites and attacks me. She even does the growling sounds. What do I do?She becomes vicious!

You need to let her know ASAP that YOU are the alpha not her! You firmly let her know that whatever she has and you want, you get. Not the other way around. Be consistent.

Magic is the exact same way...it is like the devil comes out in her...but we have started telling her "be nice" and if that doesn't work we squirt her with a water bottle on the back of the neck and that will usually work...she still does it sometime but she is getting better...

[QUOTE=lily's mom]You need to let her know ASAP that YOU are the alpha not her! You firmly let her know that whatever she has and you want, you get. Not the other way around. Be consistent.[/QUO
What exactly do I do?

:yeahthat:
Ahia had the same problem when she was younger. I had to be firm with her.
Give her one of those "you don't do that to me" thing!
I sound like i was rough with her. rough is not the meaning i am sending firm is the word.

Every book I own, say to leave a dog alone while they are eating. Original traits show that dogs hunt in packs, but eat alone. Should another dog or anything come near it's food, they feel threatened that it will be taken away. Your dog is not vicious, it's only protecting what is his. Some say otherwise, that punishment is the only hope. I strongly disagree with that tactic.

i leared a new trick today by a lady who raised dogs. she said to put your thumb on the bottom of his mouth, close to the teeth, and push on it a little, and say no bite. it's uncomfortable for them, so they stop. Its already working for my yorkie!!!! and he's pretty bad with that!

[QUOTE=babi1542]Whem Maximus does that I say "no bite" and spray the bitter apple on his tongue...even though he likes the taste...he DOSEN'T like being sprayed in the motuh...also I used to put him down and not play with him for a minute or 2...he no longer gets aggressive with me and I am able to stick my hand in his food bowl while he's eating..to pull toys out of his mouth is still a struggle but he doesn't try to bite me just hold on...once I get it he goes to pout!!!

Hi I am not talking about when she is eating her food. I am talking about when she gets paper or a foreign object in her mouth, that could seriously hurt her. This is when she does what I just described on myfirst thread.

Saying "no bite" and squirting with water works really well with my Yorkie. He doesn't like being squirted with water at all.

Now all I have to do is say "no bite" in a harsh tone and hold the squirt bottle in my hand. He is really getting the message.

By the way, I tried all the other methods to keep him from biting...nothing worked until the squirt bottle.

I don't mess with him when he is eating or chewing on his nylabone. But if he has something in his mouth that is not puppy approved, I am very stern with him and say "drop it!" If he doesn't drop it, then I get the squirt bottle out.

You have to find out what works and be consistant with it.

Good luck.

thank you all for all your help. I will definitely try the squirt bottle because she was already in the hospital two weeks ago because of colitis. SO not, I am terrified when she puts something in her mouth that will hurt her in anyway.
Thanks again

Good luck keep us posted....

If you would like me to send a page I have on bite inhibition training, pm me your e-mail address and I will send it along. It sounds like you have some alpha issues with this girl and you are going to have to nip this behavior in the bud, no pun intended. Yes, pack behavior is an excellent training tool, but the alpha in the pack will take food from any of the other members and if repulsed will force submission. You need to be the alpha, to give your pup the confidence that comes from trust. Being firm is not punishment. Aggressive behavior usually stems from fear and you do not want an anxious, fearful dog. She needs to feel that you are strong enough to protect her and keep her safe. You should be able to remove anything from her possesion at any time.

i would be interested in the info, my e-mail is rford2222@hotmail.com. My yorkie cowers to young children and dogs, but when we hold her she attacks or on leash.

My babies name is Pebbles also..........she sounds just like yours. She is 6 months old and if she get hold of what she want we better watch out.

Rosi does the same thing, only with things she is not supost to have, got me a spray bottle, we will see how this goes...

I was taking Ibuprofen the other nite and dropped one........my Pebbles got it and took off running............we tried to get it from her and of course she ate it b4 we could get it. It seems like she knows what she's NOT supposed to have. We took her to the vet and he said she's fine :)

I would still watch her for these symptom:

Symptoms of ibuprofen toxicity include digestive upset, bloody stool, depression, staggering, increased thirst, increased frequency of urination, liver disease, kidney disease, and seizures.

