Molly Bit a Stranger!

[93kathy10]

Molly doesn't like delivery men or strangers, especially male, but last week we were at a resort and Molly ran out when the door was left open and bit a teenager in her upper thigh when she was just walking past our cabin. For the rest of the week Molly was tethered to me, but it's clear we have to get control of this aggression. The teenager and her parents were very nice about it, the bite was a little bruise about the size of a pencil erasure, but right now Molly is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

I had a session with a trainer this week and he put a link collar on her and demanded I yank it and shout "fooey" when she growls at someone. I did it and it hurts her and I am afraid it will just make her more aggressive and fearful when she sees a stranger. I just don't want to hurt her and he insists I have to be willing to hurt her. I'm going to call another trainer too and see what they think about the collar, but I think I know what they will say (no collar), but I've gone to them in the past and what I've been doing has not (obviously) helped.

Any ideas from experts??? I'm desperate!!

[93kathy10]

BTW - Molly is 2 1/2 and 9-10 pounds.

[MissSophie]

I am sorry to hear that this happened. Our dog growls at men when they come near me too. I am curious, though, how a 10 pound dog could reach the upper thigh of a teenager. I can't get that picture.

[chachi]

Chachi iis an ankle biter when someone comes to the door. We found that when he starts his frenzy barking when someones at the door that drives him to the ankle biting. We put an xpen by our door and when he starts the frenzy barking we put him in it then answer the door. It has helped but we are still working on it

[ARCHIE]

I am not a dog trainer but I would be very causious about a link collar
around a Yorkie's neck. They have very fragile trechs and you can cause
damage to them. Personally I would find another way.
Buddy bit the groomer 5wks ago, first bite so far. I really keep watch
on him and know what he likes and dosen't but he was under stress at the
time so I am not taking that too seriously but this kind of bite you are smart
to get someone to help you with it. I'm just not sure I would use this method.
How do you hurt a Yorkie, they are so small and smart I might add. There
must be another way. What about a soft muzzle when your around people and children until you can get a grib on the problem.

[DONNADEE]

My boy kaycee who is nine pounds when i dont take him sometimes he jumps up and bites me on the butt,with not much effort either,my abbey also can jump high she is only 4 pounds.like father like daughter.

[red98vett]

Originally Posted by ARCHIE

I am not a dog trainer but I would be very causious about a link collar
around a Yorkie's neck. They have very fragile trechs and you can cause
damage to them. Personally I would find another way.
Buddy bit the groomer 5wks ago, first bite so far. I really keep watch
on him and know what he likes and dosen't but he was under stress at the
time so I am not taking that too seriously but this kind of bite you are smart
to get someone to help you with it. I'm just not sure I would use this method.
How do you hurt a Yorkie, they are so small and smart I might add. There
must be another way. What about a soft muzzle when your around people and children until you can get a grib on the problem.

Good post and I agree - I would never have a collar on a yorkie first of all - and never yank on it - you could cause some serious damage - To start - try a harness so you don't have anything on the neck - Sounds like ya'll need THE DOG WHISPERER - Have you ever watched the show ? He has some good techniques on how to stop agression with strangers.

My Chanel is a little terror if someone comes to the house - she's fine in public but when it comes to the house I'm not thrilled with her - in her defence - since my husband got sick - she hardly sees anyone cause I always go to them now so it's really not her fault she feels so protective. I need to work on that just like you need to work on your little one

[Yorkiekids]

I would definetly seek advice from a new trainer. Jerking their necks seems cruel to me, and what if you jerked to hard. I'm sorry she bit the girl, and hope nothing comes of it.

[tmatherly]

ahhh, we can all relate I think. Scout is the "frenzy barker" at our house (I know exactly what you mean, Chachi....he can't even hear you when he's like this...out of control!!) but quiet Pippa is the one that runs up to people that come in our house and BITES them! Actually she nips at their ankles/feet and usually they don't even know she's nipping...but I do..and it's awful. I'm scared to death that she will really get somebody. I try really hard to correct it, but the easiest thing to do is to put the dogs behind the gate in the laundry room when we know people are coming. The problem is, I feel like they won't ever learn if they don't get the opportunity. We work at home when nobody's here.."go to your spot and stay", etc. They do fine when nobody is really at the door. I try Cesar's (dog whisperer) techniques all the time by claiming the door...correcting (shhht), etc. But they don't hear me when they are in a frenzy!

