Hm, I've never met a stinky Yorkie... has he always been stinky, or is this relatively recent?
Is it possible that it's his breath?
I would check his teeth, then his anal glands, and then maybe take him to a vet. If it's new it could always be a health issue. I would also second trying not to wash him so frequently. Do your hands smell after you pet him?
You mention that you have a new baby - is it possible that your sense of smell has changed?
Also, you said he goes out all the time - is he unsupervised? Maybe he's rolling in something stinky outside?
You should be able to potty train a 5 yr old yorkie. If you can afford a trainer, maybe you should try that. I love Victoria Stilwell also, but she would have your head if she knew you wanted to give your dog away because of potty problems!
Your Yorkie might be stressed, but I doubt he is trying to spite you. You don't know why he's peeing and he probably doesn't know it's upsetting you so much. You sound like you are very tired and stressed with a newborn. I hope you have someone nearby who can help with either the baby or the dog.
This experience is not the same as the constant stress you are having, but maybe it will help a bit. My Yorkie used to bark at anything with rattle-y wheels - shopping carts, people in wheel chairs, bicycles, and especially skate boarders. I worked with him for several weeks with distract and reward, and he got much better about barking at objects.
HOWEVER, as he improved in this area, he just started barking at strangers generally. He had been very friendly before and would run up to meet new people, but now he would growl at people who were literally two blocks away. One day, I had just gotten a hot cup of tea and was walking back to my place. I was unlocking the front door, and my back was turned, so I didn't notice that a couple men were walking by. Well, Mr. Yorkie not only barked, but lunged at them a little bit, jerking my hand and spilling scalding hot tea all over my had. In that moment, I really wanted to throttle him.
I looked down at him, and he looked back up at me. In that moment, I realized that I'd always assumed that he knew I didn't want him to bark at strangers - I had my special stern voice that I only used in that situation. From my perspective, I had told him ONE MILLION TIMES not to bark, and now not only had he persisted in disregarding me, but he'd actually scalded my hand because he hadn't listend to m.
However, it occurred to me that maybe he didn't know, and in fact was proud of what a great job he'd done to protect the two of us.
Anyway, that's a long story to illustrate that dogs are just like anyone else - from their perspective, their actions make perfect sense. In terms of the barking, I now praise him effusively every time we approach people, and for whatever reason, that keeps him focused and quiet. He's definitely still not perfect. To be honest, I think he's kind of dumb by yorkie standards. And he's still not perfectly house broken. He's still adorable though, and I have hope that with yet more work, he'll be the perfect pet! |