Tiny Yorkie has anger management problem
 

Hi all. I'm new here and have joined because I have a problem Yorkie living in my house (for a year and a half now). He belongs to my daughter and grandson who now live here. They avoid him if he's angry and take precautions not to get bitten. I, on the other hand, have been bitten four times so far because I have had to intervene for safety reasons. Once, I had to get a piece of slick plastic paper away from the little twit (so he wouldn't choke on it) and he bit me. Another time, he snapped at a visiting child (a very gentle little girl) and I picked him up and took him to his crate. He bit me when I picked him up. The bites are bad -- chunks taken from my hand and dropped. They are not large pieces -- his mouth is too small, thank goodness. He loves to snuggle with me, and if someone tries to remove him from my side, he will try to bite them. He stands guard when I am in the kitchen. He is four years old, not neutered, and also is not housetrained. He poops in out-of-the-way places (unless he's angry, then it is outside my bedroom door or in front of my husband's recliner). He pees in front of the toilets in the house. I've had dogs for many years and never had one that couldn't be trained or acted so ugly.

I have tried all the standard training practices that I know of (praise for nice behavior, displeasure over pooping inside, removal, crating). Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Twicebitten (actually four times now)

Welcome, twice (or is that four times?) bitten. You say this yorkie is 4 years old and has lived with you for a year and a half. Is he a rescue? If so, do you know his history?

Also, what size is he? Smaller yorkies tend to exhibit more fearful behavior. From what you've said so far, I don't think he's angry -- I think he's scared, and experience has taught him that biting tends to make scary things (strangers and hands) go away. Inappropriate behavior, but effective.

The potty training is a whole 'nother issue, with literally hundreds of topics if you look in the training section.

Biting is serious behavior, and once a dog has shown such willingness to bite, he can never really be trusted again. Make sure you keep him away from children.

I'd suggest that for such a wide range of behavior, you hire a trainer. Hire someone who uses POSITIVE techniques, and try to find someone who has experience with small dogs. My guess is that they will recommend you neuter him. This should help with the house training and the aggression. However, with the wide range of problems you describe, you probably want a professional assessment. Hope this helps.

First and foremost -- neuter the boy! That in itself may put an end to his biting and peeing on the toilet (which is probably marking as he smells a scent he wants to cover with his own) and may well make house training possible.

I can't stress the importance of this. Neuter immediately and I will bet you start seeing a difference.

I vote for neutering too. It would be a good start in reducing his frustration and assertiveness. A good trainer could be a real help too. I hope things improve for you!

I swear I just watched this dog on "its me or the dog"...I love that show.
Neuter, possibly muzzle (a soft muzzle for short periods only-this is a temp.FIRST STEP in training NOT AN ANSWER) around children-he needs exposure but you cannot allow for children to be bitten and get a trainer or behaviorist more appropriately into work with him-unless you are willing to learn as you go be very motivated and figure it all out yourself...if this is your daughter's dog-why isn't she seen as the alpha (top dog not most aggressive)...perhaps you will have to be to save this dog, especially if he seems most attached to you? Consistency works best, along with patience, and assertiveness, never aggression especially with an aggressive dog it can be maybe tempting but will only work against you.
A crate shouldn't be used for time out cage-a crate is used for a den removal to another room is a better solution for a couple minutes...also showing that such behavior is unacceptable...take the love away that's the worst punishment for a dog and reward reward reward the good behavior!

I thank you all so much for your input. The Yorkie (name is DJ), is not a rescue dog. He is my daughter's and grandson's dog and has been with them since about 8 weeks old. He is very small -- maybe 3 pounds. He has been catered to, cuddled, and loved. The reason I think he has an anger problem is that he will usually try to hide his poop -- unless he has not gotten his way about something. Then it's right out in the most obvious place -- sort of like a child saying, "So there! What are you going to do now?!" We will try the neutering and give you an update. Thank you again.

Neutering should help. It sometimes takes months for the hormone levels to go down, so be patient.:)

Welcome to YT. I have to agree that neutering can help.

One of the things that sets him off occurred yesterday. I brought home a new bag of Meow Mix for a stray cat that we feed. Every time I bring a new bag home, (BEFORE it's opened), DJ stations himself in the vicinity of the bag, stiffens, and glares at anyone who comes near. This time the bag was on the top of a bookshelf and DJ stationed himself at the base of the bookshelf. After a while, I sat in front of him, talked softly, and assured him that everything was okay, no one was going to hurt him. Then I slowly reached out to stroke him and he tried to take my finger off. This injury was not as deep -- several bleeding punctures but they seemed to start healing quickly. Now it's just discolored. I used leather gloves to put a furious little DJ in his crate and moved the unopened cat food into the laundry room. DJ has now gone into the laundry room and is on guard. I just hope we don't have to wash any clothes today. As soon as Christmas is over, we will look into neutering.

I wish he'd been neutered when he was a puppy, but he wasn't. If he doesn't calm down a few months after being neutered, and he may not, you need a trainer to come in. I wanted to add "ouch". I'm sure that hurts.

I don't want to sound rude, but if you l know what sets him off and then you go through that and then stick your hand out when he's already distresses...well you are in a way setting yourself up to be bitten...use calm neutral situations to encourage positive results in training not exposure to already stressed situations-only a training or behaviorist should undertake such a pursuit, or after you have some very good basics going on-like no more biting then move up to handling stress induced situations. You need to build up positive reactions and get some progress under your belt before tacking the bigger issues...try using treats to distract him and remove him from stressful places, situations and states of being and get to Neutral places (all senses of the word"places") treats seem to work best for many people -I'd be very hesistant to give a "biter" a toy to attack as this would encourage aggressive behavior-speaking of which what a stage behavior-mine just wee-wee on boxes the mail carriers bring in and strange bags-we had to really work on marking...you are really dealing with a very afraid dog confusing fear for dominance...I wouldn't look into neutering I'd schedule and do it ASAP...him recovering (if you aren't going anywhere and can watch him) during the holidays might be nicer situation...doubt many vets re open now though.