Well, one drawback of Daisy becoming use to the house..

[AmyZinNC]

and her surroundings....she has begun to growl and bark whenever the bows come into the room or house, and if they come running up to me, especially if she's close by, she goes to nip at them!!!

I have got to get this under control ASAP!

It was cute at first, but now whenver they come into the house or room ,she growls!

[Laura]

I don't let my pups bark and growl for no reason, but they do bark when my boys come down the stairs. If I am watching TV in my room, they all usually join me and will go CRAZY barking if my hubby comes into the room. He hates that! I say it's my warning system.

[yorkiemom1970]

I'm going to be blunt and I think this behaviour is because of one thing: She was a kennel dog prior to being blessed with your wonderful family and life you've given her. She is getting so attached to you and looks to you in such a diffrerent way than she did her previous owner...I feel she is so afraid of maybe leaving her new home and very protective over her new found mommy (you) and her wonderful new life; she is being protective and doesn't know how else to act. Be patient. Best wishes,

[FirstYorkie]

While I agree with Robbie that Daisy's behavior is understandable, I agree with you, Amy, that you need to deal with this ASAP. You will want to do this in a positive manner.

This is what positive trainers recommend. The boys need to become miniature treat dispensing machines. Let them carry very small treats (or pieces of kibble) in their pockets. When they come in, Amy gets treated. Period. If need be, they can start by just dropping it on the floor, very gradually advancing to holding it out for her and then petting her while giving it to her.

If you are serious about helping her past this, I'd let the boys control other resources as well. Let them feed her. (She's old enough that she shouldn't need free-feeding). Let the boys introduce new toys. Encourage the boys to play her favorite games with her. She needs to have lots and lots of positive associations with the boys coming into the room.

Another thing that positive trainers say is do NOT punish growling. Say "NO" but don't punish. Teach a dog that he's going to be punished for growling and he may well stop. Then, what have you got? A dog who bites with no warning. Better to have a growl first so everyone knows when Amy is feeling threatened.

Please note that I'm recommending that you ignore the growling. I'm saying deal with the growling per the plan above. That's not ignoring it.

Does this make sense?

[AsCeNsIoN]

My puppy was a kennel pup before she came to live with us. She is becoming very attached to me. She sits where I sit, on my lap if she can or by my feet if she cant. She also follows me around like a crazy thing, to the toilet, to the garden, to the kitchen, EVERYWHERE! So far she doesn't bark when my partner comes home because she is always the center of attention for about 10 minutes, having hugs and cuddles and playing a little. This has worked for us. She is finding her feet now, and she barks and growls at the neighbourhood cats who are always trying to come in and steal her food. She hasn't barked at visitors when they are here, or been a little growler. But I know how to deal with it now if she does. Thanx for the tip FirstYorkie

[AmyZinNC]

Thanks for the tips/advice!

Im going to try the treat thing with the boys..I'll leave a small container by the door and let them give her one if she reacts that way (like a small yogurt drop or something very small....)

I do give a stern Daisy NO when she does it...but don't go any further.
I think she's just very unsure of them still..they are very rambunctious. My oldest tries to hold her and sit with her, and at times she let's him. But alot of times if he comes running into the room to me, she'll try to nip at his ankles!!

And last night, we just happened to have 2 people visit at different times, and when they came into the door, she growled/barked for a minute..but I guess because she didn't know them.

Anyway...Im going to try the tips given and see what happens.


Like Acension said, she is always under my feet as well....if she were any smaller Id step all over her!

Thanks again

[FirstYorkie]

Originally Posted by AmyZinNC

Thanks for the tips/advice! Im going to try the treat thing with the boys..I'll leave a small container by the door and let them give her one if she reacts that way (like a small yogurt drop or something very small....)

Amy, I just wanted to clarify a little. You want the boys to give her treats frequently. Your goal is for Daisy to see them as "treat dispensing machines".

I DON"T recommend that they only treat her when she's misbehaving - that would reinforce bad behavior and that's NOT what you want to do!

Does that make more sense?

[AmyZinNC]

Thanks FirstYorkie...ya know, after thinking about it a bit, i said, that may not work! First of all, they are in and out constantly..so she wouldalways be getting a treat..lol. And like you said, if she growls/barks/snips and they reward her, thats not fixing the problem!

i will let them give treats when they are wanting to hold/pet her, etc.....

But I still need to get the behaviour under control somewhat!

earlier, I was tickling my 4 yo, and she came flying out of nowhere at him! She mustve thought one of us was hurting the other (he was giggling/shreiking)

[Jaspermom]

Amy, if you do not get this behavior under control ASAP, you are going to have a kid-hating biter on your hands, and that is nothing but trouble with a capital T.

I think First Yorkie is trying to tell you that you will not be rewarding bad behavior by having your kids "treat" Daisy, you are changing her behavior by changing Daisy's attitude towards kids. Right now she thinks kids are fast-moving-noisy-machines over which she must impress her dominance. The way for her to do that is to growl and bite.

You need to help her change her perception of children to "nice smaller treat machines and I get yummies when they are around and therefore no biting them so they will come see me." The way to do this is for your KIDS to give treats when they are near. They don't have to run up to her to begin this change. They can treat when they are close by just by dropping the treat on the floor. You just need to get Daisy to associate CHILDREN with GOOD STUFF. Right now she only associates them with BAD STUFF like noise and commotion.

I think you can win in this situation with patience and treats. Please don't let her end up like my Angel who always needed to be shut into another room whenever kids were around because I did not know how to fix her perception. I did not know YT existed at the time! You can do this! GOOD LUCK to you and to Daisy!

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

There was recently an episode on the Dog Whisperer about this very same problem. It was a chihuahua who was possessive of the mother and the son was a teenager. Caesar was very firm about the fact that the mother need to let the chihuauhua know in no uncertsin terms that he could uder no cicumstances be aggressive toward her son. He made her use her two fingers on his neck, just with pressure and a firm "no" whenever he went after him when he was on her lap.

The basic point is that the dog must not feel like he is the one in control. He doesn't want the job as pack leader. That is your job and you need to calmly and assertively let Daisy know that you, as her pack leader, will not tolerate that behavior. You need to TELL her what you want.

It would be great if you could research what episode that was and watch it on the National Geographic website. I think it would help you a lot to undetstand why she is doing what she is doing and how best to correct.

The boys giving her treats is a good idea too but I think to get to the psychology behind WHY she is behaving this way is important to correcting it.

Good luck.

[FirstYorkie]

Originally Posted by Jaspermom

Amy, if you do not get this behavior under control ASAP, you are going to have a kid-hating biter on your hands, and that is nothing but trouble with a capital T.

I think First Yorkie is trying to tell you that you will not be rewarding bad behavior by having your kids "treat" Daisy, you are changing her behavior by changing Daisy's attitude towards kids. Right now she thinks kids are fast-moving-noisy-machines over which she must impress her dominance. The way for her to do that is to growl and bite.

You need to help her change her perception of children to "nice smaller treat machines and I get yummies when they are around and therefore no biting them so they will come see me." The way to do this is for your KIDS to give treats when they are near. They don't have to run up to her to begin this change. They can treat when they are close by just by dropping the treat on the floor. You just need to get Daisy to associate CHILDREN with GOOD STUFF. Right now she only associates them with BAD STUFF like noise and commotion.

I think you can win in this situation with patience and treats. Please don't let her end up like my Angel who always needed to be shut into another room whenever kids were around because I did not know how to fix her perception. I did not know YT existed at the time! You can do this! GOOD LUCK to you and to Daisy!

Thank you, JasperMom. I think you've said it better than I!