Always Bitting and Destorying EVERYTHING
 

Ok my dog is almost 2 years old he'll be 2 in november. He's always been a bitter but I said it'll go away when he has his teeth done well guess what it didnt! He's a big bitter and everything i've tried hasnt' worked. He usually does it when he's playing but I find it a problem when i wake up to him bitting my hand or arm. He has destroyed every toy i've gotten him and he goes through a chewing bone a week! I talked to my vet about it the last time he went there and he suggested a trainer but I don't have money for that. He loves to play and I understand that he's still a puppy but the bitting is what the problem is for me. I'll be walking and he'll just jump up and bit my hand. He's chewed alot of things my bed which is memory foam, my pillow, his bed which is now in pieces, my window, my book shelf, ect.. ect.. ect... I dont know what to do? Any help would be really helpful I hope! thanks

Hi, Here's some advice I posted for someone else on biting. Your dog's still a teenager - he'll try to test his boundaries. My boy was great for the first 6-8 months then he turned into a disobedient terror til he was two. (Neutering helped!)

This approach worked wonders for Dixie and her biting.

You don't have to get an expensive one-on-one trainer. You can train your dog - yourself there's plenty of great web resources and there's loads of stuff on YT to help with training - here's a link to some fun things to teach your dog: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...072#post629072

Hope this helps! Keep us posted!

Dougal&Little already gave you good advise about the biting aspect.

As far as the destroying things, I'd do 2 things.

First, when I couldn't keep an eagle eye on him, I'd contain him in an area where he couldn't do so much damage (maybe the laundry room? Or, teach him to like being in a crate?).

Second, this dog sounds like he has a very strong need to CHEW. I would keep chew toys around at all times. I realize they won't last long, but I'd rather he chewed up toys than my house! I'd give him frozen, stuffed kongs. Many people on this list dislike rawhide, but I'm not one of them unless he's really tiny. I'd give him lots of bones to chew on (rawhide or otherwise). If you're feeding him soft dog food, I'd switch him to kibble.

You might also do things to make his food last longer. There are fun toys for sale at the petstores that make the dog "work" to get the food out. Or, toss some of his kibble out in the yard so that he has to search to find it. Get the idea?

Very good advice from above posts.

I have two quite large, maybe 6 to 8 inch long actual cow bones. I bought them for my daughters two large dogs, they were basted when I bought them.

The large dogs licked and chewed all of the basting off of them and licked out all the inside, but my yorkies love to chew on them. They will never get any pieces of bone off of them, the bones are much too hard, but they love to chew on them anyway.

I also want to add, that I would be a little more aggresive about him biting my hand. If he bite me I would immediately use my hand to simulate a dogs mouth and I would snap at him like a dog would and use my hand to nip at his shoulder. Giving a firm quick firm pinch.

That is how the alpha dog would deal with it. In dog packs you don't get time out, you get snapped at and then shunned.

Dogs under stand dog language and discipline much better than they understand people language. They can learn our language, but if you want to get your point across quickly, speak to them in their own language.

This is what we did too when Chachi went through his destructive period. We always made sure he had plenty to chew on. He would chew things up rather fast so I was always replacing them. We would freeze his kong with yoqurt in it. Chachi outgrew that period but there are still some times now where he will want to chew on something he is not supposed to. Good luck

Oh, one more thing that I meant to add. Clear roll-on deodorant works wonders on surfaces that you don't want chewed. Great for book shelves, baseboards, etc.

I personally wouldn't try to "snap" back at my dog. It's likely to increase rather than decrease aggression in many dogs. When I was nipped, I would immediately break eye contact, stand up and turn my back. Be consistent. Pup will soon learn that nipping gets the opposite reaction of what he wants. If you don't feel that is aggressive enough for you, I'd go with the time-out suggestion.

Good luck!

New here, but have advice for you
 

I am new here. Hello everyone :)


I do have some advice for you. Everytime your dog starts to chew something inappropriate, redirect him to a chew toy with lots of praise. So, if he starts to chew on a shoe for example, immediately put his dog toy in his mouth with lots of praise "GOOOOOD boy!!! YAY". That's what we always did, but we always had larger dogs. Hope this works.

I am sure I will be asking plenty of questions myself. I am picking up our new addition tomorrow. Never owned a Yorkie before - wish me luck! I hope a male is a good choice. I've read lots of things about leg lifting on here :eek: . Has me a little on the worried side :questione :thinking:

Max is eating me up alive with his nipping and biting
 

My litle boy Max is only 3 months old and everyone tells me he's only teething and will outgrow it, but I already have an infected fingernail (he got me in a bad spot). I learned to always wear slippers in the house, which I spray with Bitter Apple about every 2 days. That saves my feet. He has about 8 toys already - I bought him 3 yesterday and they're very helpful, but he loves Mommy's hands best. He's communicating, trying to assert his dominance (all 4 pounds of him), playing and teething, I think.

I'm trying the word "Stop" as a signal word. If he doesn't stop within about 30 seconds, I put him on the floor and ignore him. I try not to yell at him. When he gets too excited, I hold him in the air and tell him to calm down.

Someone in a pet store told me to try polish that prevents nail biting and put it on my nails. I ordered a non-toxic cream type of thing - I have to show it to my vet. That may help. Does anyone know anything about this?

As far as the furniture, rugs, etc., Bitter Apple every couple of days is very helpful. I should buy stock in the company.

Any other suggestions? I'd like to hold him and cuddle him more.

Thanks,

Judyeve

Hi Judyeve! Welcome to YT. Evil Wee used to bite us at that age. The thing you need to do is when you say "no" and he does not immediately stop biting you put him down and ignore him. He has to associate the biting with the withdrawal of your attention - the thing your pup MOST craves.

