My Harley? Mean?

[HisNameIsHarley]

Every breed description I've read has told me the same thing.. That Yorkshire Terriers do not do well with children. I thought that rediculus until I got Harley. But his dislike for them is quite justified when you learn that his first encounter with someone 3ft nothing kicked him in the face. And it's always such a shame when little children want to pet him bc he's just so darn cute but I can't let them bc as soon as they put their hands near him he trys to nip and growls and sometimes barks @ them. I think it has a lot to do with the way they act and the energy the kids put off. They're loud and unpredictable and move around at a million miles an hour and I think that makes him anxious and so he bites. (saying that hurts so much) It's tough taking him out sometimes bc I fear that some kid is going to rush over (has happened atleast a dozen times) and reach out and touch my dog before I can even react or warn them not to do so. I mean in a world like today I nip on a childs hand means death of the accused dog. Whether he was provoked or not. Does anyone else have these problems? I reprimand him and try to explain to the kids that they need to calm down, not jump around, lower the voices, approach him slowly and not to scream at him or flail their arms and hands around. But I mean how do you explain to a 3-7 yr old that they need to learn how to act like an adult in about a minute? It just doesn't happen. I want Harley to be approachable and I don't want to fear the worst. You guys have any tips? Or atleast know where I'm coming from?

Another problem happened 2 days ago. My boyfriend and I went to visit my grandaddy who lives in assisted living a couple miles from our house. We've been taking Harley there to visit everybody since we first got him and he's been fine. But last night everybody had just finished eating dinner and they were all sitting out in the great big 'living room' conversating and watching Harley run around chasing his fav orange plush bone everywhere I threw it. A lot of the residents like to try and call him over so they can pet him but he basically likes to show off and run around their feet before they can touch him. (he's more of a "Watch me! Watch me!" than a "Please cuddle w/ me!" kind of doggie) But one lady in particular decided that she wanted a closer look and walked over to one of his toys and stepped on it and was reaching down to pick it up when Harley attacked. He basically jumped up her leg and tried to bite her all over until she finally got away from his toy. He was growling/barking/snarling the entire time. She then proceeded to try and poke him with her cane which only further 'ticked him off'. I mean no pun when I say we were all lucky that it didn't cause her to have a heart attack right then and there. I was appauled and embarrassed to say the least. I instantly jumped down on the floor beside him, rolled him over on his side, said sternly "NO! Bad boy!" and used my fingers as if they were teeth in his side and kept him pinned there until he calmed down and became completely relaxed. (he basically showed that he decided to be submissive) So I let him back up, asked him to get on my lap, where I took away his toys and made him sit quietly. I personally would have thought that the scare would have been enough but the sweet old lady seemed unabashed and came right up to his face while I was bent over stashing all his things back into his bag. I felt his growl before I heard it (he was on my lap) and I grabbed him just in time. The lady just couldn't understand that he was scared of her and she wouldn't stop. So I took him to my grandaddys room where he was totally fine. I was scared to death and feel awful. My baby isn't a bad dog.. I just don't know how to stop/avoid this terrible behavior. I mean, if he had actually broken skin it could have been the end of this poor lady. At their age their skin is like paper and their blood doesn't clot as fast as it needs to and... I just don't know what I would have done if he had really hurt her.. I always warn people that he's a nipper and more of a watch me dog than a cuddle me dog but they're never convinced until he acts out.. Please help if you can.. Or atleast let me know he's not a jack-the-yorkie-ripper..

[knitbritt]

I'm so sorry you are having troubles. I don't know anything about agression training but I'm sure that someone who does will write you soon! For the time being...let me just say that it sounds like Harley has run into some really irritating instances. It sounds like maybe he's afraid or aggravated and when he changes body language etc. to show people they aren't getting it. I mean really, if a dog tries to bite you why are you going to go back up and try to touch it again? Good luck! I hope someone helps you out soon.

[YorkieShadow]

Im sorry that you are having this trouble with him. My Mickey barks at samll kids well really anyone that he doesnt know. So I have to keep a good eye out for him when some ones around.

[yorkieusa]

Isn't Harley just a puppy? They aren't unlike children when they are puppies. Misbehaved sometimes. Everything is THEIRS, so don't touch it. There are lots and lots of books available for training and dealing with aggressiveness. Mine doesn't nip, but she's still doing a little bit of teething and she likes to chew on your fingers. I would go look for a good training book that deals with aggressiveness and biting or research the net for training. I know there is a lot available. You will just have to put the time into training and I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.

[Patti]

I know how you feel. my 8 year old pom (12 Lbs) has always been more aggressive than I would like. I do not trust her around children alone. She will bite me if she is under the bed ,her territory, and I try to put my hand under there. She is so embarrassing to take anywhere because like you , people will come up and say oh how cute and try to pet her and she starts snarling. That's one reason I got a yorkie again, I have had three in the past always sweet. Before I got the puppy the end of August, I stated working with her to let me put my hand under the bed without biting me, she has done pretty good but will snap at the puppy when she goes under the bed.
I fortunately have 2 neighbors with 2 kids each, they love Cali to pieces and she sees them about 3 times a week. I have told the kids they can only hold her if they are sitting on the ground and hold her gentley ane at a time and no quick movements. They all sit in a circle and take turns holding her. The kids are 4, 5,5 and 9. Even though Cali nips me all the time as puppies do she has never even tried to nip the kids. Maybe you can find an understanding parent will well behaved kids who will help you get Harley used to kids. Even Maya will tolerate the kids petting her now but i do not trust her so i always hold her around the kids.

