Agressive pup
 

I've got to the point where I don't know what to do. My little man is getting more & more aggressive and in particular to my 3 year old son. This morning my son woke up and within seconds Alfie had bitten him on the nose & drawn blood.

I've only had Alfie for a month & a bit. He is 8 months old & was so well behaved with my son at the start. If I'd known he would turn into this monster I wouldn't of bought him. He came from a family home with children & the reason for his sale was due to the old owners new landlord saying no dogs - however now I'm wondering if it's because he was a terror with their children? I spent 2 hours with the old owner, the dog and my son & the dog was so well behaved with him that I had no worries about him being the right dog.

It started off with growling and Alfie jumping up at him but my son was very good in understanding that he was 'in charge' and would tell Alfie NO and I'd back him up. However now Alfie not just growls but he also constantly tries to bite & nip at his fingers/arms/legs. My son is actually getting scared of the dog and screams every time the dog growls as he associates that he is going to get bitten.

I've noticed that the dog is defiantly trying to place himself as under me & over my son in the 'pack' however his place should be at the bottom of the pack. He will jump on the sofa and try and intimidate my son off and just seems to enjoy scaring him. I've also got the added problem of my son getting upset that the dog doesn't like him coming for cuddles with me and so he will sometimes attempt to kick or hit out at the dog.

This behaviour is now extending to my parents. We often spent time at their house and last week I fell asleep on the sofa and Alfie snuck into the living room & lay on the floor next to me. My parents do not permit the dog to be anywhere other than the kitchen in their house which is fair enough however when Mum tried to move the dog out of the living room he jumped up, growled and apparently bit her. Mother attributed this behaviour as the dog being ultra protective of me as I was asleep but I don't know.

I am guilty for letting my pup sleep on my bed and sit on the sofa with me when my son is at play school in the morning but I am in the process of changing this as I understand that this can be making the problem worse, however when I do try and confine him out of the bedroom at night he makes such a noise that the neighbours complain and I cannot risk them complaining to my landlord. (They did this to the previous tenant causing them to move/get thrown out) and the other set of neighbours are also a pain as they have come in & taken my animals before when they fell out with my ex (yes they really did! I've had chickens, ducks, rabbit, a hamster & more recently my cat went 'missing' for a few days.)

I've got my father popping over later & when he sees my sons face he is going to go nuts at me. Even though I'm grown up my parents still constantly interfere & undermine me, my mother has even threatened to come in & take one of my cats away & have him put to sleep! (he is a rescue with issues) and I'm scared that they are going to start threatening to have my dog put down as he has bitten - they don't like any animals other than their own cat.


I really don't know what to do and just need some advice please. It's at the point where my son is crying and asking me to get the dog re-homed. What can I do to stop this behaviour or is it just in this dogs nature?

:(
Sam

ps> the dog isn't aggressive to me and when he gets told off he will back off and lay flat against the floor. To berate him I raise my voice/use an assertive tone, I don't hit/hurt/throw things at him etc.

I'm sorry I've not added any tags to this post

Welcome to YorkieTalk. Sounds like you have a lot going on at home and the problems are escalating. If you have the means, I would recommend hiring a personal trainer, one that uses positive reinforcement methods.

At 8 months old, the dog is still a pup and still developing and is full of pent up energy. Is he neutered? Does he get daily exercise?

Do you leave your 3 year old alone with the dog?

It's difficult to determine the problem and solution without seeing behaviors first hand. Yorkies can be feisty and sometimes their play can be misinterpreted as aggression. Then you have a 3 year old correcting the dog in a way that may be heightening the dog's excitement, causing the dog to jump around and give a bite on the nose.

I don't mean to make light of the bite on the nose, but I will say that my older boy, Max, gives gentle "love bites" on the nose. It could be that your dog has not learned bite inhibition, how to control the bite. Once again, I'm not saying nose biting has to be an acceptable behavior in your home, especially with a 3 year old boy.

Many Yorkies enjoy "play wrestling," something they start as pups with their littermates. Your Yorkie may be treating your son as a littermate. Then you have to consider how your son behaves around the dog. How does your son play? Your Yorkie could be responding to the way your son pets or plays with him.

I personally don't subscribe to dominating a dog, and I prefer the positive reinforcement approach. A calm, confident, cheerful leader gets better results. The dog is more open to training. Tension only heightens the dog's anxiety and makes him more excitable, and more likely to display undesirable behaviors. An anxious dog is completely closed off to learning.

Before allowing your father to insist on putting the dog down, please ask here for references to Yorkies rescues. Their are many people here willing to help.

Definitely stay consistent in rules for the dog. Don't give access to the bed or couch part of the day, and then take it away when your son is home. The dog will likely resent your son and just be confused.

Try this: NILF Training.

It should be an article on training method of "Nothing in Life for Free". This is a very gentle way of constantly reminding your dog that you are the leader of the pack. It works, too.

I would also suggest to constantly supervise your 3 year old and your little dog. My son was 10 and still putting his face up in Ringo's face (our Westie). I would constantly have to remind him not to do that. Heck, he's 15 now and I still find myself telling him . . No Face in Face!!! Ringo sometimes likes it and sometimes doesn't and gives a little warning growl but still . .

We had an elderly, geriatric Maltese when my son was 3 and although he was very gentle with him; he would still accidently step on his tail, stumble over him; etc. So . .watch then closely.

I agree that a trainer may be in order if you can't 'nip this in the bud' so to speak.

Years ago we were surprised with a puppy for Christmas by my sister. My youngest son was only two at the time and it was a total disaster! The sweet little puppy would nip/tethe on my son, and my son would get scared & kick the puppy. No matter what I did, I couldn't break the cycle. I didn't want to see this poor puppy abused & turn aggressive, and there was no way I could explain to a 2 year old that the puppy didn't mean to hurt him. I finally had no choice but to give the puppy back to my sister. I would consider re-homing your pup, and waiting till your son is older before getting another dog.

Moshe is responding very well to the NILF method.

My parents also used to growl at our dogs when they nipped. It worked pretty well.

I have also been told that if you welp like a puppy when the dog bites you sometimes that can stop it however we tried that with Moshe and he seemed to get more excited.

I commend you for recognizing the cycle and for taking appropriate action. Excellent advice.

Yes I think you should rehome the pup also. Young children can frighten pups so that might be why hes choosing your son to bite. I didnt get our yorkie untill our daughter was 5.