[yorkietalkjilly]

Sounds a lot like my Tibbe when I got him. He'd spent 9 mos. in a cage outside & was wild, almost feral - had all the fears, insecurities & lack of socialization one would expect. He fought me, howled, whined & generally acted like he was brain-damaged his first 2 weeks. It was BAD! I almost gave up. But it is all conquerable if he is a healthy dog. If you haven't, get a complete, current vet check with labs first.

I used simple behavior modification positive-reward training, trips outside every 15 - 30 minutes to desensitize him to the world out there and as an aid to housebreaking him and a bit of the Nothing In Life Is Free concept to teach him he had a leader/protector now & to look to me for absolutely everything in order to change his life. It worked slowly at first & then it worked fast & very well. He's a totally different dog now! Everybody that knows Tibbe comments on how much fun he has in life while being so well-behaved. Ha! It was far from that at the beginning.

It sounds like he has separation anxiety & behavior problems due to deep insecurity & all the associated fears & misbehavior that come with. Praising an insecure, nervous dog all the time may encourage them to keep it up, reinforce that anxiety. Momma dogs don't praise their pups a lot. Reserve praise with a dog like this for only when he is relaxed or doing what he is supposed to do. He's not a human with the ability to process constant praise in the proper way but is a canine who badly needs the right kind of loving, patient leader to make him feel that he has nothing to fear or worry about & he doesn't need to sweat the small stuff, realizing that praise is reserved for proper behavior. Dogs get that. They need to be praised they achieve - that is how they learn. Don't mistake love for praise. You can love him without constantly praising him when he's nervous, etc. That's where the proper training serves so well. It teaches when to praise & what it says to the dog in training. They begin to work to get it & stop the wildness.

If you think you are willing and able to devote a lot of time to studying how to become the trainer he needs, then get some good training books by noted trainers & study their theory & methods for positive reward training of the nervous, insecure dog(personally, I would steer clear of the Cesar Millan training as you have to be basically him to carry that off successfully IMO) & become acquainted with the NILIF methods to teach him you control the world so he has nothing to concern himself with. It will take time, you will need your husband to be on board as well and know that only the most devoted can help a little one like this. The rewards for your work, though, will be huge if you think you can do it. Hugs.