New yorkie owner in he!! - please help

[GypsyVille]

I do both group classes and private training. I think your little girl would benefit from group classes. What is nice about group classes is she has all kinds of distractions to work around and it helps to really keep her focus on you. You also have a trainer there to address any issues you may be having with her. She will be able to show you exactly what to do.

In the area I live in - Private training session are anywhere from $20-$40 an hour where a group class usually has a set price of say $40 dollars for 8 weeks of classes. I will get some pictures of Delilah here in a little bit when she goes for her evening walk.

[GypsyVille]

In the mean time please go to this website and download the free pdf file of "After you get your puppy" by Dr. Ian Dunbar and read it. The book really helps new owners with what to do with a new puppy. Dr. Ian Dunbar is a animal behaviorist and is well respected in the dog community.

Free Downloads | Dog Star Daily

[sportschick]

Wow, that is REALLY cheap. Here group sessions are much more expensive. I can't even imagine what a private session would cost.

Thanks, I will look for the pictures later on.

[dottiesyrky]

Oh how I feel for you, you seem to be trying everything. Lots of help here though. I have 2 things, 1. I used to use the complex strap harnesses and now use a very easy one with no straps. It is called "Puppy Design" from Pets Plus. Or on the website you can find a vendor. It is made of mesh and closed with velcro and sturdy clips. Easy on the throat and very easy to step into, even with a wriggly dog. 2. On YT it was suggested to keep harness/leash on while in house with you and attach to you so that she cannot pee/poop without you knowing. At least if you catch her 'at it' you can take her out.
Good Luck, and hang in there.

[sportschick]

I just went on the Pets Plus website and cannot find that Puppy Design harness. I tried typing in Puppy Design to find a website that sells it. Is that the actual name of it?? I tried the Comfy Control Harness, but it was HUGE.

[dottiesyrky]

The web site is: Designer Dog Clothing, Luxury Dog Beds, Small Dog Clothes, Rhinestone Dog Collars - PAMPERED PUPPY Either scroll or search for "Ultra choke free harness" on the site.
The small is good for a 9.5 pound dog, I think they have Xsmall too. Much better to find a retail store to try on.
Thank you for considering my post!
Good Luck.

[Bitsy]

I just wanted to offer another perspective from all the advice you have gotten so far.

It is okay to decide that this is too much for you. If you are feeling overwhelmed and decide to give her back to the breeder, then I personally would respect that. I'd be sure to do it sooner rather than later. The younger she is, the easier it will be for the breeder to find her another home.

[GypsyVille]

These aren't the best picture but will give you an idea how to put the harness on your puppy.

Photo 1: Harness laid out flat

Photo 2: Put the harness between her legs like this

Photo 3: slide the harness up her legs like this

Photo 4: Side view of the harness when it is on the dog

More pictures in the next post..

[GypsyVille]

Photo 5: Back view of the harness when on the dog. The two metal clips come together.

Photo 6: Chest view of the harness on the dog

Photo 7: Delilah with her harness on. Usually from this point I put a sweatshirt over her and slip the metal clips through the little slit on the back of the shirt. If it is really cold I will also put her jacket on her.

[dawn27]

Originally Posted by dottiesyrky

Oh how I feel for you, you seem to be trying everything. Lots of help here though. I have 2 things, 1. I used to use the complex strap harnesses and now use a very easy one with no straps. It is called "Puppy Design" from Pets Plus. Or on the website you can find a vendor. It is made of mesh and closed with velcro and sturdy clips. Easy on the throat and very easy to step into, even with a wriggly dog. 2. On YT it was suggested to keep harness/leash on while in house with you and attach to you so that she cannot pee/poop without you knowing. At least if you catch her 'at it' you can take her out.
Good Luck, and hang in there.

This is my suggestion also. It is called the Umbilical cord training or Leash training. I've had to do this with a few of mine and it works very well. I would also suggest that in order to get her some much needed excercise first of all figure out how to put on that damn harness and than use a retractable leash for her to allow her a little more freedom when your outside.(not when inside)

I think shes been cooped up in a cage too long!

I believe that her fighting you may just be a fight or flight instinct. If she was at the breeders in a cage for 7 months she probably did not get the kind of one on one human contact she should have gotten. Like other said, deal with her in a calm state of mind. Do not speak harshly to her and if you get frustrated can you imagine how she is feeling.

I would continue with her paper training for as long as it takes. Dont change what she is use to.

