Am I reinforcing his aggressive behavior?
 

Most puppies are aggressive when they play right? tugging and pulling on their toys. Is it bad that I pull back and play with him. He is very bad about chewing and bitting. ive tried training but nothing seems to work. HELP!!!

I have heard some people say tug of war can make them more agressive and some say not. I think it is normal for young puppies to try to chew on you. When they do you should put a toy in their mouth and say no bite. If that doesnt work try time outs

I think tug of war is a natural play for puppies. I would not be concerned unless he starts to snap, or if he grabs things from you. Then you have to act as the Mom or the pack leader and snap at him.

You could also use it as a time to train, when the game is over, give him a command to drop it or give it and make him release it.

hes only 12 weeks old and i know he doesnt under stand but i have marks on my hands from where he wouldnt let go! I love him to death and hes a really quick learner but he's just not getting the "no bite" thing. Ive given him his lamb toy and he runs around the house and beats the crud out of that then hell come back and start pulling on my shirt. sometimes its cute but other times its just too much. Most of the time when im trying to train him he thinks im playing. What do i do?

Help!! I want to thank the two people who did respond but i have tried it... I just dont know what to do next!

According to my trainer...tug of war is one of the worst things to do with your dog.

If you do play, he says you must always win...which means...you can play for a while but at the end, you must be in possession with it and then put it away after playing. Only because this is their way of becoming "alpha dogs"...knowning that they were strong enough to get it away from you.

Remember, starting out as puppies, their daily goal to be stronger, smarter, faster, etc. than you. Unless they know YOU are the pack leader.

I used to play tug of war all the time and then "let him win" ....then I realized how bad it is to do that.

Another thing my trainer made me realize.....do you notice how much dogs hate mail men? Well, usually dogs will go crazy...bark, jump, etc. when the mail man comes. This is unfortunately a no-win situation because mailmen are constantly re-inforcing these dogs that they are "alpha" because look at the pattern....the mailman comes the same time every day. Your dog waits for him, barks, jumps, and then the mailman goes away. Your dog thinks he's done his job, he's "won", and made the mailman go away. With a mailman, your dog will always be alpha (unfortunately)

I agree that tug-of-war is the worst game to play with puppies. I wouldn't start playing until he learns the "drop/leave it" command. Training a puppy can, at times, be very frustrating. I would suggest puppy kindergarden classes at PetSmart - they're very informative and give you and your puppy time together. Until then you have to reinforce that you are the boss and put him in time out when he's bad. (I know it's hard and they're sooo cute) Punish the bad behavior and reinforce/reward the good. Yorkies are very smart and strive to please their owners - give it time and just have patience with him - he'll come around!

Here is a link about bite inhibition. Hope it helps!;)
http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bite.txt

that is what i have always been told,too. romeo tries to play that way with me and i don't let him.