My yorkie doesn't like kids.

[yorkiebebe]

I was wondering if any of you have the same problem. Chewie doesn't like kids. Whenever a kid will try to approach him Chewie will start barking like crazy. I feel sorry for the kids who wants to pet him. But Chewie won't let them. It gets really bad. One time he barked like a crazy at this little boy, and I tried to calm Chewie down, and he accidentally bit me, really hard.
I'm getting tired of this behaviour. My friend's groomer said small dogs usually do this as a defense mechanism. He was fine when he was a puppy. This behaviour started at around 6 months. Am I the only one with this problem? And how can I stop this behaviour? Would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!

[sullita84]

Originally Posted by yorkiebebe

I was wondering if any of you have the same problem. Chewie doesn't like kids. Whenever a kid will try to approach him Chewie will start barking like crazy. I feel sorry for the kids who wants to pet him. But Chewie won't let them. It gets really bad. One time he barked like a crazy at this little boy, and I tried to calm Chewie down, and he accidentally bit me, really hard.
I'm getting tired of this behaviour. My friend's groomer said small dogs usually do this as a defense mechanism. He was fine when he was a puppy. This behaviour started at around 6 months. Am I the only one with this problem? And how can I stop this behaviour? Would appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!

my yorkie does the same, he barks at little kids, specially the one that try to pet him. I thought of having my little niece come over and have her give Marley some treats, and that way it may help him get use to being around kids, and then slowly introduce him to other children.

[DvlshAngel985]

Kaji growls at toddlers, from the safety of my lap of course. Guess I won't be having kids!

[Lorraine]

It isn't unusual and some yorkies will never be ok with small children. I warn people about that if they are thinking about getting a yorkie but have small children or have small kids in their lives.

[joeyandtanksmom]

In a lot of places, I have read and heard that Yorkies typically don't do well with children - fortunately for me, I have never run into that problem with my boys. They both LOVE kids, especially Joey. Tank is very shy, but once a kid has him, he's generally fine. Neither of them has ever barked, growled, or snapped at a child. I wish you luck!

[TaylorWoods]

My Yorkie LOVES kids! she is very tolerant of them. I have 2 nieces aged 5 and 2 and when I got her they would BEG me to bring her over so she spent lots of time being carried around by them! She tires of them very quickly now but will just find me and stick by my feet. They feed her and run around with her which she loves and I have never had a problem. Our neighbours 2 year old often comes to my door to see her and she just gets super excited and wants to play!

Each dog is different though and I suppose though that they are very small little dogs and a boisterous child could scare them. as with everything, small doses are key. you dont want to bombard your dog and force them to like kids. perhaps a child hurt or scared him that you arent even aware of and he remembers that? You never know...

Be patient with him and introduce kids slowly and calmly. Perhaps he will just never like kids and that's just his personality. the kids must also know that he needs to be respected and treated gently and not rushed upon as kids often do!

Perhaps it may also be jealousy? Mine isn't aggressive at all but as soon as my fiance tried to give me attention she is on top of his head trying to distract him and get his attention back to her.

the biting concerns me tho - definitely sounds like a defense mechanism. he's afraid and probably gets so uptight he turns on you not realising he is doing it. Does he cower and hide after he bit you like he feels he is in trouble? or does his hysteria just carry on like he didnt notice he bit you at all? Perhaps when you are expecting kids to arrive put him on his leash and train and reward him for even the slightest calm behaviour training and reward can do wonders!

How does he act when the kids are just around and not paying him attention? does he still bark and get upset?

[anevarez]

My Chloe is only 6 months, but she has a problem with my 17 month old. She does fine with my 6,5, and almost 3 year old but avoids the baby. She isn't aggressive with her, and licks her if she has been gone with my parents for a while - but isn't as crazy about her as with the others. She adores my almost 3 year old and does not leave her site... If I tickle my almost 3 year old she will growl at me - I think she thinks I am hurting her!

[chandracz]

Bailey doesn't like kids. He used to when he was a pup. He was ALWAYS supervised when around kids, never left alone for a second. As he gets older he just doesn't like them. He will growl and actually try to snip at them. I won't let any kid near or around him now. I think they can sense the anxiety and restlessness of a child maybe?

[Britster]

Originally Posted by joeyandtanksmom

In a lot of places, I have read and heard that Yorkies typically don't do well with children - fortunately for me, I have never run into that problem with my boys. They both LOVE kids, especially Joey. Tank is very shy, but once a kid has him, he's generally fine. Neither of them has ever barked, growled, or snapped at a child. I wish you luck!

Jackson's like Tank. He's very shy when it comes to kids but I typically carry treats with me, so if a kid wants to pet Jackson, I ask if they want to give him a treat, and if they do... then he will let the kids pet him and he loves them forever! LOL. He's never barked or snapped or anything. He growled at a kid one time and the kid was staring Jackson right into his eyes and I guess he got intimidated, that was the only time a little growl came out of him, I've never heard him do it otherwise.

So if it's possible, I would try to get out to parks, etc and socialize him more kids and see if kids wanna throw down some treats for him, etc. Just take it slowly. He tends to like girls better than boys!

