Loosing Hope
 

I really need some advice on my little guy. We are having such a hard time with him:( . He is a year old and he is still not potty trained, infact, his favorite pooping place is on the couch:eek: I have crate trained him right from the begining and have been very consistant on taking him out. Not only is he having these bad habbits, he is also very hyperactive...now I know that Yorkies are hyper, but this is not normal. I can not even hold him, he does not like to be held, he is too busy and just wants to run around and bounce off the walls! He is also obsessive in licking his legs and is loosing his hair in those spots. I'm not sure if his hyperactivity has something to do with his other bad habbits, or mabey it's just bad breeding?? My husband is at the end of his rope with him and we were almost thinking about finding him a home. Please Help!:(

Sounds to me like there might be something medically wrong with the little guy? The licking his legs (hotspots), the hyperactivity, pooping on the couch, all sounds like a medical problem and not necessarily a behavioural problem. Have you checked with your vet about all this?

No, I havn't, what kind of medical problems could cause all this?

The first thing that pops to mind is an allergy to his food or something in his treats. I would definitely talk to your vet and see what he/she has to say.

I don't think it's his food, he was on solid gold for a while and I switched him over to Wysong about 4 months ago and he has been the same all along, but thanks for your suggestion, I will talk to the vet about all this.

I can only tell you my experience. We had a Yorkie with similar problems and more to boot. It turns out she was a puppy mill puppy with extremely poor breeding. Many of her problems were psychological from breeding. (We bought her from a family rehoming her - the red flags were there - I just didn't recognize them). If the licking isn't because of allergies or something, it could be linked to the hyperactivity (this word does not actually capture how bad it can be) as another form of obsession. Roxie's case was not pretty and extremely stressful.

I understand the family stress also. It's horrible to be placed in a place where you feel you have to make awful decisions.

If you rule out medical issues, I would have your little guy evaluated by a behaviorist, trainer, or other knowlegable expert in order to help you decide what to try or do next.

Good Luck

You really have to read the ingredents in the foods you are giving. You might have changed him and have the same issues. But maybe what he is allergic to is still in this food. Its hard to get a really good food today and we as owners need to do alot of researching. I know you feel like you are your last leg with him but if you found out there was something medical wrong and it could be fixed wouldn't that be worth it? Plus the trainers can give you alot of pointers as what helps on your end to get the results you want. Sometimes they can sense your feelings and it only makes matters worse. You have alot of YT members here that will give you advice and you need to realize alot have had the same issues or know what works. Don't give up on the little guy.

Thank you for sharing your experience with me. I am a dog groomer and I know what alergies and hot spots look like on dogs and I really think that he is just obsessivly licking his legs because of his hyperactivity, and I have a lot of experience with other dogs and their behavior, an my little guy's behavior deffinatly stands out. It has been really stressful on our family, but I am afraid that if I did decide to find him a home...who would deal with all of this?? Can I ask what happened with your little girl? Did you ever correct her problems?

I'll PM ya......

Was he from a pet store? Sounds like the type of behavior found in dogs who came from mills and sold to pet stores. A yorkie who does not like to be held:eek: . Is he neutered?

I found him on line on from a breeder in Texas. I never did meet her, I had him shipped to me. I did do some research on her, but I couldn't seem to find anything. He is not neutered yet, but I believe this kind of behavior is not the cause of him not being fixed. The not liking to be held part really gets me:(

he has a slightly mischievous look in his eye. I have PM'ed you.

First off I would stop giving ALL store bought food & treats, and start feeding him real food. Nothing with coloring or perservatives. Next he needs to be taken out for a really long and fast walk twice daily to get rid of all that vent up energy. Next I'd get him enrolled into obedience class. If that doesn't work, then hire a trainer/behaviorist. Your dog is just bored out of his little brain is all. ;)

What type of real food do you sugest to feed him? This is what I thought about him just being board, and I did start taking him for walks every day to try to get rid of that energy, but this has not worked. He still comes in the house boucing off the walls and does not take naps, or ever slow down. Then I have heard just the opposite, that I need to make him have rest time because in his case the more tired he gets the worse he can be. I have never seen him actually sleep...only when he was really little. He might get some sleep in his crate at night but only if there are no distractions, but that is when he licks his legs, in his crate when he has nothing else to do. I know a lot about training being a groomer, and reading a lot of good info and I have worked with him a lot. I have gotten a lot of great advice and I really think he just came from a bad breeder. We are going to do our best and work with him a little more. Thank YT for all your support!

