Bitting and barking. HELP!!!!!

[s1utster]

My girlfriends Yorkie ( 4lbs) is a monster when we try to clip his nail or comb his hair. He will bite us really hard. can anyone help with this problem. He has made me bleed once before when i tried to brush him.
Another problem we haev with him is car rides. He goes crazy and barks and cries. it's like he has a navigation system in his head or something b/c he will know when we are about to slow down ot reach where we are goin and start to bark even more. The only time he calms down and not bark so much is when he is looking out the window of the car.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for looking.

[JeanieK]

This week is Dog Whisperer week on the National Geographic Channel. He deals with these situations all the time. Try to wach some of his shows.

It really sounds like your dog does not respect you as top dog. You have to establish that position before you can correct any of his behavior.

Check out Cesar Milans website for tips on how to establish yourself as Top Dog.

http://www.dogchannel.com/experts/cesar/default.aspx

[Erin]

Originally Posted by s1utster

My girlfriends Yorkie ( 4lbs) is a monster when we try to clip his nail or comb his hair. He will bite us really hard. can anyone help with this problem. He has made me bleed once before when i tried to brush him.
Another problem we haev with him is car rides. He goes crazy and barks and cries. it's like he has a navigation system in his head or something b/c he will know when we are about to slow down ot reach where we are goin and start to bark even more. The only time he calms down and not bark so much is when he is looking out the window of the car.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for looking.

You shouldn't be correcting his behavior, you should be modifying it. Try taking out the clippers and waiting for him to calm down, don't clip yet, then give a treat. Then touch his paw, give a treat. Then cut a nail, give a treat. Use REALLY yummy treats. Try doing one paw a day. Loki hates when I cut his nails too because his nails have been cut too short and that hurts! Why do some people hate going to the dentist? Because it hurts!! Usually I have my husband help me and we try to make it a really good experience. You can also try filing his nails or getting one of those dremel tools. I use a nail file made for artificial nails. Loki hates the clippers but will sit there and let me file away. He will even try to lick the file. We also clip a little bit every few days because his nails are too long right now, but I don't want to hurt him.

Another option is to take him to the groomer or vet and let them do it. It's easier for the groomer to do it on the table with the noose. I just bought a table mostly for that reason.

Why does he hate being brushed?? Bad experience?

Does he bark when he's not in the car? Loki knows when we slow down, take our seatbelts off, shift into park, etc. He'll be asleep and suddenly stick his head up and start sniffing. If we're going somewhere he doesn't like, like the vet's office, he'll bark or whine a little. They are smart. Is your dog confined in the car? Loki has a car seat and prefers that to a lap or the back seat. He can see out of it, and he is confined so it feels like his crate or bed to him. Have you tried that?

Beyond that, I would suggest you find a positive trainer. There's tons of books out there to read, but you want to get on the right track from the beginning. Have you done any training with him? I have found that Loki just NEEDS the training. He thrives on it. He's so hyper and crazy that it helps to channel that energy!

[s1utster]

yoshi is a really smart dog. very well behaved other than the problems that i have listed above. he know alot fo tricks( spin, paw,sit,high five,hope,roll over,bow down, belly rub etc.) we walk him at least 2 times a day for at least 30 mins. i was watching dog wisperer and will try to make a difference for US as a family. Once again thanks for all the advice. i will never give up till we are on the same level of respect.
you guys are great!

[Erin]

Originally Posted by s1utster

yoshi is a really smart dog. very well behaved other than the problems that i have listed above. he know alot fo tricks( spin, paw,sit,high five,hope,roll over,bow down, belly rub etc.) we walk him at least 2 times a day for at least 30 mins. i was watching dog wisperer and will try to make a difference for US as a family. Once again thanks for all the advice. i will never give up till we are on the same level of respect.
you guys are great!

I totally understand that. Our trainer probably thinks Loki is a monster because we have her help with the 3 things we need help with, even though he is very well behaved otherwise. Every dog has his quirks, that's why we work on those things. There is a difference between being the leader and dominating your dog. IMO, dominating your dog will not earn you any respect - no matter what Cesar says. Your dog might fear you or fear the consequences if they don't obey you, but they won't "look up" to you in leadership. Leadership means you control the good things, like the food, the walks, etc. It means you teach them HOW to behave, rather than correct them when they do something "bad" Like, I have Loki sit while I prepare his food and then "release" him to eat. I don't punish him if he doesn't sit, but we also stand there ignoring him and wait for him to sit before he gets his meal. He learned to be "polite" early on.

Barking is hard because you don't know why the dog does it. A trainer would. Maybe he is scared, maybe he is just "excitement barking" and he is way over his threshold, maybe he is trying to tell you something! Barking in itself is rewarding to the dog, so you need to come up with something more rewarding to counter it. Maybe give your dog a Kong in the car, or a bully stick - something he only gets in the car so it is special. Teach him the "quiet" or "that's enough" command and if he is alarm barking, thank him for alerting you. (For example, Loki barks when the phone rings and when the stove timer goes off. I'm OK with that, since it's a good time to bark. Once I was upstairs and I didn't hear the stove timer, but Loki came after me and started barking at me. I thanked him, went to see what was up, and he stopped. To him it's like, OK mission accomplished.)

[j3ntan]

Lola had the same problems, but we just continued on...the car rides became bearable... she used to bark and cry and whine and now, she just sits quietly and looks around her. As for the nailcutting... I tried this with her the other day and it worked pretty great. I've been training Lola with treats and I used those treats (broken into itty bitty pieces) and leave them on the table. Her attention is focused on the treats on the table rather than me, and she's so busy "stealing" bits here and there that she didn't even notice I was finished cutting her nails! I even cut one too close and it started bleeding It was ok though, she was a trooper. She was so busy eyeing the treats that she didn't even notice the little bit of blood! Good luck to you!!