I have posted may times with problems with my yorkie, but just this minute he has biten me.  He had a bounty sheet in his mouth and was chewing it I asked for it back them went to take it off him.  He didnt growl or warn me he just snapped and has badly cut my finger in 2 places.

Any suggestions???

Do you make a habit of trying to take things from him?

Yep I can take his toy from him, we learnt it because as most puppies he was a little tea leaf so we taught him to take things then give him a treat so we could take anything dangerous off him.  I had the treat ready but he still just bit.

It baffles me why he doesnt give a warning he just lashes out.

Hi Leanne - how is he with his feeding, are you able to remove his bowl away from him say half way through his meal ?  Does he wait patiently for his meal times or does he demand his food by barking, growling ?

I can take his bowl, I dont do it just to test his reaction I do it if I want to add something to his bowl.  He never barks for food he sometimes barks for his walks tho.

Just thought with him biting you for the sweet wrapper that it might be food agresssion

Have you taken him to the vets to see if there is any underlying problem, joints, back pain or even with his eyes ?  If there is something wrong with his eyes and he didn't see your hand until the last minute then that could be enough to 'scare' him to which his immediate effect woul dbe to snap ?

My fault it was bounty as in the sheets you put in the dryer not the chocolate bar.   The other day he bit my mum when he was on the sofa and she just asked him if he was tired he bit her nose.  When he went to the vet when he was younger the vet suggested castration as he had too much testosterone, but I dont know how he knew this as he was only 12 weeks old. 

Thinking about it, I might take him to the vet to get his eyes checked because sometimes his toy is right in front of him and he cant seem to find it.  How could I test his eyes at home is there anyway?

Ah with you - that bounty, sorry but I'm a chocoholic and I just assumed.... acting sheepish now as my glutony has been exposed

Ahhh, vets, don't you just love some of them, the poor little thing hasn't even started developing his nuts at twelve weeks old :D

As for testing eyesight - not sure, how quickly does he react when you throw a toy, or if you put one on a piece of string and put it on the floor in front of him will he be able to see it when you pull it at different speeds towards you ?  The only way to be sure would be to get a vet to do their tests, personally I would use a different one than the one who suggested having him castrated due to him having too much testosterone :)

I've just read a bit about the yorkie and it does say that "Yorkies tend to develop bad teeth due to their tiny, overcrowded mouths. In addition, make sure that any retained deciduous (milk) teeth are removed by the vet if they do not fall out on their own by the time the dog is 7 - 8 months"  not sure if that could help throw some light on the subject, but if he'll let you look in his mouth it would be worth a quick look to see how his gums and teeth are.

Hope this helps, Tara x

Cheers tara, he lets me look in his mouth and his last mature tooth is just coming through and all his milk teeth have gone.

This is another thing I dont understand, I can look in his mouth, ears up his bum (when the fancy takes me lol)  but then on other occasions he will just snap.

Hi Leanne - I'd have to agree with Digger here, if there is no obvious pattern then I think getting the vet to refer you to a behaviourist would be a good decision.  And if you have him insured I think you can claim this against your insurance if the vet refers you, check out your policy for this.

It might turn out to be something really simple but then again it could be more complex and need specialist 'treatment' - good luck and keep us posted.

Tara x

Vets come up with some weird and wonderful excuses for castration, but an excess of testosterone at 12 weeks has to take the biscuit.  An adolescent dog will naturally have high testosterone levels - often double those of an adult dog - that's nature for you - giving a spurt of the stuff that broadens chests and develops muscle.......

I think perhaps you need somebody to observe this dog in action, his behaviour seems to be too unpredictable to you for any advice given over the 'net to be safe, let alone correct.  Would you ver refer you to an APBC or UKRCB registered behaviourist?

I was thinking of a behaviourist, I will have a word with the vet.