I have heard of some pets being diagnosed with OCD (obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) and ADHD. Depending on the vet they will sometimes be able to give meds for these things. I'm sooo sorry for ya'll difficuties and stress. Good Luck

I have heard of this also, I was hoping there might be some help using meds, I'm going to check into this, Thank you so much for your concern.

I just wanted to add... even thought it has been so stressful, we still LOVE him very much... I wanted to post a silly picture of him on a positive note:D

What an adorable picture! He's a sweetie. I feel so bad for you and for little Micah. As I told you personnally, I think it's hard to evaluate between normal hyperactivity in a high-energy breed with genetic behavioral problems without professional experience. Since you have dog experience, I think that you're doing a good job trying to make that distinction.

I was talking to my husband tonight about Micah when we were playing with Coby. Coby is a HIGH energy guy, but we were talking about the difference between Coby's "energy" and our old Roxie's manic behavior and horribly painful inability to regulate her energy... ever... even in sleep. We tried the intense exercise too. It had no positive effect.

In case a food change might help, I used to feed a frozen food called "Steve's Real Food" to my older dog for his allergies. Some people here on YT do home cooking and can help with ideas.

Having been where you are, you and your family are in my thoughts as I know the stress level cycle. The pup is stressed and there are behavior problems, that stresses the family, as the stress level in the house rises, the pup's stress is aggravated.

I truly hope that Micah's problems can be solved by diet and other ideas.

~Hugs~

Really? OCD and ADHD? Well, this would make a lot of sense. At least we me and my dog have something in common.

My male acts similar- marking, going in his crate, incessant whining, aggression problems, only instead of being hyper active, he prefers to mill around trying to sneak off. Which makes me paranoid he's looking for something to mark. I haven't been able to hold or snuggle with Melvin since he was a little baby, all he does is squirm, kick and run off.

Don't give up, I'm frustrated right now too. I just keep trying to train him and get some kind of consistency in his life. I wish I could help more, just know that someone else is just as confused. All I can think is we ruined him when he was a baby and rewarded him for the wrong actions, perpetuating his behaviors now.

gee the breeder wasn't kim brock by any chance was it.. she has not been a good honest breeder.. make me wonder if that is where he came from..

I don't think that was her name, I can't remember. I found his breeder from her website www.yorkytown.com , does that sound farmiliar to ya?

Thanks hun, I will be talking to a vet soon to see what they say about all this and i'll let ya know what happens.

I'm sorry to hear you are having truoble also. How old is your little guy?

3 years old. He's been difficult for about 2 of 3 years. He learns, he just throws it right out the window and keeps repeating the same behaviors. We've been having a good day today, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I'm sorry to hear you are having such problems.
Can you tell us what your daily routine is? Are you home with him? Is he alone most of the day? Where is he when you are gone? How long is he usually alone? What keeps him busy all day? You said you don't see him sleep...not at all? Maybe there is something we can suggest to help that way. I agree to feed him some "real" food...mean people food. If you go to the home cooking thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75933 It will give you lots of recipes you can use.

Hopefully you'll figure out something soon!!! Let us know how it goes...oh and welcome!!!!

I work part time as a groomer, he comes with me to work so he is not alone very often, except when we go out with the family or something, then he is left at home in a crate. I have tried to get out his energy taking him to dog parks and doggie daycare and he still comes home bouning off the walls:rolleyes:. I have seen him dose off a few times but not long enough to fall asleep. I'm sure he sleeps a little in his crate at night but I just have never seen him actually sleeping, when we are around it is just too distracting for him. Thanks for the link on the food, I will check it out:) .