It's hard to pinpoint what kind of troubles you may have not knowing her background. She could have been lost or stolen. Did they give you any idea of how old she is?
Since the shelter is trying to paper train her you may want to go with that for a while. Do they sell puppy training pads there? I never have crate trained a dog. I have always stayed with a new puppy or dog as much as possible in order to train it and then use a pen or a small room when I could not be there to do the training. If you restrict her to the room you are in most of the time when you first get her you will be able to train her by making sure she is near her potty at all times. Putting her in a pen with her potty when you are not around is a good way to prevent accidents when you can't watch her.
If you prefer to have her potty outside then you have to take her out frequently and then reward her when she does her business then take her inside as soon as she is done. That way she will learn why you take her out. Since you don't know her history it might be worth your while to try to see if she is already outside trained. That would sure save you a lot of time.
Terriers tend to have a lot of energy but if she is older she may not be as busy as a younger one might be. Has she been checked out closely by a vet? I'm not sure about the health problems Yorkies have in your country but that is something you might want to look into.
Welcome to YT. There are some informative things in the "sticky" area at the top of each forum. I hope you have a wonderful time with your new rescue. It will be an adventure that I hope you and she both enjoy. |