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07-30-2011, 05:50 AM | #1 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK
Posts: 48
| Big Aggression/Barking Issues with my two yorkies Hi everyone, I have two yorkie boys - from the same litter. They are 5 years old and unfortunately when we got them from the breeder we didn't know, and she didn't tell us, it was a bad idea to home two boys from the same litter. We've had behaviour issues since day one, consulted a dog behaviour specialist but still the problems persist. In all honesty, the rest of my family living with me are rubbish at following through discipline and yet the first to moan when the boys cause problems. However things are so bad now it is affecting our lives and I need help. The biggest problem is that Bailey - smallest of the two - has a terrible aggression problem. You can go to stroke him, bath him, pick him up - basically do anything inside his personal space and he will snap, growl, bite and snarl. Because of his size he doesn't do much damage but it's horrible and today when I bathed him he bit me hard. It's becoming even more habitual with him. I don't know how to discipline him to stop this behaviour. Problem two is that when we go to bed and leave the boys in their separate crates downstairs, they howl, bark practically all night long. We have tried coming down, saying 'no' and returning to bed. We have tried ignoring them - nothing works. It interrupts our sleep and I'm worried that our neighbours will soon complain. Seriously - if we could solve those problems life would be sleep. I'm fed up of being mad at my dogs, I want to enjoy them. I am prepared to do whatever training, techniques it takes - and I will make my family do it too. Any advice would be so much appreciated. Please ask any questions if I haven't mentioned things that are important. |
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07-30-2011, 07:00 AM | #2 |
♥ Maximo and Teddy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 25,041
| Sounds like you need a visit from Victoria Stilwell. Check out her website for some tips: Victoria Stilwell Positively|The Official Victoria Stilwell Website The easier problem to fix is the barking and howling at night. Sounds like your boys need more exercise and activity to wear them out so that they are ready to sleep. Wearing them out will help with behavior in general. Do you walk them or do they have a chance to run around outside? Have you done any obedience or trick training with them? Dogs are usually eager to please and enjoy these activities. If you make it fun and focus less on the goal of having them obey your every command, this will help focus the dogs, stimulate them mentally (which will help drain energy), and strengthen the bond between the dogs and humans. Have a family conference and convince everyone to work together for your own sanity and for the good of the dogs. Dealing with aggression is more of a challenge. Make sure no one in the family is doing anything to encourage this type of behavior. No teasing or taunting or playing along. When Baily growls, snaps, or bites, remove all attention. Ignore him. Give him attention and rewards only when he is behaving correctly. You can also teach him "no bite," or you can yelp like a dog would when bitten. Exercise, lots of it. Direct the dogs towards positive behavior and activities. Set a good example and maintain a calm, positive demeanor. If the humans are excited (negatively) and animated, the dogs are going to mirror that level of energy and behavior. Keep in mind that training often requires a great deal of patience and persistence. You are probably not going to see changes overnight, although lots of exercise could have an immediate effect.
__________________ Kristin, Max and Teddy |
07-30-2011, 07:22 AM | #3 |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | You say you worked with a behaviorist, what did she suggest and what have you tried to do? You say your family isn't following through with discipline, what would this be?
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals Last edited by Nancy1999; 07-30-2011 at 07:23 AM. |
07-30-2011, 07:47 AM | #4 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK
Posts: 48
| Thank you for both of your replies. Very helpful and I think they do need more exercise. They have space to run around but often get distracted by noises and that causes them to just run inside the house or stand still and bark. The specialist we saw before advised us to squirt them with water and also to stop them from sitting on the sofas with us, so that they knew we were in charge. She thought they were quite territorial. So we introduced that and it worked very quickly, but I guess as the problems got less severe the squirting stopped and now it's so many years on the squirting water has no effect at all. I'm totally up for hard work - I think my family think they'l never change so what's the point. I don't agree with that obviously, wouldn't be here if I did! Thanks guys. |
07-30-2011, 08:03 AM | #5 |
YT Addict Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Abbotsford, BC, Canada
Posts: 466
| I think you should sit down with your family and watch at least a dozen episodes of "The Dog Whisperer". Unfortunately, it's often the humans that create the problems with the dogs. If the entire family isn't willing to pull together and help your pups, then I'm not sure that any trainer or behaviourist is going to help. Your dogs need balance and probably more constructive exercise and a "pack leader". Cesar Millan knows what he's talking about when it comes to problem behaviours in dogs. He has books as well as videos and a website. Check out "Cesar's Rules - Your Way to Train a Well-Behaved Dog" (written by Cesar Millan with Melissa Jo Peltier). It's really informative as to the psychology of how the dogs' minds work. I'm positive it will help you. Keep in mind that it may take some time to rehabilitate the dogs, and will likely take a lot of work from the whole family.