[RMKC]

Originally Posted by MissSophie

I am sorry to hear that this happened. Our dog growls at men when they come near me too. I am curious, though, how a 10 pound dog could reach the upper thigh of a teenager. I can't get that picture.

Well let me tell you, when Apollo gets exited like when i tell him we are going bye bye he jumps an nips me in the butt. Of course i am only 5.2

[RMKC]

Originally Posted by chachi

Chachi iis an ankle biter when someone comes to the door. We found that when he starts his frenzy barking when someones at the door that drives him to the ankle biting. We put an xpen by our door and when he starts the frenzy barking we put him in it then answer the door. It has helped but we are still working on it

Ankle biter , haha, i knoe its not funny but i call Rosi a Toebiter, because thats what she does !

[windsor'smom]

First of all i'm sorry you are having problems with your little one, secondly you should run from this trainer, they seem to not be familar with small breeds. I'm not a trainer but it sounds like she would benefit from some socialization, try walking her everyday so that she sees other people and animals. If she tries to bite while you are walking a muzzle would solve that problem. Please do look for another trainer who is more familar with Yorkies and smaller breed dogs. Best wishes!

[Shadow]

Originally Posted by windsor'smom

First of all i'm sorry you are having problems with your little one, secondly you should run from this trainer, they seem to not be familar with small breeds. I'm not a trainer but it sounds like she would benefit from some socialization, try walking her everyday so that she sees other people and animals. If she tries to bite while you are walking a muzzle would solve that problem. Please do look for another trainer who is more familar with Yorkies and smaller breed dogs. Best wishes!

[FirstYorkie]

Kathy,

Yes, please do look for another trainer.

Besides the issue of possible damage to your pup's trachea, I agree with you that this trainer's method will likely make things worse rather than better. Using this method, she will not only associate strangers with something to fear, she'll also associate them with pain. AND, by hurting her whenever she growls, she's being taught not to growl so then what have you got? A dog who bites without warning.

If it were me, I'd do three things:

1) Look for a new trainer - a positive trainer this time.

2) I'd follow the advice from windsor'smom and socialize her more. Put lots of yummy treats in your pocket. Make the appearance of a stranger = Treat Time For Molly. The goal here is to do this when the stranger first appears but before Molly has a chance to react. You don't want to give her treats once she has started misbehaving. If she's already acting up, you've missed your chance. Ignore her, move on, look for another chance, and try to shovel in those treats faster.

3) I think following the NILIF program would be helpful for Molly. I'll post it below.

Good Luck!

[FirstYorkie]

Nothing In Life Is Free

The NILIF program is remarkable because it's effective for such a wide variety of problems. A shy, timid dog becomes more relaxed knowing that he has nothing to worry about, his owner is in charge of all things. A dog that's pushing too hard to become "top dog" learns that the position is not available and that his life is far more enjoyable without the title.

It is equally successful with dogs that fall anywhere between those two extremes. The program is not difficult to put into effect and it's not time consuming if the dog already knows a few basic obedience commands. I've never seen this technique fail to bring about a positive change in behavior, however, the change can be more profound in some dogs than others. Most owners use this program in conjunction with other behavior modification techniques such as coping with fear or treatment for aggression. It is a perfectly suitable technique for the dog with no major behavior problems that just needs some fine tuning.

ATTENTION ON DEMAND
The program begins by eliminating attention on demand. When your dog comes to you and nudges your hand, saying "pet me! pet me!" ignore him. Don't tell him "no", don't push him away. Simply pretend you don't notice him. This has worked for him before, so don't be surprised if he tries harder to get your attention. When he figures out that this no longer works, he'll stop. In a pack situation, the top ranking dogs can demand attention from the lower ranking ones, not the other way around. When you give your dog attention on demand you're telling him that he has more status in the pack than you do. Timid dogs become stressed by having this power and may become clingy. They're never sure when you'll be in charge so they can't relax. What if something scary happens, like a stranger coming in the house? Who will handle that? The timid dog that is demanding of attention can be on edge a lot of the time because he has more responsibility than he can handle.

Some dogs see their ability to demand attention as confirmation that they are the "alpha", then become difficult to handle when told to "sit" or "down" or some other demand is placed on them. It is not their leadership status that stresses them out, it's the lack of consistency. They may or may not actually be alpha material, but having no one in the pack that is clearly the leader is a bigger problem than having the dog assume that role full time. Dogs are happiest when the pack order is stable. Tension is created by a constant fluctuation of pack leadership.

