9 week old yorkie male

Question
I just got an AKC yorkie male yesterday. He was sweet all the way home in the car then I got him inside my house and he started to play with my female yorkie chi mix she is 5 months old. She was having a blast playing with him. I also have an 8 year old lab male that is altered. He avoids the new puppy and kind of growls a little when the puppy gets to close but doesn't try to hurt the new yorkie. The yorkie on the other hand has been biting and nipping at my lab almost like he is pestering him on purpose. The female yorkie chi mix is very non aggressive but likes to play with him. He attacked her so much that she is now afraid of the new yorkie puppy. My brother was playing with the new puppy and he bit my brother. I am not sure if there is something I can do or should do. Is he always going to be mean? I do not want a dog that is going to be mean and aggressive as an adult. Did I make a bad choice or can this behavior be corrected? He is very adorable but he seems to have the whole house in an uproar in only one day. Please help me.

Answer
Stephine,

Before you get too attached you need to return the puppy to the people you bought him from.  Any dog that shows aggressive behavior at such a young age has the potential to be vicious when it gets older, even small dogs.  

That being said there are some exceptions.  Are you sure the puppy is being mean and biting to hurt or is it that he just doesn't know that he is not supposed to bite.  Was the environment he was brought up in chaotic and were there a lot of dogs around for him to play with?  It is possible that his behavior is a result of how he has been taught to play or it could be that he is inexperienced at playing with other dogs.

I also have a large dog and when I have puppies they will bite her ankles and pester her as well but it is never in a mean fashion.  She will put up with it for a short period of time and then she will growl and snap at them.  There is nothing wrong with that as long as they don't actually bite them and draw blood.  It is how the older dog teaches the younger dog what is acceptable and what is not.  Think of it as she is teaching the puppy what her boundaries are.  

When he was biting your other puppy did he draw blood?  Have you ever seen two puppies playing together before?  They can sometimes look like they are tearing each other up but it is all teeth and no bite.  If however, you female puppy is yelping and appears hurt then he is not playing or is playing in an unacceptable manner and should be corrected immediately.

When he bit your brother was it on purpose and was it a vicious attack like growling, teeth showing and biting down hard enough to leave teeth marks or draw blood?  If so then that is not good but if it was a scratch from the teeth brushing the skin as he pulled his hand away then the puppy was just playing.

Another thing to consider is that the puppys relatives have been inbred to many times.  The reason the AKC only allows breeders to breed back one time to a close relative is because if you do it to many times the puppys become mean.  The way breeders get around this is they have more than one male so they just put the name of the other male on the papers as being the father so no one is the wiser that the dogs have been bred back more than once.  I am not suggesting that your breeder did this, only that it can make a dog mean.

Last but not least you must keep in mind that all dogs have different temperaments just like people do.  It is possible to train a bad puppy just like with proper discipline you can train a spoiled child.  The question would be if you can stand the uproar in your house until you get his behavior under control.  If you decide to discipline him be sure to be consistent and forceful.  It is never to soon to shout the word NO and if he does not stop the behavior discipline him.  Loud noises distract puppies from what they are doing so this usually helps.

Ultimately it is your decision what you do with the puppy but hopefully what I have explained above will give you better tools in which to make your decision.  If you believe he is truly just being mean I would get rid of him right away because he could harm your female in the future.  If you decide to keep him get a crate and put him in it when he gets to roudy for the other dogs.  It will give them a break and you as well.