Yorkshire terriers often fall victim to "Small Dog Syndrome"

And what, you may ask, is “Small Dog Syndrome”?  Well, we’ve all seen those annoying little dogs that yap non-stop, show aggressive behavior, jump up on people, snap at kids, and the list goes on and on.

In fact, most people really don’t care for small dogs because they have a reputation for just being unpleasant to be around.

Why is this?  Are small dogs like yorkies really that bad?

It all comes back to the owners.  People will accept behavior from a small dog that they would never tolerate from a big one.  Why?  Because they think it’s “cute.”

What Are The Symptoms Of Small Dog Syndome?

• Jumping up on people
• Growling, both at people and at other dogs
• Yapping non-stop
• Jumping up on your lap uninvited
• Jealousy if someone else gets too close to the owner
• Pulling on the leash during walks
• Nervousness and jumpyness
• Persistently getting up on the couch when told not too
• Becoming aggressive when you try to get him off the furniture
• Always running to go out the door ahead of you

These, and many other behaviors, are symptoms of a dominant dog who believes he’s the pack leader.  If your dog weighed 80 pounds, you certainly wouldn’t be putting up with this kind of behavior.

But people think it’s “adorable” when their little five-pound yorkie does it.  Before you know it, your sweet little pet has transformed into a yappy, nervous demanding little monster who snaps at people for no reason.   This is why small dogs have such a poor reputation.

How To Prevent Behavior Problems In Yorkshire Terriers

Resist the urge to let them get away with bad behavior just because they’re cute.  What’s cute when your Yorkie is an adorable ball of fluff won’t be so cute later on, when he’s aggressively charging that rottweiler or snapping at the neighbor’s child.

Start obedience training right away.  With any of the terrier breeds, it’s important to set boundaries right at the start and stick to them.  Terriers were originally bred as hunting dogs who would dig into burrows and drag out animals like rats and foxes.  They are very strong, intelligent, and determined animals who can very easily take over the house before you know it.

Don’t let your yorkie become a victim of “Small Dog Syndrome.”  Start training him today, and he’ll become a well-behaved, much-loved member of your family.

Related articles

• So You Want a Teacup Yorkie? (therealowner.com)
• Small Dog Syndrome

When a jumping dog is a good thing!

If you can’t get your dog to stop jumping on people, your real problem may be a dominant dog.  These two dog behavior problems are more closely related than most dog owners realize.

Dog Psychology 101

Watch two dogs when they greet each other.  They don’t jump all over each other the first time they meet, do they?  No, each dog stands still and lets the other one sniff him.  This is the doggy equivalent of shaking hands.  It’s only after they know each other that they’ll run around and play together.

You should understand that dogs are pack animals, and every pack has its leader.  One way the alpha dog asserts his dominance over the other pack members is to jump on them and put his front paws on the other animal’s shoulders.  Is this starting to sound familiar?

The other dogs in the pack NEVER jump on the alpha dog.  This is a sign that the other dog is challenging the leader for dominance.  The leader has to respond to this challenge immediately if he want to stay the leader.

When you allow your dog to jump up on you and put his paws on your shoulders, you’re reinforcing his idea that he’s in charge, not you.

Dog Training Tips For Getting Problem Jumping Under Control

Your dog should know the “Sit” command.  Always have him sit before you pet him.  You’re the leader, and he should get attention on your terms, not his.

If your dog is already jumping on you, these dog obedience tips can help to get him under control.

• When you see him coming, turn sideways and block him with your hip.
• Don’t give him attention by pushing him down and yelling “NO!”  He’ll think you’re playing with him.
• If he does manage to get his paws on you, turn your back to him.  Make a point of ignoring him.  When all four feet are on the ground, tell him to “sit” and “stay.”  When he obeys, praise him.  Don’t allow him to move until you release him.
• If your pet is demanding your attention and just won’t quit, squirt him in the face with a spray bottle.  Stop giving into his demands.

Being Consistent Leads To A Well-Trained Dog

Consistency is the key when training your dog.  If one person in your home thinks this behavior is cute, or is encouraging it, you’ll never get him to stop jumping.  Everyone in your household must have the same goal, which is teaching your dog to be a well-mannered member of the family who knows where he fits into his world.

Related articles

• Training Your Dog: Why Should You Do It? (aaccc.wordpress.com)

A fearful dog may display canine aggression towards strangers

One of the most frustrating dog behavior problems is fear aggression in dogs.  In a nutshell, your dog is scared of strangers.  But not necessarily all strangers!