EXTINCTION BURSTS
Your dog already knows that he can demand your attention and he knows what works to get that to happen. As of today, it no longer works, but he doesn't know that yet. We all try harder at something we know works when it stops working. If I gave you a twenty dollar bill every time you clapped your hands together, you'd clap a lot. But, if I suddenly stopped handing you money, even though you were still clapping, you'd clap more and clap louder. You might even get closer to me to make sure I was noticing that you were clapping. You might even shout at me "Hey! I'm clapping like crazy over here, where's the money?". If I didn't respond at all, in any way, you'd stop. It wasn't working anymore. That last try -- that loud, frequent clapping is an extinction burst. If, however, during that extinction burst, I gave you another twenty dollar bill you'd be right back in it. It would take a lot longer to get you to stop clapping because you just learned that if you try hard enough, it will work.

When your dog learns that the behaviors that used to get him your attention don't work any more he's going to try harder and he's going to have an extinction burst. If you give him attention during that time you will have to work that much harder to get him turned around again. Telling him "no" or pushing him away is not the kind of attention he's after, but it's still attention. Completely ignoring him will work faster and better.

YOU HAVE THE POWER
As the human and as his owner you have control of all things that are wonderful in his life. This is the backbone of the NILIF program. You control all of the resources. Playing, attention, food, walks, going in and out of the door, going for a ride in the car, going to the dog park. Anything and everything that your dog wants comes from you. If he's been getting most of these things for free there is no real reason for him to respect your leadership or your ownership of these things. Again, a timid dog is going to be stressed by this situation, a pushy dog is going to be difficult to handle. Both of them would prefer to have you in charge.

To implement the NILIF program you simply have to have your dog earn his use of your resources. He's hungry? No problem, he simply has to sit before his bowl is put down. He wants to play fetch? Great! He has to "down" before you throw the ball. Want to go for a walk or a ride? He has to sit to get his lead snapped on and has to sit while the front door is opened. He has to sit and wait while the car door is opened and listen for the word (I use "OK") that means "get into the car". When you return he has to wait for the word that means "get out of the car" even if the door is wide open. Don't be too hard on him. He's already learned that he can make all of these decisions on his own. He has a strong history of being in control of when he gets these resources. Enforce the new rules, but keep in mind that he's only doing what he's been taught to do and he's going to need some time to get the hang of it all.

You're going to have to pay attention to things that you probably haven't noticed before. If you feed your dog from your plate do you just toss him a green bean? No more. He has to earn it. You don't have to use standard obedience commands, any kind of action will do. If your dog knows "shake" or "spin around" or "speak" use those commands. Does your dog sleep on your bed? Teach him that he has to wait for you to say "OK" to get on the bed and he has to get down when you say "off". Teach him to go to his bed, or other designated spot, on command. When he goes to his spot and lays down tell him "stay" and then release him with a treat reward. Having a particular spot where he stays is very helpful for when you have guests or otherwise need him out of the way for a while. It also teaches him that free run of the house is a resource that you control. There are probably many things that your dog sees as valuable resources that I haven't mentioned here.

The NILIF program should not be a long, drawn out process. All you need to do is enforce a simple command before allowing him access to what he wants. Dinner, for example, should be a two or three second encounter that consists of nothing more than saying "sit", then "good dog!", then putting the bowl down and walking away.

ATTENTION AND PLAY
Now that your dog is no longer calling the shots you will have to make an extra effort to provide him with attention and play time. Call him to you, have him "sit" and then lavish him with as much attention as you want. Have him go get his favorite toy and play as long as you both have the energy. The difference is that now you will be the one initiating the attention and beginning the play time. He's going to depend on you now, a lot more than before, to see that he gets what he needs. What he needs most is quality time with you. This would be a good time to enroll in a group obedience class. If his basic obedience is top notch, see about joining an agility class or fly ball team.

NILIF DOES *NOT* MEAN THAT YOU HAVE TO RESTRICT THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION YOU GIVE TO YOUR DOG. The NILIF concept speaks to who initiates the attention (you!), not the amount of attention. Go ahead and call your dog to you 100 times a day for hugs and kisses!! You can demand his attention, he can no longer demand yours!

Within a day or two your dog will see you in a whole new light and will be eager to learn more. Use this time to teach new things, such as 'roll over' or learn the specific names of different toys.

If you have a shy dog, you'll see a more relaxed dog. There is no longer any reason to worry about much of anything. He now has complete faith in you as his protector and guide. If you have a pushy dog he'll be glad that the fight for leadership is over and his new role is that of devoted and adored pet.



©1999 Deb McKean