Playing too rough???
 

I was just wondering if playing too rough with yorkies will make them mean. My Sebastian loves to play like a tug-of-war game all the time. When he wants you to play with him he will bring a toy and set it down in front of you, but as soon as I go to grab it he dodges for it before I can even get to it. Sometimes I can get it and once I do he wants you to throw it to play catch. I just noticed that he has started growling at me when I don't immediately play with him or when I am playing with him, he will try to bite me or growl at me. He is only four months old and I know this can be typical puppy behavior. (or is it?) Sometimes I just ignore him and he will go off and play by himself. Any suggestions to help me help him play more fair?? He is also a biter. When he is hyper and ready to play, he does not like to be petted or picked up, he just wants to bite. HELP!! :(

It is typical puppy behavior, but you should start training him that you won't accept that sort of behavior when he gets older. You should definitely not allow him to growl at you to get his way or bite you. Our Fang was a bit of a biter when he was that age. Whenever he put his teeth on us, we would yell "OUCH" in a pained voice (even if it didn't hurt), then grab him and hold his mouth closed (very gently) while saying "No Bite!" in an authoritative voice. It took about three months before he really quit biting, but he eventually did. You just have to be consistent.

Some of the biting may be due to his starting to lose his baby teeth - his gums are probably a bit sensitive right now. We noticed that Fang's biting dropped off a lot after he lost his baby teeth (at about 6 months old).

As far as growling, I'm not sure what to do. I would say that if he growls at you, don't reinforce the behavior by letting him get his way with the toy. Either ignore him, or tell him "No Growling" whenever he does it to you.

It's okay to play a little rough, but I've read that "tug-of-war" type games aren't the best for puppies. If the dog gets the toy instead of you, they may start to think that they're the ones in charge, and not you. Once you've established that you're the one in control, and not them, then it's okay to play games like that.

Hope that this helps! Good luck! :)

Otis is over a year old and STILL growls at me if I don't play with him when he wants :) !! I make it worse because it is SO funny - he will drop his toy and wag his tail as he does his little growl. I try not to encourage him to do that.... but I have not stopped him from doing that. Sigh.... I guess it is time for me to cure him of that habit before it is too late !! Good luck to ya !

Rosi growls too when she wants something, like going outside or play or whatever, but is she has something in her mouth and i dont want her to have it , its mine !

I think sometimes growling can be a part of play. I had a little dog that would play tug of war - and would pull and growl -- but if she ever dropped anything - the growling stopped and didn't start until she had it back in her mouth pulling again. She just loved to play tug of war. And, she was 10 years old and was the sweetest dog in the world and never ever came close to biting anyone her entire life.

But - she would pull and growl........it always seemed to be part of the way she was playing to me.

I certainly do think that any attempt to nip or bite when playing should be stopped. And - we shouldn't play any games that cause this to happen.


Carol Jean