# Yorkie pup being aggressive



## mistyinca (Oct 25, 2006)

Me again. My 9wk yorkie is starting to get aggressive, and it seems she's becoming more aggressive and less affectionate. When on the floor for play time, she bites all the time. Now I know some of this is normal, but it does not seem to be lessening at all. When she bites, we do the loud "ouch," and turn away. With the turn away, she seems not to care at all, and seems content to sit and chew on her toy, so I don't see that that tactic will work. When my son pics her up, where she used to start licking his face right away, now all she does is nip at him, and it takes a long time to get her to settle down.

This is our first dog, and I hope she isn't turning out to be aggressive, or a biter. We only treat her kindly, would never hit her or anything like that, and the only yelling that we have done has been the "ouch" as suggested by the yelping method for inhibiting her biting.

When she does settle down, she's very cuddly, likes to sleep curled in my lap, (across my chest, shoulder, face LOL) but I'm really getting worried about play time.

Is this normal? What are we doing wrong (if anything)?


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

First, you've chosen a terrier as your first dog and terriers have very independent, often hard temperaments (and that includes the toy breed terriers such as Yorkies). Just think about the job that most terriers, including Yorkies originally, were bred to do. 

Unless you're a very young child, don't use the yelp and turn away method because that is what a fellow puppy sibling would do. Instead, since you must take the mother dog's place as your pup's Alpha, tell the pup no bite in a firm, low, growly-sounding voice. If he continues to try and bite, give him a scruff shake (this imitates mama's correction bite), followed by totally ignoring him, including visual contact, for a second or two. Then offer an appropriate chew toy and if he takes it, lots of praise.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

The Bite Stops Here
Nothing in Life is Free


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## mistyinca (Oct 25, 2006)

Curbside Prophet said:


> The Bite Stops Here
> Nothing in Life is Free


I've read the bite stops here, and that's what I mentioned is not working. She only gets more agitated with the ouch, and the ignore, she could care less.


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## mistyinca (Oct 25, 2006)

skelaki said:


> First, you've chosen a terrier as your first dog and terriers have very independent, often hard temperaments (and that includes the toy breed terriers such as Yorkies). Just think about the job that most terriers, including Yorkies originally, were bred to do.
> 
> Unless you're a very young child, don't use the yelp and turn away method because that is what a fellow puppy sibling would do. Instead, since you must take the mother dog's place as your pup's Alpha, tell the pup no bite in a firm, low, growly-sounding voice. If he continues to try and bite, give him a scruff shake (this imitates mama's correction bite), followed by totally ignoring him, including visual contact, for a second or two. Then offer an appropriate chew toy and if he takes it, lots of praise.


What is a "scruff shake"? And again, the ignoring does not work, as she seems not to care one way or another...

thanks,


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## LoveLilly (Oct 25, 2006)

In our training class we were taught to teach them "kisses". First, teach was kisses means by saying the word when they give kisses or put peanut butter on your finger/hand/cheek etc...and say kisses. Once she understands kisses, when she bites say kisses and she should eventually switch to a kiss from a bite. This worked with Lilly who too is a toy breed. She still gets bitey, but she is a puppy but saying Kisses diverts her attention from that.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

mistyinca said:


> I've read the bite stops here, and that's what I mentioned is not working. She only gets more agitated with the ouch, and the ignore, she could care less.


So can we assume that you taught "off" as described in "the bite stops here" article along with yelping?


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## mistyinca (Oct 25, 2006)

Curbside Prophet said:


> So can we assume that you taught "off" as described in "the bite stops here" article along with yelping?


No, because that one starts out with "Once the puppy has been taught to gently mouth rather than bite, it is time to reduce the frequency of mouthing behaviour" and she hasn't gotten past the bite part yet.

thanks,
Misty


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## mistyinca (Oct 25, 2006)

LoveLilly said:


> In our training class we were taught to teach them "kisses". First, teach was kisses means by saying the word when they give kisses or put peanut butter on your finger/hand/cheek etc...and say kisses. Once she understands kisses, when she bites say kisses and she should eventually switch to a kiss from a bite. This worked with Lilly who too is a toy breed. She still gets bitey, but she is a puppy but saying Kisses diverts her attention from that.


