HELPP my pup is becoming aggresive towards my lil bro and sis?

Question

My pup is a 7 month old yorkie and she is very dominating. I am in the process of fixing that and establishing myself as the Alpha Dog, we will be attending obediance classes soon. I worked with her to sit, but if she sits and I dont give her a treat, she nips at my fingers!! Its like she is getting mad that i didnt give her food. Is it likely that she is rebelling because I am trying to dominate her? She has become really snappy since I have been working with her. Is this normal? I want a calm submissive dog. She also is very nippy towards my lil sis who is 2 and my lil bro who is 4. They are nice to her and she still bites them all of a sudden. And also she has been really weird like she is really skiddish. Is this a normal part of the training? Can you refer any good trainers??

Answer 1

You are anthropomorphizing your dog if you believe she nips at your fingers because you don't give her a treat. I suspect she nips at your fingers because dogs don't see well up close and she can't really tell if a treat is there, so better be safe than sorry.

If you truly want a "calm submissive" dog, stop watching Cesar Millan. Most of what he says is nonsense.

I suspect your dog is skittish and nippy and becoming a fear biter because you have forced her to her side, or "alpha Rolled' her. Stop doing that, she is only learning humans are scary and unpredictable.
Read this website: http://www.4pawsu.com/dogpsychology.htm
and look up a good trainer in your area here:
www.ccpdt.com

Answer 2

First let me start by saying little dogs tend to be much more aggressive by nature than larger dogs, it's crazy that way. The first thing that has to be addressed is her biting, NOT ACCEPTABLE!! Especially to small children is even worse. I read through the answers and you've been given some really good advice, except from renodogmom, she's crazy if she thinks dog whisperer is wrong. Here's the simple facts, your dog definitely needs guidance or a "pack leader" as Cesar Millan calls them. This is this way with EVERY animal, horses, chickens, goats, cats, and dogs. There is always a boss. One is always the dominant one, it's nature and the way it works. You need to be the one calling shots. You can't humanize your dog by thinking she's getting upset simply because you didn't give her a treat, treats are for positive reinforcement when learning something new, or difficult. Sit is not one of these things. You're doing the right thing by looking for professional help through a trainer. In the meantime, action for consequence, and no treats. Most importantly, until she learns some manners.....keep her away from the kids. Good Luck, I wish you well with your girl, I'm sure she's loved by you having such a concern and so much patience with her.

Answer 3

This is not good. I would recommend you watch National Geographic channels program called "The Dog Whisperer", just for reference plus you need a good Dog trainer. Try Petco or Petsmart they usually have referrals for Trainers.
I wouldn't trust her around anyone without a good training collar. Correct her firmly when she shows any aggression toward you or anyone else.
Some small dogs get spoiled by being babied and carried all over the place. Some of them don't act like dogs, but like neurotic spoiled brats instead!
Its normal for dogs to try to be the boss...if they can..they will.
We had this same problem with an Old English Sheepdog, who we adopted. She was used to running the whole house, she was big and unruly..she would deliberately run into people to knock them down and snapped at people too. It took alot of training to break her of it, and to teach her to behave ..but we did. If we can do it with a dog that size, you should be able to do it too.

Answer 4

Well, Yorkies are going to be dominant no matter what happens. Our four pound Yorkie bosses my dad (a very large man at 6'2") around all the time.

That said, spaying your dog will begin to help your dominance issues as it will calm your dog down considerably. I would keep your siblings away from the Yorkie as much as possible for the time being--since they are so much closer to her size, she probably seems them as a threat to her, not only physically, but also for your attention.

The skittish part is just her being a Yorkie. Obedience training will help--Yorkies are incredibly intelligent and she will hold onto the training once you go. Remember that she is very young, so it is going to take a while for the training to take place. I can't recommend any good trainers, but look into classes at your local pet store; if they don't offer classes themselves, they may be able to point you in the right direction.

Answer 5

Your dog's behavior is dominant aggressive and the amount of biting and nipping is not normal, nor is the skittishness. At 7 months, your dog is approaching maturity and the problem will get worse as your dog gets older unless you begin to work with a professional trainer that uses gentle but firm training methods. I would contact your local humane society and see if they can recommend professional trainers to help you with this problem. I would not wait - without training this problem will only get worse.