Your companion may be scared of men.  Or just men who are wearing baseball caps, or who have beards.  He may not like toddlers, but older kids are OK.

It can be hard to figure out what it is about a stranger that he finds scary.  But that’s exactly what you need to do to end this aggressive dog behavior.

Common Triggers For Canine Aggression In Fearful Dogs

Most dogs find men more threatening than women.  Why?  Well, men are usually bigger.  They have beards or moustaches.  Their voices are deeper and louder.  Plus they tend to make eye contact more directly.

Sometimes a man will remind a dog of someone who scared him or abused him in the past.

Kids can send a nervous or high-strung dog over the edge.  They move quickly and unexpectedly.  Their voices are high and squeaky.  Sometimes they come with scary things like roller blades or skateboards.

Some children like to grab dogs and hug them.  Dogs don’t like to be hugged, but most will put up with it, especially if they know the child.  But the combination of a fearful dog and a rambunctious kid he doesn’t know can be a bad one.  Teach your kids never to hug a dog, especially one they don’t know.

Prolonged eye contact is threatening to any canine.  This is especially true for a dog who’s shy around strangers.  If you meet a dog you don’t know, don’t look him in the eye.  Look down or to the side instead.

A person who’s doing something out of the ordinary may upset your dog.  If someone is waving their arms around, or jumping up and down, it will catch his eye.  And a whiff of something unfamiliar, like beer or cigars, may put him on edge as well.

And sometimes, it’s nearly impossible to tell what’s bothering your dog.  He can’t talk and tell you what the problem is, so it’s up to you to watch him as he interacts with people.  He’ll let you know what’s upsetting him if you keep an eye on him.

Training A Fearful Dog

Never punish a dog who displays canine aggression towards strangers.  This will only make the problem worse.  Dogs learn by association.  If you punish him, he’ll associate being punished with meeting strangers.  This will only make him more aggressive towards people he doesn’t know.

A much better approach is to desensitize him to strangers by associating meeting new people with good stuff, like getting a tasty treat.  You may need to enlist the aid of your family and friends as you do this.  Remember that training a shy dog is a long process that can’t be rushed.

Related articles

• Keeping Kids Safe From Dog Bites (everydayhealth.com)

Understanding canine behavior will help when training your dog.

A dominant dog poses special problems when training him. You pet may show dog behavior problems like ignoring your commands, jumping on you, and making messes all over the house.

Understanding canine behavior will help you and your dog work together, not against each other.

Dominance In Dogs

Most people know that dogs are pack animals.  Each pack has its own hierarchy.  The more dominant pack members rank higher, while the top dog is the most dominant animal in the pack.

You need to be the top dog (or alpha dog) in your home.  If you aren’t, your dog will willingly step up to challenge you for that position.

How To Tell If You Have A Dominant Dog

All dogs have their moments now and then.  But if your canine companion does all or most of these things, you may be dealing with dominance issues.

• Gets on the furniture without permission, and then doesn’t get off when you tell him to
• Being slow to obey simple commands like “sit,” “off,” or “out”
• Stares at you
• Marks his territory in the house by urinating or defecating on your bed or something else that belongs to you
• Jumps up for food before you put it down
• Displays aggressive dog behavior like guarding his food or toys
• Jumps up on you and puts his feet on you
• Tries to be taller than you

Are you starting to see a pattern here?

Dog Training Advice For Becoming Your Dog’s Leader

These tips can help you gain control of the situation.

Teach your dog the “sit-stay” and “off” commands if he doesn’t already know them.

Always eat before your dog does.  If it’s not your mealtime when you feed him, have a snack, and make sure he sees you eating it.

Use the “sit-stay” command before feeding him.  If he jumps up before you release him, put the food away.  Try again in an hour or so.  Don’t worry, he won’t starve.  Dogs are smart, and he’ll figure it out very quickly if he’s hungry.

Go through all doors ahead of him.  Put him on a leash so you can control him, if necessary.

Don’t allow him on the furniture without permission.  Push him off if he gets up there without permission.  If he growls or snaps, put a long leash on him so you can pull him off without the risk of him biting you.

If your dog shows aggression toward you, put him in his crate for fifteen minutes.  Nobody should have any contact with him.  When you let him out, ignore him for a half-hour.  Don’t yell or be angry.  Just be very matter-of-fact about it.

Once he understands that you are the head honcho, training your dog will be much easier.

