my baby turns into satan when i try to put a bow in her hair...please help?? lol

[ChelseyK]

(omg i just typed a whole novel and then while attempting to delete an angryface my browser went back and deleted it all....just to had to say that causewe've all been there and it just made me that much more frustrated)

Okay...SOOO the problem i was almost done explaining was this... My preciousbaby girl, Georgie is 16 weeks and in the almost month in a half that i havehad her, she has been an absolute DOLL! She's great in almost every way, she'sloving, energetic, confident, spunky, and absolutely hilarious. She's friendlywith other people and dogs, laid back when i take her places, and for the mostpart does what i tell her to (exeptions mostly being when she's distracted orin "crack puppy play mode") She's very smart and has learned a LOT oftricks that she performs flawlessly when there is a treat in my hand, BUT sheis pretty independent and at times will ignore me, though i mostly chalk thisup to her simply still being a puppy. HOWEVER, now she has me worried that sheshe may be (or become) a devil in disguise because whenever i try to put a bowin her hair she actually turns into satan. I know it sounds silly, but shebecomes a totally DIFFERENT dog.

I think its worth explaining that she is completely cool with every otheraspect of grooming... she didn't like getting brushed at first, but as i'vebeen doing it every day she is totally fine with it (might even like it, dare isay) and lets me get at the more difficult areas with no problem at all. Shestill squirms a little bit when i clean out her eyes, but has gotten used tothis too and now lets me hold her head still with very little fuss. She evendoesn't seem to mind getting a bath too much. i mean she'll shake and sort oftry to get away, but cmon what puppy really ENJOYS bathtime.... BUT, as soon asi go to put a bow in her hair, Mr. Hyde comes out.

Its not the bow itself (i've tried bows on ponytail holders, clear pony tailholders, and even ones on barettes incase it was just the wrapping around ofthe band that freaked her out) So its not the object itself she wants tokill...its me. (also once i get it in, she forgets about it and is fine, andwears clothes with no problem at all)...its the combination of holding her headstill while gathering her hair together that brings out the demon....shes FINEwhen i hold her head still to clean her eyes, and she's FINE if i just gatherthe hair....but once i do both...get the hair and then hold her still enough toput it in, she FREAKS out.

She gets this crazed look in her eyes and starts whipping her head aroundviolently (in an aggressive way, NOT the way she'll sometimes squirm when i doher eyes or in the bath). If I keep trying, she'll then start growling andbaring her teeth before eventually trying to bite me!! (NOT OKAY!!! lol) ....now at first i couldn't tell if shethought it was a game and was trying to play, so i'd calmly tell her no, lether settle down and try again (with her still on my lap) when it became obviousthat she was challenging me I started getting much sterner in my reprimands.(usually when shes doing something shes not supposed to, i say "HEY!"in a much firmer and lower tone than i usually talk to her, and she's come tounerstand that this means that she shouldnt be doing what shes doing (usuallychewing something she shouldnt or trying to steal peices of my roomate's poodlemix's kibble) if she doesn't listen, ill repeat it louder, more seriously andmake a clapping sound, which usually is all it takes to get the point across) SOI'd obviously do this when she'd start with the attitude, essentially trying totell her "NO, you don't talk to me like that. that's NOT okay". But,instead of backing down, it only pisses her off more. So, the madder (moreserious) i get with her, the madder and more determined she gets in return andthe whole situation escalates until she tries (with varying degrees of success)to bite me.

Don't get me wrong... i tried everything i couldthink of to stop it before it got to that point because i dont want her eventhinking she CAN bite people. I'd put her down and blatantly ignore her, evenshutting the door essentially "kicking her out" of the bathroom,while i stayed in there.... i realized that my frustration was obviously nothelping the situation, and thought maybe if i changed my energy, she wouldchange hers too. So then once she started freaking out, i'd stop for a minuteand pet her and talk to her like normal (thinking she's probably just scared,and attempting to assure her that it's just me and i'm not going to hurt her).She'll still be on my lap on the toilet (where i brush her and do everythingelse, as i've found its the easiest place for me to hold her still) and i tellher its okay, how much i love her, and put my face down by hers and she givesme tons of kisses. Once were both happy and calm, i'll try again but the samething happens. I've tried going through the whole process of bathtime withtreats, while singing and trying to make it all seem like a lot of fun, andshell have fun...until the bow. i'll give her treats when she lets me hold herstill, but again once the bow starts to go in she doesnt care what food is infront of her.

