# problem with my growling and nipping Pomeranian



## gardn198 (Jan 9, 2011)

New to the site. Just lost our 12 year old golden today. We always kind of brushed off our pom's snippy behavior as it was just a "small dog" thing, but our golden was so kind and sweet and without her here, we'd really like to get Daisy our pomeranian into a better behavior. She's 5 years old, and can be such a sweetheart at times, but it seems almost 75% of the time we want to pick her up from the couch or just to hold her, she'll growl and sometimes even nip and show her teeth at us! Is that a common thing with pomeranians?? I really hope we can fix this, she is so adorable and i wish her personality matched!


----------



## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

That is definitely not normal behavior. Has she always behaved this way, or has it developed recently? I ask, because it's always a good idea have your dog checked out by a vet when they develop a new behavior. Dogs don't always express pain in ways we would expect.

Once you've ruled out medical issues you'll need to work on retraining her. I would start with NILF (there is a sticky for it) and hopefully someone with more experience will come by with more suggestions.


----------



## Cracker (May 25, 2009)

I'm sorry about the loss of your golden. 

As for you pom, it's not unusual for dogs to not like being picked up. Whether it's fear of being dropped, pain issues or just plain undersocialization, small dogs have good reason to not want to be five feet off the ground. 

A vet check first to ensure you are not dealing with pain.
Then institute NILIF just for a basic behaviour plan and also start working on conditioning your dog to accept handling and lifting. This involves a really high value food for the dog, you sitting on the floor next to her and touching her while feeding. STart the touch where she's comfortable, then gradually do back, ribs, feet, tail etc until you can put your hand UNDER her belly and put some pressure, then build up to lifting her up a tiny bit off the floor, then into your lap etc etc etc. Go SLOW and do it in short sessions (desensitization and classical conditioning takes TIME and very small increments). 

In the meantime, don't pick her up at all unless it is urgently needed. You can keep a short leash on her to get her off or out of things, or teach her to "off" on cue and reward the getting off herself. 

Also be prepared that since she has also lost a companion when your golden passed, she may be a bit off for the next while. They grieve too....


----------



## gardn198 (Jan 9, 2011)

Thank you for your help. She's always growled that way, it's not a new behavior. Like I said, sometimes she'll just growl, other times she'll gnash her teeth and bite, but it's never a very hard bite but it sounds worse than it is. Also, it's not that she doesn't like getting picked up either, sometimes she'll want to be picked up and she'll stand up on her hind legs and paw at my knees until I pick her up. Maybe it's a pain thing being picked up from the laying down position, but I think it's more of her just being a little spoiled brat :doh:


----------



## Pynzie (Jan 15, 2010)

gardn198 said:


> Also, it's not that she doesn't like getting picked up either, sometimes she'll want to be picked up and she'll stand up on her hind legs and paw at my knees until I pick her up. Maybe it's a pain thing being picked up from the laying down position, but I think it's more of her just being a little spoiled brat :doh:


Yeah, it seems like she just doesn't like getting picked up when she doesn't want it. She wants to control it, but of course we can't have that. Use NILIF, as advised, so she realizes that you are the one that decides when good things happen. She can't demand attention from you like she has been doing. Also follow Cracker's desensitization advice. 

Be prepared for slow going, but keep at it and eventually you will see results.


----------



## gardn198 (Jan 9, 2011)

Thanks, I will definitely try the method you mentioned. Also, my dad took our golden to this military dog trainer who did a great job. We took our Pom to a regular puppy school and she "failed" according to my dad, haha. He wants to take her to that same military trainer, do you think that's a good idea? I can see big dogs like our golden or labs or german shepherds going there.. but a little pomeranian at a military dog trainer seems way out of place to me.. hahaha


----------



## Pynzie (Jan 15, 2010)

I would say if you agreed with the trainer's methods, then that should be fine. Maybe I'm just stereotyping the military, but I would be afraid the trainer would be using unnecessarily harsh methods on my dog. In addition, I don't like the idea of sending my dog off to be trained by someone else. I much prefer a class that helps me train my dog. Those are just personal preferences though, so what you decide to do it up to you. I think you should try training on your own first, and then seek professional help if it's not working. Training can be a great time to strengthen the bond with your dog. I wouldn't want to miss out on that.


----------

