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Originally Posted by ihy  (partial quote)Attention/Love: I pet him all the time and play fetch with him a lot.
Come: I and everyone else have tried teaching him to come. He only comes when there is something in it for him. We all use either treats or petting. When he doesn't want to come, he'll start to come, and then run away....it's all a game. Like I've said, he has even stopped coming for the van when Grandma starts.
Defiance: Whenever anyone corrects him (with standard one-syllable commands such as "no"), he will poop somewhere strategic. My brother-in-law (in Oregon) once wouldn't let him out (they live in a suburban neighborhood), and Finn poop on his pillow (on his bed) 5 minutes later!
Barking: He doesn't bark much inside at all oddly enough, even when there are strange occurrences or sounds outside. It's when he is outside that he goes nuts. |
When you fetch, are you just throwing it back and forth, or are you in control? Are you making him "drop it", "sit", "stay", and "go get it"? If he is always in control, he will feel like he always HAS to be in control (alpha).
I sort of got the impression that it may have gotten to the point where Grandma was "starting her car" just to get him to "come" - is that true? If so, then he has learned that the starting of the car IS just a game (and therefore, no longer necessarily means he is going anywhere). In any case, it appears to me that "Come" is now just lost on this kiddo. Completely confuses him and doesn't really mean anything - which makes sense to me if his commands, overall, are unclear to him.
I'm not quite sure about revenge pooping
, but that's interesting. If there is such a thing, that would be yet another sign of alpha behavior - and again, he is feeling like he has to be in charge...this is a lot of pressure for him.
The barking - again, alpha and confusion and boundaries. He is trying to protect territory all by his little alpha self - so barking his head off makes perfect sense to me - he feels unsafe and feels a lot of pressure. When he is inside, he probably feels more equipped to "handle" the smaller territory, so he doesn't bark as much.
Dogs need clear and consistent messages, they don't speak English, they speak dog. If you want to learn to speak dog, I'd recommend Tamar Gellar's "The Loved Dog"
. This fella will do fine if you communicate using his language.
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Originally Posted by Nancy1999 Well, I'm sure all yorkie owners will agree with you on that, yorkies are very obstinate, determined, stubborn, and pigheaded, more so, than any other breed I've had; that's one of the things I love about them! Most breeds really want to please you, and have no problem with the human being the "master". Not true with yorkies, you have to outwit, outsmart and outplay them, and for most of us, this is too hard, and it's just easier to build a fence. They are trainable; at least that's what I've heard.  |
Hmmmm....what
other species does this remind me of...what is IT....??? OH! I got it! HUMANS
.