Related articles

• Training Your Dog: Why Should You Do It? (aaccc.wordpress.com)

Nip dog food aggression in the bud while your dog is still a puppy.

Aggressive behavior in dogs is a serious issue, especially when it comes to food.  If dog food aggression is getting scary in your home, here’s a four-step plan to end this canine aggression problem.

Nip Dog Food Aggression In The Bud

With a new puppy, it’s easy to prevent this serious dog behavior problem from ever getting started.  You probably don’t know that in the wild, the pack leader always eats first, usually alone.  So if you feed your puppy before you eat, or leave him by himself while he’s eating, you may be giving him the wrong idea.

Always feed your puppy after you and your family have already eaten.  Hang around, too.  Take his food dish up, and put it back down.  This shows him that you’re in charge, not him.  Slipping a treat into the bowl while he’s eating is another way to show him that having someone close by during mealtime is a good thing.

Remember that you, and anyone in your household, should always be able to approach him while he’s eating.  He should never be threatening anyone with a dog attack for getting too close to his food.

A Four-Step Plan For Controlling Aggressive Dog Behavior Around Food

If aggressive behavior in dogs is already a problem when you feed your pet, you need to take a different approach.  Here is a four-step dog training plan that can help.

Plan to spend about fourteen days on each step.  Be sure to do these things every time you feed him.  If he’s extremely aggressive around food, you may need to put him on a leash to control him, and to protect yourself.

Here’s What To Do

First, put his food dish away for a couple of weeks.  You’re going to feed your dog out of your hand for a while.  Give him just a few pieces of dog food at a time, until his meal is finished.  If he becomes aggressive or demanding, stop feeding him and walk away.  He’ll learn that he eats on your terms, not his.

After he’s used to eating out of your hand for a couple of weeks, get out his food bowl again.  But don’t put anything in it.  After a bit, walk past and drop a few pieces of dog food into his bowl.  When he eats it, put a little bit more in.  If he becomes aggressive, mealtime’s over.  Walk away.  The next time you feed him, he’ll probably be begging you to walk up to his bowl.

In a couple more weeks, you’re ready to put a half-filled bowl of dog food down for him.  Use the sit-stay command.  This is where the leash comes in handy, as it keeps you in control.

Don’t let him eat until you release him.  Again, you’re asserting that you are in control, not him.  While he’s eating, walk up to him and add a tasty treat to his bowl.  Walk up to him again, and add the rest of his food.

Be sure to repeat all these steps every time you feed him.  It’s very important not to rush the process.  Spend at least two weeks on each step.

The last step is to put a full bowl of food down while he’s obeying the sit-stay command.  Remember that he does not eat until you release him.  Keep him on the leash so you can enforce this, although hopefully you won’t need to use it by this time.

Once or twice a week, interrupt him while he’s eating by calling him over to you.  Reward him with a favored treat when he obeys you.

And always use the sit-stay, wait, and take-it commands when you feed him so that your dog understands that you’re in charge of the food.  This reinforces your status as the alpha dog for him.

If he reverts back to his old aggressive dog habits, start again at step one, and repeat the process.

Dog socialization is important to prevent fear aggression

Do you want to know a simple way to prevent aggressive dog behavior?  Learn what dog socialization is.  Some dog owners have never heard of this, but it’s a very easy way to prevent many dog behavior problems in the future.

What Is Dog Socialization?

It’s a fancy name for getting your dog used to meeting new people and new animals.  It also includes taking your dog just about everywhere with you so that going someplace new is fun, not scary.

We’ve all seen dogs that are scared of strangers.  And a scared dog can very quickly become an aggressive dog.  Don’t neglect to socialize your dog.   It’s easy, and it’s probably the most fun you can have while training your dog.

There are two types of fear aggression:  aggression towards strangers, and aggression towards other animals.  The first can lead to your dog attacking people he doesn’t know, and the second is a major cause of dog fights.

Fear Aggression Towards Strangers

A puppy that’s scared of new people has an excellent change of become a fear aggressive dog as he grows up.  He needs to be exposed to lots of new people and places, especially between the ages of three and twelve weeks.  Otherwise he may be very suspicious around someone he doesn’t know.

A dog should be happy to meet new people.  On my daily walks, I meet many dogs.  Most come bounding up to say hi, and are overjoyed to see me, even though they’ve never met me before.  These are the dogs I enjoy meeting.

