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10-20-2012, 05:46 AM | #1 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: whitby, On, Canada
Posts: 1,129
| Teenage challenging--Help!!! Hi Everyone I am looking for advice on how to handle teenage challenging in your yorkies. Wallee is just turning 7 months old (is getting neutered in a couple weeks) and lately I have found that he is trying to snap at me if I want to take something from him that he is fixated on. Today he was sniffing a carpet that he had previously marked and I have cleaned and sprayed with Nature's Miracle. When I went to nudge him off of it, he snapped at me. Yesterday he managed to grab a piece of a plant that could be poisonous and when I went to take that from him he did the same thing. I am not sure how to handle this without making him become aggressive and I am hoping that I can teach him to leave it as I don't want him to start getting guarding issues. Please advice a positive way for me to teach him to give me what he has without snapping at me. I had him at puppy classes and she taught us to teach them the leave it, by giving treats and then telling him to leave it but it will be a long process before I know he will just leave what it is he has in his mouth. Up until now, he has been very good at letting us take from him what he has and I am pretty sure that he has just reached the age where he is starting to challenge our authority. Please help!!! |
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10-20-2012, 09:59 AM | #2 |
Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas
Posts: 9,462
| Well........ I am not a trainer and I am certain I will be drummed out of town on a rail if I tell you how I would handle this....I have never physically injured an animal or a child, but I do not allow this "challenging" behavior, from neither animal nor child....and this is not a problem I have had to continue to deal with! I have had a couple of young adults that I bought as breeders, that had issues with exactly which of us is alpha.....I resolved it quickly with a swat with a rolled up envelope....just a regular white, letter size envelope....I think it was the immediate response to the behavior that stunned and shocked them, not pain associated with the swat...... that they were not going to get away with doing that....problem immediately resolved and have not had a repeat of the issue again. I am sorry but I will not tolerate a dog snapping at me.....or a child for that matter! Everyone around here is spoiled rotten and loved on relentlessly, but if you snap/growl/challenge my authority as the leader of the pack, you will be corrected. Then after you get an awareness of the immediate correction in the babies, you can then take time to do the "treats and leave it command", used to prevent the situation where additional swats with a paper are ever needed again..... |
10-20-2012, 10:08 AM | #3 | |
YT 2000 Club Donating Member | Quote:
To the OP: Leave it is / should be used before your boy picks up something. Drop IT is when he already has it in is mouth. I agree with Yorkie; no fooling around with any of that snarl snap growl behaviour. A loud "snap" of the newspaper in your hand, correctly timed will startle the dog. If he drops it; again immediate GOOD DROP IT! Set up practice situations. Use his toys or so to practice the commands in the house.
__________________ Razzle and Dara. Our clan. RIP Karma Dec 24th 2004-July 14 2013 RIP Zoey Jun9 th 2008-May 12 2012. RIP Magic,Mar 26 2006July 1st 2018 | |
10-20-2012, 11:51 AM | #4 | |
Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas
Posts: 9,462
| Quote:
I always utilize this technique if I notice there is a problem brewing...when I notice the issue, like a "apprehensive look in the eye, head lowering over bowl, maybe a tiny quiver to the lip, I walk away from the immediate situation, before a snap or growl is exhibited....then I get my little newspaper rolled up and ready, along with treats for the corrected good behavior, then after an hour or so, I deliberately set up the same situation, and at that time I will push the activity until I illicite a growl, or snap, or even lip curl with defensive posturing over bowl or toy or whatever....then I immediately correct with my little paper....and the shock value of getting corrected, plus the noise of the paper against my leg, the toy, ground, bowl, etc, startles them, stops the aggressive behavior immediately, and they will turn and walk away from the situation. After a little time passes, I present the situation again, and this time, they always watch me closely when I approach, but they dont ever present with that aggressive behavior a second time, and after I get all into the bowl, or take the toy and handle it extensively, and they just sit and watch quietly, they get a favorite treat and tons of love and hugs and kisses and positive reinforcement for being such a good dog! | |
