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04-25-2010, 09:54 AM | #1 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Posts: 5
| My dog is obsessed with toys! Hi everyone! I'm a long-time reader, first-time poster! My wife and I have a wonderful, year-and-a-half old yorkie named Oliver. Though he's a pretty good dog, we have a toy problem: He absolutely loves to play fetch (though, I think he probably thinks it's keep-away), and when he's not sleeping, that's what he wants to do. So we can't leave any toys out and because he knows where we keep the toys, he barks/scratches at the toy closet all the time. Because we live in an apartment with neighbors around, I can't let him continue barking for long; so, more often than not, I give in. When he's playing with toys, he has a one-track mind. If I need to get up for even a moment or do anything to stop paying attention to him, he'll start barking at me. And finally, he turns everything into a toy. Bully sticks are sometimes more of a play toy than a chew toy. When we bring home grapes or cantaloupe from the store, he barks at it forever, thinking it's a toy! Has anybody out there had these problems and found a good way to deal them? Thanks! |
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04-25-2010, 09:56 AM | #2 |
♥ Chip ♥ Smokey ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Leesburg
Posts: 3,835
| He sounds like he has a lot of excess energy... have you tried taking him on long walks or to the dog park to run off some of his energy?
__________________ ~*~ Chip ~*~ Smokey ~*~ My heart is wrapped around their little paws Karley Marissa born 1/20/12 weighing 8 lbs 11 oz and 21.5 inches long |
04-25-2010, 10:03 AM | #3 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Posts: 5
| Thanks for the reply! Living in NYC, we do take him for walks 3 or 4 times a day, though he could probably use more long walks. At the dog park, he tries to steal all the other dogs toys; even dogs 10X as big as him! And even when we take him out for extended amounts of time, he rarely tires out immediately. We'll come home and he'll want to play, only to pass out 4 or 5 hours later. |
04-25-2010, 10:17 AM | #4 |
♥ Chip ♥ Smokey ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Leesburg
Posts: 3,835
| Chip was like that a lot as a puppy. It seemed like he never tired out. Sometimes we'd give him a bone for "quiet time" and put him on the bed with it and he'd chew quietly for all of 30 seconds when all the sudden he'd get this burst of energy and "attack" his bone, resulting in the bone landing on the floor. He'd then peer over the edge and start barking. If we didn't get it for him immediately, he'd go to either one of our night stands, pick up something that he knew didn't belong to him and prance right by us until one of us got his bone, in which the cycle continued. Although I don't recommend this to everyone, we remedied it by getting yorkie #2. They played with each other and entertained each other, then slept the rest of the time. I don't know if your dog is neutered or not, but neutering helped calm Chippy down a lot too.
__________________ ~*~ Chip ~*~ Smokey ~*~ My heart is wrapped around their little paws Karley Marissa born 1/20/12 weighing 8 lbs 11 oz and 21.5 inches long |
04-25-2010, 11:16 AM | #5 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Posts: 5
| That sounds a lot like Oliver. Aside from the barking for toys, which is really the number one concern, we do worry about his behavior around other dogs when toys are around. He goes from being a sweet dog when just around other dogs—one that is relatively submissive to other dogs—to throwing incredible temper tantrums if that dog has a toy. My in-laws have a yorkie and my brother has a large schnauzer: whenever he is around them and they have a toy, he barks and growls at the them and us until he gets the toy! We tried using treats to train him that when it was play time and when it wasn't. We'd give him a big treat as we put the toy away. But, he's more attracted to toys than food and so that didn't seem to work! Any other ideas? |
04-25-2010, 04:50 PM | #6 |
Action Jackson ♥ Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Maryland
Posts: 17,814
| He's TOO obsessed with the toys, for sure (as you stated). Obsession can be a dangerous thing. "I can't let him continue barking for long; so, more often than not, I give in." You giving in when he barks has taught him that barking = get what I want. If you do it once, you've already made the problem worse, but if you continue to keep giving in, he has just learned that "Oh, all I have to do is bark and I get what I want!" It's much like a child who throws a temper tantrum in the store, and the parent gives in out of embarrassment and buys what they want, the child learns throwing temper tantrums if the way to rule their parents. Most parents eventually put their food down, let them throw their fit and say NO. Dogs, like children, need discipline. It sounds like Oliver believes he OWNS those toys... you need to make it clear that, yes, the toys are for him to play with but they are YOUR toys. You bought them, you own them, you can give them to him, and you can take them away from him. Claim the toy... I would start with making him work for the toys. Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF program) is a great way to start. He doesn't get the toy until is in a totally calm state of mind (this is important) and sitting. Often times, people tell a dog to 'sit' and then they give them the food or toy... but sitting doesn't mean a dog is calm. Wait until they are totally calm before giving in. This can be transferred into parts of his every day life... he has to sit calmly before each meal, before going out for a walk, etc. Dogs, like people, often need a job to do or they will get bored... they need just as much mental stimulation as physical. Use his extreme focus on toys for something good -- you can train him tricks using his toy as a treat! Toys would be a HUGE reward for him. Most dogs only work for treats but I think it's wonderful if you have a toy motivated dog. Basically, to me, it sounds as if Oliver totally rules the roost and thinks he is the boss, when in reality, it should be the other way around. Start asserting yourself as his pack leader (OK, now I'm going all Dog Whisperer on you! If you haven't seen it, tune in to National Geographic channel). Clearly he doesn't respect you right now and he's bossing you around (barking at you when not paying attention to him, getting his way all the time, etc). It's time to take control Also- for barking, pennies in a can have worked for a lot of ppl. Just fill an empty soda can with coins, shake it and say 'quiet' everytime he barks. Or a squirt bottle with water. OR there's a bark repeller you can buy on amazon that everyone seems to be raving about! He just needs to learn he's not he boss, and he doesn't own all the toys in the world. I hope this helps a little bit-- I'm NO professional but I do a lot of online 'research' as well as watching a lot of dog programs on tv (Dog Whisperer, Dogtown, It's Me or the Dog). You can really learn alot from them Exercise, discipline, affection... in THAT order!
__________________ ~ Brit & Lights! Camera! Jackson! CGC ETD TKP ~ Follow Jackson on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jacksontheterrier Last edited by Britster; 04-25-2010 at 04:51 PM. |
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