Frusterated new Yorkie owner
 

Hi All. I have had Bella now for 1 week. She has been an Angel so far, but last night and today she has been a monster. I have been leaving her in her pen and she has been fine, no barking ext. Last night she was whining and yapping off and on. Today when I left after feeding her and playing with her for an hour she barked all morning. Her routine has not changed so I dont know what is happening. My policy has been to ignore her whining and she always calms down and settles. Her whining has intensified into a yap, which I do not wantt to promote. Should I keep ignoring? Or go an tel her to stop with a little hit? I am not sure what approuch to take? Or should I spray her with a water bottle? I want her to be o.k. in her pen alone at times...it is early so I want to curb any negative behaviour now. Please help, I do not want to turn her into a terror.

Thanks so much.

me too!
 

My little guy was ok for the first couple of days I had him, but then all of a sudden he started being really noisy and barking a lot... so i decided that he just became attatched to me and that was that. :rolleyes:
He is such a little S%!^
You have officially spoiled your baby:thumbup:

PERSONALLY ME I WOULDNT HIT MY YORKIE....BUT WHAT YOU COULD DO IS TRY LEAVING THE TV, OR RADIO ON FOR YOUR YORKIE...ALSO TRY GIVING YOUR YORKIE A PIECE OF YOUR CLOTHING SO SHE CAN HAVE THE SCENT OFYOUR PRESENTS AROUND HER....IM A NEW OWNER TOO...BUT THATS WHAT I WOULD TRY...OTHER OWNERS MIGHT HAVE A DIFFERENT OPINION...WELL :goodluck:

I Know What UR Going Thru
 

Hi There,

I definitely know what you're going through. I recommend checking out the Dog Whisperer Show on the National Geographic Channel. He seems harsh at times, but has a lot of good information about understanding and ultimately training your dog.

Good luck!

-Daphne

Ive never crate trained my dogs so I cant help you...maybe she is lonely? How long is she in there during the day? Mine have free run of the house..my baby Reece is 11 weeks old..sleeps with me and my other two dogs lol..I dont think I could handle the crying or yapping either..I know tons of people that crate train that will be able to offer you some great advice..hang in there!!

Dawn

BellaYorkie,

Try to look at it this way. Bella has gotten more attached to you and wants to be close to you at all times. She's not being a monster; she's expressing her loneliness/boredom/desire to be close to you.

Can I ask why she had to be in her pen "all morning" after you played with her? I think it's possible that you are leaving her there too long.

At any rate, I would NOT - repeat NOT - do anything punishing to her while she is in her pen. Think about it. From her point of view, this is horrible place that separates her from you. You squirt her or smack her (which should never be done, BTW) while she's in there. Does it make her feel better about being in there? Obviously not. It only adds to her distress.

You want her pen to be a positive experience for her. Give her lots of toys, bones, and a Kong to occupy herself with. If she is quiet while in there, REWARD her with a small treat. If she is noisy, ignore her. Be sure that you never, ever go to her when she is noisy (otherwise, you'll be reinforcing that behavior).

Does that help?

great advice!!

Great advice

The little ones are just like children , you can't have them quiet all the time .

Curbing the yappyness
 

Hi everyone, thank you for the advice. It is exactlt what I have been reading elsewhere. The reality is that I work, and although I have a friend who comes in during the day to play with Bella ext. she does need to be in her pen in the morning for a few hours. Last night she was quite and slept well. I think ignoring the whining and crying will pay off.
A question I have about trying to discourage barking is how exactly to use the water bottle or pennies in a can method? I have been ignoring and this is starting to loose effect. If I spray her with a litle water when she starts really barking, will this be attention even though negative that engourages the barking??
I have made her pen a very comfortable place with her toys, blankets water and pee pads. I know it is her safe place, but I also dont feel like I can sit there and listen to her start to become a yapper with good concious. I feel bad spraying her, but I will feel worse if I am a bad owner who lets my puppy turn into a yapper.
It may not be the way you tained your puppy, as I am sure everyone has a different expereience, so I am just woundering how this worked for people who have used this method.
The one thing I do know is that consistancy is key, which is why I ask before I start reinforcing bad habbits ext.
Its great to here that I am not alone in this process. Thanks for all the advice and words of encouragement!

When is she yapping other than in the pen?

Just when I put her in the pen. At night she is fine, settles in and seems to understand that its bed time. But in the morning, or during the day when I need to leave. I have been trying to leave her in the pen even when I am home for short periods of time so she is used to it.

Again, I would not punish your puppy in any way for barking/crying/whining in the pen. You will only teach her to dislike the pen more. Ignore her when she's noisy. Noisy dog = invisible dog. Quiet dog = best puppy in the whole world! Shower her with praise and treats when she is quiet.

If she starts barking in other situations, you can then worry that she might become a yapper and we'll try to offer more advice at that point.

Thanks! I will not spray her while she is in her pen. I was wondering if I should move her pen into the Kitchen a more central place so she can be in it while we are around and not feel isolated? I want her to like her pen and not think of it as a bad place were she goes when we leave. It is in my bed room right now. I tried putting her in it this morning before I left and just playing with her in it, but she kept whining to get out and was not interested in playing. I can see that she wants to be with me, but I do need to leave at times. Maybe I am expecting to much to soon, and should be greatful for all the other good things she does!
Any thoughts on how to make the pen a less tramatic place?

Moving her pen to a more central location is a very good idea. See if that helps.

