I need some help from other parents

[twinklesmom]

We have a beautiful yorkie who from the start was a special case. My sister-in-law originally bought her as a puppy for my niece to show as that is their hobby. Twinkle was a surprise...with a low coat quality on her trunk, hypoglycemic and not growing past 3 3/4 lbs. that excluded her from competition. She is fixed, healthy and in short given to us short at 1 1/2 years of age. We adore her and she feels the same.

She loves to go everywhere and plays terrific with the two cats we already had. She is puppy pad trained and due to her fragile size and the weather that works out in the house.

The issue is that we have realized that there is reason you let sleeping dogs lay. She is not mean spirited at all in fact quite the opposite. However, she will snap out of nowhere (somewhat like when she is sleeping if someone else touchs her besides me) at someone if they come near me when she is near me, in my lap or next to when I am sitting. She is equally attatched to me and my husband but he ssems to get more of the sneak attacks than I. We softly push her back down to a laying position and relax her. She is very tiny and we have no trouble with calming her that way. She will usually seem spacey when she does it beforehand walking up almost to greet you as you attempt to sit...then wham!

She has been very sick for the first year of her life...nursed back to life on Karo syrup several times. We maintain her diet strictly and take her to the vet regularly. We have been told she is a miracle by Dr. Mike. Yes, she is not perfect and we make sure she knows she is one of the family...not the top dog so to speak. This is her only flaw. I was raised with a Mom who bred dogs and showed all types so I know to appreciate characteristics that can be predominant in certian breeds. Never had a Yorkie before now...in fact wasn't interested in the breed till I saw her and fell in love.

Is this common? Anything related to her early illness and difficulty? What ideas are out there? Again, these sneak snaps are far fewer but we would like to get rid of them. No, crating her all night is not an option as she has slept with us since day one as she did with my sister-in-law's family due to the hypoglycemia. She loves to snuggle in for warmth and we have a bed doggy bed on the bed for her.

Thanks for you help.

[ilovelouie]

Wow , sounds like your baby is just as sweet as my Louie, but with the one little problem. He did exactly what you are explaining when he was a little younger. He is 1 yr. 2 months now. He sleeps with me and is always on my lap. It used to be that if someone came near me he would snarl like he is going to bite them. He was also very protective of his "busy bone", and once snapped at my neice when she tried you pet him and he was all into his bone, but did not really bite her. I just used a really stern voice and was very consistent whenever he did this, and he has seemed to calm down with this now. They really are such sweet dogs. They are just so protective over us because they love us so much. So I guess my advice would be just to be stern with your voice and be consistent with that . Tell her "NO" or "STOP"! You could also use a spray bottle with water in it and give her a little squirt whenever this happens. Louie used to bark a lot when new people came to the house ...now I just hold the water bottle up and he stops! hahaha too cute. Anyways good luck with your little one!

[livingdustmops]

Morning,

My little girl Bella (3#'s) is the exact same way and I have come to the conclusion that this is the only defense these little, little ones have. She is the smallest of all my dogs and she is the only one who if she is sleeping & someone comes near her, including me, she wakes up as a holy terror and will try to bite anyone who is near her. She is a fury of bitting, growling and snarling and all very loud. All of my other dogs move away from her and never respond to her which is interesting to me. I find it interesting because if you go to my 4# or 5# kids and one of them did this then the other dog will jump in for the fight or try to claim king pin.

In my case, Bella was bought from a breeder in Texas, shipped and was almost dead upon arrival in Phoenix (she went into hypoglycemic on the flight) and had to be rushed to the vet where she stayed for about a week. I won't go into the story of the original owner as she had her own problems but then she give her to the Vet Tech who left her alone for 9 hours a day with her other dogs. The Vet Tech finally turned her over to me at 8 months as she realized she needed special handling.

Bella is always very nervous about being picked up and does not really want to be held. She likes to get up on the couch with her steps and lay down by me and some of the other dogs but she doesn't want any of the other dogs to touch her. I think they know they are so small that they stay away from someone that could step on them be it human or animal.

I have learned to accept Bella's ways even if it is in the middle of the night and someone comes near her in the bed (yes she sleeps with me) as the rest of the time she is to cute and I love how she is the Boss of the house.

