Socialization problems?
 

We have a female yorkie that will be turning 2 years old in January who I'm having some problems with. Our little girl, JaZi, is my mom's dog but I'm the one who takes care of our dogs. We got her from our breeder when she was 12 weeks old. The breeder was told by her vet to keep the puppy separate from her litter mates because she has an open fontanel. Not sure if this has anything to do with her behavior or not.

JaZi gets along fine with our other dogs, 2 other yorkies and 2 mixed breeds. Though she doesn't play with toys with them, she'll "rough house" with them ie chase each other, jump around, and just run around like chickens with their heads cut off. She doesn't guard their bowls, toys, or bed and doesn't really show any signs of aggression. The problem is when its time to interact with humans, get groomed, go for a walk, ect.

First off, the problems. She's fine around my mom and I, but gets skittish around my dad, sister, and everyone else who she comes across. She'll run away, start shaking, and just becomes nervous in general when anyone other than my mom or I approach her. So far she hasn't shown aggression towards anyone, but I'm worried that in the future she might if she gets scared enough. She does this when at our house and out in public. Another problem we have is that she hates being groomed. She doesn't mind a bath so much as getting brushed, a haircut, and her nails trimmed. She's fine getting her back and hind end brushed, but if you get anywhere near her face, chest, legs, or feet she starts trying to bite the brush and run away. Same happens when trying to give her a haircut and trim her nails. The only thing she doesn't have a problem with is getting her topknot put in, which she just lays her head down on the floor and waits while you do it. The last thing I have problems with is taking her for a walk. Once out on the road, she doesn't want to move. She'll plant her feet or sit down so she doesn't have to walk.

Second, what I've been doing to try to correct the problems. I've been taking her to pet stores and other people places that allow dogs so she'll get more socialized. If we're standing talking to someone I make her either sit or lie down to wait and she stays, unless a stranger approaches her. As for the grooming problems, I've just been petting and touching the areas she doesn't like touched while she's relaxed and not getting groomed. For walks, to get her started walking I place my foot against the back of her rump so she can't sit down and give a small, quick tug on her leash (told by my vet to do this with leash) to get her moving forward. Then I say her name and such as we're walking to keep her attention. Usually once you get her started walking, she'll keep walking. But getting her to start walking can sometimes take a good long while.

Does anyone have any advice on what I can do to help correct these problems? Is there anything I listed that I'm doing wrong? Thank you in advance for any help or advice.

Bump. We missed this maybe someone can help

My 2 year old harley had an open font as well when we got him at 9 weeks. He played with his litter mates and this soft spot finally grew together by the time he was 8 months old. He had alot of socialization problems as well. I finally enrolled him in some training classes and it really helped alot. He got alot better about being around other dogs and people and they helped me with getting to walk on a leash. It has been a long road with him. Maybe you could get her into some training classes if it is not a financial strain?:aimeeyork

Training classes aren't really an option at this point in time due to just that. Not really possible financially.