Have you discovered Kongs that you can fill with peanut butter, squirt cheese, or even canned dog food? Takes quite a while for pup to work the goodies out so it works like a pacifier for many dogs. Freezing them with goodies inside makes it them last even longer.

When she's not looking, I'd occasionally put a couple of treats in for her to find later. When you give her new toys, introduce those in the pen. You can also feed her meals in the pen. The message being - Great Things Happen when I'm in here.

I got a Kong because I know my old dog at home used to love hers, but Bella doesnt seem to interested in the whole concept. Maybe she is to young, but she Can never get the treats out. It just makes me feel bad, like its a mean trick! I was afraid to give her peanut butter, but if isnt harmful I will try that instead of the treats. The canned soft food is a great suggestion. She never gets that for meals, so it will be a real treat. Thanks again!

I have 2 boys, and one is a barker/whiner the other is not. When my little guy starts barking I make a noise psssssst really loud. If he in reach I give him a little poke with my finger in the ribs, not hard, but not soft. You want him to feel it, but not hurt him. I learned this from the dog whisperer. Its very effective with my dogs. I don't even need to poke them anymore, when I make the noise they stop whatever it is they are doing that I dont want them to do. This is an effective way of training them for almost anything! Good Luck! :)

His book is also wonderful and his first season of shows is now available on DVD. Here is a link to his website. I get his newsletter by email.

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/

Lisa

Help
 

My yorkie isn't sleeping through the night. I don't know what to do! He whines and whines till i get up. Once up he won't go back to sleep, what should i do. I haven't had sleep in days!

Have you tried bringing him into your bed with you? Ours have slept with us since 8 weeks old...sleep like babies!!!

Dawn

Ok I posted that wrong..they sleep BETTER THAN BABIES lol

Dawn

Isn't sleeping in the bed a bad thing? What about accidents in the night? Falling off the bed....gosh I can think of a million reasons why that is probably not the best solution. If you are trying to crate or pen train then stick it out. Your baby needs to learn how to self sooth. I went through a few of these nights, but it does get better. Be though, you will be glad you did. :animal-pa

Is Bella doing any better in her pen?

Yes she is :) She has her days, but 95% of the time she settles in after a few minutes during the day and doesnt even whine at night anymore. Now that I have just said that I am sure she will be terrible tonight! haha. It will take time, but I can se what the benifits will be in the future.

:coolsmile Oh, I'm so glad to hear she's doing better! And, I hope I didn't jinx it...

Nope, didn't jinx it. Slept like a baby through the night and calmed down right away. She has an amazing internal clock because she starts crying just before the alarm goes off in the morning. Knows the routine! I am looking forward to the days when I can slep in again!

Anyone els miss that??

Get used to it! Your days of peaceful sleep are O-V-E-R! Lol. And many of us do sleep with our babies in our beds with us and think it's a fantastic solution. Yorkies are kinda needy and don't like being away from their owners, especially at night. I tried keeping my yorkie in his crate at night and he was good for awhile, but eventually he decided he didn't want to be in there anymore. And I don't blame him - he spends a lot of time during the day in his crate or his xpen while I'm at work so if he wants to sleep with me in bed at night to spend more time with me I'm happy to oblidge. He's potty trained, so he knows not to go on the bed. If he needs to, he hops down and uses his puppy pad in the bedroom. And he's never fallen off the bed either.

Some techiques I've been using with our pup to make her like her pen:

1) When I'm watching her and she's allowed to roam, I hide tiny bits of chicken all around her pen. After doing this for a day, she regularly spends time in her pen when the door is open.

2) When she is quietly in her pen for a given amount of time (build it up slowly), she gets a click and a treat.

3) When I'm getting ready to leave or to go to bed, if she stays on her bed and calm, she gets a click and a treat.

In other words, the pen needs to be thought as a fun place.

And of course, like you said, ignore the barking.

I believe in the positive training school of thought, in which you ignore the bad behavior and reward the good. Negative feedback should be given to the dog verbally, not physically.

DITTO! Say GOOD BYE to SLEEPING IN!!!! Or even naps for that matter!

...although I have to say, mine are mellowing more. We all can now go back to bed after potty in the AM - AWESOME!!!

I crate my Oliver and he used to bark and yap but I just told him "Oliver...NOOOOO don't be a bad boy" ....I said it like I was very disappointed in him. I also got this advice off the internet from a woman who breeds dogs (border collies but hey they are all the same instinctively) she said this, very insightful:

"You have the right and the obligation to correct your puppy for whining when he's in his crate. Think of it this way. A leader gets angry when his followers leave without permission, but a follower doesn't worry when the leader leaves without asking. As his leader, you must let him know that behavior is unacceptable. Think about the wolf den - when the adults go off to hunt, they must leave the pups back in the den and the pups must be quiet and stay still. Adults teach the pups to stay back by giving them a correction for barking or leaving the safety of the den. If you let your puppy whine when you leave you are giving him a leadership position (which is very confusing to the puppy). So, give the crate a good shake and use a growling tone in your voice. If you believe you can make him be quiet, you will, in short order. If you do it right, it should take just a few times, not days or weeks. You just need to let your feelings be known that he is not to whine. As a very young pup, it doesn't take much time or intensity to get him to understand he is to remain quiet and calm when you walk out of the room. Quit thinking it is heartbreaking or you will never succeed. That sort of "energy" will not project your intentions that he is to remain quiet. Try to convince yourself that he MUST remain quiet or something bad will happen to him (the wolf den analogy), and you'll present the right energy to succeed."

That helped me....hope it helps you somewhat to think of it that way.