Help... Now Oliver bit my boyfriend
 

:( I need help. I was previously having problems with having a new roommate... which has not gotten any better... however now I have met someone special and Oliver is REALLY not happy. I have been working hard with him and today while I was in the shower he went to pee on the floor and the boyfriend went to grab him... didn't go so well... and Oliver turned and bit him :( Now Oliver only has 2 front teeth so its not like David was hurt... but its still not good. So now the fighting starts with the BF... he said Oliver was "sick and unhappy" .. he said his seperation anxiety made him a miserable dog and that I only catered to it. Am I a horrible Mom??? I love my dog and the BF knows that he comes with the package!!! Help

Your a good mommy and like you said. Your BF was told it's the whole pkg. No one will love Oliver as mush as you, he needs you.

:thumbup:

If my boyfriend or husband for that matter blamed me for a dog being unhappy or miserable, then I would put him out to pasture.

You are a good Mommy, and any person or boyfriend for that matter would understand your little rough spot and would be willing to compromise and make things easier for you. Not try to make things worse by making you feel guilty.

If you ask me this is a boyfriend problem, and not a puppy. Dogs can spot negativity, especially with those who just don't like them. And it seems to me that your boyfriend doesn't like Oliver, and Oliver knows it.

Think you need to sit Mr. Right down and have a chat.

p.s. doesn't get discouraged, like the other posters and I said, you're a good Mommy, and all the hard work with pay off.

Thinking about you, keep us updated!

I TOTALLY agree!!! I can't imagine a Yorkie biting anyone without a GOOD reason. Maybe you need to kick the boyfriend to the curb. Your baby may be trying to tell you something!!

Eek! Do not worry, you're a good mommy. Keep working with him and see where it goes, and yes like others said, watch how he reacts with your boyfriend. On one hand, your boyfriend may have startled him and Oliver's reaction was to defend himself, but on the other hand your baby may feel something you don't.

I agree. I don't think it's really an Oliver problem. Oliver probably has feelings about another male around his mommy and needs time to adjust and get to know the newcomer. Oliver was there first. David is the newcomer to the pack.

I had a yorkie, Cricket, when I met my husband. I knew he was the one the way he was so patient with Cricket and how much she ended up liking him. Some of the other guys before him, not so much on the patience or kindness towards her. Husband made effort to get her to like him (always showed up w treats).

I think you need to talk to David and explain you and Oliver are a pack in Oliver's mind, and he needs to be patient and make effort towards Oliver. This is Oliver's home he is coming into. Oliver is just doing what a protective dog does towards someone he loves, he protects and checks them out.

Oh, and I think the only time Oliver may be "miserable" is when he is w inconsiderate David! I think is is perfectly happy w mommy!!

I am on oliver side your a good mommy He probably scared little oliver to death when he grabbed him and his only defensive is his two teeth. This is someone new in olivers life and he is not comfortable with him yet.

Totally this! :thumbup:

Armani would not be pleased if someone new came into the house and he had to share my attention- heck, he doesn't like when friends and family come over and he has to share me. It is so important, to make them feel like they are still special- this means he needs to be included in things you do, like all of you going for a walk together, or the three of you having a picnic at the park. Also the BF needs to learn how to handle a yorkie- likely he was mad he was peeing on the floor and handled him too roughly which scared Oliver and caused him to bite out of fear. Everyone who walks into my house is taught exactly how to treat my babies and if they can't obey, they are not welcome back.

I agree. I'd be saying good bye, so long, have a nice day so fast his head would swim! Yorkies have a special sense about people and everyone should pay attention.

I agree. Dogs are very good judges of character. If your BF can't except the whole package then I would kick him to the curb. There is something not quite right and Oliver knows it. It is not Olivers fault he scared him when he tried to grab him. Yorkies are very protective of their mommy's. You are a very good mommy. I have two little girls and they let me know if something is not quite right with people. So I trust their jugement. Have a Happy Mother's Day.

Hugs,
Linda, Sassy and Patti

The only ones that know exactly what happened are Oliver and David. There is NO way that I would make a grab for a small dog that I had not had a relationship with for very long. Dude got what he asked for and in Olivers eyes he was being attacked.
If your young man is having a hard time respecting the fact that you have a special relationship with your puppy then you both have some thinking to do. David needs to change his attitude or move on. If Oliver is young then things could be miserable all the way around for atleast 10yrs or longer.
Dogs are a very good judge of character. Oliver may not be acting out of jealousy,but protection for his mommy if he doesnt seem to be warming up to David.
I dont know how long ya'll have been together but NOONE has a right to blame you for a bite if they were the ones being agressive. Look a little further down the road of time, what kind of father would this man make? If he will blame you for what he deems to be faults in your dog then he will do the same over children and children are around for ALOT longer.

Yeah, it may have been just sheer ignorance on his part for not knowing to grab the dog from behind. But I agree with you. The poor little guy just got things going good with his Momma and this this strange man comes in (who doesn't like him) and is threatening to take his Momma away? Unless your new guy is willing to work with you, then I would kick him to the curb!

