PLEASE help!

[coroth]

Yesterday Lexie was barking EXTREMELY aggressively at my boyfriend's mom. Lexie goes to her house every Thursday..so I didn't know what was wrong. I went to go pick her up and calm her down and she bit me VERY aggressively and I now have a puncture wound on my finger. I was actually bleeding!!! But it didn't stop there. A little bit later she was trying to ATTACK a puppy WAY smaller than her on our walk and I bent down to try to calm her down and she snapped at me again...I didn't touch her this time though. Now today my sister has her friends over (they come over every day) and she was so intent on attacking them that she ran full speed into the screen door!! And she barks AGGRESSIVELY rather than warningly every time she hears them laughing. (Which is a lot being they are 16 year olds in a FREEZING pool...)

What should I do? If she ever bites anyone else she will have to be put down, and I don't know if I could handle that. With so many people coming in and out of our house, it is inevitable... We just finished obedience class and she FAILED the graduation exam. I'm at a total loss!!

[daisy mae06]

aww that is not good at all. I think it sounds like you need a behaviourist for her. I would start there.

[chachi]

Is there a positive trainer or a behavorialist you can get some help from in your area? I had one aggresssive episode with my Chachi and I flipped him on his back and sad no biting. I dont thnk that would work with Lexi. Lexi seems to be showing repetive aggressive behavior that seems to be getting worse and may need a professional to get involved. Your not going to get that kind of help at a petsmart obediance class. I really hope you wouldnt really put her down because I think yorkie aggression can be fixed. Good luck

[coroth]

I AM NOT PLANNING ON PUTTING HER DOWN!! I just don't want it to get to that because the law in my town is that if a dog is reported to the police for biting it WILL be put down. We just visited a behaviorist and she was GREAT in class...the behaviorist, whom is also a positive trainer helped us with obedience and gave me some tips on the side. I just contacted her via email and told her my issue, so hopefully she can help me with her newly escalated aggression...

[chachi]

Oh that is great! I know a positive trainer can help you. That is terrible that your state has that law about putting a dog down if it bites and I am sorry I misunderstood you on that

[tatertot15]

There is a member on here that is a behaviorist if I can find her I will direct her to you, hopefully she can give you some pointers too....more than one option never hurt anyone. I'm so sorry about your baby...I hope you can get the problem fixed before she bites anyone (or it gets reported) I would just try and keep her more confined when people are in the house and warn everyone that comes near her so maybe they wont get close enough for her to bite. Good Luck!!

[chachi]

Originally Posted by tatertot15

There is a member on here that is a behaviorist if I can find her I will direct her to you, hopefully she can give you some pointers too....more than one option never hurt anyone. I'm so sorry about your baby...I hope you can get the problem fixed before she bites anyone (or it gets reported) I would just try and keep her more confined when people are in the house and warn everyone that comes near her so maybe they wont get close enough for her to bite. Good Luck!!

I think it is scootiebootie. You could pm her

[tatertot15]

Ok I just found her. It is Scootiebootie. I sent her a PM. Hopefully she'll see it soon and respond on the thread. I sent the link to her. Hopefully she can help. Good Luck!!

[ScootieBootie]

I was directed to your post from a fellow yt member.

I have a few questions for you:

1. Has she had a physical recently?
2 Is she spayed? If not, how old is she?
3. Is the biting/aggression getting progressively worse?
4. What seem to be the triggers that lead her to bite?
5. What body gestures is she giving prior to the bite? (raised hair, stiff stance, staring, etc?)
6. What have you tried to do to correct the behavior??
7. What were the circumstances around each of the episodes? (What was the person doing, etc.)
8. What did she "fail" in basic obedience class? Why?


Also, a trainer is not necessarily a behaviorist, so be aware that the trainer may be giving you tips, but may not be well versed in dog behavior modification.

Please answer these questions asap so I can start working on putting together the best course of action to help you help her!

[mscat]

Originally Posted by ScootieBootie

I was directed to your post from a fellow yt member.

I have a few questions for you:

1. Has she had a physical recently?
2 Is she spayed? If not, how old is she?
3. Is the biting/aggression getting progressively worse?
4. What seem to be the triggers that lead her to bite?
5. What body gestures is she giving prior to the bite? (raised hair, stiff stance, staring, etc?)
6. What have you tried to do to correct the behavior??
7. What were the circumstances around each of the episodes? (What was the person doing, etc.)
8. What did she "fail" in basic obedience class? Why?


