Too Protective? A terrier question..

[Crowe 0]

So. I know this person who is over my house an awful lot, and she brings her Yorkshire Terrier with her every time she is over. At one moment, you can pet the dog, and everything is all okay. But then the next moment, he is barking and snapping at whoever comes near him! What can I do to help solve this problem? Is it just because of the terrier nature that he is like this? I think that he is too protective, but also he could be considered as a tad bit insane. I have no real problems with the dog, except for that, and when he decides to snap back, he has actually bit someone! What do I do?Is there a way to solve this, or should everyone just stay away from the dog?

[Plenoptic 0]

I am not a specialist in animal behavior but my suggestion would be to take it to a veterinarian who might be able to diagnose whether it has some sort of behavioral problem and whether it can be of danger. Maybe if it does have a temporary period of being angry or there is something that can trigger misbehavior in the dog then the veterinarian can prescribe something that may be able to help with it. It probably is not something too serious unless it continues to bite or attack constantly. I would try and find a controlled area and see if it remains calm there to find if something may trigger this behavior.

[shadowx 0]

the Vet idea is probably the best. Does the dog seem to get aggressive when you go near your friend? It could be, like the topic suggests, protectiveness, which is a cognitive thing rather than something that can be treated with drugs, it would have to be treated with training. One thing you could try is to let the dog see you and your friend sitting next to each other etc... As far as the dog is concerned its "pack" consists of your friend and her family. You are an outsider, a threat to his pack and to its members. To solve that the dog needs to stop seeing you as a threat to either itself or to your friend. One way would be to get your friend to hold the dog on her lap tightly so the dog cant go mad and hurt someone, and sit near your friend talking to her and totally ignoring the dog. The idea is to tell the dog "its not your job to decide who gets close to your owner, and its not your job to protect her!" so if the dog is ignored it will probably assume that your friend is making the decisions and hence is the alpha member of the group and then slowly the dog will see you as being either part of the pack, or not a threat to the pack. Its a similar reason that dogs bark when someone knocks at the door. The dog assumes it must protect its family from the intruder, and the worst thing you can do is shout at the dog, all the dog hears is a high pitched, possible aggravated or scared call, and to the dog that just means "that person at the door is scaring or threatening me" and so the dog barks like mad! the best thing to do is just to hold the dogs collar, ignore it completely and be at ease with the person the dog doesnt like!disclaimer: Im not an expert, this is just stuff ive learned from TV and a 2 year course of psychology, so it might be wrong, but it might not! Follow my advice at your own risk (not that there is much but ya know!) Or read up more on the issue on the internet

[Crowe 0]

You all made some good points. I'll probably talk to my friend about her dog, and see if she could take it to the vet to get it looked over. I guess the dog is a bit too protective, and since we have tried to calm it down, it hasn't really changed much. The vet might be a better choice in dealing with the dog, so I will most likely check with her about it--the dog has serious mood swings.

 

I think that it's behavior has something to do with it being a terrier. I am not too sure though, but the dog seems to have some people worried--especially the younger kids that I know. Yorkshire terriers from what I know are supposed to be protective, but I don't think they are supposed to be that protective. I don't know.

 

Thanks for the suggestions.

[joeblogg 0]

have you tried reading any books about the behavior of dogs. they can tell you a fair bit in fact. but still the best way to get this problem fixed is to give your local vet a visit. even though vets usually rip you off because they don't do much it is still really the only way to get this fixed. at least vets know what they are talking about when it comes to animals.

[Crowe 0]

I have looked through a few books, but I haven't had the chance to talk to my friend yet. I don't think she plans on bringing the dog back over my house for a while--maybe because people have already began to complain about it. I don't know.

[sheepdog 10]

First thing I want to say is do not let the idiosyncrasies of the Yorkshire Terrier color all of your ideals of the Terrier group. While they are probably the most popular Terrier, Yorkies are probably my least favorite of the group, and the most prone to behavior problems. They can be hardheaded and stubborn as a mule. They are also the most difficult of all the terriers to housebreak. And they can be quite spiteful. And just so stinking cute nobody can resist them. Go figure. First of all, determine the trigger to the dog?s bad behavior. Is it when you come between him and his mistress? You have to look at it from the dog?s point of view, and also remember; dog?s senses are much sharper than humans. Dogs can identify even subtle changes in human's metabolism. I know for a fact certain dogs can judge the level of testosterone in a male human, and will act differently according to that level towards the male human. I had a male Giant Schnauzer once that was fine around woman, young boys, children, old men, and even gay men, but would go into frothing fits if a sexually active male human went near him. You have to identify the trigger to the behavior problem before you can start on proper training to correct the behavior. If he is simply protecting his owner, that is natural and difficult to break the habit of, but it can be done. Just takes time and patience. The dog needs a lot of socialization from other people and needs to learn to accept his owners friends. It just takes a lot of exposure for some dogs to get the hang of it. Some dogs by nature form very strong bonds to a single human and want nothing to do with any other humans. These one person dogs can be impossible to break from this sort of behavior. This tendency is far more common in some breeds than others, but there are individual in any and every breed that can be one-owner dogs. The ability to sense various changes in human metabolism is actually a very good thing about dogs. There are many service dogs that can predict seizures in their owners a short time before the seizure occurs, and allow their owners to get to safety and be prepared for the upcoming episode. I don't think I'd want to see a dog put on medication because he was helping his owner. And dogs have the ability to judge humans on other levels. Crazy as it may sound, years ago I had a German Shepherd that was a better judge of men than I was. I dated this one guy that she just hated. Sure enough, he broke into my house while I was gone one time and robbed me. After that, I started paying a lot more attention to her attitude towards guys I went out with. If she didn't like them I wouldn't go out with them anymore. I found out real quick she was always right. Guys she didn't like were real jerks.

Edited November 20, 2008 by sheepdog (see edit history)