Don't be so hard on yourself. Keep it simple. If you believe in yourself your dog will too. These wee ones thrive on structure more than children do. But with the size or cuteness, people give in. Just be firm. You don't owe me or anyone else any explanation. Aside from keeping him safe, he should be treated the same as a big dog. He should be protected from big dogs. Some people prefer a class with all toys. You get the benefit of training without the underlying concern that many toy people have.
Home is the easiest place to train. I don't think it prepares them for leaving the home. My dog does anything I ask of him at home.
Did you say he has a friend that he trusts? A lab, right?
If you aren't getting anywhere a shortcut would be to take the lab with you. He should work for you because you ask things of him. I like them to learn this by positive reinforcement. Has the lab been to class? Did you say he trusts the lab? Am I mixing you up with another person? This may be an option to try. I'm sure you don't want to work with a lab but if it helps your yorkie, right?
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Originally Posted by salazark  Thanks for responding. I believe I do understand where you're coming from and I do appreciate it. I read a bunch of your posts after I wrote this and I do think you are a good person with the right intentions. You are one of the ones I respect. I think your post got to me because I've tried so hard not to do exactly what you say I am doing. Even right after it happened I asked my instructor "How do I handle this? What can I do to keep from making this worse than it is? I've been working closely with them so that I don't inadvertently do something that will feed his fear.
I do want to clarify one thing. When I said that I got there early to settle him before class I meant something different than getting him adjusted. They encourage us to come a bit early and work on attention exercises like touch and other basic commands so that they are in training mode when class starts. We call it getting them settled. That's what I was referring to. It just happened that this was the night that folks from the earlier class left late because they were registering for the next session. There were some big time barkers in that class.
I honestly do wish you were near me. I would love for you to see how I handle him. I think you would be surprised. I also don't doubt for a minute that you could help me. I may not always sound like it but I do love to learn and I'm willing to listen to those with more experience. Friends?
Thanks,
Karen |