my yorkie randomly attacking and biting ankles
 

hello
i have many (5) dogs and my yorkie is beginning to get more aggressive. he was just every once in awhile going after the UPS or FED EX man and biting their calf... but the past 2 weeks he has bitten (breaking skin and making them bleed) three different men. a little history.. he is almost 4 years old, fixed, we have had him almost 2 years, in door and out door, well loved and taken care of. he has bitten one friend in the house, one carpet man that was bringing the bill back to the front door, and ran out the garage door and around the front of the house in the yard to our neighbor and bit our neighbor that has lived there for over a year and smokes outside of his house all the time. now usually he has a collar on that has an infrared radius ... kids tend to take it off if he ends up the pool.. ok ok their fault for not protecting him by having it on. but really doesnt answer the bite he did to a friend inside the house.. He seems more aggressive lately.. my neighbor said he would kill him if he comes back on his property and threatens his two kids that are 3 and under! Bailey is a lover boy and is a good dog just out of hand.. hate to have to put a muzzle on him.

Hi there. I am from Alabama, too.

I wanted to just give a couple of tid bits here...

Keep him inside and get a fence. Keep him out of situations where he can bite people. You know he bites, so that is on you and your dog is in danger of being taken from you or harmed by a worried father.

I don't know what an infared collar is but if that is a shock collar, stop using it. They are not to be used on small dogs.

Bottom line...you need to keep himut up...not muzzled. Teach him that biting is not OK...look up some training videos on YouTube if need be.

Good luck and nice to meet you!

Thank you for responding
I have tried to keep him safe
I think keeping secluded -is protecting him. But he bit an adult inside the kitchen a couple of weeks ago. The collar is on a low setting (for small dogs to large dogs) that gives him a boundary to be in - I did my research on that one.
I have not tried a muzzle nor do I want too. He seems to just get aggressive out of nowhere. I do not see it coming. He is completely submissive to me. But I'm not there all the time. Trying to teach ALL of the kids to pick him up like I do before going to the door.
My husband thinks bailey feels like he is the leader of the pack when all reality the 11 mo old white German shep is really trying to be.
I have tried to call my dog trainer twice and can't get him. That is why I'm here. Thinking I'm missing something simple!!

Is it safe to assume he's not aggressive with the other dogs in your home? He's 4 and you had him for 2 years. Where was he the first two years then? Also, your post seems to only mention men that he's been aggressive with, were there any females?

Something must've triggered him to get more aggressive like that... Maybe you should seek a professional? Your neighbor sounded really angry... I hope things work out for you and the little one.

has there been a decrease in his exercise? Often dogs act out because they have too much pent up energy. I would call a professional trainer but in the mean time make sure he stays inside or on a leash- wouldn't want the neighbor getting a hold of him.

The first thing I would do is take him in for a complete checkup. Sometimes changes in vision and/or hearing can make a dog start to act aggressively out of fear.

hi
had this same problem just with hands the vet said to ignore him and if you kind of muzzle him with you hands for 10-15seconds when he bites he should stop
hope this helped

:thumbup::thumbup:

Also I concur you know you have problem dog, how-ever he got that way. It could be as simple as the dynamics between an 11month old shepherd starting to come into his own and your Yorkie who is 4 yrs old and been at your home at least one year longer than the Shepherd.

Bad behaviour should not be tolerated in or out of the house. Outside of the house he is either leashed, or in a fenced in area.

In the house, if he goes for any-ones' ankles it is a time out. He needs to know immediately this behaviour is un-acceptable. And I will put bad behavers in a crate for a time out.

It does sound as if, a home visit with your trainer is in order.

Best of luck, and I do know these are worrisome times.