Pat, thank you for your hard work on this post. I agree with you, on most of your points, and very much respect your point of view on the points that I disagree with you on. Most of my life I have had dogs, big dogs, small dogs, and in-between dogs. I have had dogs that were notoriously easy to train and willing to please and gentle (sheltie, boxer) and I have had dogs that were aloof (chow chow) and I have had dogs that were notoriously hard to train, strong willed --but very intelligent (Irish Setters and Yorkies). All of my dogs were trained basic obedience commands (trained meaning that they obeyed, regardless of personal choice).
The Yorkies have posed the most challenge -- we are still working on basic obedience -- Chattie is almost 3, Chizzie, my valentine baby will be two this Valentines Day and Peppy turned one in October.
Of course we all know that they were born and bred to hunt vermin, and to dash down a rat hole doesn't require human intervention, so they were basically developed to NOT require the services of a human with regards to decision making.
The mind set that they are hard to train is the single most challenging training obstacle to overcome. That and the fact that for most of us -- we have yorkies because they are small, beautiful, and accept pampering very well.
After doing some real soul searching, I have found that the reason that my dogs are not as responsive as I would like for them to be is completely and entirely my fault. Because of their size and because of their "ME" attitude, it is so much easier to pamper and coddle them rather than make them mind.
I am breaking free from my "Yorkie Prison". I am working on "heel" with Chattie when we go for a walk for a start, and I am trying to turn general requests in to "commands" that I follow through.
So, thank you again for your hard work and dedication in starting this thread. |