Also, don't get discouraged, there any many many many good puppy loving men out there that will work just as hard as you with Oliver!

Good luck! Saying prayers!!
Kisses to Oliver!

Wow I think this says it all. :thumbup: He might be more fearful of men from his puppymill past too. :(

BTW~if Oliver is from a mill and still peeing inside the house you need to get him bellybands. Otherwise, he will continue to pee inside.

Hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day!! It sounds like Oliver found one good mommy!! (I guess Oliver should be celebrating today, too!)

I agree that your bf should learn about dogs.. your a good mother but he needs to learn how to handle dogs.

I am sure you pup bit him because he was scared...

If I repeated what someone else said.. Im sorry...

And of course I wish you luck!!

Shinja

OK so I am going to probably get negativity from this, but I do not agree with everyone else. I do not know if your BF was rough with Oliver and I hope he was NOT, but the important thing is that it is NEVER ok for them to bite. Yes, he had a rough life, and yes he needs time to adjust.. but blaming it on the BF is unfair. And honestly, BF is correct if he blamed it on you (who trains him). YOU are the one responsible to teach him not to bite. As much as you do not want to discipline him, it is doing him a disservice if you do not correct him. I would sit down with the BF and talk to him about being more patient and also about standing by you while you are training Oliver. It is so much easier to work together than to battle about it. Poor baby is probably already so confused and everyone needs to work together patiently to help him over come these issues.

I don't think anyone was saying that it was acceptable for him to be biting the boyfriend. However, if there's a stranger in a dog's territory and he grabs the dog and startles it from behind, thwen I'm not shocked at all from it's behavior. It's a case of both Oliver and the boyfriend needing to be trained. Oliver not to bite, and the boyfriend to not grab at dogs.


I don't know if it's quite fair to blame the owner for this either. Yes, it is her responsibility to make sure Oliver is not going around biting random people, however common sense tells me that if someone says that they're dog is from
a rescue type situation, I know that not starling it, letting he or she get use to me and my scent, and trying two gain his or her trust would be the foundation of our relationship. Not simply just grabbing at him from behind demanding he shut up.

Training I think needs to be both ways in this case and not simply blamed on the owner.

Agreed! No one was advocating for a dog to go around and bite people. However, if someone new came into my house, treated my dog badly, and then grabbed it up from behind- I would expect them to be slightly more understanding if the dog did bite them. EVERY dog has a breaking point, the best behaved dog would bite if put in the right situation. Obviously, the BF found Olivers breaking point.

Well said, I agree. It's definatly NOT ok for a dog to bite anyone, but the thing is also - yes, every dog has it's breaking point and this is a mill rescue, so even more so. None of my dogs bite, ever, but I'd be willing to bet that if someone new came to our house for the first time and startled one of them by grabbing them from behind, they would definatly at least turn around pretty darn quick and possibly snap or growl. Now, if it was myself or dh doing it, that wouldn't happen. The thing is though, no one is going to come into my house and do that to one of my dogs, they just know better, they approach them properly for a "guest" in our home and the dogs then gladly welcome them.:)

OP - I think you need to talk to your bf (if he stays your bf;)), you need to explain to him that Oliver had a very tough life and is still getting used to a normal "dog's life", so he needs to cut him a little slack. Of course, you should definatly correct Oliver, you don't want him to think it's ok to bite whenever he's not happy (I remember your thread about your unexpected room mate, that's not getting any better?:(), but at the same time, the bf needs "correction" too. Stopping Oliver from (peeing on the floor was it?) is YOUR job, not his, it's not his dog and Oliver isn't used to him so he's not going to listen to him anyway. He needs to sit back, make friends with Oliver, and let you handle any training. I think Oliver's reaction was normal and although it does need correction, he'll get there with time and consistancy. It definatly is NOT an indication that you are a bad mom or that Oliver is unhappy.

Dump the guy, keep the dogs. Good dogs are harder to find than guys. Now I am a guy and even I believe it!

I agree!! You are a good Mommy and are working hard with Oliver.

Listen to Steve- he always has the best advice :D

Sounds to me like Oliver nipped because BF may have done more than grab. Maybe he scared the pee out of your Oliver to make him nip? No one knows but BF and Oliver, and one cannot tell his side. If the BF is worth saving, maybe you could talk to him and get him in on the training with Oliver, make them more comfy with one another. If BF balks at that, I'd say "hit the road, Jack!" That's just me, and I'm cantankerous on good days. ;-)

Dogs know when u don't like them
 

If your furbaby hasn't been around your bf much, than he is a stranger to him, and he shouldn't be grabing a dog fr behind. Most dog jump when u pull or grab them fr behind, and if they don't know u they will bite. So would I Lol !!!! :D
So u can't blame the dog and ur bf should try to get alone with the furbaby first, he needs to make peace with the dog , and than help u train him not to pee in the house.


good Luck !!!

bark@ulater!!!
manina,mileyand max