still having training issues
 

Yoni is 15 weeks old. I love him to pieces but he is BAD. Sometimes evil. It's like we have no control over him. We got him when he was 9 weeks old (which I know is too early for a yorkie, but didn't know at the time), and we instantly started trying to train him. But to be honest, when he first came home with us, he was good. He seems to have a very dominant personality, which worries me because he's probably better suited for someone who knows a lot about dogs. When he starts mouthing and nipping us, nothing will make him stop. I try yelping, he jumps at my face. I try giving a firm "NO" he jumps at my face. I try telling him to sit, he jumps at my face. We took him to a dog trainer. Not an expensive one, just some guy who kind of does it on the side. He did seem to understand dogs, but the session didn't really help. He told us that if Yoni absolutely won't calm down, we have to hold him down on his side until he submits. Yeah, not happening. I tried it once. I had to hold him down for over a half hour.... and I had to ask my mom to get me Dad's work gloves because my hands hurt so much. He got vicious and it scared me. There has to be another solution. A gentler solution. Sometimes I will go to pick him up and he'll growl and snap at my hand. I knoooow that you shouldn't pick a dog up from behind, but a dog also shouldn't growl and snap at you no matter what, because that is dangerous when the dog is full grown. I just want a GOOD dog. And I know it takes times, but this is NOT an easy dog to work with. I have had a horrible experience with a dog from my childhood.... he was very dominant and aggressive and he bit my sister. She had to get a shot and I remember being terrified of that dog. I'm just really stressed out about this because I feel like it's my fault. And I am already bonded with him, so rehoming him would be awful.... and I'd feel like I was betraying the family who sold him to us. http://ferretharmony.com/images/smiles/icon_sad.gif


Could lack of walks cause this behavior? I've taken Yoni for a few walks, but he seemed to get tired really fast. And to be honest, I currently have 2 ferrets, 3 cats, and 5 kittens.... my life is busy. But I KNOW Yoni should be going for more walks and I feel bad. Yoni is probably bored and frustrated and his built up energy could be causing this behavior (I HOPE). But I don't think the rest of my family would be committed to taking him for walks and it's not fair if it's all on me. :(

You are having a similar issue that I'm dealing with. I have a 14 week old pup (he'll be 15 weeks this Friday so he's about the same age as yours) and my breeder also sold him to me at 9 weeks. Had I come on the site prior to purchasing Oliver I would have learned that puppies need to stay with their mother and litterl mates until at least 12 weeks of age to learn bite inhibition. He's acting out towards you the way he would his playmates except we don't nip back so he doesn't learn to control that. I've been working non-stop on controlling this issue and you also have to remember that at 15 weeks your pup is teething as well so it will take time, but don't worry he's not evil! :p What I've been doing is when he starts to bite I jerk away and say "ow!" Then I give him a teething bone or something else to chew on and say good boy. If he sees that its hurting you everytime he bites (say it even when it doesn't hurt) he'll eventually learn not to. Another thing I do is if he's nipping at my pant legs or feet (like he used to do) I have a spray bottle that I spray him with...literally it worked like magic. I only had to use it for a few days and he doesn't nip while I'm walking at all anymore! I know its tough but be patient with your pup and he'll learn not to nip, best of luck and hope this helps!! :)

EDIT: Another thing you can do that I've read on here is get him a playmate. You don't have to go out and buy another pup but if you have any friends with similar dogs, schedule little play dates and that may help control his biting issue since he can learn some bite inhibition from them. I haven't tried this yet but I may do this as well :)

I am currently going through bite inhibition with my 8 week old pup.
At first when she bit my finger she would really hurt, when she did this I would go OUCH or NO and take my hands away from her then I wouldnt play or touch her for a few minutes, this seems to be working as she's not biting so hard but the biting hasnt stopped.
She too will do little growls and jump up at my face so I carry on saying NO and put her down away from me and egnore her for a while.
Your pup will just be playing but because he was young he dosnt know how ruff is acceptable to play. If you stop the games the second he gets too ruff then he will learn.
He WANTS you to pet and play with him so if he think this will go away if he bites hard then it should stop him.
The water spray which Dzbabykel suggested is a great tip also :)
I also think he should go for more walks.
You are right he will probably be bored and frustrated in the house, and long walks will help to calm him down.