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Originally Posted by mmcarroll  Hello all,
I am new to Yorkietalk and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for me. About 2 years ago we rescued our yorkie Sophie from an abusive home. The previous owners had gotten Sophie when she was 3 months old and they kept the poor girl locked in a kennel and shoved the kennel in the closet in the dark until the dog was 10 months old. We had heard from neighbors of the family that they never really fed her and that they never showed her any attention.. we also believe the previous owners kicked/hit her. When we got the puppy she was extremely matted and knotty and she literally did not know her name. She was very skittish which is to be expected but now she is a little lovebug. She responds to her name and is very smart. She is very sweet natured thankfully and she is extremely friendly.. she comes when she is called and she knows to stay when we tell her to stay without problems. She also walks out into the backyard and back into the house without a leash and goes right back into the backyard to go potty with no problems. We are proud of our little girl's progress, however we cannot master getting her to sit down. Whenever we try to reach toward her at all she runs away even if its just to pick her up to put her on the couch when she is crying to come up  .. We also can't get her to lay down. I was wondering if anyone had any insight on how to train our little girl and make her feel more at ease? |
Sounds like the little Dolly is grateful to have you....I'm going at 3 angles here...my Mini can not sit because of hip issues (Legges Perthes) not on command I just wonder if you shouldn't have, if you didn't already, an xray of her skeletal system just to make sure there are no physical issues, and they are great for comparison later on should any issues arise
Secondly, this pup has been through hell, they don't forget....and something happened along the way that scares her so much that she just associates that with something bad...
Thirdly a good meaningful hour a day one on one at doggie level with her and some treats gently putting her in SIT, SIT, SIT...and rewarding her with pets and a tiny scrumptious treat. I have no problems training my pups to do things when I do this with them one on one in a small space! With that said...good luck cuz I can't get mine to do that the first time say it! It is the only command I have to repeat a few times...down seems to work better, then they go flat. I don't use sit at all because I don't want to offend my Mini! lol But when I say down it takes a few times but even they get tired of hearing me and concede!!
Good Luck...and with Yorkies sometimes you its a give and take, choose your battles! lol