Cherry is turning into a demon dog :(
 

Hi all! I've been gone for a while; things have been really busy at home with the kids, spring break, holidays, etc.

Cherry is doing really well overall. She's at a perfect weight, very healthy, was recently spayed (and that went perfectly), is eating very well, is doing well with housetraining, etc.

One problem we've been having, is aggression. We've been trying to hard to make sure she doesn't turn into one of those tiny little monsters. But in the past two weeks, she's gotten terrible. She will steal something she knows she's not supposed to have and run away, and then growl and try to bite if you even approach her. She does this mostly with food/stuff she's not supposed to have (she KNOWS. lol). She sometimes does it when she's in a comfy spot and you come up to her. This morning, she wouldn't even take peanut butter from me!

We've been giving her lots of treats when we walk up to her, so she knows that us walking up to her doesn't mean she's going to get attacked (or whatever she's afraid of??).

I don't know what to do. :(
My other dog is so not like this. She does try to put Cherry in her place sometimes, and Cherry will back down when Dorrie gets between me and Cherry.

Any advice?


Edited to add: the growling isn't mild warning, it's very, very aggressive, teeth bared, and biting.

I'm at a loss as what to do with aggression. I have watched tv programs that deal with it but I am just confused by it. I know someone on here can give you some good advise. Good luck in stopping this.

How old is Cherry? How long have you had her?
Is your other dog also a Yorkie?

It can be difficult with kids but dogs don't know that the tasty treat your child has is not for their consumption.

You might want to have the kids eat their food and treats at the table so that you pup does not get to nab that food she is not supposed to have. If she is hungry you may need to increase her food intake a little so she is not so food obsessive.

Gracie used to have a thing about stealing paper products. She never growled when we took it away though. You do need to teach your pup some basic obedience. Things like sit, stay, down, NO!

People talk about small dog syndrome but it is really a basic lack of obedience training. If she respects you as her owner and knows the commands you are giving her you will be able to get her to behave much better.

You can also teach her the "drop it" command for when she does get something she should not have.

Sometimes people don't know how to teach a dog these things and if that is the case I would suggest you find some good training information. Always be upbeat about training sessions and use treats to start out with. Training should be something the dog looks forward to and not a punishment.