Aggrasive Yorkie

Question
Hi I had my dog since he was 7 weeks old now he is 10 months old and I been having him for almost 8 months, My dog is pure breed Yorkshire terrier, he is the most friendly dog he loves to play but recently he start growling and try to bite whenever we try to take something from his mouth he shouldn't have, actually he bit my husband last night when he tried to take paper from his mouth, we got him fixed 2 months ago and it suppose to calm him down but it only do the opposite, he is a puppy and so friendly I just don't understand why that new behavior we done all his shots and he shouldn't act this way, I'm so concern about this i don't want to have an aggressive animal, we were thinking to get another dog with him so he play with but now with his acting I'm not sure if this is a good idea or it'll make things worse, please help me make my dog normal!!

Answer
Hello, Reem. First, let me tell you that neutering and vaccinating do not have any effect on a dog's temperament. A dog is what he is. You can shape behaviors through training, but you cannot change temperament.

Having said that, your dog is exhibiting resource guarding, which is pretty common. What I would do would be to teach him a command that means 'drop whatever is in your mouth right now.' I use the word 'OUT.' Some people use 'drop it,' or 'thank you,' or 'leave it.' You can do this a number of different ways. One way is to offer him something of higher value (to him) than whatever it is that he's already got. When you offer him the new toy or food treat, say the word or short phrase that you want him to associate with dropping whatever's in his mouth, and praise him when he takes the item or food treat that you are offering. That will allow you to then pick up the item he had initially and take it away.

That is probably the simplest method. Another method involves correcting him using a leash and collar, but I would have you try the trading game first, because there is less room for error.