Could he look more pitiful?
 

I took Gus to get some goodies at pet smart and they had the cutest little Santa hats. Well Gus was not too happy when I tried it on him. The drawstring needed to be tightened so the sales lady came up to help me. She fixed it and tried to put it on him when Gus bit her! I was so mad at him. He didn't brake the skin but he left teeth marks. He knew I was upset with him. We came home and he knew I was talking about him when telling my husand. He had the sadest looks I have ever seen. Even more so then when he ran off from me a couple of weeks ago. I tried to capture his pitiful looking face,,,, and did a pretty good job.

Once again there is no way I can stay mad at him. But one way or another I am going to have to break him of snapping. Just the other day my cousin came over and he got a big kick out of pissing Gus off by play hitting me. I mean Gus went at him as though he wanted to do damage. He just hates it when anyone messes with his mamma, but still I have to correct that before he hurts someone.
Monica Martinez

He should be in trouble and have a "pitiful little face."

We have several little dogs in the neighborhood, but the one at the end of the block is a "mean little thing." He bites the other dogs and he is very apt to bite any person who trys to pet him. Well - as you might guess, no one in the neighborhood likes that little dog very much ---and this neighborhood is full of dog-loving people.

I think biting is something that we just can't tolerate in our dogs. If I thought my dog would ever bite, I certainly wouldn't have him out in a public place and let a stranger handle or touch him.

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Just the other day my cousin came over and he got a big kick out of pissing Gus off by play hitting me. I mean Gus went at him as though he wanted to do damage. He just hates it when anyone messes with his mamma, but still I have to correct that before he hurts someone
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I hope you realize that the above is about the worst thing you could have let be done. How can you let your cousin do what he did and in the next breath say ". . . but still I have to correct that before he hurts someone."?

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He had the sadest looks I have ever seen. Even more so then when he ran off from me a couple of weeks ago. I tried to capture his pitiful looking face,,,, and did a pretty good job.
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And, I don't think his potentially serious offense and "pitiful looking face" are exactly "pretty picture time" either. It's not "cute time." It's time to start seriously working with your dog. How to help stop him from biting should be your main concern.

I'm sorry if I'm coming on a little strong. But, I just feel that one of the Yorkies' most desirable traits is its loving, playful personality. And, I think it is a shame when things are done that might encourage it to be otherwise.

Just because a Yorkie is small doesn't mean that he can't hurt someone badly. And you want people to love your Yorkie like you do - not dislike it.

You may get some sympathy from other posters.

Carol Jean

AAAWWW Little Gus knew he was naught! He is so freakin' cute though. He looks tiny! How much does he weigh?

Ahhhh! That's about the saddest I've seen little Gus look! :( He just keeps getting cuter and cuter as time passes, Monica. :)

Awww! How could you ever be mad at that little face! What a cutie!! :)

aww what a cutie Gus is!!! :p So, did you get the Santa hat? :D

HHUUMM well as far as bitting,, Gus has never done this before. I take him everywhere with me. He is well known at the market, walmart and petsmart. He loves the attention. He is not the hated dog on the block. Everyone knows Gus and is loved by them all. I don't know why he bit this lady other then the fact that he just did not want that hat on him. Or maybe she hurt him when putting it on. I don't know. But the lady did pet him after and he was fine with her.

As for the protecting,,, That is my fault for not putting a stop to that. The kids get a kick out of getting him wild up by play hitting my arm or leg. It's just play to them. He does snap at them but it's more like a nibble and not a bite. He was pretty mad at my cousin but I'm thinking it was because he really does not know him. Either way I am going to have to correct that behavior. I don't want him to hurt anyone.

Gus is only 2.9 lbs,,,,, and as for the hat,,, no I did not get it.

