10wk old showing aggression
 

Leo has recently started to show signs of aggression. He's been a nipper/biter since I got him but it's gotten worse over these 2 weeks. I've been doing everything I can think of; a firm NO. I'd put him on time out, I would redirect him with a toy, but nothing seems to work. The toy thing worked for a while but now it really doesn't. He's an extremely hyper puppy, and he's now beginning to harass my poor JRT, whom will just sit there and do nothing. I always have to pick Leo up in order for him to leave my JRT alone, and Leo will growl and bite my hands and squirm like crazy. He also has a habit of picking up random things outside; sticks, rocks, acorns, leaves, ect. I swear I'm taking something out of his mouth every 10 seconds. Tonight I had him out and I noticed him lay down and start chewing on something. I bent down to grab it out of his mouth, as I always do and he snarled at me. He lifted his lips and literally snarled. It was a very scary experience, especially from a puppy so young! I've raised 3 dogs from puppies. My Golden retriever never did anything like that, Zoey my female Yorkie was the sweetest/most laid back puppy. Leo is a total terror. He recently started biting at mine and my family members faces. He'll be totally sweet one minute then it's almost like he turns into a totally different dog. Whenever he bites my hands/fingers, it's not just a playful bite/chewing type thing, he literally clamps down really hard and leaves teeth marks. I have to pry his mouth off. I'm definitely going to start him in puppy classes once he has had all his shots, but until then is there anything I can do differently? I really don't want him to grow up to be aggressive, I want to nip this attitude in the butt before it gets worse!

I hope you can get some advice from more experienced members!

Eating everything outside is normal. Yes you do need to take him to obedience class if no more than petsmart, it's basic and helps train YOU train him.asap , he's old enough now.
You will learn to teach him the "drop it" and then reward for doing so . You need to earn his trust and grabbing things out of his mouth isnt the way to do it.
Interrupt bad behavior as it happens but remember they are just babies, you have to be patient.

As far as nipping , do to him as his mama did when he misbehaved, pinch(bite) the back of his neck and in a stern voice say "ack"! As mama would yip.
That comes in handy a lot and he can relate to that , that is not acceptable behavior.then IGNORE him for a bit . That Is what mama and pups do to each other when they get into trouble.

This is a very important learning period in their lives , learn the basics so they know what to do......
Good luck

I have to wait until he gets his last set of shots before I can start basic obedience classes. I've done the pinch thing like his mother or litter mates would do, but that seems to make things worse, and he bites harder, or doesn't stop. I've begun to do basic training like sit, and come for about 5 minutes every day. I also play with him on the floor, so I'm at the same level as him. I make him sit everytime before I throw his toy. =/

Yogi was a feisty little biter when he was a baby also, I would yell ouch and quickly move away from him. He learned and this seemed to stop it. 10 weeks is still so young so I would not worry too. much at this point, just let him know you do not like this behavior. They really want to please they just get the puppy crazies!, good luck!

Things are getting worse. I had him outside and he randomly came over and started biting at my pant leg, something he's never done before. I grabbed my pant leg a few inches above where he grabbed it, and told him to drop it. He dropped it, but proceeded to clamp onto my hand really hard, growl and cause my hand to bleed. UGH! This dog is getting utterly ridiculous.

Unfortunately, this really is normal behavior. I think someone else mentioned that if he had stayed with his Mom and littermates that they would be teaching him that he's being too rough but now that's going to be up to you. (sorry)

We got Mia when she was 10 wks old (or so they said) and she acted exactly like your pup. We got Max when he was 12-13 wks old and I don't remember him doing any of this. What a difference 2 weeks can make. :)

I think the only thing you can do is what you are doing. Use the same command so he doesn't get confused - have something ready for him to chew on - walk/play with him so he gets tired - be patient - and try to enjoy him as much as possible.

Yea I got him when he was around 9 weeks. He was raised with his mom, dad and litter mates. I got zoey when she was 8wks old and she never displayed this type of behavior. What did you do with Mia to train her not to behave that way?

How old was this baby when he was separated from his momma.....sounds like he has not gone through the "bite inhabition training" that moms teach their babies between weeks 8 - 12.

This happens a lot when puppies don't stay with there moms until 12 weeks. Have you trid squirting him with a water bottle and saying no when he nips?

He was 9 weeks old. I'm hoping my other dogs can teach him a thing or 2. Or is there any way I could teach him bite inhabition? sure it won't be the same, but I could try to imitate what his mother would do.