10-21-2012, 06:55 AM | #5 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: whitby, On, Canada
Posts: 1,129
| Thanks so much for the wonderful advice. I had a cocker spaniel years ago and I remember going through this "teenage" stuff with him and calling the breeder in a panic. She told me basically the same thing that on no uncertain terms should he ever get away with it although practices in those days meant a little more drastic measures like a smack to the nose etc, which I have learned these days is not an acceptable correction. That is why I came here to get some advice from the pros who have gone through it successfully without creating more aggression problems. Once again, thanks, I will get a rolled paper ready for the next time I am challenge and be ready to give it a bang on my leg. Oh yeah..and the treat for doing what he was told. ;-) |
10-21-2012, 08:37 AM | #6 | |
Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas
Posts: 9,462
| Quote:
I forgot to tell you, as you SMACK!! your leg with that rolled up paper, also verbalized a FIRM, "NO KIDDING HERE", "NO"!!!! | |
10-21-2012, 05:26 PM | #7 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: whitby, On, Canada
Posts: 1,129
| Thanks again. I definitely want to get this behaviour nipped in the butt while it has just started. I want him to be sure to know that "we" (my husband and I) are the boss in this house. |
10-21-2012, 11:49 PM | #8 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Alaska
Posts: 3,299
| Joel did this same thing, mostly when we were on a walk and he would find a bone and I would take it from him, he would violently snarl and bite me, I was like "oh no, you did not just do that!"lol But the one thing that made him stop was when I yell at him loudly,and freak out at him w/o physically touching him, but the whole point is to scare him into never doing it again. I never have to yell at Joel exept for when he did that. Now after only doing that about two times he has never done it again and when I take something from him he drops it right away. |
10-25-2012, 05:55 PM | #9 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: whitby, On, Canada
Posts: 1,129
| Wow...today Wallee decided to grab a $20.00 bill my husband dropped. When my husband went to take it from him, he said he growled very loudly and snapped and tried to bite him. He was unable to "yell" at him as I suggested as I was on the phone with a client while it happened. I fear this is going to become a big problem if this continues. I then tried dropping the money a couple times in front of him and telling him firmly to "LEAVE IT' and he backed away and looked at me. I know that a couple of you mentioned using the rolled papers to scare him, however when he has something that you need to take from him, you don't always have time to run and grab the paper. I sure hope that we can scold him loudly and get him to stop this before it becomes a very big problem. He just turned 7 months and I have him scheduled to be neutered November 15th so hopefully that too will help with his "attitude" that is developing. Kind of makes me worried that I am not such a good mommy as he is trying to be in charge of us. I have been so careful to treat him like a doggie and not a person, even took him to puppy socialization classes and do some sit, down, quiet training with him. Please tell me we will be able to correct this behaviour before he bites someone. |
10-26-2012, 05:10 AM | #10 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: whitby, On, Canada
Posts: 1,129
| Hoping someone else has overcome this without getting bit. |
10-26-2012, 08:51 AM | #11 | |
Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas
Posts: 9,462
| Quote:
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10-26-2012, 09:33 AM | #12 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: whitby, On, Canada
Posts: 1,129
| Thanks once again for the advice. I am going to get those papers ready this weekend. I know he will listen to me then cause he listens when I use pet correct. he is not yet allowed unsupervised anywhere either. I will feel much better reaching for something when I have his full startled attention. I'll keep you posted. |
10-26-2012, 11:52 AM | #13 |
Rosehill Yorkies Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Houston Texas
Posts: 9,462
| After you get this behavior corrected, you dont have to have thes newspapers positioned all over your living space so that one is within immediate reach! Baby will learn this not not acceptable and will NOT be tolerated, and they really do want nothing more in this world than to make you happy, so "this too shall pass"!!!! |
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