yorkie is very needy and naughty

[erasmusdane]

I have a yorkie girl who is about 9 years old now. Last year november my other yorkie died and now i am having trouble with my yorkie she has never been without other dogs around and she was very upset after the death but seemed ok after a while. Now she is peeing in the house, which she never did, and she is incredably needy. She moans at me when i am sitting at my desk and not giving her attention. She has never been one for toys and i don't know how to handle her bad behavior. Any help please?

[Lovetodream88]

Has she been checked for a UTI? If she doesn't have one you might have to go back to limiting her space and stuff as if she were potty training. It's hard on them to loose a doggy sibling.

[erasmusdane]

I didn't even know it was a sign of uti. Now that i google the symptoms it is possible. She has been making quite large pools and she is licking herself. I will get it checked out! Thanks a lot!

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by erasmusdane

I didn't even know it was a sign of uti. Now that i google the symptoms it is possible. She has been making quite large pools and she is licking herself. I will get it checked out! Thanks a lot!

No problem.

[Wylie's Mom]

I would get this kiddo a urinalysis asap - this could easily be a bladder issue and/or UTI!

[erasmusdane]

Thank you so so much! Just got back from the vet and you were right she does have an infection. I would have never ever known without your help!

[Silver Lace]

I am so glad that you came here and got the answer to your little one's problem. Hope things will be better now. That could have even been why she was moaning at you when you were at your desk and acting so needy. She was trying without being able to use words to say, Mom, I don't feel well. Help me. I had a dog that was like that once trying to get my attention by jumping in front of me while I was doing dishes and she had a UTI I found out when I took her to the vet. They talk to us and we have to learn how to listen.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by erasmusdane

Thank you so so much! Just got back from the vet and you were right she does have an infection. I would have never ever known without your help!

I'm glad you went to the vet and got her checked. Occasionally my older girl will get a UTI.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Good for you all recognizing this baby needed vet help, recommending it and OP getting her treated. YT is the greatest!

Try not to think of your dog as being naughty if she's getting older and has lost her beloved pack-member. She's likely sad, lonely, bored, may be anxious from change and utterly frustrated and simply doesn't know how to fix it herself. So she 'acts out' - chews your shoes, chews your other belongings, proud possessions like furniture legs or pees everywhere she shouldn't, including in the big middle of your bed, releases of stress where she finds max scent of yours to show she looks to you and things of yours when she's frustrated, for stress outlets, a plea for help, as she sees you as her provider. A 9 year old dog is getting old, slower and often need more frequent trips outside if she's not peepad trained. And she can't hold it as easily as she once could due to lack of sphincter strength, elasticity or may get bladder spasms, causing her to pee right where she stands.

At her older age, having lost her only companion, a doggy pack-member, she could likely use some life skills to keep her mind and body busy and involved, life-enrichment doggy games to challenge her intellect and sense of smell, instinct to forage/hunt/find and easy, non-joint stressing obedience training to keep her engaged and vital. Teaching a dog how to 'work'(learn and test their aptitude and abilities at any age with games and easy obedience training) can keep them from feeling old, useless and getting depressed, just lying about waiting.

One of Tibbe's favorite games is me hiding pieces of his dry kibble or treats around the den behind furniture legs, etc., and then at first walking around with him saying "seek" and pointing him in the direction of the kibble if he doesn't pick up on the scent or sight it on his own. Once he finds it, a big celebration and a "Gooooood boy!!!!" praise lets him know how smart he is for scenting out hidden objects. His skills grow the more he does it. He begins to feel proud of himself for being able to quickly scent out the hidden resources. He acts very proud!

We play 'find the treat under the cup' where I hide a high-value treat under one of three small, identical plastic cups and initially I showed him to use his paw to hit 'the' cup over with his paw, saying 'hit the cup!' and right away he got it. Now he turns them over with his paw until he finds the treat - then, a big celebration and treat reward and genuine praise in his abilities. He acts so proud of himself and it's all so cute! The quicker he finds the right cup, the prouder we both are of him and he often gets it right first thing now!

We play hide and seek. Believe it or not, he invented this game himself when I first got him. He hides his chewies around the house and I go "seek" them out, saying "Wherrrrrrrre is MY chewie????" as I look behind anything and everything and if it's not there, say "No, Mommie's chewie not here. Wherrrrrrre is MY chewie? I'm going to find MY chewie!". Tibbe is right under-foot, getting more excited by the moment as I look around and when I find one he's squirreled away, I grab it up B4 he can get to it(most times - sometimes he beats me to it - an action that causes him to stick his little chest out twice its depth and run of to happily chew HIS chewie). Anyway, if I do get to it first, I hold it up proudly, waving it back and forth and dancing around in a circle as he's dancing around below, trying to lunge up for it, as I say, "Mommie WINS - I got MY chewie!!!!! Mommie WINS" until he's so excited and more than a little jealous I've got HIS chewie. Next thing I do is bring it into the den, saying "Mommie going to throw MY chewie!" and throw it for him to go get, as far as I can and he races to get it and brings it back to show me that after all, it is HIS chewie, wherepon he lies down the span of the couch and chews away on his chewie, making a big show of himself with it - too cute. When he's tired of chewing, he goes and hides it and comes bounding back to me, eyes snapping, excited and ready to play 'hide and seek' all over again. He can go at 'hide and seek' until I give out and give up! He LOVES this game and playing with him is one of the delights of my life.

