My 8 year old yorky has become nasty

[erika1948]

Recently my 8 year old yorkie, Cookie has become nasty at times, sometimes when he is startled out of sleep, sometimes when he is being touched, although he is the one initiating the massage. We lost his companion, Gigi, a poodle mix to kidney disease about two months ago. She was in the house first but they generally got along unless he got stressed and then he would occasionally redirect his upset towards her. I will certainly take him to the vet to rule out anything physical which might be giving him pain but I am wondering if this could be a result of the change in dynamics in the house now since she is gone. I wonder if this is his way of trying to place himself as top dog since although she was older and weaker, I sometimes think she made him nervous. Could he possibly be grieving or unsettled since she's now gone? I should mention that I adopted him when he was 3 and his original owner was a male. He was very well trained and listens much better than my previous yorkie. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Lovetodream88]

It could be a pain response or it could be stress from the change. It’s so hard to tell. I think I would definitely let the vet give him a check over. I wish I could help more.

[matese]

Speaking from my own personal experience, I had a pack of 3 female yorkies all 3 years apart, the baby was not really close to the two older ones but she preferred me over them, the older girls treated her as the baby always washing her face. I lost the oldest one then 6 months later I lost the other older girl. The baby who was now 6 years old had been with the pack 8 years, although she was not close to them she went into deep grief, her entire personality changed, she was my little clown now she was a recluse. I was very surprised that she took the loss of the 2nd girl so hard because she was never that close to either of her older sisters.

I gave her 6 months to adjust to being the only child, that never happened so off I went to find her a BFF. Now this little girl was use to being babied by the two older girls and she was a bossy spoiled lil diva, I didn't know how she would handle being the momma when I bought a puppy. So I found the perfect buddy for Ms bossy pants, this was a much bigger yorkie. Ms bossy weighed 9 pounds, the puppy at 8 weeks old was much bigger. I bought her home, set her on the floor, Ms bossy pants ran up to the puppy as if she was a long lost friend. It was love at first sight and I had my lil clown back. These two girls became inseparable and were BFF.
I tell you this story because although Cookie never showed a bond with your Gigi she was in his life for 5 years and yes, he misses her, but that should be no reason he would be nasty with you when he wants belly rubs or just petting.

I now have a rescue boy, he was surrendered, not abused but was spoiled rotten. He was 2 1/2 years old when I got him, we're a team 5 years now. I know about his background, but I am still learning about him as he is still learning about me. I don't know how much you know about Cookies past, you did mention if he got stressed he would he would direct it towards Gigi so you know there is a issue with him. Be aware of what triggers this behavior and if possible try to avoid situations that brings out the nasty behavior. I know what will trigger my kid to want to snap at me although he knows snapping comes with a sharp reprimand and no attention from me, I avoid these triggers because I do not like to speak sharply to him.
These are my experiences with the loss of a pack member and a rescue.
A vet check is good to make sure he is in good health. These dogs are good at masking pain.
Please let us know how things are after his vet visit.

[erika1948]

Thanks for your comments. When I first adopted Cookie, he did not like his haunches touched and would react. It took some time for him to allow me to do that. He is fine with that now. He is the one who wants to be rubbed all over and he will lie on his back to have his belly rubbed as part of that. Today he went crazy when I touched his feet, snarling and snapping, so I decided to follow advice I had read in a previous post. I picked him up, put him in his bed in my room and closed the door. Within a couple of minutes he barked to come out. I took him out, sat on the floor with him in the same spot, he rolled over and allowed me to touch his feet with no problem. He likes to play a lot of ball and at age 8 he may be beginning to develop some arthritis so it may be time for Cosequin. I went through that with my previous yorkie and Cosequin seemed to help. He is also prone to gas so that might be another thing going on. His previous owner went to jail for gun and drug possession. He was left with family or friends who used to drive him around in a crate with cardboard on the floor. Finally I guess they didn't want him so he was put up for adoption. As I said, his original owner was a male but he is good with people in general. In over 30 years of owning small dogs, I have never really had one who acted like this unless they didn't feel well - sort of scary. I have thought about getting him a friend but after going through the emotional and financial stress of the last few months with Gigi, I'm not sure if I'm up to it.

[matese]

Sounds like you have all bases covered.

Losing a precious companion is devastating, the girl I bought for my Ms bossy gal was 17 years old when she had to leave me, it was a loss I thought I would not recover from, then my little unplanned rescue came into my life and helped my heart heal.

If you are thinking of a BFF for Cookie one day, you will know when the time is right

[erika1948]

Thanks so much. Ever since his time out he has actually become much nicer. I hope it lasts!

[matese]

Maybe it was just showing him you are the boss not him lol. Good luck