Very Serious Problem
 

Folks this is a very serious problem and is not cute for Gus-he could die for it. Are you aware that the salesperson could have put in a report of a dog bite (it doesn't have to break the skin) to animal control. You might want to read up on the laws of Ca but you could be sued and Gus could be destroyed for x amounts of bites. Just because he is small & cute doesn't mean he is protected from these laws. Go walk the pounds and see how many little dogs are in there for biting children or other people and they are on death row. In Arizona it can be 2 or 3 times and they are put down. The judge doesn't care if he is cute or small. The law is the law.

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/civil.htm

I also don't know if you have had Gus around children but you will need to be extremely careful based on his reaction to your cousin he could go after a child the same way.

I have had 3 dogs come into rescue because of their biting and if I did not take them they would die. I have been bitten more than my fair share and been bitten down to the bone because of their early training or lack of socialization. If I take any of these dogs out in public I always have a muzzle on them because if I didn't and they bit one more time they would be dead. For the most part these 3 dogs never go to public places unless absolutely necessary and I never allow anyone to pet them.

It is your responsibility to protect him from himself. Hopefully you will read up on the proper way to change Gus's behavior or you could escalate the problem.

I wish you all the luck in the world but it is going to take some work.

wow this is a first for me. I feel that I have to defend myself in a forum in which I never had a problem with before.

I know what Gus did was wrong and so does he. I will say it AGAIN,,, Gus has never bitten anyone before. I have 4 kids in the house ages 15 12 9 and 3,, and have never had a problem with him bitting anyone. My only fault is spoiling him a bit more then I should.

He got mad at my cousin because he's only met him once before. And hasn't seen him a quite a while. Manny appeard to be hurting me and Gus reacted. Now as far as being punished for that,,, I guess you can have your own opinion on that.

I'm not afraid of that lil 2.9 pounder! :D

LOL,,,, Most are not.

He looks like such a cutie pie.. He was probably not in the mood for the hat? Or maybe he had a feeling about the lady that was trying it on him... sometimes dogs sense things that we don't?? Good Luck... Just keep an eye on him. You are doing a good job and he will learn not to do that just stay consistant. :)

He is a cutie pie and very smart. And the sweetest dog I have ever had by far. No matter what some make think

What a sad little face!! Sorry, I would just have had to spend some quality time with him snuggling! :) Sounds like he has pretty much been spoiled like Toto ... we don't allow strangers to touch her unless they ask & we say it's OK! I have to agree ... I'm not afraid of a 2.9 pounder either! ;) BTW ... good job on the pic ... I have seen that expression on Toto's face too!

I agree 100%. A dog bite should never be taken lightly.
What livingdustmops and I are saying is that even if it's only one bite, it needs to be taken seriously. But it isn't only one bite, Latuya; there were other bites that did less damage.

You don't have to defend yourself. You said you were going to work on this and I believe you. But, those of us who have seen dogs (or had dogs) that had to be put to sleep for biting react negatively - possibly more than we should - when people respond to a dog's biting behavior by saying how cute he is.

If you're open to it, we could give you some suggestions on how to deal with your dog's aggressiveness.

Also, Latuya, please understand that I am not, in any way, condemning you. My 6 month old pup has recently developed a problem with object guarding - another potentially serious problem After thoroughly researching the issue, we are working on it using Jean Donaldson's approach.

Gus Gus is adorable in his picture and Chanel and Cheri said they'd LOVE to get together to see how fast they can all rip their hats off their heads -

on the snapping - I'm no expert.... but maybe try to get him out more and teach people how to pet him rather than someone just handling him without asking him first ? maybe he'll feel less threatened and protective ? I know he's a little sweetie and protecting you.....I think the first thing I would try is that - he just may need to feel more comfortable around strangers

Biting is serious and needs to be addressed, but Jeez y'all! Lighten up on Latuya! She will get it under control! I would never let that cousin near my Yorkie again though. Teasing is cruel.

Ditto!

Double Ditto! :p

I totally agree! What I meant was there would have been nothing accomplished by trying any "aggression training" at that particular time & place. Besides Latuya already said she was working on it .... what she needs is encouragement, support & understanding. I agree too, the cousin wouldn't get away without a reprimend. I don't allow teasing either!

