Very aggressive Yorkie puppy
 

Please help! My 9 week old Yorkie Zeus is very aggressive. He can be very loving and cuddly but when he is playing he is very aggressive. He bites a lot! He has bitten my face many times and my 6 year old daughter's face too. I am scared that he is going to hurt my daughter, even though I know that he's only playing. He has broken skin on my daughter's leg when she was walking and he bit her. Are all puppies this aggressive? His little teeth are so sharp and are really starting to hurt, bad. I am open to all suggestions! Thank you in advance!

Puppies are mouth-focused for quite a while as pups - it's just the way they communicate and learn about their world right now. When the puppy mouths inappropriately, you should "squeal" just like his littermate would if he hurt the littermate -- that's a language the puppy understands. He will get less mouthy as he grows from this current stage.

He wouldn't be quite as mouthy had he stayed w/ his Momma until 12 weeks, which is the age yorkies *should* stay with their Momma before going to a new home. The Momma teaches them / socializes them during this crucial time. Because you have him too early, you will be required to act as his teacher as he knows nothing right now, he's just a clean little slate.

Btw, welcome to YT :)!

Welcome to YT, he is but a wee little baby, this is a 63 day old life, he knows nothing about behavior, as Wylie's Mom started baby was taken from the momma way to early, she and his litter mates would have taught him much about biting. You are now the momma and litter mates, it is up to you to teach this lil wild critter biting is not acceptable. He is just playing, doesn't know bites hurt, he is focused only on playing. All my past pups I got at 8 weeks old, all were wild crazy biting babies so I know what you are going through with those razor Sharpe teeth. When he bites, nips hard, say NOOOOO biting in a firm voice, give him a toy to bite on. Teach your daughter to not put her face close to him now to avoid her getting bit. Attacking legs and feet is what they do, always have a toy handy, when he goes for the legs or feet, tell him NOOOO biting and give him the toy to bite.Patience and consistency are the key factors for training. Always use the same command words....NOOOOO biting. He is just a little baby, but with Patience and consistency as young as he is, he will learn.

:(:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
You are now momma to a puppy that was removed from his real momma way too early. Like Ann stated, this is all life lessons taught to puppies by their mommas....when you remove them from momma too early, you are now responsible for doing all the teaching the pup has been deprived of. You would probably do well to buy a book, a good book on puppy development, so you will know what you are going to have to do to meet this baby's needs and teach all the lessons he is not getting from his momma. Unfair to call him an aggressive puppy....he is just a puppy that is trying to learn about his world all by himself because he was wrenched from his momma way too early.

People selling puppies way before they are psychologically ready to be separated from their mommas, are cheating these puppies out of valuable life lessons taught to them by their mommas. Of course selling puppies way before they are psychologically mature enough to be separated from mommas, provides "breeders" a cheap way out...maybe out the cost of ONE vaccination, but new owner gets all the headaches and all the inconveniences of teaching baby stuff momma would have taught the baby. But the dog peddler gets their money in pocket and does not have to foot all the bills more reputable breeders assume as a cost of producing healthy, round rounded puppies.

We got 2 puppies in May when they were just over 10 weeks old. I had to get them then because it would be another 6 weeks before I was in the area and able to pick them up. I took on the responsibility of helping them learn. they would nip at my feet. My puppies are now almost 7 months old and they chew on my hands (gently) and they know how hard they can bite me without hurting. This is a lesson that must be taught to puppies either by their mom or their new mommy. Your daughter might not be mature enough to teach the puppy this and so she should be around the puppy after it has played and is calmer. As it ages it will have more and more calm periods during the day where it is awake. When I brought home my puppies they spent most of their time either at hard play, at hard sleep or a small amount being calm and in my lap. The puppy will calm down, but it needs to be taught how it can bite. Yelp or say OUCH in a high pitched voice if they bite too hard. My puppies NEVER broke skin, they left indents on my skin a couple times. The puppy needs to be taught now about biting so it does not continue.

This puppy will calm down and will still want to chew, but needs to learn the appropriate things to chew on. Luckily this is a short term thing, but lessons now are important.

Good luck and Welcome to Yorkie Talk!

We adopted a pup (about 1 yr old) from a shelter. He was still very mouthy at that age. That really upset my daughter, so we had to stop it ASAP.

Every time he mouthed me, no matter how hard, I told him "no bite" in a firm voice and gave him a toy instead. If he played with that, I told him good boy over and over. If he persisted in biting me, I put him down. If he persisted after that, I put him in his crate for a bit.

Persistence, consistency, patience, persistence, consistency, and more patience is the only way I know to break this habit without affecting their bond or making them fearful.