Look at my site for more tips on training, I hope you can find something that is helpful. Training Tips - Dawn's Yorkies Ohio

[kjc]

Originally Posted by sportschick

Hi I got my 7 mo. old Yorkie last week. I made the mistake of letting her have the run of the house and all the training she got at the breeders went down the toilet (pun intended). She peed on the carpets and on the floors. I just felt so bad locking her in the pen when I was home. The breeder is wonderful, talking to me every day trying to help me through this. I also work, so I have to leave her alone and she is crying and crying when I leave. She freakin cries when I leave the kitchen. She pees and poos in the pen when she gets up and I put her in there, but after I let her out, she pees on the floor. Does the same thing at night.

This a.m. she peed on the floor and I put her in the pen and went in the other room to try and take a nap and she went NUTS. Whining, barking and flinging her bed, toys, pushing the pen. I just sat on the couch and cried because I am SO EXHAUSTED. She gets up so early and fights me on everything. After she has a tantrum she sits there and looks at me like why are you mad at me and punishing me? She wasn't like that at the breeders, she was well behaved, but she also was in a pen with another puppy for 3 months. I know everything is new to her and everyone keeps telling me that I have to be the boss and stand my ground with her. I know I have to contain her in the pen and I know I have to get the harness on her (that should be a real blast) and get her walking even if it is cold out because she is so HYPER and is getting worse and worse and worse. I also know that she has to adapt to MY schedule and it is going to take time.

But, I am feeling like I made a mistake getting her and that I can't do this and I should just send her back to the breeder who can find her a better home because I feel like a total failure at this. I feel like she is the one who is ruling me. It will break my heart if I have to do that because I love her (but I don't like her very much right now). All she wants to do is be with me and play, she licks every part of me when I sit on the floor and play with her, but I can't have her peeing on the floors and carpets and I can't have her throwing tantrums when she doesn't get her way.

Have you guys gone through this and felt this way? Please help.

I felt the same way when I got Peek A Boo (not many people know this)...

In short: You are not responsible for her backsliding in potty training. Just about all Yorkies will do this in a new home. They need to be retrained for each home you put them in. So: Not your fault.

You need to get her on a puppy feeding/pottying schedule. Feed her at regular intervals and take her out at the 'key' times and every one or two hours. Key times are: when they wake in the morning, after each meal, after playtime, after naps, before bedtime, and anytime before you put her in her pen and when you let her out of her pen.. Start this asap and do as much as you can... best to start on a weekend. On potty training: reward the good pees and poops with praise and treats. Ignore any mistakes. Ignore any mistakes. They are your fault. And I mean no grumbling, no stink eye or sideways glares... just clean it up. You need to watch her for any signals she may give that she has to go. Learn them and that's half the battle.

Her tantrums are from too much time in the pen. She is getting confused. When you're in the house, she wants to be with you. She's mad and acting out because she wants you to love her, and she's not feeling that being in the pen when you're home. Yorkies love 'being with' their owners. It's what they do.

I get that you don't like her behavior, but you love her. I was there too. Make sure you take time to sit with her and talk to her and tell her you love her. My boy was so bad, some days he did nothing right (or to my liking). I made a ritual to sit with him each night and I told him 'What a Good Boy' you are!' Many days I lied to him, but I hated being mad at him all the time. He was picking up on my feelings and that was half of our problem. Finally, after a week or two, I noticed tiny changes in his attitude and behaviors. I took one problem at a time and figured out ways to improve on it. He was 5 years old when I got him, so he had some baggage that we had to work through. I think this is the one most important thing I did that really began to turn him around.

One thing he did that drove me nuts was he would go out to potty, he would pee then come back in the house and poop somewhere. WHY?????
How to fix this? I went out with him, but he was still too nervous. Okay, so I'll let him in but watch him, and then take him out again. This started working. PITB, but hey, it was working. He still makes two trips back to back on occassion, but not often anymore.

I also had what I thought was 'my ideal dog' in my head. I had to forget that and allow him to be who he was, and accept him as he was. No dog is perfect... although we believe they are.

You have to bond with her too. Find something she does well and praise her for it. Praise goes such a long way with these guys. You two are miscommunicationing... she does not know what to do to make you happy, and you are having trouble being happy with anything she does. So start small, and praise and reward her. This is how you tell her you like what she's doing. Smile and laugh around her, and include her in your day to day.

