I'm at the end of my rope... (more of a rant)

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy
Your dog probably thinks you are rude maniac. Here he is, in possession of a good spot, and you come up and make a noise at him, then you lean over him and are clearly about to attack him, so he defends himself and flees in terror.

 
And I am a giggling maniac. This really struck my funny bone hard for some reason. I think mudpuppy and I have very similar ideas about dogs & training so it seems almost redundant to agree but nevertheless - I agree completely.

You got some good information from other posters.  My puppy Carnegie, who will be 2 in August, was an absolute nightmare.  I was bloody from all of his biting and nipping.  I read every book I could get my hands on and watched videos but nothing seemed to click with him except age.  In the last month, he has become my velcro dog, comes when I call him and is such a lover, a complete 360 from when he was 11 weeks old.  I got him from a rescue and I'm sure he was taken away from his mom too soon so I paid the price for his agression.
 
Be patient, puppies are such hard work but the end result will, hopefully be worth it.  Here is a picture of my little guy!

ORIGINAL: Cockersx3

You got some good information from other posters.  My puppy Carnegie, who will be 2 in August, was an absolute nightmare.  I was bloody from all of his biting and nipping.  I read every book I could get my hands on and watched videos but nothing seemed to click with him except age.  In the last month, he has become my velcro dog, comes when I call him and is such a lover, a complete 360 from when he was 11 weeks old.  I got him from a rescue and I'm sure he was taken away from his mom too soon so I paid the price for his agression.

Be patient, puppies are such hard work but the end result will, hopefully be worth it.  Here is a picture of my little guy!

 
He is soooo cute! 

Its all about you being giver and not the taker, its how you get there that is the most important.  No matter how you want to "label" it.  Most people talk Alpha and everyone has their own version of what that is.  That is why NILIF has been such a great break through in dog training and behavior. Here is great link to NILIF with some recent study information on the Alpha dominance issues for anyone who is interested.

First of all - you have my sympathy - what a mess!  Second - Yorkies can be terrible - I know of several that have become aggressive.  They are adorable puppies and often indulged (don't know about your's) - then they develope into little tyrants.  Your dog is into full blown tyranny!  You have been given a lot of good advice, so I don't need to duplicate it.  Having a short leash on him at all times is vital so you can control him w/o getting bit.  Do you have cable TV - Cesar Milan on NGC deals with many little snotty dogs and has a good way of changing their behavior.  And, yes.........do not put human emotions on dogs - they are not as complicated as we are - they don't punish us.  I think that (IMHO) during the time you have had your little guy you made every effort to make him happy - he has not returned the favor - he has little respect for you a this point and shows it.  Do not
have hurt feelings over this - gain the respect back by taking charge of him - let him know his life is in your hands (benignly, of course).  Most dogs do not care to be in charge of us humans, we are just too much work for them and they don't understand how we operate.  So take charge by doing a lot of the behaviors you have read in posts and little by little he will change.  But remember, before he can change, you must change how you interact with him - this is vital.
 
Good luck - keep calm - stay in charge.
 
Dianeg

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

all this "alpha" crap is complete garbage. Alpha dogs never ask subordinates to jump off the couch or try to handle their toes.  The more confrontational and "dominant" you get with him, the more he will bite. Dominance to dogs ONLY means that the dominant dog gets first pick of the resources. If you and the dog walk into the room at the same time, and you are dominant, the dog will politely wait and give you the chance to pick the best seat- the couch. If you don't take the couch, by dog rules he is allowed to get up there. And the PRIMARY RULE OF DOGS is one of possession. Once a dog has possession of something, it trumps dominance status. You'll never see a dominant dog forcibly displace a submissive dog from its sleeping spot. Submissive dogs can and do growl and snap at dominant dogs while guarding their possessions.  Humans aren't really very fond of most dog rules, so you have to make an effort to teach the dog human rules.

Your dog probably thinks you are rude maniac. Here he is, in possession of a good spot, and you come up and make a noise at him, then you lean over him and are clearly about to attack him, so he defends himself and flees in terror.

If he didn't jump off the couch when you asked him to, it means he doesn't fully understand the command. It sounds like he often doesn't understand your requests. Then you move in to "enforce" your commands, so he defends himself. NILIF is supposed to be a pleasant, non-violent, non-confrontational positive program. No corrections, no angry tones. If the dog wants something, he has to do as you ask-- and it is your responsibility to make sure he understands your requests. It's best to approach it as if it were a fun game.  Look what I have! if you do X you can have it! wow! you did it! here you go.

and yes, you will need to manipulate the environment at first so that he can't engage in bad behavior such as leap onto the couch. If he has the opportunity to get up on the couch, smack yourself in the head for messing up, and lure him down in a non-violent fashion.

I don't really agree with most of what you posted. Carprice has said that her dog DOES understand the off command. It seems to me he just chose to ignore it.

And also, yes, a subordinate dog WILL move out of the way for a dominant dog. I don't think I understand what you're saying, should a person not be able to pick their dog up, or move it from a comfortable resting spot without being bitten? I think when a dog uses aggression to resist those things then YES they are showing dominance. A dog that was submissive to that person would accept it. 
 
I do agree that things should be non confrontational and the easiest way to do that is to limit the dog's access with the leash and/or babygates and crating. The leash makes it easier to gently lead the dog or prevent him from being on the furniture.

She also needs to control all of his resources like food and toys and make him obey a command before getting them.

