[newproudmom]

Hi,
I am a new puppy owner. He is a 4 month old yorkie name Charlie. My husband got him for me for christmas. I am learning and need suggestions or advices from all of you. I am currently house training him. Having such a hard time. He likes to poop and pee in the house during the daytime. He is pretty good at night time. He can sleep through the night without accidents. I am still trying to get use to feeding him and taking him outside on a regular schedule. My husband's coworker told me to crate train him. That is what I am currently doing however, i hate putting him in the crate all day. Inside the crate, he has his blanket, bed, and two stuff animal toys that he likes to chew on. He gets overly excited when he gets out and likes to bite me. I am also afraid to let him run around or play b/c i am worry he might have an accident inside the house. My husband told me to relax a little around him but I just can't. I am always watching him and yet there are still accidents. I don't know what to do. How did you house train your yorkie and how long did it take for them to be housebroken?

Another thing with Charlie that I am worry about is that he is constantly eating things off the floor. He is like a vaccum cleaner. I tried to sweep the floor and vaccum the house as much as possible yet he is able to find things. I am afraid he might eat sometime that is not good for him. He would rather walk around eating things off the floor than his own food. I am not sure if I am feeding him the right kind of dog food. When I take him outside to do his business he likes to eat things outside too including rocks. He would eat it and run away so I don't see him. I have to go after him and open his mouth to take out whatever he is eating. I wish he would eat his food instead of things on the floor. He acts like I don't feed him. Do you have this problem and how did you deal with it??

I am also trying to train charlie basic commands such as sit and come. He doesn't seem to get it. He does it to get the treats. Sometimes, he get so aggressive that he would jump up and try to bite my hand for treats. I don't know why he is so aggressive and over excited all the time. I tried to take him for walks to help get rid of the over excitment but he doesn't want to walk. He pulls in another direction (always toward the house) or would just sit down. He gets aggressive during the walks too. Help me with this? I don't know if I should take him to training classes.

and lastly, he always scratch himself. I don't know why. I thought maybe he has fleas and got a tick and fleas shampoo yet it doesn't seem to help. What kind of shampoo do you use on your yorkie? I want a shampoo that is gentle enough for once a week bath that won't irritate his skin.

Sorry for the long thread. Thanks for reading and for any suggestions/advices you can give me. I really want to bond with Charlie but it is so hard with all these things. He has been with me for almost a month now and I am afraid the longer I wait, the harder it is going to be to train him. Thanks!