[Jennyms319]

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Hi I didn't read all of the other posts but I wanted to show you the harness I had for Hope. I loved it. It is very lightweight and not bulky. I got it from Atwoods ( that is a farming store) but I'm sure you could find it somewhere else. It even has a little flower on the leash part.

She was 6 years and never walked on a leash before when I got her. She did very well on this. there are no straps to adjust she just steps right in and there is a clasp on top that you pintch and push it down till it fits her. I really liked this harness! All the others seem so bulky and could be hard for a little one to walk in. It didn't cost much.

I would put her harness on her and just let her walk around the house in it without you holding on to it. just really praise her when she walks and get her on her level and have her come toyou. just let her get use to walking in it around the house in it (ofcourse when you are right there so no potty happens maybe right after she has gone potty) lots of praise and ive treats while you are putting the arness on.

Good luck and don't give up!! I wish I could get another Yorkie but I am not going to until I Retire (30 years) or can stay home full time because I have learned from this site that Yorkies don't want to be alone. And my work schedule and drive time has me away way to long to have a happy yorkie. So all I can do is come on Yorkie talk and see everyone elses babies and cry because I miss Hope so much ( She passed away a few months ago) They are they best dogs so don't give up it will just take time. I understand all of your fears because they were mine too.

[Jacksmom052709]

I'm sure there are probably some videos you can watch on Youtube about training. You really need to start interacting with her and training her - at least the basics. Sit, stay, down, etc. I also agree with the OP that you have her penned up way too much/too long. When you are home, she does expect to be with you. You are her mommy, her sister, her daddy, her brother, her best friend, her whole world right now. Oh, and just a thought, what about puppy training classes in a "box store" like Petsmart or Petco? Maybe that would help. Not sure what to tell you about her not wanting to walk on the harness. When Jack was a puppy, he was so tiny, I had to use a rabbit/ferret harness on him and it was nice and light so I don't think he even noticed he had it on. Good luck and if you stick it out, you will be so happy you did. Yorkies are by far, in my opinion, the best dogs ever!

[kjc]

Please do not walk her outside with an improperly fitting harness. Yorkies are extremely quick and can get loose and run off before you know it.

You can use treats or bits of real chicken as a reward for any forward movement she makes with the harness on. Toss them so she'll have to walk forward to get them, and praise, praise, and praise some more. Like she just won the Olympics type of praise! My Sapphire chews on the lead and everyone else's harnesses until we get outside, where she gets totally distracted by everything, lol. Her nickname is 'gnatonaleash'.

[MY OSCAR]

Originally Posted by sportschick

Actually, I have kind of lost it because I am so stressed out and tired. She does sleep in a crate in my bedroom at night and she is good about that. She sleeps better than me right now. She is in a small ex-pen in the kitchen. The problem is that it is cold here now and she has never been out at all even when she was with the breeder because it was in upper state New York and very cold. She WAS trained to go on paper and she KNOWS how to do that, but because I let her have full run of the house, I effed it all up.

So now I am trying to do exactly with the breeder is telling me to do which is confine her to the small pen in the day when I am at work. Let her out for awhile at night when I get home when I can supervise her and play with her which I do, but she is peeing on the floor and I can't catch her in time to put her in the pen to pee. And when I put her back in the pen, she getting destructive.

I am just afraid that this dog is going to be too much for me to handle, just one of those super hyper dogs. I know the key is to exercise her and get her on a schedule, but it is SO hard because I work 10 - 6. That is MY schedule and I have to somehow incorporate her into it without getting up at 5:30 a.m. and her going nuts. I live one minute from my work so I don't leave my house till 9:55. So I have this dog that is going nuts from 5:30 to 9:55 and I don't know what to do. Once I start walking her, I can come home for lunch and walk with her, but again, it is cold out. I bought her a little fleece jacket thing so maybe that will help with the cold.

Anyway, thanks for your input. I just need to be able to hear from other people that they went through this awful time and GOT through it. I don't want to give her back to the breeder. Not to mention losing all the money I spent.

I am sorry you are having a difficult time with the training . Trust me, i do not mean to sound coldhearted but you brought this dog into your home and she is a big responsibility. If you have to get up at 5:30 AM to take care of this innocent puppy who depends on you , so be it...
I can't recall the number of times my dogs have woken me up @ 1, 2 ,3 Am because of whatever .
It really is a big adjustment for both of you.
I have to say if you really feel the way you say maybe it would be best for her to go back to the breeder.
It is not good for either of you to live under this much stress.
My thoughts and prayers are with you ......