However... my 6 year old brother, Camron, he LOVES him to pieces!! He's constantly around him and a 2 year old girl, and he will allow the 2 yr old to pull his ears, pet him, stick her hand in his food bowl, take away his bones, he really loves her and could care less. But of course they're always supervised.

[shodanusmc]

Our yourkie girl does not care for little kids. While she will not attack, she avoids them, barks at them, and will snarl! When we are out with both dogs and little kids ask to pet the Yorkie, we tell them no, to pet the big dog isntead. He loves kids....

We socialized her to the hilt, she was never hurt by a kid, she just does not like them. That includes family and friends. I guess some are just like that. But, there are days where I do not like kids either. Great thing now is, they come for a visit, and leave!

[MollysMum54]

Molly isn't good with children at all, especially schoolboys with backpacks. As she is a rescue, i don't know if its something from her past, or if she just doesnt like children. I have trained her to be nice to the 4 year old girl next door, but if she is running in the garden shouting, Molly barks like crazy.
i will be interested to see if anyone can come up with some good ideas to help....please!

[yorkieusa]

Kacee won't bark or bite them. But she does look like someone is beating her when they pay attention to her. The other day she saw a little girl that wasn't much bigger than her and she started following her around. It was so cute! Then the little girl dropped her bottle and Kacee was going to get it!

[yorkiebebe]

Originally Posted by TaylorWoods

My Yorkie LOVES kids! she is very tolerant of them. I have 2 nieces aged 5 and 2 and when I got her they would BEG me to bring her over so she spent lots of time being carried around by them! She tires of them very quickly now but will just find me and stick by my feet. They feed her and run around with her which she loves and I have never had a problem. Our neighbours 2 year old often comes to my door to see her and she just gets super excited and wants to play!

Each dog is different though and I suppose though that they are very small little dogs and a boisterous child could scare them. as with everything, small doses are key. you dont want to bombard your dog and force them to like kids. perhaps a child hurt or scared him that you arent even aware of and he remembers that? You never know...

Be patient with him and introduce kids slowly and calmly. Perhaps he will just never like kids and that's just his personality. the kids must also know that he needs to be respected and treated gently and not rushed upon as kids often do!

Perhaps it may also be jealousy? Mine isn't aggressive at all but as soon as my fiance tried to give me attention she is on top of his head trying to distract him and get his attention back to her.

the biting concerns me tho - definitely sounds like a defense mechanism. he's afraid and probably gets so uptight he turns on you not realising he is doing it. Does he cower and hide after he bit you like he feels he is in trouble? or does his hysteria just carry on like he didnt notice he bit you at all? Perhaps when you are expecting kids to arrive put him on his leash and train and reward him for even the slightest calm behaviour training and reward can do wonders!

How does he act when the kids are just around and not paying him attention? does he still bark and get upset?

Thanks for all your replies. I do remember one incident when my bf's 4 year old cousin held him and dropped him on the floor. I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

He only bit me once. He didn't notice it. I was trying to move his head away from the kid, I guess my hand got near his mouth.

Yes he still gets upset around children who don't pay attention to him. They can just be walking by and he'll start to bark,I'm talking about barking like he wants to kill the kid. And he won't stop until the kid is out of sight.
Maybe I should just avoid children all together...

[charmed239]

Yep same here. I think its a yorkie thing. Riley was fine with them as a puppy, but after he turned 1, not no more. he is fine with my son who is 10. but we have kids in the neighborhood that are in kindergarden. and we live beside the bus stop. I have to make sure he is inside when the bus comes. cuz we have a fenced in yard and the little kids try to stick their fingers through the fence to pet him. and he bit one of them..not hard didn't even leave a mark, but it was still a bite in my opinion. scared the crap out of the little girt too...but what I dont get, is that all the mothers in my neighborhood know that Riley does not like strangers or little kids. but they continue to let there kids go over and stick their fingers through the fence.. and why these kids would want to in the first place is beyond me...cuz from the minute the kids get off the bus, Riley runs back and fourth at the fence and barks and growl's..So ya thats the dog I would want to stick my fingers at.....so no Riley is not a member of the little kid fan club.

[chandracz]

Bailey is tolerable to my boyfriend's son who is with us every other weekend, but that took a LOT of work. The only other kid he will let near him is my neice because she used to be with me every weekend since Bailey was a puppy. My neice and my bf's son are both 11 and Bailey has to be in a mood to let them pet him but they will leave him alone if he wants to be left alone.

Originally Posted by charmed239

Yep same here. I think its a yorkie thing. Riley was fine with them as a puppy, but after he turned 1, not no more. he is fine with my son who is 10. but we have kids in the neighborhood that are in kindergarden. and we live beside the bus stop. I have to make sure he is inside when the bus comes. cuz we have a fenced in yard and the little kids try to stick their fingers through the fence to pet him. and he bit one of them..not hard didn't even leave a mark, but it was still a bite in my opinion. scared the crap out of the little girt too...but what I dont get, is that all the mothers in my neighborhood know that Riley does not like strangers or little kids. but they continue to let there kids go over and stick their fingers through the fence.. and why these kids would want to in the first place is beyond me...cuz from the minute the kids get off the bus, Riley runs back and fourth at the fence and barks and growl's..So ya thats the dog I would want to stick my fingers at.....so no Riley is not a member of the little kid fan club.