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My 10 month old Yorkie My 10 month old Yorkie who has been amazingly well behaved and well-socialized until 3 days ago. She has begun growling and barking and nearly attacking anyone who comes near me. I'm the father of our family, but I'm Olive's primary caretaker. I bathe, groom and cut her hair, take her to the vet, etc. She follows me everywhere I go. The last three days I've not been feeling well for several reasons, much of them emotional. I feel like my dog is trying to protect me. Also, if she is asleep and someone (one of our kids, my wife or myself) walk up fast enough that she doesn't hear us coming, she jumps up barking straight out of her sleep. She has never been aggressive before this and I'm concerned that this will continue. Has anyone ever seen a personality change this drastic in their puppy in this short a time? Is this common? I have read all the things I cna find and nothing addresses personality change. I am calling the vet tomorrow, but hoped someone had some feedback for me. Any advice would be appreciated. Olive is our first Yorkie... |
I don't have any expertise in that area, but I am sure someone will post something to help, just wanted to say, I hope everything is okay, will be sending good thoughts your way. |
Welcome to Yorkie Talk, and sorry your Olive is having a bad time. Has she been spayed? If not and if she is coming in heat, that could affect her personality. It's a good idea to have a vet checkup too, as a dog in pain or with some illness can act differently like that. Do you think rather than her protecting you, she can be reacting jealously or possessively when others come around you? |
Sugar never barked/growled at anyone until the 9th month, her personality changed tremendously, she now loves to bark/growl... something like what you described. I couldn't find the reason, even after spayed, her personality remains the "naughty" side, never go back to the previous behaviour. I'm not sure Olive change of personality is permanent or temporary (like you mentioned you're sick and she wants to protect you), but I just know I still love Sugar so much although she doesn't like to meet people and barks a lot :) |
I have never dealt with aggression or protectiveness that may be fear-based. Perhaps she needs more socialization with lots of other people and perhaps she needs to interact more with the other family members than she has been doing. I can only say "perhaps." I don't know the situation. I might suggest you go to the "Training" section and look over past posts to see if there are any threads that seem close to your situation. Our member, ARCHIE, won't be on until tomorrow morning, but she has used a trainer for some issues that are similar to your yorkie's. You might send her a message and give her the link to your thread and see if she has any suggestions. Only a thought. Good luck and don't give up.:) |
thanks i appreciate the quick feedback from everyone. Olive is 10 months old, has not been spayed and been through heat once already. She did not do this the first time she went through heat. She was just a little puny, like she had the flu and wanted to be held a lot. I work out of our home for 50+ hours a week, so I know that she does fine when I'm not here with my wife and children...it just seems to be when I'm around that she does this aggressive stuff. Maybe she is jealous and trying to chase others away, i don't know. It just seems odd that its onset has been so fast and so out of the blue... |
There are a lot of female yorkies - mine included - that really seem to prefer men. She seems to be possessive of you. That is one thought. Have you just tried correcting her and saying very sternly, "NO?" I'm sure you probably have. ARCHIE can tell you if this situation is similar to hers. I think it is. |
I'm glad you are taking her to the vet, any change in personality should be taken seriously. I've never had a female, so I don't know if this is related to her femaleness, but she's around that age. She does sound like she is displaying alpha tendencies, and waking up suddenly and always being on guard is something the alpha dog does. You need to teach her that all humans are the alpha, and there are various ways to do this. Just do a google for tips. |
I have a 7 month old yorkie, when he was about 3 months i started introducing him to new people hoping he would learn to feel comfortable around people he doesnt know, but for some reason now he barks at every little thing, and at people. Its hard taking him for walks if someone is around because he will growl at them. It just must be a phase they are going through. I hope it is. |
We have three female yorkies and I do remember there being a definite personality change around 10 months. From what I've read they start to go through puppy andolecense around this time. I really noticed this with Mica and Lindi. It's like they had a mind of their own all of a sudden. I think more socializing like someone else suggested might be helpful in this situation. Hopefully you'll find some help here in the training section where someone else was having a similar problem. |
I hope Olive gets a healthy report from the vet. If she does I would guess she knows your not feeling well and is protecting you. I have a guarding issue with Buddy that appears long and far between but it's there. I can't find the sites but if you look up "resource guarding" it will give you some insight into what may be happening. Buddy's personality changed as well around 1yr old. He loves everyone tho that was never an issue. If I were you I would bring your family more into Olive's life. Let them feed her, treat her and invite her up on their laps with treats. Please allow Olive to be more of a family member by allowing other's to do for her. The above item I mentioned will help you to understand what she is doing. Good luck, if I can help in any other way just pm me. When it comes to guarding I do understand it now that I'm working with a trainer. It never leaves, ever but can be controlled with no problem. You just need to understand what's going on. Good luck to you and Olive, |
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