If your dog is not spayed, do it soon. Spaying may help with some of this behavior, but it won't cure it entirely.

Answer 6

Your puppy does NOT sound dominant. This is how puppies naturally establish a rank in a pack, by biting. Puppies play (bite) with their littermates to establish a rank in the pack. The one that bites that hardest becomes the alpha dog. Their mother is the Pack Leader, and she corrects any inappropriate pack behavior. When a puppy is taken to a new home, it does not know any better, and it attempts to find its place in the pack just as it did with its littermates...by nipping/biting. IF your puppy growled when approached while playing, eating and/or sleeping, then I'd be concerned about dominance.

When your puppy begins to nip/bite at you, pick it up by the scruff of its cheeks, stare at it straight into its eyes and calmly say, "No", or whatever word you want to use. This will help you establish yourself as the Pack Leader. Keep correcting your pup this way, and it will learn that biting is not appropriate. This applies to any other unwanted behavior. You may have to do this several times. Typically, puppies will stop biting at around 5 or 6 months of age. However, it is good to start to establish yourself as Pack Leader now, and not wait until the pup turns 5 or 6 months.

If you attend one of those obedience classes with 5 or 6 other dogs, your puppy will not learn squat. Way too much distraction. Your puppy is just that, a puppy, so you cannot expect your pup to be "calm-submissive" at this point. Everything is new to them, and they get easily distracted. In order to get a dog to be calm-submissive, you'd have to regularly give good exercise to your dog, until its really tired. This is how you get a dog to be calm-submissive, in addition to good leadership skills. With that said, you cannot over-exercise a puppy, or health problems may develop.

Someone here said that Cesar Millan (Dog Whisperer) is pure non-sense. This is simply NOT true. People who don't like Cesar Millan's training methods do not understand pack behavior. These dog trainers will never be able to handle/rehabilitate the aggressive dogs that he handles..in fact, they won't even get near them. Many of them go on about being the alpha, but they really don't know how to go about being one. This is because they don't understand pack behavior. I do not use Cesar Millan's methods, but I've read a book that he wrote. I agree with his understanding of pack behavior. He teaches pack structure, which is what dogs live by, until death. Many credible Police K9 Instructors know this.

Go to Leerburg.com. This dog trainer has been a dog breeder since the late 70s, and he used to work in a K9 Unit. He has a vast amount of experience with dominant/aggressive dogs. He also has a Q & A section on puppies who bite/nip, real emails from people in that section.

You did not go into detail about what your pup is skittish about, so it is hard to give a possible reason.

If you'd like more info, email me at [e-mail]

Answer 7

what it sounds like is you give your dog treats for good behavor all the time its like a kid if you give the kid a toy every time you go to the store that is what the expect insted of a treat try positave recanition the good boy and rub there belly or what ever as far as your kids it is the same show the dod that any kind of bad behavor will have a consuquence lock the dog away alone and then when you bring them back out let the kid that was niped at show the dog there the boss not the dog

Answer 8

Sometimes (especially with small dogs) they get scared easily. If she is acting skiddish when she bites your brother and sister, it is probably because she is stressed. Not that your siblings are at all mean to her, she is probably just scared of little people. The whole biting you when you don't give her a treat, is a completly different thing. I don't recommend hitting dogs, but when a dog bites because you don't do what it wants you to do or it is angry at you it is a must. Dogs should not get away with it because it will lead to bigger problems. Good luck!

Answer 9

Is she allowed on the furniture? Do you carry her alot?

I agree with the previous answer about not alpha rolling her or using physical displays to show you are the pack leader. I don't know if this is what you are doing or not.

I do have a program that is proven to work. Please email me at [e-mail] about it.

Answer 10

www.leerburg.com/aggresiv.htm

Go here.... The author has bred several among several German Shepherd Dog litters. He is very well qualified, and this site give a lot of information on training the aggressive dog. It helped me with both of my Siberian Huskies.