My Yorkie has an anger management problem

[ArmyWife313]

Also, on the barking when people come over thing... in my experience, that's also a terrier/Yorkie thing.

It's like saying...
"Hey, this is MY house! You are in it. WHY? I don't know you and you are in my space."
Now it's ok to let them have a couple of barks, but then you need to teach them the quiet or "no bark" command.
Barking is what dogs do.

It honestly sounds like you guys are just overwhelmed with the Yorkie zoomies and crazies :-) We've got a boxer mix and he's just as crazy, but they really are a whole 'nuther world from big dogs. You wouldn't want a yorkie that just sat on the floor the whole time because he wasn't allowed to play. Encourage his play, engage him in play, and then give him loving when you want it to end.
If he was aggressive, he would be snapping, growling AT YOU if you told him no, nipping when you touched him (if not playing), etc... Like he was trying to eat you and telling you to back off.

[York-a-lator]

Exactly! They bark because the intruder is in their space. After I tell Jilly it's "OK," and tell her the person's name, she stops and sniffs around them.

Jilly "talks" a lot. She mumbles and grumbles and snicks. She plays with toys and has a collection of favorites in her blanket on the sofa.

Scooter doesn't talk much, but she can bark loud if she isn't getting attention when she asks for it. Scooter dances. She has a spot on the floor almost like a stage, and she dances and spins for attention if it's her mealtime.

They love to go out in the car. As soon as I put on shoes (I'm usually barefoot!), they go bananas, talking and jumping.

The little terrors are really smart and I couldn't ask for more adorable little "girls."

[littlepixie12]

Originally Posted by dands

Our little Yorkie is adorable, but seems to be struggling with an anger management problem. So, here's some background. He's the smallest of his litter of 3 yorkie males. Yet, he was the most energetic and smartest. We thought he was the bravest cause he was the first of his littermates to greet us by smelling our feet. However, he seems to have a lot of fear. Whenever we take him on a walk, he's totally tense and stiff. And he growls often, and sometimes barks. He seems to be really scared outside on walks.

Anyway, back to his anger management problem. He seems to take out his anger on his toys and bed. He has this little teddy bear that he sometimes licks like it's a friend. But then, at times he'll growl and bite into it over and over like it's his prey. Then, his bullystick is another story. Sometimes he'll chew it like it's so delicious. Then, at other times he'll go on a rampage and start to growl and throw it around like a madman. Then, there's his bed. It's his precious bed where he sleeps. But then when he gets angry, he growls and bites and throws it around.

Now, some people might say he's playing. And we thought like that as well until we started to sense maybe he really does have an anger problem. It seems like he goes on these anger fits... or shall we call them "yorkie fits of rage."

When we tell him "no" or "leave it", and take away the object of his wrath, he acts like he's scared of us and runs away.

Do any of your Yorkies have any anger management problems like this, or are we all alone? Any suggestions for us?

A few more notes:
- after we bathe him, he runs around the house like a madman... lightning speed bouncing off walls.
- is he getting back at us for leaving him in the kitchen all day while we're at work?
- is he mad at us for making him sleep in kitchen and not in our bedroom?
- should we get another dog for him to be friends with?
- should we play some NPR radio during the day to soothe him?
- how do we make him less scared outside on his walks
- and not to mention all the potty training challenges...

but, he is an adorable dog. very cute. knows lots of tricks now (sit, down, stay, leave it, bang, roll over, shake, high 5, etc).

Thanks for reading.

It sounds to me like he is just playing... how old is he? Mine does all these things and he is now 5 months old

[dianethomas]

LOVE zoomies!
Zaccheus always gets aggressive after I've had to hold him down to clip his nails, groom him, or whatever. I just play rough with him for a few minutes until he gets his aggression out, and then tell him "done" when I'm finished. He always calms down after that.
Cricket has pretty much outgrown the zoomies, but she still has it whenever she needs to remind Zacchie of his place in the house. She is queen around here, and NOBODY forgets it.

[Timba212]

sounds like he does the same thing most yorkies do... play play play and play...