You'd think it was a life or death battle and that i was trying to kill her. Iwas afraid that i was hurting her or pulling her hair too much, but she'llstart going crazy before the hand with the bow is even touching her!! And thefew times i have gotten it in, im sure it is uncomfortable because shes tryingto tear her hair away out of my hand....i'm so frustrated and dont know what todo about it anymore. i dont know whether i just need to keep doing it every dayuntil she gets used to it, or whether to stop and try to reassociate it in away i havent already thought of or tried. It's really worrying to me that shethinks she can challenge me like that because i know im supposed to be the"alpha" and i'm afraid she doesn't know that i'm in charge. when itell her no and she challenges me right back until she bites me WHAT DO IDO!!?!?!?:confuse d: despite thefact that it makes me really sad that my baby that i love and adore so muchwould bite me, i also just don't know how to respond!! I've triedLIGHTLY tapping her on the bottom, but she doesn't care and the more i push herthe more she will push back...my brother is a huge cesar fan and recently got ahusky that he has done an AMAZING job with, and he says i need to show her thati am the dominant one.... which, yes... but i feel like thats a lot easier to make sure a husky knows you're in charge than a tiny, fragile YORKIE!! also it's hard cause in every other respect she DOES let me be in charge (or at least lets me think i am haha)

....but really... i have no other problems with her, and i've tried to do someof the things they tell you to establish myself as the "pack leader"like making her sit and behave before she gets her food and walking throughdoors first and eating first. the problem is that if it were a real dog pack,and a dog was challenging and trying to bite the alpha in an aggressive way,the alpha would simply fight back until the other dog got the hint who was incharge....my baby is 2.9 pounds...not only is physically fighting with or assertingmy dominance simply NOT an option, but knowing her personality and seeing herlike this, i know that even if the light tap i tried were to get a littlestronger, it still wouldnt do anything... she still wouldn't give up, and itcertainly wouldn't solve the problem, it'd just create more. I refuse to havethat kind of a relationship with my dog, and want her to WANT to listen to mebecause she loves and trusts me, not because she has to or is afraid of me. like i said,i refuse to go down that road.

I just dont know what to do because its the ONLY thing that she'll challengeme like that with and nothing is working.... i dont know why she is reactingthe way she is and (as silly as this sounds) it makes me really sad that shewould bite me, and it makes me worry that she doesn't love me lol. If anyoneknows of anything that could help, or has had any similar experiences, i wouldREALLY appreciate it!! I know i could just ignore the problem, and never makeher wear a bow, but i'd rather address it and work through whatever her issuewith it is (not to mention get it through her head that she is never allowed tobite me)

i know this was a long post, but thanks in advance for reading, and any insightyou guys might have!!! it makes me feel better just knowing i found a placewhere i CAN write about this.

[Teresa Ford]

No Bites ! I like most of the things you are doing, I think you have been doing some reading about training and that is good. One suggestion is put a towel on the counter and use that a grooming station, rather than your lap. You will have more control. I groom mine on top of the dryer. If you need more suggestions about biting read some of Yorkie Talks threads. Best Wishes

[Teresa Ford]

Teaching Bite Inhibition - Whole Dog Journal Article

[concretegurl]

I prefer Victoria Stillwell personally.

Regular treats given to teach groming etc will help over time, make it routine she'll get it.

I know it's hard now but once the pattern is established it'll be a distant memory.

careful of how pulling or tight the top knot is, also biting can become an established pattern of exceptionable behavior, so stop it now.

I dont like startling tactics but a stern NO BITE! can be helpful also if you can have one person feed her treats to get her focus on the treats while you groom put in bows. Redirection of attention is super aiding.

[tokipoki]

With Toki, what helped was doing it quickly, sloppily, and frequently and giving a treat afterward (you can work on making it look pretty once she'll let you mess with her hair more). It also helped to do it while she was sleepy or worn out. Now she will sit still long enough for me to comb her hair, part it, gather a nice little top knot, and wrap a band around it several times. It sure can be frustrating getting them used to it!

