Aggressive/possessive help plz.

[collettk]

We have a Yorkie that get extremely aggressive to the family over Bone treats and any time we go to put him to bed at night. We dont know how to stop the behavior. He has bitten us a few times. Any other time he is sweet and a bit of a scaredy cat. Anything we use to try to neutralize his aggression only makes him more determined the next time. Any advice on misbehaving Yorkies would be nice. We love our dog but we can't keep him if he's going to attack our kids and us.

[mayers]

Originally Posted by collettk

We have a Yorkie that get extremely aggressive to the family over Bone treats and any time we go to put him to bed at night. We dont know how to stop the behavior. He has bitten us a few times. Any other time he is sweet and a bit of a scaredy cat. Anything we use to try to neutralize his aggression only makes him more determined the next time. Any advice on misbehaving Yorkies would be nice. We love our dog but we can't keep him if he's going to attack our kids and us.

First do away with the treats. They don't HAVE to have treats, if they are possessive, stop. Dog forums kill me in the sense that they have something (treats, feeding etc.) that cause bad behavior and yet they continue with them. Don't let the family give him treats. If he has a hard time with treats cut them out. When he grows and becomes responsible then he can have treats. Treats are for good behavior, never give them during bad behavior. The adults should work with him while feeding and training. If he misbehaves ignor him. Turn away and pay him no attention. This is very hard to describe in writing. I have trained monkeys and dogs for well over 25 years but it is just hard to say what you need to do. If you would like to pm me I can give you a lot of advice. Generally people are very angry with those that work professionaly with animals. I would be happy to give you any advice I have.

Melissa and Rambeau (mommy is smart - she works with monkeys)