Thanks. I might try the peanut butter. I've been trying to teach her the word "kiss". Each time she licks, I say "Kiss...good girl." But I haven't been able to get her to kiss on demand. Sometimes, I'll say "kiss" and hold her up to my face and she's turns her head from side to side as if to say, "uh, no thanks" LOL.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

mistyinca said:


> No, because that one starts out with "Once the puppy has been taught to gently mouth rather than bite, it is time to reduce the frequency of mouthing behaviour" and she hasn't gotten past the bite part yet.
> 
> thanks,
> Misty


Who needs to follow the rules anyway?... It may have already been said, but this has a lot to do with the pups age. She's very young, and she should have stayed with her littler until at least 12 weeks to learn some basic puppy manners from her litter mates...IMO. I don't have any personal experience when the technique that was offered had failed...so I'm at a loss for help. But then again, I've only personally helped older pups. Have you contacted the breeder? Did the pups parents have any temperment issues when you met them? Your breeder, if responsible, may have some insight into this problem.


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## blackgavotte (Sep 28, 2006)

I personally want to just warn about the scruff shake. In theory I agree with the method for some pups, just want to say I am concerned with using an actual shake on a tiny yorkie pup. It is surprisingly easy to break the neck of a small baby like this. A scruff HOLD is more like what I would say, rather than any shaking at all. A firm, quiet, steady hold and good eye contact and a deep voice, if the yelp method is not working. However, remember she is a terrier. Many terriers react to any form of agression with more agression. Its what they were bred to do. If she goes wild again after you released her, do it again. But remember she is a very young baby, and if you are doing these exercises when you have just gotten home and she has been alone all day or whatever, she is going to be a bit frantic for awhile until she has some time to calm down. She is very young yet, give her a bit of time, and empathy. 

I would say you need to rethink your playtime in general. I never believed that I had to be my dog's playtoy and if playtime means you are letting her bite and be rude, then you don't need to be doing it. Gentle play is what I would say, such as tossing a ball, and not getting this pup worked up to a state. I would not be laying down with my face on her level either, at this point. I'd be sitting on the carpet so I am always above her. 

If I ever picked a pup up who was then wild in my arms, I simply held them in the arm tuck, close to my chest, used the words " settle ! " in a low, quiet voice, and held them until they did settle. No putting my face near them, while they were being wild. She has to learn the rules, but you have to define them in your own mind first, and then be consistent with them

When you do pick up a puppy, hold them against your side/chest, with your holding forearm and elbow for bracing them and your fingers in the front chest area, that is not only safer but allows them to feel more secure. I taught them right from the getgo to be quiet when I was holding them.


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## mistyinca (Oct 25, 2006)

blackgavotte said:


> A scruff HOLD is more like what I would say, rather than any shaking at all. A firm, quiet, steady hold and good eye contact and a deep voice, if the yelp method is not working.


ok, so what is the scruff hold? holding her by the back of her neck?



blackgavotte said:


> and if you are doing these exercises when you have just gotten home and she has been alone all day or whatever, she is going to be a bit frantic for awhile until she has some time to calm down.


no, I'm home with her all day. She gets lots of attention.



blackgavotte said:


> I would say you need to rethink your playtime in general. I never believed that I had to be my dog's playtoy and if playtime means you are letting her bite and be rude, then you don't need to be doing it. Gentle play is what I would say, such as tossing a ball, and not getting this pup worked up to a state.


This happens during the toss the ball game. I'll roll the ball across the floor, and say "get the ball." When i go to throw it again, she'll start biting.

thanks


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## Snowshoe (Nov 17, 2006)

I would like to say that BG has some VERY good points, and actually almost mirrors what our puppy's trainer says. 

There are lots of ways to play with a pup: teach her tricks, or basic obedience commands, or fetch. 

If play time means enouraging her to nip and bite, I'd cut that out. 