I don't think ALL behavior problems are caused by dogs becoming alpha, but in this case, I do think that's what's going on. I don't think Carprice's dog is fearful at all. It's more like he's taken control and is using his teeth to get his way.

Well now, I'm gonna disagree with THAT.  Thor is clearly alpha among the dogs....and he has NO problem with letting Tyler or any of the others have the couch.  Basically he behaves the same way that mudpuppy described.

I agree with Glenda. Dingo, is definitely the alpha among the other 2 and is more than willing to let them have the couch.

If he didn't jump off the couch when you asked him to, it means he doesn't fully understand the command. 

 
OK, well what if he DID understand what he was being asked and still didn't do it?  What's going on then?

OK, well what if he DID understand what he was being asked and still didn't do it?  What's going on then?

I was wondering the same thing. He DOES know what is being asked of him.

I agree with mudpuppy... people invest too much into apha this and alpha that... and it may inhibit the abitlity to see other issues.
 
I do think though, that they can simply ignore us at times when they know good and well what you are saying.  I dont think of that as alpha related but more of not getting that they have to listen on the first command or so. Just make them get off when you say it and work on it gently as suggested and I think thats the best way... as with most things in dog training.  Then again, thats just my opinion.

If it isn't alpha related, then what IS causing the aggression?
 
A dog continually attacking and biting definitely means there's something way more than just "not understanding commands" going on.......
 
I do think that far too many behavioral problems are blamed on dominance, but in this case, it really does seem that this dog has taken over and turned into something of a tyrannt. JMO.

If it isn't alpha related, then what IS causing the aggression?

 
Without seeing this situation in person, it's hard to say, but consider this.  About 80% of aggression is based in fear and anxiety.  Little dogs are probably the most prone to that.  Think what the human world looks like to them - and then we pick them up!  Imagine if you were suddenly hoisted thirty six feet in the air by a giant...So, right away, we are scaring the tar out of them.  That's why most trainers will advise that little dogs be allowed to walk on the ground.
When frightened, if no leader steps up to the plate, the dog will attempt to manage his own safety.  Fight or flight.
I hate using the word "alpha" because it suggests "dominance", which, in the human mind, often means, "you need to show 'em who's boss".  And that, sadly, often translates into: yell, yank, slap, tap, etc.  What dogs all need is to know where they fit in their own pack.  If we are going to live successfully in these packs, then the humans do need to be in charge, but not by continually punishing a dog, and not by abdicating the leadership role by coddling or allowing behavior we don't want.  So, the happy medium is that we need to teach the dog our words, we need to reinforce (reward) him for being correct, and we need to gently insist if he is developing selective hearing, once he knows the words, of course. (Did you know that most dogs are only guessing, or reading our body language, and that it takes over 50 successful trials of a correct response before you should assume that your dog knows a command?)
So, while we aren't sure what has caused the OP's dog to look like a tyrant, which he may be, we can offer suggestions as to how one would manage any dog appropriately without doing harm, either to the dog or the human)

Well, I agree and I just want to add again that after she knew her commands I started NILIF with Willow.  I noticed and still do notice a huge difference in her behavior and she's more in control of herself.  She's also quite happy and comfortable now because she knows what she needs to do.  She mostly does the sit at doors, for food and back off and lets me go into the house first all on her own now.  It's helped her tremendously and we had much bigger problems than this dog here.  So, I'd give it a try. 
 
I know a lot of people think that's all BS and what difference does it make.  My view is that after using this program for the years she's been here, I've seen a huge decrease in the level of food aggression, to the point where she doesn't display it with me at all anymore, she isn't growling when she's pet on the bed, she will play dead for us much, much more readily now.  She looks to me when something scares her. . . Maybe the people who don't believe in this have never really had a dog that would look at you and completely ignore what you asked and then lung at you if you repeated it.  I think unless you've actually had an aggressive dog then it's hard to understand. 

The only thing is do not yell, I've read that yelling will make you look like unstable to the dog and yelling is a very un-alpha (I made that up,LOL) thing to do.  Also, I never yank or any of that stuff.  And, stay out of his face, COMMON SENSE, he's lunging up and biting you!!  But, your giving him soooo much opportunity.  I've also read that hovering over the dog is a very "dominant" position to be in, so avoid that until he's much more comfortable. 

Just my opinion from one dog "mom" to another. 

Anyway,

ORIGINAL: willowchow

The only thing is do not yell, I've read that yelling will make you look like unstable to the dog and yelling is a very un-alpha (I made that up,LOL) thing to do. 

 
That is one thing that I have to work on []!  I have the tendency to feel like a human and when he attacks me I will yell sometimes (its so hard to stay calm)!
 
My husband and I have been working really, really hard the last few days.  I think that our problem before is that we were doing NILIF, but I was picking what I wanted to do in the program and what I didn't feel I should have to do (like crating).  We have kicked it in to full gear.  And you know whats weird, I haven't been bitten in the last couple of days!  Also, he hasn't really growled much at me.  He has been listening when I ask him to get off the bed or couch.  And today, for the first time, he saw someone walking down the street.  He went to run for them (he has an obsession with people) and I said in a calm voice "Ahhh Uhhh" and he stopped and walked beside me!  That has never happened before!  Normally I would say "ahh uhh" and he would take off and I would take off running behind him and wouldn't be able to stop him until he got to the human.  (our neighbors laugh at us all of the time).
 
Anyways, I know that this is going to be a really slow process.  But this just gives me hope.  The behaviorist has postponed my appt for another week, so I may try to find another one.
 
Thank you all for your advice.  It is ALL greatly appreciated![]