Community Chat

[Ladybug724]

Hi everybody, I have a little yorkie that we literally rescued from off of the street. She is adorable! Extremely affectionate, loving, cute, etc. But she definitely displays aggressive behavior, especially around strangers. She is very protective and she has nipped at people. The vet said she is around three or four years old so beyond puppy training, but this behavior is concerning. What can I do to stop her from trying to attack delivery men, repairmen, etc. Yes I put her in a bedroom when I know people are coming ahead of time but when people unexpectedly come to the door she growls viciously and tries to escape out the front door. What can I do? She goes nutso whenever we get a pizza delivered! Help!

[YorkieonmyPillow]

Since you got her off the street, there's no telling what she has endured.

I would google "how to deal with aggressive behavior in your dog," as well as searching Cesar Milan videos. Plus, there are a lot of dog training videos on youtube, as well as articles on the internet.

Good luck

[NickNack]

I agree with YorkieonmyPillow that there's no telling what your Yorkie has endured. Make sure you use positive reinforcement with your training. I, too, would Google it. I just googled "aggressive behavior in a yorkshire terrier" and got quite a few hits.

[Ladybug724]

Thank you! I love this dog--she was a totally unexpected happy surprise

[lucylover64]

Great suggestions by YorkieonmyPillow and NickNack: it is amazing what Googling can offer! Clearly your little one has endured a lot and has developed strong defenses for self-protection, just like people. Bless you for rescuing her! Best wishes to you and let us know how things go!

[mewsmomtoo]

Yes-positive reinforcement is very important especially for a dog like yours who has already endured some bad things in her life. Once you start her training it is important that everyone in the house be on the same page, consistency is key. For fun and to see what positive reinforcement can accomplish, go to YouTube and look up Jesse the Jack Russell Terrier. Good luck and thank you for giving her a chance!

[CrazyDaisy]

From what you describe it is not aggressive behavior, he is resource guarding. Please DO NOT use Cesar Milan's methods. They are often harsh and often do not fix the problem.

Find a trainer in your area that uses positive reinforcement and can help you with the timing of the reinforcement for good behavior,. People often try to "calm" the dog down by picking them up, giving the treats to distract them or even just talking to them, this will only reinforce the unwanted behavior.

This is really not an issue of aggression, rather training him the correct behavior.

[Ladybug724]

On 1/12/2015 lucylover64 said:

Great suggestions by YorkieonmyPillow and NickNack: it is amazing what Googling can offer! Clearly your little one has endured a lot and has developed strong defenses for self-protection, just like people. Bless you for rescuing her! Best wishes to you and let us know how things go!

Thank you! I'm so glad we rescued her too. Sometimes I wonder if she is so protective because of the fact that she knows we helped her? She is a little cutie that's for sure!

[Ladybug724]

Thank you all for the suggestions! We definitely use positive reinforcement. I think we will end up getting a trainer

[qualitygal]

When we got ours, we hadn't had a puppy in so long, I felt I needed a refresher course. Went to the library and got some of Cesar's (the dog fellow) books and read up. Maybe something in one of his books could help the situation too, if you get a trainer. You do need to be head dog and use NO when you have to. Reward systems are great, for they want to please. But they sure don't know, they aren't Great Dane's!!! Good luck.