[3CrazyYorkies]

My Lexie has the same type of personality. I've tried everything I know of to get her to accept people approaching her but so far nothing has worked. She seems to be very protective and if people insist on getting in her space she nips them and barks and lunges right at them till they back off. She also makes sure she gets the last word in. I also advise people she is a nipper and not to try to pet her and if she gets into one of her rages I remove her. She is 17 months old. We have two older yorkies one is 6 years and the other 5 years -- neither of them like kids but they like older adults. Hopefully Lexie will calm down and be more approachable as she gets older. Her she is -- don't let her face foul you -- she is a rotweiller in a yorkie coat.

[PlatinumYorkies]

WOW! you guy's have lil' hell fire's....I hope it works out..Were they well socialized from the beginning or was it just the 2 or 3 of you!?

[HisNameIsHarley]

Yes Harley was well socialized. His breeder had 3 kids. Two of them were teenagers but the other was only 2. They also had a bigger mixed breed male dog and a grumpy old fat cat.. All of whom Harley totally harrassed! (meaning he bugged and bugged them until they either played w/ him or tried to kill him!) He's only about 7 months old. But I don't think this has to do w/ being a pup bc when he was younger he liked chewing on my fingers etc but this seems to be down right aggression. The look on his face just changes.. It's scary.. My mom told me to get him a t-shirt that says, "Back off! Rottweiler Undercover!".. hehe I'm definately going to look for some aggression help books. The time and practice will definately be worth it if I can get him to just "Be nice!"

Oh yea, Will just reminded me and I wanted to add that last night @ his house Harley started a TERRIBLE fight w/ his two boxers and his bulldog Lulu all bc they all went to sniff his toys.. I've never seen anything more rediculus than three HUGE dogs cowering to a 8lb dog.. But he was attached to Brandys(boxer) ear for a good 10 seconds so I don't blame them much!

[yorkieusa]

I think you can deal with it if you work on it really hard NOW. All mine does is wiggle herself to death when she sees someone. She thinks the world is hers to hug! I wish for you the same that I have in Kacee. The only thing that scares Kacee is when kids start running toward her when they see her. She gets ready to go the other way.

[HisNameIsHarley]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

I think you can deal with it if you work on it really hard NOW. All mine does is wiggle herself to death when she sees someone. She thinks the world is hers to hug! I wish for you the same that I have in Kacee. The only thing that scares Kacee is when kids start running toward her when they see her. She gets ready to go the other way.

hehe I just had the cutest visual of a lil yorkies eyes getting HUGE like in a cartoon and zooming the other way!

[kassiemacy]

Macy has always got along well with kids. Kassie (my 2 3/4 yrs. old granddaughter) kisses Macy on the mouth and helps her chase her toys. They race to see who can get there first. If Kassie wins she tosses the toy so Macy can win. The 5 yr. old next door is scared of her, but that's only because her Mom has never let her be around animals and she's scared of everything.

[FirstYorkie]

Originally Posted by HisNameIsHarley

.... And it's always such a shame when little children want to pet him bc he's just so darn cute but I can't let them bc as soon as they put their hands near him he trys to nip and growls and sometimes barks @ them. I want Harley to be approachable and I don't want to fear the worst. You guys have any tips? Or atleast know where I'm coming from?

Another problem happened 2 days ago. ... But one lady in particular decided that she wanted a closer look and walked over to one of his toys and stepped on it and was reaching down to pick it up when Harley attacked. He basically jumped up her leg and tried to bite her all over until she finally got away from his toy. He was growling/barking/snarling the entire time...

Well, the first behavior doesn't sound out of the ordinary for a dog who hasn't been well-socialized to young children. If I were you, I'd work on this by first taking him some place where there are young children in the distance. Like a park. Stay away from the kids while interacting with Harley and giving treats for appropriate behavior. When he's comfortable with this, take it a little closer to the kids. When you feel like you can trust him enough, let the kids toss some treats to him so that he learns "good things come from small people". If he is comfortable, let them advance to feeding him the treat. This will all take some time. Don't try to do it in one day.

In the meantime, when little kids approach you can 1) position yourself in between them while holding up your hand in a "stop sign" fashion. This should buy you enough time to say "Don't touch. He bites". 2) Alternately, scoop him up before they can touch him. You are right. You can't risk his biting a child.

The second behavior was quite extreme. I would consult a trainer ASAP. I also wouldn't take him back to that facility.

[sarahr]

sorry for your troubles. i hope you get it figured out, so no one gets hurt...

[Jaspermom]

My Angel never ever got used to kids. It seemed that anyone close to her size was meant to be dominated, and that was her self-appointed job in life. Although we used to warn the "rug rats" in our lives on multiple occasions, there was still multiple blood lettings, and some were unforgettable. However, as soon as the child was 4 feet plus, they were allowed to become fast friends with Angel, or as she was affectionately known by the kids in our families, "Angel-NOT". We couldn't ever figure it out. It really seemed to be height related. She never liked strangers, either, but could almost always accept adult family members.

Some dogs are aggressive/protective. I am not sure they can be changed, though I bet there are some dog-whisperers out there with success stories galore. I was just never talented enough to change my own dog's personality. I wish you the best of luck!

[Yorkieluv]

I am always scared about Miko being around children unsupervised only because I'm afraid of what the kids might do to him. He loves children so much and I don't want that to change and that's why I'm extra careful.
My aunt's yorkie used to Love children also until one day she had a Christmas party at her house and one of the kids went into the room where her yorkie was and started tormenting him and choking him...If it wouldn't have been for my mom walking in, he might have died. Now, he tries to growl and bark and bite any child. We can't let kids anywhere near him because he freaks out.
My husband and I plan on having children in the future, so I don't want anything to make Miko aggressive. From the time we got him, we have always tried to make him tolerate loud noise, sudden movements, etc. Thank goodness it has worked so far!
FirstYorkie's advice sounds really great!