Scared Pari-Yorkie Hi, I have a 6 month old yorkie that is scared to death of absolutely everything. We got him from a breeder and didn't know to much about her. They dropped the dog off at night and he was sleeping. When he woke up I really thought he was going live under the bed. With 3 months of patience he is although not friendly he's a hell of a lot better than he was. He has long hair, he needs grooming. I even took him to one of those puppy preparation appointments. You could not believe how scared he was. I thought he was going to hyperventilate or have a heart attack. Same response with a bath, the car, being picked up Does anybody know what I should do? Thanks so much, Lnn Z |
Build his confidence by teaching him things like sit, lay and come. Try to make everything a happy good experience. If it is really bad you probably need to talk to the vet about an anxiety medicine. |
Be sure he's been thoroughly checked out by the vet. I've noticed when Tibbe was getting ill or having a problem, he was more fearful, had panic attacks, more fearful of thunder, couldn't be distracted. When leading up to his Dx. of MVD, he was very fearful and after his Dx. and treatment with total change of diet, he lost that fear once he was medically stable. Good old basic obedience training that is made great fun for the dog, always ending in a 'win' for him gives them an incredible amount of self-confidence and truly aids a fearful, craven dog. They learn that they can feel good about themselves by getting it right and once they've learned that they are capable, they surmount many fearful situations. Always speak in an upbeat, happy voice, keep a smile on your face & make training a very positive experience for them, something so fun they are continually baiting you to do. It gives your dog a job, the work of learning to team & bond with you. Your dog gets a great dose of oxytocin every time you interact positively with him and he'll grow confident from that boost to his system. My Tibbe was 9 mos. old when I got him, by history said to have spent those 9 mos. alone in a crate under a shed in the backyard of a hobby breeder. He came to me manic, fearful of everything, screaming, shrieking, panicking and untrusting. Everything he did was painfully scary to him, from walking through a doorway to hearing the fridge, TV come on. He was scared of GRASS for goodness sake! But I started him on a trust-me campaign and rewarded him with food or a toy, and real, heartfelt, loving, smiling praise every time he interacted positively with me, said 'uh oh' and kind of frowned every time he got something wrong. Just a gentle feedback 'uh oh' to let him know he hadn't got it quite right, but quickly followed by requesting him to do something I knew he could get right so we'd always end on a win for him. I never forced myself on him but waited for him to make all the overtures wherein he was richly rewarded. Eventually after he'd learned trust, we started basic obedience, which I determined I would keep fun and happy for him. I never barked or growled out commands, always requested a skill to be learned in a happy tone of voice, a smile on my face and a big, happy praise when he got it right, an 'uh oh', frown when he missed. He soon learned he adored the getting it right so he WORKED hard to get it right, loved his job of learning and growing. In the process of learning confidence, working as a team, after he was less scared, we did some confidence building exercises, where I'd accumulate several disparate objects - a limb, a clock, a flower, a hairbrush, a sock, a spoon and a cell phone and a lot of his special treats and we'd sit in the floor and happily I'd show him one of the objects and if he'd come up and bump it with his nose, he'd get a treat, happy, heartfelt praise, a gentle 'uh oh' and frown if he shied away, whereupon I'd quickly introduce a chew stick so he could follow-up with a win. Before long, he'd learned not to fear unknown objects rather wanted to approach them for the good things he was about to receive & his own self-administered boost of confidence and oxytocin he got from bumping the new thing. He grew into a friendly, confident, feisty, black-hearted(i.e., terrier(!)), loving, obedient buddy, a pet anyone would love to have. Work with your baby to TEACH him how to grow confidence and you'll be surprised at how he blossoms! |
Up Date I didn't take the time to thank-you for your wisdom. This is the update on Mickey, if you have any thoughts I would love to hear them: He will be a year old, after a while when we first got him I sent this letter to the breeder and also to the breeder that recommended her: linda jewel 1( That's her ) Hi, This is Lynn Zachman and Jeff and I bought one of your puppies. I have some grave concerns that I thought you might be able to help me with. Mickey is very animal friendly, he is not people friendly he won't come to Jeff or I without us chasing him down. He is not interested in anything we do and he is very, very hand shy. Before this gets out of hand I need you to tell me what you think. He hides under our bed if we let him. These are the things we have done to make him feel at home and I have done to make him like us. 1. He has his own "space" but on the flip side we have to close the door during the day or he would never come out. 2. I play with him lay down on the floor with him, I've tried treats, praise and to touch him as often as possible. After we've picked him up after kind-of having a rodeo its like he is just resigned to the fact that we are bigger than him and he has no choice but to let us pet him. I am not going to push him but just ignoring him doesn't work because he could care less. 3. In essence we are not doing very well and feel really bad. We don't want him miserable. And we really want to love him. No help, no response, Then I sent this one: Sent from Mail for Windows 10 Hello, We bought a Yorkie puppy not from you, but a breeder that you recommended to my husband. I thought at his 7 month mark you might like an update seeing that you know the people well enough to feel comfortable recommending them. It was night time and the puppy was asleep when we met them. We took him home and he immediately ran under the bed, Typical right? This little puppy was TERRIFIED of us. For the first 4 months we had to love him from a distance. He would hide, run, and a million other things. It broke my heart but after 2 weeks I got ahold of the breeder who said that , " Oh that’s what they do" Sure they do, she wouldn't take him back . ( Now you couldn't pry him away from me!) So, fast forward to today. We love Mickey very much but no one but my husband, myself, and Max our other Yorkie can get near him. We absolutely can not pick him up. He can't go anywhere with us ,as the car scares him so much it just isn't worth it. (Update) at almost 11 months he still hates to be picked up,but hates it way less. Our vet said that under socialized is a understatement. He was either abused or totally ignored at the critical time he was with the breeder. He actually said she should be ashamed of herself. This was SO bad that the vet said we should do all we could to insure that she never, ever bred another dog. That's all, Regards, Lynn And Jeff Zachman. I'm clueless about how to tell if he is happy or not, do you know how? What should I be doing? Any more help would be so much appreciated@ Very Sincerely, Lynn Plus he itches |
Have you talked to the vet about anxiety medication? I would look into a behavioralist or trainer because they can help. Have you tried building his confidence like I said before? |
Quote:
My guy has allergies, he gets monthly shots of Cytopoint and I bathe him with DOUXO shampoo. If Mickey is uncomfortable due to allergies this could be one of many reasons he's not to happy. You should also try using a booster seat if you haven't already. If he could see the outside world while in the car may make him less fearful of car rides. Poor little guy has a lot of issues, a behaviorist may be a solution. |
What a great tip! I just ordered that shampoo. Is this common with Yorkies? |
Unfortunately yorkies are prone to allergies and it's usually environment related not food related. This shampoo is fantastic, follow the directions and leave it on the 10 minutes. My guy is 12 Lbs, he gets his baths in the shower. After I lather him and scrub him up I turn off the shower of course lol, close the shower door, and sing to him for the 10 min. while I tidy up the bathroom lol, he's the only one that doesn't tell me to not quit my day job lol. Let us know how you make out with this shampoo. |
Quote:
|
All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:30 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use