[gruver77]

We have 4 month old shorkie and she is cute as can be but SO naughty! Well, I guess I assume she is naughty but maybe what she is doing is normal puppy? We are new to the world of dogs. She bites and growls which to me seems very aggressive! I just want to be sure we are being proactive because we have small kids and I do not want to have the dog all kids are afraid of!! Any help is great!

[Lucky098]

Smaller breeds are a challenge. They are either the perfect pet from day one, or they can be nightmares.

First thing you need to do is to sign up for puppy classes. Socialization is the number one thing that you need to do with your dog. A socialized dog is a happy, friendly dog. You do not want to create a dog that is afraid of the world. Aggression is almost always triggered by fear.

Next, you and your husband need to sit down on the floor with her and play with her. Puppies bite because they don't kow they can't bite. You need to teach them that biting is wrong and that there is a consequence to it. Basically, you want to push her buttons and make her bite. Right now her bite isn't going to hurt you. It may sting, but there isn't near the power in her jaws now.

What I do with my puppies, and others may have different approaches, is I sit with them holding them on their back.. cradled like a baby. She is going to fight, and cry, and pee and scream and act like a jerk... and you're just going to hold her and talk to her calmly. Once she is done struggling, you can losen your grip on her.. but if she starts struggling again, squeezer her in your arms again so she can't get away. What it teaches her is to trust you and to learn that she can't do what she wants.

For the biting... if she snaps at you, grab her muzzle (not extremely tight, just enough pressure to keep her mouth shut) and say "no bite". She may come back at you, so just grab her muzzle again and say "no bite". If she flails around, fights to get away from you and so on, hold her muzzle and ride it through the tantrum.

Some other methods you can use, which are more passive, would be to use a squirt bottle with cold water in it, or 50/50 vinegar and water. My only dislike to the water bottle is you have to be VERY fast about it. There cannot be much of a delay. And since she is being snappy, you'd have to squirt it in her mouth along with the command "no bite".

You can also just get up and leave. However this still doesn't teach the puppy that biting is bad. It teaches her that biting makes everyone leave, which is punishment enough... however; this method has to be very consistent and can take weeks before the dots are connected that biting equals everyone leaving. And if you happen to have an undersocialized puppy or a puppy not that interested in people, this could actually become an award.

The methods I described in the beginning of holding her in your arms and grabbing the muzzle have been tested over and over on my own dogs. It takes about 3 days, and the puppy learns to give. You're not breaking her spirit, you're not being abusive or cruel.. you are simply teaching her that its OK for people to touch you. And I have never had a puppy that doesn't respond to that method.