[toninm]

HUmm, never heard of this before...Dollar bite all the time, but he is just a baby and playing...he has never snapped!

[FirstYorkie]

It sounds like what both Twinkle and Louie are doing is called "object guarding". There's an excellent book (available from Amazon) called MINE! by Jean Donaldson that addresses all the facets of this issue.

[twinklesmom]

I have collected the information on object guarding and can see where it makes sense. I feel confident that over time we will condition her to other responses or expressions. Tough love applies to all of our kids...Twinkle proves there is no exception. She feels she should be one but in the end she benefits from knowing her expectations as well as the rest of the family.

Thank you for your input. Have a blessed holiday season!

[bettyeanne]

Originally Posted by twinklesmom

She will usually seem spacey when she does it beforehand walking up almost to greet you as you attempt to sit...then wham!
Is this common? Anything related to her early illness and difficulty? What ideas are out there? Again, these sneak snaps are far fewer but we would like to get rid of them. No, crating her all night is not an option as she has slept with us since day one as she did with my sister-in-law's family due to the hypoglycemia. She loves to snuggle in for warmth and we have a bed doggy bed on the bed for her.

Thanks for you help.

While reading all the other replys .... this kept nagging at me. You might want to have a neurological exam done to check for a brain injury. The reason .... a friend who works with Yorkie Rescue had a little one exhibit this same strange action. She had been terribly abused and the vet said it was entirely possible that she received a brain injury when the previous owner threw her across a concrete patio and she hit the concrete before rolling onto the grass!! It was very sad ... there are no brain surgeries for dogs but they are able to control this [they refer to it as seizures] with medication. She is doing great and thriving. It's so rewarding to see one like this go from such a sad little baby into a loved, spoiled one. Her sweet little personality is beginning to just shine!

This is just an idea you might want to discuss with your vet. Hope your little one will be OK ... please keep us updated!

[twinklesmom]

That would have been a concern but she actually was cleared of all of that with her vet. The vet believes it is also object guarding and trying to claim her territory and encouraged me to deal with it while she is young. The only thing wrong with Twinkle's head is it is swelling at an astounding rate from being spoiled rotten. We need to modify our parenting techniques with our little one and she should adjust just fine. She is everyone's baby girl. She gets that look because she is fearless and until now has not heard the sound of a firm "No!"

[bettyeanne]

Originally Posted by twinklesmom

That would have been a concern but she actually was cleared of all of that with her vet. The vet believes it is also object guarding and trying to claim her territory and encouraged me to deal with it while she is young. The only thing wrong with Twinkle's head is it is swelling at an astounding rate from being spoiled rotten. We need to modify our parenting techniques with our little one and she should adjust just fine. She is everyone's baby girl. She gets that look because she is fearless and until now has not heard the sound of a firm "No!"

Good!! I am so glad to hear that ... it's much easier to deal with just plain rotten Yorkies, than a health problem! She sounds like our Toto ... just plain spoiled!!

[1romeo]

When we first got romeo he was hypoglycemic too. We fed him a table spoon of karo syrup and it helped regulate his blood sugar. What you an also do is give him a tea-spoon of yogurt everyday. Now Romeo doesn't have hypoglycemia. I hope your puppy gets well soon!!!!!

_________________
Jessica and Romeo

[FirstYorkie]

Originally Posted by twinklesmom

I have collected the information on object guarding and can see where it makes sense. I feel confident that over time we will condition her to other responses or expressions. Tough love applies to all of our kids...Twinkle proves there is no exception.

Good for you!!! I'm glad you looked into it.

I feel confident that you can help her through it, too. The only aspect that I have to comment on is that I don't really think tough love is the best way to retrain an object-guarder. What you really want to teach her is that GOOD things happen when other people approach.

Here is a link to an excellent article on object guarding:
http://www.clickersolutions.com/arti...ctguarding.htm

Granted, your situation is different because instead of guarding bones or food, she's guarding her position/territory. However, I would still treat it the same way. I'd have your husband approach while she's happy in your lap, drop a small treat, and walk away. He can very gradually work up to walking up, petting her and giving her a treat. When she's completely comfortable with that, he can even go so far as to pick her up, give her a treat, and return her to your lap. You can do the same when she is in your hubbie's lap.

Let us know how it goes!