I say a loud firm NO..I say "AH!" I move away from him, put him on puppy time out for a few minutes. Said "AH" while slightly poking/or pinching the back of his neck. My last resort was the water bottle, and I've used it twice on him, but I feel bad when I use it..so I try not to.

I chose him because he was the puppy who came up to me, and wanted to be with me. His brother wanted nothing to do with me, and just wandered off and did his own thing. I felt a better connection with Leo, but now he's exposing this behavior, and it totally caught me off guard. I really hope puppy classes will help. =/

Make a No noise (whatever that noise is going to be) ah! and redirect - give him something he can chew and bite. When stops biting (make him sit or another command) say Good! and give him a treat. He will learn that there are other things that are more rewarding.

We've had a dog do this, we squealed when he bit, as if he'd broken skin and we were really hurt, we then stopped playing and turned out backs on him. It took a little time, but this worked. Also giving lots of chew toys. We offered our finger, if he bit too hard, back to squealing and not playing. He soon learnt to bit gently.
Hope you fine what works for you.

Sorry to hear about your biter:( I hope that you can get him through this stage! I have a leather glove that my Bailey, now 1.5 yo, is allowed to 'fight' and bite while I have it on, but when it's off he is no longer allowed to do this. I have done this since he was a puppy and it seems to work. Having said that, he was not an aggressive puppy, just trying his sharp teeth out at the time. Now his favorite toy is the leather glove. When I first put it on I have taught him to sit, then when I say 'fight' he can approach and bite it. He quickly gets bored of this, and wants me to throw it down the hallway. I do this and he races to it and shakes it like it's a rat. I find it amusing as I every time he shakes it, he slaps himself in the head. Silly boy:rolleyes: I hope that you find what it is that will make yours a lover, not a fighter:) Just a thought - would the type of food make any difference? Experienced YT'ers here may know the answer to this. Good luck.

I am not a trainer, so I could not really be of any valuable help....I just sit and watch my mommas do all the training and "appropriate pack behavior" to the puppies, and get such an amazed thrill watching this teaching! My breeders have wonderful personalities, and have made such fantastic mommas, God bless them.....great genetics as well as I bought my dogs from a fabulous, wonderful breeder, that knew how to allow puppies to mature and be socialized by THEIR mommas....and it just keeps on going forward! (Breeders that are breeding females that have no interest in fooling with their babies, that are not nurturing and are clearly "done" with their babies at 5-8 weeks old, this IMO, is a personality fault that you do not want to pass on to your babies in your breeding program....and this selection of breeding stock is what MAKES or breaks YOUR breeding program.)While the moms are loving and attentive, they initiate play, and allow the babies to become really enthused and worked up.....and then it happens...one starts biting or getting too rambunctious. Momma then concentrates on that one baby, and you can see her redirect her attention to that one particular baby....she allows play to become more intense, then she starts gently, mouthing on baby, removing the baby from her leg or head or ear.....still letting baby not really "get the message" that it needs to calm a bit. Momma maneuvers and manipulates the entire thing, so she can use the time to teach....and if necessary, momma will eventually growl and can SOUND really aggressive, and remove the puppy from the situation, and put the baby on its back, in the submissive posture, actually HOLDING it down, until it stops struggling and submits.....babies eventually learn exactly what is acceptable behavior and what will NOT be tolerated, from momma or another pack member ...."respect the leader" and "respect authority" are lessons very effectively taught by mommas. Many people, "breeders" included, believe that "weaning" is only a matter of nursing or not nursing....it is sooooooo much more! I LOVE watching what I consider God's method of teaching life lessons, to these new little charges He has sent to us.......and He accomplishes this amazing feat through momma's instinctive behavior. To remove babies from this valuable, precious time line, from week 8 thru 12 or even 14, you are getting into Gods business, IMO, and I dont feel THAT qualified! Thankfully, there are people that learn how to train dogs, in order to "fix" a lot of man made problems our poor pups are saddled with! THAT is what you are now faced with.....professional training from someone that KNOWS how to fix what this "breeder" has done to your puppy......it can be done, keep the faith and love that baby with all your heart....he has some issues that are NOT his fault and can be corrected!

I tried everything with my boy, the only thing that worked was me holding him and then covering his eyes with my other hand. It helped to calm him down. Then he started obedience training to redirect him and keep him mentally stimulated

My yorkie girl is just turned 11 weeks, and I've had her for 2 weeks...When she first came to me she was very nippy, but maybe not as bad as this; just regular teething puppy nips. But sometimes she would bite a bit too hard, especially feet she loves going after my hubby's feet! I trained her to stop and she stops now everytime I tell her. Basically when they bite too hard, or growl and snap at you, you make a loud yelp, or say something to catch their attention to get them to stop, I used the word 'Hey!' and then gave her tiny peices of hot dog when she stopped and from that she learned. She will still do it sometimes, but all I have to do is say 'Hey!' and she lets go. It didn't take long, but had to be very consistent and do it every time.

