I Need HELP asap!!
 

My 8 month old yorkie is starting to bite everyone's hand..
For instance I would be sitting on the couch texting on my phone and he would grab my fingers.. I will tell him to stop, and he will stop and come back after a few minutes and do it again.
I'm also worried because I have little cousins who are always over at my house and Bentley doesn't like them.. But they don't understand that so when they try to play with Bentley, he tries to bite their face. My cousins are about 3, 4, & 5. It really scares me because I don't want Bentley hurting anyone.
Also his bites has become very hard.
I've tried taking my fingers away and replacing it with a toy, but that didn't work. He's such a sweet pup but I don't want him to be aggressive and hurting other people. So can anyone give me any advice or pointers I can use.
Thank you <3

I would suggest putting him in a time out for a couple minutes. I believe someone on here recommended 1-5 minutes. For my dog time outs don't wor because he gets upset and either barks or starts pawing at the crate door. With him what works best is ignoring him. If he does something like jumping up you simply turn your back to him and cross your arms. After about 30 secons my dog realizes he needs to calm down and then I turn around again. Not sure what will work in your case but I would suggest maybe a time out?

If you really can't find a solution then maybe a couple visits with a trainer?

I would always say "no bite, get a toy". Then I would make sure she went over to her toy basket and bring a toy over to play with. They are just playing and don't realize their little teeth hurt. You have to teach them the appropriate way to play with you.

We had this problem when our LucyBelle was about 4-5 months....I searched online and did this...

She'd bite. I'd say "ouch!!", give her a toy or chewy to bite instead, cross my arms and turn away from her. The whole family was on board and all followed the same thing. Within a week, she knew what OUCH meant and had stopped the random biting.

yes i think saying the word "ouch" will def help. I think i read it in some dog magazine as well. Also i would get him a teething toy as it can be because of that.

He's a puppy and most likely just trying to play, but you have to make him understand that biting people is unacceptable. I personaly don't like the idea of a "time out" in a crate or kennel that is used for containment when potty training or leaving the house because they will get a negative association with it and you'll then have another problem.

A very firm "NO" and move him away form you (put him down off the couch for example). If he comes back up and does it again, repeat. He's finding your moving fingers much more fun than a toy, so after you've corrected him firmly and he is not doing it for at least a few minutes, get down on the floor with him and throw the toy around, see if he'll play fetch with you. He's probably bored and needs more play time, attention from you and stimulation.

The other thing to do if telling him no doesn't work is "bite him back" with your fingers (NOT literaly lol). Make a little "claw" shape with your hand and quickly touch him on the side of his neck (NOT his throat). Just make sure you do this in a matter of fact way so he doesn't think you're playing. If he was biting on his mommy and she didn't like it, that's what she would do to him, so he'll "get" that it means, this isn't allowed.

As far as your little cousins, most little dogs aren't naturally super fond of really young children. You have to make sure the kids don't get down on the ground face to face with him. I realize they don't understand (I have a 6 yr old son, so trust me, I get it) but I'm sure they understand following rules so you just have to make it completely understandable to them that it's a "rule" that they can't do that. Better yet, have their mom or dad explain it to them (I'm sure they don't want their children getting bit;)). It's just as much about teaching the kids as it is the dog:)

When the kids are around (and not in his face), work to get him in a zone where he's focused on you and make him "sit" or "down" then reward him with praise or a treat. You basically have to teach him to be calm and not get nervous around children, but you have to be able to have his full attention first. If you don't feel like you do, I'd suggest getting help from a trainer or do a puppy class with him. Some will disagree with me , but I really don't like when people say "my dog doesn't like kids", I understand that, but I firmly believe it's important to socialize a dog to every experience possible and children are part of life.:D You really have to nip that one in the bud quickly, or you're right, there's a possibility he'll become really aggressive towards them before long even though, most likely, he's just doing it in a playfull way now. I've taught my son how to treat animals and how to behave towards them so we don't have a problem here, but my 4 yr. old neice always wants to hold Alice and I just tell her, sorry honey, she doesn't want to be held right now, but maybe later when she wants to, I'll hold her and you can pet her. That makes my neice happy and Alice is learning that children can be nice to her too and there's nothing to be afraid of:D

sorry so long, but the children thing is a hot button topic for me;)

This is excellent advise. Everyone in the household needs to be on the same page when it comes to training. Otherwise, you'll have a confused dog.

I think it's best for Bentley to be kept away from the little kids. As you've said, they just don't understand, and Bentley is the same way and just doesn't understand that's not safe play. Or he's annoyed by the little kids which also happens a lot. It's best to keep him away for now, and once your cousins are older and understand more, you can bring Bentley out to play.

Is he neutered yet? Buster is almost 7 months old and we have noticed that he is getting a bit more agressive (like biting while he is playing). Well I guess a big part of it is the testosterone in his system... and I was told he should calm down when we get him fixed which is happening at the end of May... I currently have cut on my finger from when Buster and I got excited over the Penguins win last night lol!

Just for the record I'm not saying not to repremand him for biting ... we say "OUCH!" and tell Buster "NO!" but I do think that fact that he needs neutered has a lot to do with it.

Yell "OUCH" and then start crying. The yell will startle him, and the crying lets him know you are hurt. Every dog reacts differently when you cry, but most tend to quiet right down.

I've also read you should put some butter on your fingers, or some slippery treat, and instead of biting he'll lick

oh dear! you need to nip this in the butt ASAP! If he is doing that, you need to simply IGNORE it! If he is sitting down next do you on the couch and he does that, STAND up, turn your back to him, or simply walk away. If you don't take care of this now, it can be an ongoing issue, and he may become very aggressive, which you dont want. If he bite your hand, sometimes, you can yelp like another puppy, or you can even, and i know this sounds harsh, but you can push his tongue back in his throat, to make him stop, or sometimes, you can grab on top of his muzzle, and push his lips up against his teeth so he is biting down on his own gums, and that may prevent him from doing so. I would really recommend ignoring all bad behavior, give him a toy, and really praise him with when he is a good boy! Good luck to you!

You've received some good advise for how to handle it. I can tell you that Sophie used to like growl and rather gently nip at our hands while playing. We did the ouch thing and that helped. She outgrew it after she was about a year old or so and doesn't do now. :)

We whelp really loud when Moshe does this and we stop all attention and turn our backs. He is really getting it. He hardly ever does it now.