I also bought him several interactive treat games and food bowls he has to forage through to get his treat or food out, using his nose, muzzle or paws to move and/or open particular compartments where his treat/food is. He LOVES the challenge - after all dogs have foraged for food for centuries and they adore working for their dinner. He will chose to eat his dinner out of one or more of his interactive games filled with kibble or forage bowls over his regular bowl every single time. Can take him up to 15 - 25+ mins. to eat dinner and he acts SO satisfied after he's done. Acts like he's just returned from a successful hunt and got his prey after his interactive dinner from one of his special bowls.

Google 'how to enrich your elder dog's life' and just read of all the fun you can have helping your baby deal with loss and boredom. It will change you both!

All these things can enrich a dog's mental and physical zest for life, with renewed interests in exercising their instincts and aptitudes, especially helpful after they've lost a beloved buddy/pack member or feel a bit old and used up.

[erasmusdane]

I have been trying to get stuff for her to do while i am working. She never had much interest in any toys i got her but maybe i should just take her along to a pet store and see if she finds something she likes. I have been taking her on walks, which she really enjoys, i go out of my way to chase birds with her and she really is happy when we do. I just need to find the right thing for her to do i guess. I never had to deal with only having one dog so i'm also a bit new to this. I will try maybe getting a toy with treats i don't think i have tried tgat one before. Thank you for your help, i know she isn't really naughty, but sometimes i feel a bit overwhelmed with her needy behavior

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by erasmusdane

I have been trying to get stuff for her to do while i am working. She never had much interest in any toys i got her but maybe i should just take her along to a pet store and see if she finds something she likes. I have been taking her on walks, which she really enjoys, i go out of my way to chase birds with her and she really is happy when we do. I just need to find the right thing for her to do i guess. I never had to deal with only having one dog so i'm also a bit new to this. I will try maybe getting a toy with treats i don't think i have tried tgat one before. Thank you for your help, i know she isn't really naughty, but sometimes i feel a bit overwhelmed with her needy behavior

Buying her a plain old new toy will not likely work. Few adult Yorkies really play with plain old dog toys or any thing that doesn't involve chewing without our involvement. Many companion-type dogs don't love toys, they love the interaction with their human! So plain old toys, unless you interact with her in playing with them, are likely not going to really help her except very rarely. Find her some interactive toys, toys that she has to work to get to the food reward inside such as the kong toy that you can load with food she must lick out. It takes work as the kong rolls funny and must be pursued to keep licking from it. Tibbe bounces his up in the air to dislodge his packed in kibble! He loves it. There are many toys with trap door, things the dog has to open, slide, move to get the treat out. Now those type of toys challenge dogs and motivate them with food rewards, and of course, your hardy praise once she's gotten the reward from each compartment!

Google the terms 'interactive dog toys' and ' foraging or slow-eating food bowls' and find a interactive toys she'll learn to love to play with for the challenge involved and bowls she has to take time and effort to get her food out of. I promise you if she's a terrier, she will LOVE the challenge! It invigorates a dog to 'work' for his food, using his intellect, memory and scent instincts to seek and find it!

Spending time training her to develop her scenting instincts in seeking out hidden treats or scented toys, teaching her to obey commands of tricks or obedience training engages her intellect and her body - her mind and requires her to try to understand what you want and allows her to feel great pride in herself when she gets the idea and actually does the trick, sees your pride in praising her and gets her food/treat reward. Dogs will literally bend over backward to learn how to please you so if she's a dog and she's got a mind, she'll love just simple 'sit, stay, come, stop, shake, lie down' training if you make it fun and rewarding. Teach her to jump over a stick 2" off the ground - just anything that engages her mind and body in training her and rewards her and makes her feel good about herself when she does it.

And the making her feel good when she achieves even small things starts with you - how enthusiastically you praise and shower her with affection for getting it right. She'll grow addicted to that rush of oxytocin she gets from that highly positively rewarding interaction and begin to push you to work rather than just moping around, feeling sad. Plus I find Tibbe finds more things to do on his own because he lives an enriched life.

[Kathylouise]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

Buying her a plain old new toy will not likely work. Few adult Yorkies really play with plain old dog toys or any thing that doesn't involve chewing without our involvement.

Thanks Jeanie for this important information.. strong post.

Kathy (and Morris)

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by erasmusdane

I have been trying to get stuff for her to do while i am working. She never had much interest in any toys i got her but maybe i should just take her along to a pet store and see if she finds something she likes. I have been taking her on walks, which she really enjoys, i go out of my way to chase birds with her and she really is happy when we do. I just need to find the right thing for her to do i guess. I never had to deal with only having one dog so i'm also a bit new to this. I will try maybe getting a toy with treats i don't think i have tried tgat one before. Thank you for your help, i know she isn't really naughty, but sometimes i feel a bit overwhelmed with her needy behavior

Maybe try a kong and you can put peanut butter in it and freeze it and then give it to her.

[Jkpal]

She sounds like a wonderful little girl who has suffered a loss and needs you a little more now. I certainly would not call her behavior bad...nor needy. She wants your love and perhaps a bit of reassurance.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Kathylouise

Thanks Jeanie for this important information.. strong post.

Kathy (and Morris)

Thanks! Had a wonderful reply w/some additional thoughts(I've ALWAYS got additional thoughts), was about to hit submit when the good old adware pop-up saying I had the Zeus Malware Virus, my computer was locked & to call "Microsoft" for unlocking, w/a nice 800 number. Forgot how to close out of it and had to reboot computer so lost my reply to you. Sigh. Sorry - well, anyway, thank you for the kind words.