Socializing a hyper puppy!
 

Hello All,

I'm new to the group as well as to Yorkie's! I have a 7 month old female named Emma who is absolutely, the most local and intelligent puppy I've ever had.

My only problem is that when she see's another dog (no matter how big) she will pull on her leash and try like crazy to get to it. She's not the least bit aggressive and she's wonderful around people, it's just she see's the dog and wants to play. I've taken her to dog training and unfortunately, there was only one other dog there (a chihuahua) that didn't want anything to do with her! She is going to continue on with the intermediate class so I'm hoping that she will be able to learn to play with other dogs "nicely". She's just too overwhelming! Even the big "friendly" dogs get irritated with her jumping and nipping at them.

I have another dog in the house (she's a chihuahua too), and though it took her about two weeks to get used to Emma, (and stand her ground when she didn't want to play) Emma is fine with her and gets lots of play time in with her.

I did get her spayed about 2 weeks ago and I'm really hoping that will slow her down a bit, but I'm just not sure if there is anything else I can do to teach her to "play nicely," as my biggest concern is that she's going to fearlessly run up to a dog who doesn't want to play and get bit.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated!

I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions except to say that they really do calm down a lot as they get older, but that's not much help now.

I'm sure someone will have some wonderful ideas for you.

I just wanted to welcome you to YT! :D

Glad to hear they calm down as they get older. lol.
My Susie loves them all too and will strain to get near a dog or person or a child, she's only 14 weeks though, so
I've a long way to go.

People I've talked to say tell them to 'leave' but I prefer my little ones to be friendly.

Good luck love.
Hugs Shirl x x

My Biggie Smalls was super hyper when he saw other dogs. He did and still occassinally pull and go crazy wanting to say hello to other dogs. Age has definitely helped calm him down. What has also helped is teaching him the 'Look' command..where I ask him to look at me to take his attention away from the other dog as soon as he shows signs of starting to get antsy..and ofcourse I give him a treat. Once I have his attention, I try to make him sit and lay down to calm him down. This takes tons of time to teach. With patience though you'll get your little one on track. Good Luck!

Great advice, "the look" command. I have 2 yorks and one "in training" and have trained 2 more . They are really smart dogs. They watch and look at your face all the time and your body language tells them far more than any words. Mine and their "cousins" (when they do sleep overs) all sit at the door when people come to it and "stay", "wait" at doors before they are opened and the basic polite things that help when people come and for basic safety. Ours get a long walk every day and that really helps with the energy leveling out. Having them sit and letting the other dogs come up helps when you have one that is very outgoing and in people's faces. Taking it on thru more obedience classes is the best idea of all. Sometimes I babysit as many as 9 dogs at one time so those basics are worth their weight in gold. One of the yorks follows all of the commands at my house but not at its own! Now that dog is as smart as most kids! :) Stick with it and use your body more. That is the real communicator. By the way...are you hyper? If so, the dog may be reading that also. Glad you are working hard with the lucky pup.

Thank you all for your comments. I'm going to continue on with the training. I do a "watch me" command which is like the "look." I guess I just need to make sure I have treats with me when we're out. Right now I live in an apartment complex with several dogs, and she sees them everytime I take her out. I try to calm her down but she just pulls and then keeps moving her little legs like she's going somewhere. She did see another chihuahua today and she sniffed a bit, pulled a bit, and when she realized I wasn't gonna let her go, she calmed down a bit and rolled over on her back. The chihuahua then approached her a little more. Do you know if her "rollling over" is a way to show submission? Oh.. to answer your question, I'm a pretty calm person and I don't flip out or anything when she starts doing this. Mostly, I just ignore it for now, so that she doesn't think it's a good thing.

Sounds like you are on the right track. She sounds a bit under socialized but it is great on the most part that she is non aggressive. Flashing her tummy is the "highest" form of "I am your friend" and or "You are superior to me." Is there a way she can play with others every so often? The ideal doggie message is "I am equal and would like to play", bumping butts, touching each other's flank in a standing position. There are two behaviors often an undersocialized puppy will present, Very aggressive and anxious play and tummy flashes. I much prefer the tummy flashes because an aggressive neurotic dog can actually get killed because it sets off aggression from other anxious dogs. I have a new 4 mo. old yorkie that I am socializing now. The breeder would not even let me have it until 4 mo. mostly because she was very small and she wanted it to have very high confidence in her pack of several dogs. She is a charmer and when she sees other dogs she does not know she dips down and wags her tail like crazy. That's very confident. Keep going out and holding yours if she is going to be real crazy and reinforce that you are the pack leader and will gently mold her into proper pack behavior. That is my thinking and good luck. Lucky dog you have.

Yea, I've been looking for the "right dog" for play sessions, but unfortunately, she just overwhelms most dogs (even the big ones). I'm really hoping that the intermediate class will bring about more and a variety of dogs. I think that's what she really needs. The class she was in was a puppy class and we didn't want to freak the other puppy out. The other puppy was a chihuahua and already really shy. The trainer was afraid that it would do more harm and good for her. Unfortunately, that meant that poor Emma couldn't really play. Towards the end of the classes though, Emma and the chi started to get along and play off leash a bit. It's just hard because I don't have 6 weeks to be able to do this with every dog she comes into contact with. LOL I'm optimistic, however, that she'll be fine. It does seem that she's starting to "get it."

Thanks again for all your feedback and support!