I had a series of steps with Dixie, if she was biting me while she was on my knee I'd make a sharp "ah" or "ow" noise when she bit me and if she didn't stop immediately I put her on the floor and ignored her. If she tried to have a go at my feet she'd be put out of the room - straight away.

She doesn't bite us now - except mouthing in play. But that's on our terms only. Only us humans can start the game which involves mouthing.

Good luck with it. Persistence and consistency they're the keys - expect it to take a couple of weeks - and make sure everyone in the family is doing the same thing! Let us know how you go.

MickeyMyWDWDog, just curious, did you find anything here that was useful to you?

Max's biting
 

Dear Dougal and Little:

Thanks - I just tried your suggestion - He gave up and ran out of the room after I put him down several times and ignored him after he cried to come back up.

Judy

Oh I'm so glad! It makes such a difference to have a well behaved dog ~ or at least one that isn't gnawing on you all the time! The "ah" should work now if you catch him chewing furniture too. My two lil terrorists have a zillion toys and rawhides lying round and they've never [knock on wood] destroyed anything except their own toys.

Oh I'm so glad! It makes such a difference to have a well behaved dog ~ or at least one that isn't gnawing on you all the time!

Gosh - I dunno what happened there with the double posting - sometimes technology defeats me!:D

Max's biting
 

Dear Dougal and Little:

I can see that it's going to take some time, but 'm going to keep at it - your suggestion makes good sense to me and it's not punitive. I just feel so bad that I can't really cuddle my litle boy - he's teething so badly right now. I do hold him for a short time whenever I can and I get to hold him and cuddle him when he's tired. I want him to know he's loved
and won't always be ignored.
Thanks,
Judy

max's mum
 

hi, Dixie's a great cuddle dog now. You might like to do a little basic training, which means you're paying lots of positive attention to your dog. (though throw any treats on the ground to avoid any temptation for your puppy to nibble your fingers!).

hey well he jumps onto the bed without me picking him up so that doesn't work :( He's a destroyer he is always out to eat something. I buy him toys and they are riped open in less then an hour. He loves to play and that's how he plays. He's two different dogs we came to that conclusion lol I'm hoping as he gets older this will drift away. The spray bottle works for me with water in it he eventually stops and gives me a look like why you squirting me. My vet said not to put him in the cage for punishment so I stoped doing that. He gets his moments is this a male thing? lol

You are so helpful
 

Dear Dougal and Little:

Thanks so much for your support. It really makes a difference. I love this site - He's not the only yorkie in town who's difficult to train (although he's really getting it with #1), and who's nipping and biting, and who's a finicky eater, etc.

It's really nice to have people who have these amazing dogs and can help us newbies.

There's something so special about these dogs. I've had many pets before - some dogs, but mostly cats, but never one who made me laugh so much. I just love the yorkie personality.

Judy

I know what you mean. Yorkies are definitely one of a kind! Although Dougal's the first dog I've ever had (& Dixie's the second) so I don't have a lot of comparison. I've learnt so much about myself since I got my furbabies!

Biter....please help!
 

Hi all. I am new to the site and so thankful, please help. My yorkie, Tressa is 5 months old and she is a nipper, and I have curbed it alot by always having chew sticks, giving them to her instead of my hands, and giving a time out here and there. The main issue is that when we are walking, she eats anything and everything off the sidewalk. I live in New York, so you can imagine what's out there on the streets. When I go to take whatever it is out of her mouth, she bites me, and yesterday she made my thumb bleed and it is now infected. When this occurs she is growling at me with ferocity and is Very Nasty. The only way I can even control her wiggling is by holding the skin at the back of her neck. She is 7 pounds. It seems to be getting worse with the summer heat, and all the smells out there. At the time of correction, I tell her "NO" and take whatever it is out of her mouth. She is So Ticked off by this, truly. And she Does not pay any attention to what I say at all, and she goes and does it again 2 minutes later. We were outside and She picked up at least 10 things in 5 minutes! After the episod is over and I tell her not to do it again, she will not look at me in the eyes and has an expression on her face of "I don't care", I've Won.......She has plenty of food at all times and is not hungry. If I give her a time out after we get home, I think it may confuse her. I am out of ideas and I definetley do not want another bummed finger or my puppy hurt by what she thinks is playing? Please help! Thank you , Sou & Tressa

Max also gets Very Nasty
 

When I take something away from Max he gets very excited and wants to play. The more I try to get it, the more agitated and excited he gets AND, of course, the more he bites me. I realized yesterday, after he got downright nasty that it might be best to calm him down first and then replace whatever he's got with either a toy or even a treat - not as a reward, but NY streets are filthy. I live in Brooklyn, so I know what you mean. I think some dogs get more hyper and bite more when they are overagitated.

Good luck,

Judy

You're right! NO chasing - that just makes it more fun. Trade for something yummy. If Loki gets something I left where he could get it (my fault!) I just let him have it. If I don't chase him he gets bored and will spit it out. If it's something he shouldn't have or is dangerous I just trade him for a yummy treat. You can also teach "fetch" and "drop" When Loki steals my socks I just yell "fetch!" and he bring them back and drops them at my feet. I use stinky treats to make sure the reward is as good as the stinky sock. Sometimes he will steal things and come and drop them by me. HA! The hardest thing is paper, because he likes to shred it. I just wait til he's done and pick up the mess.

You can also teach "Leave it" which is a great one for cigarette butts and nasty things on the ground.

:thumbup: Excellent post!:thumbup:

That's exactly how we do things here, too. No chasing and strong "leave it" and "drop it" commands (for which he does get rewarded!).