The good news is that he is still young. It gets much harder to break the habits as adults.

:thumbup::thumbup:

Sounds like a typical Yorkie to me. Welcome to the club!

All jokes aside, many yorkies are like that. They were bred to be killers and to me, they are some of the most difficult and aggressive dogs I've ever dealt with. I love my dog to death but he is by far the most aggressive dog I've ever dealt with.

The first thing I tried was the spray bottle. It worked for a while, but then it turned into a game where he would bite at the mist as I sprayed it at his face.

His behavior would get slightly better but still not good, so I tried the treat method. It worked wonderfully. He was the greatest dog in the world when he was getting a treat but then he started to pick up on the idea that "I am only going to do this for a treat and no other time." I couldn't even fake him out by pretending to have a treat because he knew when I did and did not have one - he's a clever bastard.

So then I tried the "slamming pots and pans" to get his attention. When there is behavior you don't want, you make a loud noise so he will correlate the bad behavior with the noise. It works but again it turned into a game and he would bark at the pots and pans - stubborn dude he is.

Turns out that the best method is a firm smack to the ass. Not too hard, just a quip equivalent to the nip of a mother to correct bad behavior, or how Cesar Milan pinches the skin to the point of a wimper.

Cesar is the most stubborn dog I've ever dealt with. The only thing that worked was the actual physical contact, whether it be a smack or a pinch.

I've seen some people who have had good results from actually biting the dog back to duplicate the reaction of a mother or other dog.

It's just a shame my Shepherd Chow died shortly after I got Cesar. He would have been a great role model for Cesar - that dog was wonderful in every way. He would give Cesar some gentle nips when he would act out. More time with Shemp would have done wonders for Cesar I'm sure.

Seriously?! Are you really promoting hitting and biting a dog?! I am beyond disgusted.:mad:

No, just saying I've seen it done - and on television by people who know a lot more about dog training than I do.

You are more than welcome to use any method you like. My dog is disciplined, well behaved, and most of all very loved and spoiled - he has a great life.

Be disgusted all you want - I have a happy dog and I am a happy owner. You would have to know my dog from where he was when I got him, to the dog he is now - which you do not.

I prefer not to know anyone that feels its ok to use corporal methods on a dog.

Well, I've done "play biting" with Zoey. I didn't really bite her, but I'd pretend to. Clearly, her and I were only playing. I did see somewhere that some people do infact bite their dog on the ear (not hard) but kind of like what other dogs would do, to show them they don't like their behavior.Not sure if this is true or not, but I've never tried it.

Today, Leo really opened my eyes. He started to bite at my hands and I said "HEY!" as I have been doing for these past 2.5 weeks, and he backed away! I think it's working. Then he started trying to bite at my JRT face, and I went over to Leo and slightly pushed him away and blocked his path to my JRT and kept pushing him back and after about 10 seconds he backed off and went somewhere else. YES!

This isn't the place to get this kind of advice that you need. Cesar Milan has been criticized for his use of choke collars, pinching, kicking, and shock collars - but his dogs are well behaved.

Keep in mind that what I'm suggesting is not violent or harmful to the dog, despite what these crazy dog ladies try to make it out to be. If they have well behaved dogs who had behavior issues by dressing them up in outfits and spoiling them with treats, that's great.

Those of us with dogs who have serious red zone type aggression - it's fix the issue by any means necessary or put the dog down - because even though it's a yorkie, if the dog bites a stranger you will get sued and the dog will get put down.

Ok hold it right there buddy my Yorkie gets dressed because she gets cold and will shake and is spoiled and she is any extremely well behaved dog and knows many many tricks. And I never had to hit her or bite her for that! Ceaser did not go to train school and is not a certified train as of last I heard also I don't like him nor agree with him. If I remember correctly his wife/ex wife said he abused her. Just because a trainer is on tv dosent mean there good also everything you see on tv dosent mean its right. How you treat a dog shows how good of a person you truly are and karma will not be good to those who abuse poor defenseless animals. You won't have to put your dog down just because they bite someone but if your dog is aggressive you should know to keep it away from people and possibly get a reputable trainer to help you out. Aggression breeds aggression.