[ChelseyK]

thanks guys, all of those suggestions were awesome! lol the bite inhibition article was really good...ive read a pretty good amount about it but this was definitely one of the better articles ive seen so thanks!! (i think itll be easier too once her SHARP baby teeth start to fall out and her adult teeth come in ....lol my brother keeps sending me video of him playing with his husky who's only a few months older but has most of his adult teeth and has mastered the whole "soft bite" thing.... mine is getting the soft bite while she plays, but not when the bow is out hahahah

....i think the quick and sloppy thing has been helping the most... and shes definitely better when she's sleepy, its just always a question of whether to get her when shes tired or wake her up a little first and get her used to the bow as a part of the whole brushing and grooming routine lol...i was getting pretty good about slipping the barrette bow in quickly (without doing a top knot) but unfortunately we lost that bow yesterday on our walk, go figure. lol. i've been trying to distract her by setting treats a little bit away from us (in her eyeline), but it's hard cause i dont wanna have to wait until my roomate is home to try to put the bow in, so im basically doing it by myself

also...how do you guys get them to be still on another surface?? i originally tried to groom her on the counter cause that's what ive read and heard is the easiest...its also how my mom does our other yorkie baby that stayed with her when i moved away....but whenever i put georgie on another surface she tries to get away or thinks its a game. i feel like when shes on my lap shes a little calmer and i also can use my chest and legs a little bit to hold her still...like she has a lot less of an escape route lol

anyways, we have been making a little progress and now that she finally has all her shots and i can take her to the groomer, i'm hoping that they can give me some advice as well.... hopefully she'll figure out that i'm not trying to kill her soon lol

[lisaly]

I don't have one yet, but I think a topknot pillow will make things easier for me also, although Katie is an absolute dream to groom. I have it very easy because Katie was raised, shown to her championship, and trained by a wonderful show breeder who is also a world championship trainer. She was retired at the age of three, and I was lucky enough to be the recipient of such a special little girl.

Your baby sounds adorable, and I know what it's like to deal with a willful Yorkie. One of my little ones did not like me cleaning the hair by her eyes. She didn't bite me, but she often snapped, which was not acceptable. It got much better, but not fully better, but that's probably my fault. Otherwise, she was a perfect baby in every way, so I accepted it I guess after many attempts that didn't phase my little girl. I don't think she was trying to be aggressive, and she was telling me she didn't like it, but I was unable to stop her.

Good luck and lots of love and laughter with your little girl.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yt-...u-topknot.html

[ChelseyK]

hahahaha thanks lisaly!! yeah, she definitely brought a lot of love and a WHOLE lot of laughter into my life...she's one of the funniest puppies that i have ever seen and i know exactly what you mean about letting them get away with stuff lol and yes she is certainly not aggressive towards me at any other time so im sure she just doesnt like it...(she's just a little brat cause she'll start growling before the hand with the bow is anywhere near her head!! I think she's just smarter than i am and has me wrapped around her little finger lol)

....and yes, i know EXACTLY what you mean about the willfull yorkies lol. she certainly has a mind of her own....but honestly, that's part of what i love about yorkies so much. yes, it can be EXTREMELY frustrating at times, but a friend of mine happened to be talking the other day about how funny it is that ppl tend to gravitate towards breeds with personalities similar to their own, and a few hours later i was on the phone with my mom and she said, "don't you remember screaming and crying when you were little cause YOU didnt want a bow in your hair?? you used to tell me that it was hurting you" and my first response was "how could it have been hurting me, it's just a bow....did you put it in too tight??" HAHAHA i just thought this was funny.... i guess like mother like daughter, even when it comes to fur babies lol

[concretegurl]

I got a sink pritecting insert it worked for my oups and as they grew a nonslip shower insert.
The super gell kind. The cool and expensive natural stone looking one wasbt so great so I got a cheapo Rubbernaid one its amazing, the gel is ribbed so they are super comfortavle and can station their feet as I groom.

[puddles58273]

Thanks for this posting - Puddles is very similar but not biting me but she does attack whatever I am tring to put in her hair.