I need help with my Yorkie attacking my other dogs
 

I adopted a 1 yr old unneutered male on 4/28. he has never been to a vet or been housebroken. My first stop when vet opened Monday was starting his shots and getting a physical. He is in great shape and has behaved well UNTIL today. I also have a almost 8 yr old Golden retriever and a 3 yr old Golden mix both of these I have had since they were puppies. and have had no problems now the yorkie "willy" has started attacking them and biting the mix very hard enough to draw a few drops of blood. I want to have him neutered but can't until his 3rd distemper which will be a month and a half from now. Will this make him calm down and stop fighting? and how do I break up the fights now the 8 yr old weighs 100# and the 3 yr old weighs 65 I am afraid someone will get hurt!! The other dogs are neutered/spayed. When they fight now I tell Willy no!! and flip him over on his back in a submissive position. Does anyone have any help they can give me this is very stressful, I have 2 children 10 and 12 and he has growled at them also.

why do have to wait a month 1/2 to get him nuetered?
Did the vet say why he needs another distemper before
nuetering him?
I think the best thing is to keep them seperate for now.
If you have a room you can put the yorkie in and just put a gate up to the doorway so the dogs can still see each other but cant get together.
I would try to get him nuetered sooner if possible , that may help. After he is nuetered a obedience program like at petsmart or petco would probably be a good idea also.
Good luck

May not be popular
 

Cozy, my Alpha mama dog yorkie, put Buddy, Golden, in his place when I rescued him but she NEVER drew blood. I would have given Buddy up if he could not integrate into my pack easily. It would not have been fair to him or the other dogs otherwise. Cozy and the other Yorkies were raised by a Golden, Lucky.

This little guy is going to get himself into big trouble especially if he is growling at your children- It could easily end in a nip or a bite towards 1 of your kids. Your existing dogs and children should come first and foremost. You may have to set Willy Free. He may do best as a single dog in a child free home.

IMO- Neutering is not going to change his behavior.
Cozy became very protective of her 2nd litter and became aggressive towards people she does not know when they come in my home. She was fine with people she would met on walks- Off her territory. I spayed her hoping it would decrease some of her aggression towards people- Spaying did nothing to decrease this behavior. We also did training- Decreased a little but I would never trust her alone with someone new.

Petco and Petsmart training will not work IMO with these behavior problems. You need to see a doggie behaviorist. Alpha rolls are not going to work- IMO. My guess is he maybe behaving aggressively due to fear.

How much about his previous history do you know?

Get him neutered there is no reason why you need to wait. Neutering doesnt have anything to do with shots

not saying you are WRONG BUT....

Nuetering would not hurt & training would not hurt....

I did say "May not be popular.". I just don't want to see anyone get hurt especially not Willy or the kids.

I didn't say not to neuter him and not go to training. IMO- Petco and Petsmart would not be appropriate for these behavior issues. Training of the actual staff can be very minimal and not focused on the behaviors he is displaying. I think a better fit would be a dog behaviorist. :D

good point.
Also , what is imo ?
Sorry i am not up on the lingo yet...

IMO = In my opinion

thank you

Hi,

I'm a new Yorkie owner too, and he gets crazy excited by other dogs when we go on walks so this thread is interesting. Mine is intact, and going to the vet for neutering tomorrow. I'm sure all dogs are different, and i will report back to let you know if his behavior around dogs calms down and it seems to be due to the neutering.

An SPCA donor told me I could take him there for socialization training, and that they have lots of experience with that as it is a big reason dogs are given up, so if there is a good SPCA in your area maybe you could check that out.

Once again, if I do that I will let you know how it goes. I hope we can get them through this, it will be great to see them play with other dogs!

My understanding is that he is trying to make his place in the pack and he wants at the top,this is where you are supposed to be. Gating him in an area where he can be seen and not touch the other dogs. When giving treats or feeding,he gets his after the other dogs. Speaking with a behaviorlist is a great idea. There are several people that train dogs on this forum,possibly they will add some good advice. Give the little guy some time. He started out ruff as a rescue,he has been put into a new pack,he has adjusted to his new surroundings and is now trying to figure out where he belongs in the family unit/pack.

What type of rescue did you get him from? DO they have any of his history. I usually see some dogs listed as "no other dogs" " no kids" etc because it is known they don't get along. Was he given up due to his temperment? Although the previous owners might not have admitted his problems thinking the rescue wouldn't take him....Love him and cuddle him and be firm. He has to learn the rules and I think the idea of the SPCA type place is a good one. The ones you see on Animal Planet shows always seem to have ways of assessing problems and working with them. This is how I wish all the shelters worked, so people wouldn't end up adopting dogs that won't work out because nobody figured out their problems. Good luck to you guys.

It's still very early days yet. The new dog is still trying to find his feet and the older dogs will also be sussing him out. I have brought new dogs into my home in a number of occasions both puppy and adult and while I am no expert, I have learned that patience and time are what is needed most. Don't become uptight and fearful if hostility breaks out just use your position as pack leader to remind the newby you are in charge. I don't leave them together until I'm certain they are accepting each other. Lock the yorkie in his crate when you need to leave the room etc. I found about a month was required before I could leave them all together. Be aware of the signals your dogs are giving off and step in before it escalates. Try walking them together. It helps them to bond and be aware if triggers such as food and favourite toys etc. I always fed my newbie away from the other dogs at first and if giving treats. Good luck but don't give up. IMO any dogs can get along if they know there place. Just remember your the boss. (I find a squirty water bottle at the right moment worked wonders with a loud NO)

Thank you everyone for the advice, I got him free from a person who said he was not bought when she had her last litter. She still has the mother father and sister but said 4 was to many to have. He turned a yr this April 11th and the vet said I had to wait on the neuter till he had all his shots so he would not get sick. They just had another brawl this time it was a few pieces of food in his crate, but. I got bit in the leg separating them no one else was hurt. It is wired though because all 4 are laying on the Ed right now and there is no problems. I guess I have to figure out the triggers. He is going through a lot he has a new home, was never outside, so we are working on house training and he has 2 kids and 2 big dogs in his life now!! So he has a lot to get used to!

When we got Corky, he was intact. When he was neutered, He calmed down a little bit. We took him to training school and he got much better.

Training is key... We took Corky to Pet smart for school, I found out he had been in some school somewhere. So it was pretty easy for my daughter and I to learn the commands and enforce them.