New guy from Maryland New Yorkie Owner
 

Hello all. My wife and I are new Yorkie owners but not new to owning a dog. We have been married for 25 years and owned house dogs before the yorkie. In fact we still now have a 14 yr old Shih Tuz female and a 9 yr old male Fox Terrirer. Our new yorkie is a 9 mo old Male that we got a little over a month ago. He has done really well with our other dogs. He was very timid in the beginning but has now took over the house as the "Boss". In the beginning he was very shy and calm. We never had a dog that we took everywhere with use so we right away started taking him in the car with us when we could. He is a pretty good car rider but over the past week or so we have noticed him to be getting aggressive toward other dogs while walking him in public places. This morning we took him out and was walking him on the board walk where we knew others would be out with their dog.. Well, he was going nuts when he saw another dog. I mean trying to rip them apart if we would let him no matter what size they were. Once during the walk this morning, a lady walked by with two very nice huskies.. "Teddy" our yorkie was going nuts. So we picked him up and the lady stopped and put the back of her hand up to him and he quickly tried to bite her hand.. This is really concerning to use. We have NEVER had an aggressive dog before and he didnt start that way. When I found/ bought him (from a lady selling him on Craigslist), I went to the house where she was selling him. When she opened the door he ran right up to me an let me pet and pick him up. We have in the last month of owning him had him neutered, all shots needed, chipped, and spoiled him.. Any help or suggestions on how to handle his agressiveness? Thanx

First, CONGRATS on your new baby - he definitely sounds like a yorkie, given he's taken over the house as boss :D. That's a yorkie!!!

I'm not sure what to tell you about the aggressiveness, but I bet it's something he will get over with some training / time / TLC. We have a lot of folks here who are great with training / aggression - so I hope they see this and offer some help and support. Please keep us posted on how it's going!

Hi from a fellow MD'er Yorkie owner. :)

Check out these YouTube Channels... tons of great trainers that speak of behavioral issues...

Zak George's Dog Training rEvolution - YouTube
kikopup - YouTube
Pam's Dog Academy - YouTube
Training Positive - YouTube

Welcome to Yorkie Talk and congratulations on the new addition to your family.

Our second boy was 8 months old when we brought him home. He was like your boy and was happy to come along with us. Very well trained by the breeder and sweet as can be. However, he immediately wanted nothing to do with other people.

We believe that our Teddy was so in love with his new home, that he feared losing it. This might be what is behind your boys' aggression. He could be protecting his new family and himself when you are out.

I agree with Ann that time, training, and TLC will improve the situation.

Start training at home for basic obedience, things like sit and "watch me." Use treats. Then start working outdoors. Try walking near, but not too close to other dogs. Keep him focused on you, make him sit and watch you for the treat. There are a lot more exercises on YouTube that are helpful.

With people, you have to be careful because many people don't know how to approach a dog, let alone a nervous one. I always hold Teddy close to my feet and let people pet Max instead. People don't always need to touch your dog.

One of the hardest things about training for a problem like this is not letting your dog sense your anxiousness. They can hear our breathing quicken or our hand tense ever so slightly on the leash in anticipation that there is going to be a scene.

There are training exercises to acclimate your dog to people. To be honest, we have just accepted that Teddy will never be excited to greet strangers. He is fine sometimes, like in a shopping cart with people poking their hands in. For safety, I try to discourage it though.

:thumbup::thumbup:
I was still typing while you posted. Great links!

Welcome to YT!!
I think you may be able to get some help via Petsmart. I attended a class there and it allowed the dog to get used to being amongst others... Any issues were resolved pretty quickly... It also was fun learning new commands... Worth the money.

I have no advice for you because ours are very laid back but wanted to welcome you to YT.

Welcome to YT :)

Welcome to YT. You got some good training suggestions. Also you can look into a local obedience/dog club. Usually new obedience classes start up in the New Year.