I apologize if I responded too harshly.

The first dog I ever had was when I was 14 years old. Alfie was a cocker spaniel. My father teased him mercilessly and corrected him harshly for any perceived wrong-doings. Alfie "nipped" at people of couple of times. One day, my grandmother dropped a sock from the dryer. When she reached down to pick it, Alfie bit her hard enough to require 8 stitches. Soon after, he went to the SPCA where I suspect that he was "put to sleep".

I regret to this day that I didn't know more about dogs at that time and that I wasn't able to stand up to my Dad for what I knew intuitively was wrong. If I can help someone save their dog from the same fate, I have to try.

That's where I was coming from.

I know how you feel. My little 5 lb non agressive female yorkie attacked my neighbors feet one day when she picked my daughter up to take her to her house. I just told her no bite and scolded her. The only thing we can figure out why she did it was the protective instinct in her. Make sure you let him know right then and there that what he did was wrong and that is all you can do besides maybe going in a class.

I would like to add to this subject... ANYONE of our yorkies can bite at anytime, trained, socialized, all around fun loving... Just because they have NEVER bitten before, doesn't mean they won't.... They are domesticated animals (yes I said it animals) and they will revert back to their wild nature if they are scared, startled, nervous, don't like a smell a person carries and or just don't like the person... They have senses we can't even dream they have. So, Latuya, that may have been the reason Gus acted out. I know when people ask me if any of my dogs bite I have to reply, "They Might"
Poor lttle Gus was probably scared at the idea of something being put on his head and this was the only way he knew to communicate... natures way.

You make a VERY good point. Some dogs are more likely to bite than others, but, absolutely, any dog pushed beyond his tolerance can and will bite.

One thing that I've learned recently that I think bears repeating here is that we don't do our dogs a service by punishing them for growling. For most dogs, growling would be a first line of defense before biting. Actually, second. First, for many dogs, would be moving away. Then they'd growl, then they'd bite. UNLESS we've punished them for growling. If we restrain them and have punished them for growling, then they have no choice but to go start to "bite mode".

I'm TRYING, at this point, to not react negatively when my pup growls (I admit that it's still a struggle). Instead, I notice when he does so and realize that he needs more work around whatever it was that prompted it.

I never posted before but I have to in this case. I am a new owner of a yorkipoo and she loves to nibble on me, the kids, and anything else she can find for her teeth, I was wondering how old your yorkie is? Ours is 4 months old, should I be worried about the fact that she chews so much or is she just teething. In your case though, just think about it , I would get pretty irritated if a stranger was trying to put something on me that was not going to very comfortable, could she have tied it to tight and it pinched her neck? Good luck and I would love some advice for my own cutie pie. I have two more dogs but they are not yorkie's.

All yorkies go through a stage where they are chewing. They usually outgrow it once they are done teething. When Chachi would chew on our feet we would put bitter apple on out feet to keep him from chewing on them. It is defintely a time when you want to keep chew stuff around for them. Both of my dogs were very destructive during this period and chewed on area rugs putting holes in them.

I guess we are pretty fortunate, she has not chewed on any of our furniture yet. My biggest fear is that she will bite somebody. When we go to pick up the kids from school, Nelly wags her tail and shakes because she is so excited to see the other kids and they all love her, she does try to nibble on them but she rolls over on her belly for lots of rubs. She even rolls over before the kids even get the chance to bend down and rub her, is this a good sign that the nibbling will eventually stop and she will not be a bitter. I will add that when she plays with her toys sometimes she growls is this normal?

Rolling onto her back is a sign of submissive behavior. Some even go further with submissive urination! :D

She does not urinate, she doesn't even sprinkle when she is excited or nervous, she just seems really excited. When she is scared or unsure if you will hurt her, she just drops down on all fours and stays on her stomache. I am new with these dogs so I am not sure how to read some of the things she does.