YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - Help with our 13 yo Yorkie's personality.

AndyBoy · 10-31-2018, 06:12 AM

Hello everyone,
Rosie our beloved Yorkie of 13 years seems to be undergoing a personality change. My wife and I are at wits end - here is some background.

We have used treats for rewarding Rosie for "peeing" or "pooping"on a pad when we cant go outside due to weather or cold - she is very finicky about this. So now she will pee on a pad every few minutes just to receive a treat. I understand that we have created this scenario with the whole reward system but how do we get out of this. If we try to ignore her she may whine for a good 10 minutes sometime yelping loudly whereby we either relent or she will stop. Its not easy on the physci to withstand that amount of whining and yelping!

Then there's this new trait;

Rosie used to wake up between 5 am - 5:30 am and whine for us to get up and feed her. Now, she awakes at 3 am and wants a treat for peeing. This will go on until one of us finally gets up to feed her (and a treat) after we have tried "barking" out many of the commands we have used on her. We have certain commands that she will listen to like "NO!", "Nappy nap!" and "Night night!" but doesn't comprehend this commands easily and will keep whining until we have to shout at her. This may help for 10-15 minutes.

I know that terriers are a stubborn breed but this is now starting to take a collective toll on our sleep.

We know she has us wrapped around her tiny little paws but any advice from someone who may have experienced something similar or who trains Yorkies will be appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

10-31-2018, 06:12 AM	#1
AndyBoy YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Westfield, Indiana Posts: 1	Help with our 13 yo Yorkie's personality. Hello everyone, Rosie our beloved Yorkie of 13 years seems to be undergoing a personality change. My wife and I are at wits end - here is some background. We have used treats for rewarding Rosie for "peeing" or "pooping"on a pad when we cant go outside due to weather or cold - she is very finicky about this. So now she will pee on a pad every few minutes just to receive a treat. I understand that we have created this scenario with the whole reward system but how do we get out of this. If we try to ignore her she may whine for a good 10 minutes sometime yelping loudly whereby we either relent or she will stop. Its not easy on the physci to withstand that amount of whining and yelping! Then there's this new trait; Rosie used to wake up between 5 am - 5:30 am and whine for us to get up and feed her. Now, she awakes at 3 am and wants a treat for peeing. This will go on until one of us finally gets up to feed her (and a treat) after we have tried "barking" out many of the commands we have used on her. We have certain commands that she will listen to like "NO!", "Nappy nap!" and "Night night!" but doesn't comprehend this commands easily and will keep whining until we have to shout at her. This may help for 10-15 minutes. I know that terriers are a stubborn breed but this is now starting to take a collective toll on our sleep. We know she has us wrapped around her tiny little paws but any advice from someone who may have experienced something similar or who trains Yorkies will be appreciated. Thanks for reading.