There are some who would tell you that teaching a dog to gently bite is appropriate. However, I think it's much better to nip it totally in the bud, and teach "No bite!!" Even trying to turn bites to "kisses" doesn't sound like a great idea. 

Your pup may get the misguided idea (as they often do ) that "kisses" means "bites." 

I think your best bet is just to reduce the oral stimulation in regards to play time. 

Another school of thought is to distract her. This is something we learned in puppy preschool. If she bites, or does something bad, just distract her with some thing else; ex. grab a toy and toss it to her. Do this every time she goes to nip or bite, and theoretically she will bite less. 

The distraction theory did not work at all on my dog, because it didn't teach her manors, it just took her mind of chewing my arm. Also, it really did reinforce bad behavior. In her mind, it was, "Ohhh, if I bite, I get a toy thrown!" (soooooo devious!  ) 

Also, you may want to watch how rough your boy is with her. He may be approaching her in a way that she view threatening, and so she gets rough to defend herself. 

Good luck! Keep us posted!


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## opokki (May 30, 2006)

Get some bitter apple spray or another taste deterrant and spritz it over your hands _before_ interacting with the puppy. 
Another method is giving her a time-out each time she begins nipping. 2-3 mins is sufficient for a time-out. The puppy should be left without toys or other things to keep herself occupied during the time out. An x-pen or even a tall cardboard box would come in handy for this.


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

A scruff shake is where you take the pup by the loose skin on the top of the neck (the scruff), lift the skin up as if you were going to pick up the pup the way mom dog did, and give it a couple back and forth shakes. Please note that you don't actually pick up the pup. Of course, you could also use your mouth and nip the pup's neck like mom did but like me you probably don't want a mouth full of hair.  

Another thing you can try is to fold the pups lips over his teeth as he tries to bite. In other words, you want to make biting humans an unpleasant experience. And, of course, it is good to also teach him positive alternatives to the unwanted behavior.

Don't worry if the second or two of ignoring doesn't make him stop the action. That's the correction's job. The second or two and then offering an appropriate alternative followed by praise, is primarily to separate the two things in the pup's mind. And it gives you a short break.


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## SCWT (Nov 14, 2006)

Make sure you don't accidently get any of the bitter apple in your own mouth....that stuff is really nasty !! I found this out unfortunately after I sprayed Chuy's leash with it


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## skelaki (Nov 9, 2006)

I agree that you must be careful when issuing a scruff shake. You can use it on any puppy but it should defintely be geared to the pup's size. I should have been more clear on that fact. Thank you for reminding me.


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## pinkpuppy360 (Nov 22, 2006)

mistyinca said:


> Me again. My 9wk yorkie is starting to get aggressive, and it seems she's becoming more aggressive and less affectionate. When on the floor for play time, she bites all the time. Now I know some of this is normal, but it does not seem to be lessening at all. When she bites, we do the loud "ouch," and turn away. With the turn away, she seems not to care at all, and seems content to sit and chew on her toy, so I don't see that that tactic will work. When my son pics her up, where she used to start licking his face right away, now all she does is nip at him, and it takes a long time to get her to settle down.
> 
> This is our first dog, and I hope she isn't turning out to be aggressive, or a biter. We only treat her kindly, would never hit her or anything like that, and the only yelling that we have done has been the "ouch" as suggested by the yelping method for inhibiting her biting.
> 
> ...


Trust me, I have a Yorkypoo which is 3/4th yorky. Bites all the time but I fixed the problem. First of all its a puppy and any puppy will nip at you. It doesnt mean that its agressive at all! When it is about a year or so old and it still bights thats when its a problem. 

When it bights, no matter gow tempting it is, dont look at it. Dont touch it dont correct it, dont talk to the little puppy. If that doesnt work, buy some of the spray that I posted about earlier, You put this spray on anything and it will not bight it ever again, including your hand. Heres the link: http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441775320&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302033465&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&bmUID=1164240581573&itemNo=6&In=Dog&N=2033465&Ne=2


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