Also, a trainer is not necessarily a behaviorist, so be aware that the trainer may be giving you tips, but may not be well versed in dog behavior modification.

Please answer these questions asap so I can start working on putting together the best course of action to help you help her!

Hope you see this! She sounds like she knows how to help your Yorkie , and family!
Best wishes

[coroth]

Thank you so much for your help!!!

1. Has she had a physical recently? yes, last week

2 Is she spayed? If not, how old is she? yes she is spayed

3. Is the biting/aggression getting progressively worse? it is getting WAY worse!

4. What seem to be the triggers that lead her to bite? Things that trigger: people coming to the door (including the people that live here), ANY dogs, people walking by the house, passing any person/animal on a walk

5. What body gestures is she giving prior to the bite? (raised hair, stiff stance, staring, etc?) You can't really tell because she just charges the object and starts mauling it...whether it is a person, dog, etc.

6. What have you tried to do to correct the behavior?? I tried to pick her up to calm her down...and that is when I got bit...other than that I didn't want to do anything that might make it worse

7. What were the circumstances around each of the episodes? (What was the person doing, etc.) She has attacked my bf's border collie just because he came over...she charged the car, jumped in and started attacking him. (He didn't do anything back); The times she bit people they just walked in the house and they bent down and put out the back of their hand for her to sniff like I told them too and she lunged at them and bit their hands; The other time my sister's bf was walking though the house and she charged him when he walked in the door and she jumped into midair and bit his hand; She also bit me when I tried to pick her up and calm her down.

8. What did she "fail" in basic obedience class? Why? She couldn't learn "down" at all and she only sits when she wants too...and she tried to attack a newfie when we were supposed to be heeling past them...so she failed.

Thanks again for doing this! My trainer is a behaviorist, she teaches animal behavior classes at our university. We never really talked about Lexie's aggression because I was just enrolled in the obedience class...but I emailed her to see what she has to say because she is the only behaviorist I know of in the Upper Peninsula.

[coroth]

Originally Posted by coroth

Thank you so much for your help!!!

1. Has she had a physical recently? yes, last week

2 Is she spayed? If not, how old is she? yes she is spayed

3. Is the biting/aggression getting progressively worse? it is getting WAY worse!

4. What seem to be the triggers that lead her to bite? Things that trigger: people coming to the door (including the people that live here), ANY dogs, people walking by the house, passing any person/animal on a walk

5. What body gestures is she giving prior to the bite? (raised hair, stiff stance, staring, etc?) You can't really tell because she just charges the object and starts mauling it...whether it is a person, dog, etc.

6. What have you tried to do to correct the behavior?? I tried to pick her up to calm her down...and that is when I got bit...other than that I didn't want to do anything that might make it worse

7. What were the circumstances around each of the episodes? (What was the person doing, etc.) She has attacked my bf's border collie just because he came over...she charged the car, jumped in and started attacking him. (He didn't do anything back); The times she bit people they just walked in the house and they bent down and put out the back of their hand for her to sniff like I told them too and she lunged at them and bit their hands; The other time my sister's bf was walking though the house and she charged him when he walked in the door and she jumped into midair and bit his hand; She also bit me when I tried to pick her up and calm her down.

8. What did she "fail" in basic obedience class? Why? She couldn't learn "down" at all and she only sits when she wants too...and she tried to attack a newfie when we were supposed to be heeling past them...so she failed.

Thanks again for doing this! My trainer is a behaviorist, she teaches animal behavior classes at our university. We never really talked about Lexie's aggression because I was just enrolled in the obedience class...but I emailed her to see what she has to say because she is the only behaviorist I know of in the Upper Peninsula.

Here is the link to her website if you wanted to check it out...

Canine Consultants

[KathyK09]

I'm watching this thread with great interest.

My 18 wk old Yorkie has been showing signs of aggression over the past couple of months. Mainly with my children (13 & 18 yr old). It happens when they do something she doesn't like...such as attempting to take something away from her (even if it's something she shouldn't have). It has also happened when I was holding her and they attempted to take her from me. I think she knows that I'm in charge so she doesn't do it with me.

I came on the website to look for tips on how to change this!

[coroth]

Just wanted to bump this up so scootiebootie could see it...

[juliaw04]

I just came across this thread and am wondering how things are going for you.