Quote:
Originally Posted by Rachael x  |
Thanks for the heads up... I just went back and read most of the OP's threads... so much info is missing from this Original thread I need to change my reply.
Issues needing attention that were not mentioned in this thread to begin with that will greatly affect Cooper's and your success in housetraining:
1. Having recently had FHO surgery.
Any surgery/anesthesia will cause setbacks in housebreaking. Start at the beginning and retrain. It is rare that any Yorkie will not have some pottying issues during recovery.
2. Bringing a new puppy into the household.
This can greatly affect Cooper's behavior, especially when the new puppy is a 'girl', and I assume is now getting more attention from everyone in your household than Cooper is. Yorkies can feel threatened upon the arrival of a new puppy. This could very well be 'marking' behavior you are seeing in him, because he feels insecure and is trying to establish his 'place' in your home. Hence his preference for your lap, opposed to playing with his toys. Again, have the vet check him for UTI first. Also, to help correct this, you really need to go 'overboard' on attention to him.
3. Having two homes.
Cooper will need to have housebreaking lessons in each house, from the beginning, and probably refresher lessons each and everytime time you switch locations.
4. Issue I forgot to address in my first response: Going off lead.
Basicly, he is still very much a puppy. He is too young to be able to be trusted completely, even with expert recall training. You are expecting too much of him.
Also, if he is really into sniffing and exploring instead of listening to you, that tells me that he would benefit by having more outside time... outside the yard.
5. Issue not addressed: Early neuter:
As I am just learning about this issue... I highly recommend that you have a long discussion with your vet on this subject.
It is very possible and I highly suspect that Cooper was neutered a bit too early, and some of his problems may be a result of that. Hormones cause things to switch on and off through a dog growing years, and neutering early turns everything off at the time of the neuter.
6. Yorkies
are different from other breeds. I do think you may be lacking in your acceptance / understanding of this fact. There is a bond that one can have with a Yorkie, and it is the strongest and most amazing bond I've ever felt with any dog. Until you approach having this strong connection with Cooper, I fear you will have problems with him. Until you can get him to trust you, he will 'act out'.
He sees most of your treatment of him as threatening. You absolutely must rid yourself of any 'dislike' of him... he can and does sense this. You need to think more along the lines of ' I love you unconditionally' (and mean it and commit to him) and
realize that his behavior is not 'him', it is only what he does, and he does it because he's getting mixed messages from you. In order for you to be successful with him, you have to eliminate this confusion you are creating in him.
And, in summary, you may now think I am 'off my rocker', but I will say this... if you do not comprehend #6 or think it's all rubbish... my advice to you for Cooper's well-being would be to rehome him, asap.