AT WITS END I HAVE A NASTY DOG HELP ME Please?
Lauren. asked:
9 month old 3lb yorkie. She bites PEOPLE! Hands, feet, legs, arms, you name it, its her chew toy!!!! I am soooo frustrated!!! She even growls sometimes!!! She has been biting people ever since we got her at 2 months old!!! A few minutes ago she bit me hard enough to draw blood from my finger and when she saw what she had done and heard how i screamed, she KEPT BITING!!! I am so afraid one day she is gonna bite someone and be put down…. We have done everything in the BOOK to get her to STOP biting. we have grabbed her mouth and told her no, we have made little pincher fingers and pinched her neck, we have told her NO, we have growled at her, we have made startling noises at her to make her know that it HURTS. SHE IS JUST GETTING TO BE REALLY NASTY. She especially is BAD around meal time…… Anyone and everyone she meets she BITES HARD !!!!! Even when i try to pet her she starts gnawing on my fingers like she is trying to eat them!!! What is wrong with my dog?
When i said she is bad around meal time i mean that she bites more before she eats, not that she has food aggression.
Bev
9 month old 3lb yorkie. She bites PEOPLE! Hands, feet, legs, arms, you name it, its her chew toy!!!! I am soooo frustrated!!! She even growls sometimes!!! She has been biting people ever since we got her at 2 months old!!! A few minutes ago she bit me hard enough to draw blood from my finger and when she saw what she had done and heard how i screamed, she KEPT BITING!!! I am so afraid one day she is gonna bite someone and be put down…. We have done everything in the BOOK to get her to STOP biting. we have grabbed her mouth and told her no, we have made little pincher fingers and pinched her neck, we have told her NO, we have growled at her, we have made startling noises at her to make her know that it HURTS. SHE IS JUST GETTING TO BE REALLY NASTY. She especially is BAD around meal time…… Anyone and everyone she meets she BITES HARD !!!!! Even when i try to pet her she starts gnawing on my fingers like she is trying to eat them!!! What is wrong with my dog?
When i said she is bad around meal time i mean that she bites more before she eats, not that she has food aggression.
Bev
February 8th, 2010 at 6:15 am
Edith
Well she’s still a puppy…Have you thought maybe she’s teething?
February 9th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Dwain
I’d go to a vet or dog trainer.
February 11th, 2010 at 4:40 am
Lucrecia
you should watch the dog whisperer he has lots of good advice or seek profesional help
February 12th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
Telma
Bless your heart! Maybe here can help you.. They have solutions for problem pets. You may also want to seek a professional dog expert on this one. Good Luck sweetie it sounds like you love her a lot so I hope things work out for you.
February 13th, 2010 at 8:09 am
Teofila
You guys are reinforcing her behavior by grabbing her, telling her no like that.
When the dog bites, you need to ignore it, you need to no longer pay attention to the animal. She will begin to learn that if she bites she wont get attention.
When she does start biting, you need to also redirect her. Give her a toy right away. Praise her for chewing on the toy. Give her treats and tell her she is good.
You need to find books on Behaviorism, or Applied Behavior Analisys if you really want to change the dogs behaviors.
February 13th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Jacinta
You need to work with a professional trainer who has experience with dog aggression. Call your vet or local humane society to get recommendations. Do it sooner rather than later – these problems get worse as dogs get older.
In the meantime, the minute she bites, put her down and walk away and completely ignore her for at least 15 minutes. Older dogs teach puppies that biting is not acceptable by this method – dogs want attention and it will help her learn that biting means the end of all attention.
But her case is severe and professional training now really is a must.
February 15th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Kathy
Unfortunately, I think a lot of what you have tried may have only made the problem worse. Any kind of agressive action towards your dog, such as grabbing, pinching, and growling, is probablt only encouraging her to be more agressive. I’m guessing biting has become a very bad habit for her, to the point where even signals that should be telling her that she’s hurting you aren’t working. She knows she can get your attention that way, even if it’s negative attention.
You need to get her to a dog behavior specialist as soon as possible. You are right to be worried about this behavior and you will need help to correct it. This is very serious and requires professional help.
February 18th, 2010 at 12:58 am
Jude
Try Cesar Milan’s Website- He’s the Dog Whisperer
February 19th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Billy
My initial thought is.. how is her sight? What does your vet have to say?