The dogs I’m not too crazy about, though, are the ones who sit and stare at me.  Sometimes they even back away, while barking at me.  These are the ones that I’m glad are on a leash!  If your canine companion is shy and mistrustful around new people, you really need to work on dog socialization.

Dog Aggression Towards Dogs

If a dog doesn’t learn how to behave around other dogs when he’s a puppy, it can lead to dog aggression problems later in life.  This is sometimes seen in dogs who were taken away from their litter mates too early.  And it’s seen a lot in smaller breeds whose owners spoil them.

It’s important to watch your own cues, too.  It’s very easy to tell your dog you’re uneasy around strange dogs, especially if you tighten the leash and pull him closer to you every time you meet another canine.  You’re unwittingly teaching your dog that other dogs are a threat.

The result?  Your pet gets tense if another dog approaches.  He want to keep the other dog away, so he barks and growls at him.  If he gets too close, your dog may attack him, especially if you’ve pulled the leash tight.

What does the leash have to do with it?  Your dog can’t run away, which is what he really wants to do.  So the only option he has left is to defend himself.  Plus, pulling back on his leash makes him pull away from you and lean on his front feet.  This may threaten the other dog, causing a dog fight.  And all you were doing was trying to defuse the situation!

Prevent Dog Aggression Problems By Socializing Your Dog

Take your pup to as many different places as you can.  A daily walk is a great way for him to get out and about, meeting new people and new dogs in your neighborhood.  If you live near a dog park, this is an ideal way to get him used to meeting and greeting other canines.

And watch your own behavior, too.  It’s very easy to communicate your own unease to your pet.

Related articles

• Stop Dog Fights Before They Start (dogleadermysteries.com)

Image via Wikipedia

Is your dog’s aggressive behavior starting to get on your nerves?   Join the crowd.   Aggressive behavior in dogs is one of the most serious dog behavior problems a dog owner can face.

Most cases of canine aggression can be prevented.  The key is to understand why your dog develops aggressive behavior in the first place.  Read on to learn more about this common problem.

Canine Aggression Is An Instinctive Behavior

In the wild, aggression is a good thing.  Canines in the wild wouldn’t last very long if they weren’t aggressive.  A wild canine not only needs to be aggressive enough to hunt for food, but it also needs to be able to defend its kill from other predators.  Wild dogs also need to defend their territories and their mates from other animals in the area.

When people domesticated dogs, it didn’t take long to discover that aggression is not a desirable trait.  Over time, humans were able to breed most aggressive tendencies out of dogs.  However, a few aggressive instincts do remain.

And since dogs are equipped with sharp teeth, they’re quite capable of doing serious harm if they are aggressive towards their owners or other people.  This is why it’s important to deal with aggressive behavior in dogs quickly and effectively.

There are several different types of aggression in dogs.  The two types most commonly seen are aggression towards family members and aggression towards strangers .  Because these types of aggression have different causes, it’s necessary to deal with them differently, as well.

Aggression Towards Family Members

There are two reasons a dog will become aggressive towards family members.

1.  Resource Guarding – Your dog is protecting something he thinks belongs to him from someone he considers to be a threat.

In the wild, only the pack leader aggressively guards resources.  If your dog is displaying this kind of aggressive dog behavior, this is a tip-off that he considers himself the alpha dog in your household.

2.  Your dog may become aggressive if he doesn’t like the way you, or someone in your family, is treating him.

Aggression Towards Strangers

This dog behavior problem is very easy to recognize.  There are two ways your dog may act around strangers.

1.  He’ll be jumpy and nervous.  The slightest noise will startle him.  He’ll be on the alert, fidgeting, pacing around, and barking or whining.

2.  Your dog may be very quiet instead.  You see him sitting in one place without moving, staring hard at whatever it is that’s bothering him.  This could be a visitor, or someone walking by on the street.

Usually a dog is aggressive around people he doesn’t know because he’s not used to being around strangers.  Part of training your dog involves teaching him that strangers aren’t necessarily a bad thing.

Learn How To Handle Aggression in Dogs

Nobody should be a the mercy of their dog.  If your pet is using canine aggression to control you, this is dangerous and unhealthy situation.  Dog bites are a major reason for emergency room visits.  Don’t let this happen to you or a family member, or anyone else your dog comes in contact with.

Click on any link in the article to learn how to train an aggressive dog.

Related articles

• Fear Aggression : Why Our Dogs Fear Strangers (thespiritdog.wordpress.com)
• Food for Thought on Territorial Aggression in Dogs (tailsfromthefur.wordpress.com)