__________________ David & Denise ... proud parents of Ozzy |
07-30-2011, 08:05 AM | #6 |
Ringo (1) and Lucy too! Donating Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: On the Edge of Glory
Posts: 3,447
| Walk them and then walk some more (weather permitting). That helps to calm my feisty Westie. I think you will need a lot more help than that - but that's a good start. Here's another good start: Nothing in Life is Free by Lynda Adame
__________________ Mommy to Lucy, Ringo, and Matthew |
07-30-2011, 08:10 AM | #7 |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | My guess is that your dogs believe themselves to be dominant. I'm a fan of Cesar, and he's not into squirt bottles, but he believes the humans should always give off a dominant vibe. Squirt bottles are considered slightly aversive punishment, and that needs to be used in conjunction with positive reinforcement. Punishments usually only work short term, and should not be used except for the most extreme behaviors. I suggest watching the show, and getting a feel for what he says about dogs, a human should always have a calm confidence around dogs, and do everything you can to keep from becoming frustrated. Maximo is correct, a tired dog is a happy dog, and exercise is so important. One of the ways that Cesar suggests to get your dogs to feel like part of a pack is to walk them together in a purposeful walk. He believes daily walks should be part of every dog’s life, and a dog even thinks a walk is his job. A purposeful walk is when you are in command walking a fairly fast pace, it takes practice, especially with two dogs who will try to be the alpha. You need ot be the alpha or the one in command. Perhaps you can get another family member to go with you. If done correctly, 10 minutes a day can help tremendously. Another way to reestablish yourself as the alpha is food time. Make sure both dogs are sitting before food is placed on the floor, and make them wait until you have given the release command. Keeping picking the bowl up, until the obey. This may not sound important, but it reminds the dog you are the boss, you are the one that says when they can eat. Dog behaviorist usually say don’t sleep with a dog or allow them on the furniture if you are having any aggression problems with your dogs, this is really the first thing you should stop. So much good information is out there now, and I hope you can get a handle on this problem.
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals |
07-30-2011, 08:18 AM | #8 |
Dreamin' of Dexter Donating YT Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: toronto, Canada
Posts: 1,612
| Exercize is the fastest and easiest way to make an impact right away. having a yard for them to be in is not the same as spending an hour completely tiring them out. Dexter suffers from aggression and if a slack with the exercize, i can see a difference right away. we walk to a park at least once a day and i throw a ball for him for about 45 mins - an hour. i also run the pups around in the house or the back yard throughout the day when possible. I have a feeling exercize will drastically help the barking at night issue. there are times where we get back from the park and both pups crash to the point of snoring within minutes! agression takes so much more work. Dexter is 4 years old and i am still working with him with very slow results. he will bite us when bathing, nail trimming, hair cuts, etc. the key is to not disipline...but to recondition with positive reinforcement. this is hard because it takes a very long time to do and sometimes they need a bath NOW. haha. this involves taking something they hate and making it into something they like...through treats, praise, treats, toys and more treats! Dexter is at the point now where i can get him to come to me when i have scissors (he comes slowly with his head down...but on his own accord) and he lets me grab a clump of hair, cut it and he gets praise and a treat right after that. it takes a few days for him to get a full haircut and almost a full bag of treats! lol. the only way we built up to this is by him getting treats and praise when i had scissors in my hand, then pet him while i had scissors...then open and close them while he got treats....etc etc. there is a book i recommend called "MINE!" that is a guide to resource guarding that helped me a lot. i can't remember the name of the author. |
07-30-2011, 09:11 AM | #9 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK
Posts: 48
| Thank you all for the replies - so much useful info and I will check out the books and videos, especially Cesar who I have heard a lot about just by browsing the forums. I know that I can get a good start and hold on the exercise and they will love that, because they love playing and running and games. Question - do I need to ease them into the exercise. Will it be bad for me to go full throttle, ie walks and garden games/exercise all at once? I've already given them a 10 min walk today - is it ok to do that again tonight? I don't want to make a mistake and do too much on the first day. Thank you all. |
07-30-2011, 09:26 AM | #10 | |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | Quote:
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals | |
07-30-2011, 09:37 AM | #11 |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | By the way, this site explains the different types of aggression, and learning which type your dogs have will enable you to treat it better. Aggression Types | k9aggression.com. Also, it answers many other questions about treatment.
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals |
07-30-2011, 10:04 AM | #12 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: UK
Posts: 48
| Thanks for the link Nancy. As for walking, they are actually good walkers. That was something I taught them when they were pups because my old Yorkie pulled like crazy. So they walk by my side and only pull when we near home - which I am trying to curb. However they are very fearful when we are out. Cars, people, plants even make them jump and cower and try to climb for me to pick them up. Bailey definitely believes he rules the house. He is dominant and even will park himself in front of Biscuit when it anyone is paying Biscuit attention. He wants to be number 1 constantly. So with this we try to give Biscuit his treat first, let him out of the crate first etc, try to create some kind of balance of putting Bailey back in his place. I'm not sure if we're doing the right thing with that or not. |
07-30-2011, 10:09 AM | #13 | |
YT Addict Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Abbotsford, BC, Canada
Posts: 466
| Quote:
It is REALLY important that whoever walks the dogs are in charge. Keep a short leash, don't let them pull you or run all over the place. What I've found really helpful, which makes Ozzy look to me for direction, is many stops and starts and about faces, walk this way and that. Don't look down at them or worry about where they are. LEAD them, and they will eventually figure out that they must always look to YOU rather than the other way around. Make sure your attitude is calm and assertive. I agree you should keep them off the furniture and out of the bed until they've re-learned their roles in the house. I know Cesar can help you. Read, read, read, and watch his show if you can.
__________________ David & Denise ... proud parents of Ozzy | |
07-30-2011, 10:11 AM | #14 |
YT Addict Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Abbotsford, BC, Canada
Posts: 466
| This is the cause of the agression. Your pups are definately unbalanced. Fear is ruling them.
__________________ David & Denise ... proud parents of Ozzy |
07-30-2011, 10:12 AM | #15 | |
Therapy Yorkies Work Donating Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Central, Florida
Posts: 3,863
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