February 21st, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Eulah
She can be teething….Just like babies…they dont bite to hurt they bite to lose the pain…Or it just could be she is an evil dog…
February 25th, 2010 at 4:24 am
Tereasa
Have you taken her to any obedience classes or hired a trainer? If not, you should have done this months ago. This little terror… er… terrier.. thinks that SHE is the alpha dog in your house and she’s not about to let anyone else take that role away from her without a fight!
First thing you need to do is either put her in puppy obedience, if you haven’t done that already, or hire a trainer to help you. This dog needs to learn who is in charge, and it SURE as heck ain’t her!
Next you should take her to a vet to make sure there she is healthy. He will probably tell you she is teething and give you some advice on how to deal with that. (At her age, that would be my guess, too.)
When she bites you, roll her over on her belly immediately and hold her down while you tell her in a FIRM voice “NO! Bad Dog!” or “NO BITE!”. Then put her in her kennel for a short period of time and ignore her. She will soon come to realize that everytime she bites, she’s going to be shut away from everyone else. She’ll probably bark and howl and whimper and whine, but do NOT give in while she’s in her kennel! You don’t have to leave her there for a long time, 10 – 15 mins will work to get the message across.
About her mealtimes. Make SURE you and your family eat FIRST! She eats LAST! This is another way to show that YOU and the other humans in your house come before her! In a wolf pack, the alpha leader eats first, so when you feed your pup before you, you are telling her that you accept her leadership as top dog. Time to put a stop to that NOW!
You will also want to provide her with LOTS of teething toys. The “Kong” brand of teething toys are excellent. You can freeze them and she’ll not only be able to chew on them, but the cold will help her gums feel better too.
Good luck!
February 26th, 2010 at 7:58 am
Leesa
my little girl got attacked on friday afternoon (18 may) by a dog he bit her bum arm and neck leaving her with a lot of very very bad wounds and she lost a lot of blood….this dog my mates little pet who she discovered was a dangerous little pet who carried on when he was a puppy the same way your dog is now.my little girl made her communion on sat 19th may in a lot of pain all plastered up………….
go get your dog to vet to check she has no pain of some kind then a dog trainer after that i really dont know.
February 26th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Leida
Umm she is teathing get a squirt bottle and squirt her when she dose it and reward her when she dosent
March 1st, 2010 at 1:14 pm
Jacquelyn
Just because your dog is small does not mean you can skip obedience school, or not pay attention to any of the rules and regulations that come with dog obedience.
You need to get your dog into obedience school, and you need to step up and be your dogs master, not it’s chew toy.
Small dogs do not get a free pass because they cannot inflict a lot of harm. Pretend your dog was something large, like a doberman or a rottie for 2 minutes.
What would you do if that dog was showing the same behavior? It would have been in obedience school yesterday, or it would have been put down.
I’d suggest you treat your aggressive dog the same way.
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Adalberto
This may seem harsh, but from what you say, it may be your last resort. What you have to do is get a shock collar for your dog. Not a bark collar, make sure you get one with a remote. It wont hurt you dog, it’ll just startle it. I had an old border terrier that started biting when he was about two years old, I got a shock collar for him and not too long after he was as lovable as ever!
Me and my mom are co-breeders. I know many temper tuning tricks to help people. You may think your dog is teething, but puppies start teething when they are only a few weeks old. Try the shock collar, it may be just what you need to put your beloved puppy in its place.
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:29 am
Lewis
Before I start with anything, let me say that I am not an expert on animals, but I do have a 8 1/2 month shih tzu who also likes to bite, too. Not aggressively, just playfully. I enjoy watching “It’s me or the dog” on Animal Planet. The dog behaviorist on that show says that usually dogs act out with biting and aggression when they are #1 understimulated during the day, and #2 feel that they are in charge of the home. She recommended walks and plenty of exercise to stimulate your dog and that discourages the aggressive behavior. Also, make sure she (and you) knows who’s in charge. If she acts up, remove her and when she calms down, allow her to come back and play with you. You may have to do it a lot before she gets the point, especially if she is stubborn. Once she realizes that you won’t tolerate that behavior, and you focus her attention on positive play, she will get the point. But, it’s best to handle it while she is still a baby before it becomes too late and her behavior won’t change.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Corina
You need the dog whisperer his name is cesar millan he can fix any problem you can think of with a dog go to google and type in the search bar THE DOG WHISPERER and send him an email explaining your problem and you will recieve an email back on how to fix the issue Good luck In the mean time when she bites pop the tip of her nose with a rolled up news paper or your finger tips that is what the dog whisperer recommended to me for my puppy chewing up stuff and it worked.