Thanks........I'm keeping my eyes on her........I felt soooo bad........We took her to the vet on Wednesday and the vet wanted to see her again today just to check her again.

I hope that she is okay. My Pebbles is also 6 months. What a coincidence! They sure are little terrors! But you got to love them to death!

This is exactly what the dog trainer said to do. She said not to hit them on the nose or squeeze their mouth because that may encourage them to bite more. Terrior's always have to have the last word.

Hope y'all don't mind me revisiting this post. I have a new to us pup - 9 mo. We've had him 3 weeks. He will not nip at me because I have been very stern with him. He won't nip my husband either. My kids are still learning to say "no" stern enough so he does nip at them occasionally.

However, when new people come over (to meet our new precious puppy) he goes bonkers and nips (not hard - ever). Some people allow him to nip them and I tell them we're trying to stop that behavior so that he won't nip at small children. He's not nipping in defense - it's in playing.

I've read many many threads about this - and it's gotten better - but this nipping when my kids have friends over is making me batty. (My kids are 8 and 5).

Jodi
Mom to Snickers - our little yorkie/papillon rescue.

One more thing. . . (hi Leigh BTW):woof: :woof:

The rescue where we got our dog used a spray bottle to stop her dogs from barking. I used it too at first. But, then I went to use a spray for grooming and Snickers FREAKED! He doesn't mind being brushed - but did not want to be sprayed. I was going to try that Life for Teeth spray too - but I think he'll freak (so we'll get the gel).

Do they all just not like being sprayed? I want to get that Ice on Ice stuff but am hoping grooming will be a FUN thing - not a terror causing thing!:eek:

Jodi

Jodi,

Your last question is the easiest, so I'll start there! Since Sneakers has been sprayed as a punishment, it makes sense that he won't tolerate being sprayed during grooming. I read a wonderful tip once about using "Ice on Ice" - someone said that they poured a small amount onto pup instead of spraying it. I've done that at the every bath ever since. I dilute it a bit first. Works great! Don't you just love the way it smells???

As for nipping kids, I would keep him gated away from your kids when they have friends over. I would also encourage everyone to do this when he nips: immediately break eye contact, stand up, and walk away. Ignore pup for 1 minute. He will soon learn that all play stops when he uses his mouth inappropriately.

Thanks FirstYorkie! I can't believe I'm getting dog advice from someone in England!!! We start clicker training next week - I can't wait. He's actually picked up a lot in the 3 weeks we've had him.

I'm not quite sure how he's going to learn to behave around kids if I keep him away from them. . . It's tough because I have to also train the people that come to visit - how to act. Sheesh.

As for the ice on ice - isn't that used for daily brushing? I thought it was bad to brush when the coat is dry. I thought maybe I could spray the brush - your idea about putting it on at bathtime is a good one also.

Thanks again,
Jodi

Even when a dog is eating they should never bite or growl. When I first got Bella I would take her food away when she was eating, to show her that it's never ok to growl. I can take treats away from her and she just gives me that look like "hey give it back". :)

Yes, you're right on both counts, Jodi.

Many people do use Ice daily. Perhaps you could pour a little in your hands, then rub it on Sneakers so that you don't actually have to squirt him. He's pretty new to your house; if it was me, I wouldn't try to spray him until he's had more time to settle in. Then, you should be able to ClickerTrain him to accept it.

I took the easy way out on your nipping question. I do think that your first priority has to be to protect the kids, but, you're right, there is more to it than that.

I am sooo glad that you are going to start clicker training!!! That's great news. Besides the fact that clicker training is just plain wonderful, it will give you access to a trainer. You should be able to get help from him/her regarding behavior issues.

The absolute BEST source of dog information on the web is found at:
http://www.clickersolutions.com
Click on training articles for all you ever wanted to know about problem-solving with clicker training (or follow this link):
http://www.clickersolutions.com/arti....htm#behaviors
There is a link on the home page to join the email list which is also totally awesome. There are a large number of trainers and animal behaviorists on the list who really know their stuff. Since it is a busy list, I recommend that you get it in digest version.

There are a number of Brits on YorkieTalk (Yorkies originated here, after all). I, though, am a mongrel - an American living in England!