Hi everyone
 

Hi everybody, I'm new to this forum and would appreciate any advice you may have. My family has had our male yorkie Peanut for almost four wonderful years now. Unfortunately, Peanut has a few bad habits already set in place and I have no idea what to do about them! He pees in the house once in a while, and since I don't want to frighten him by yelling I have no idea how to fix this. He also tends to bark at us whenever we enter or leave the room even though he recognizes us. He's also afraid of his bowl, and absolutely will not eat unless we hand feed him or the food is laying on the floor, he also doesn't listen to us at times unless we have food:mad: . I know it sounds kind of bad but he's really a good dog deep inside, and I really care about him, but if I don't start getting some of these problems fixed soon, my parents might want him out of the house:crying:. So please, any advice you may have will be GREATLY appreciated, thank you all so much for your time.

Hello and welcome to YT!!! I am getting ready for bed, but i will be back in the a.m. to offer some help. we would love to see pics of your Peanut if you can.

welcome
 

:wavey: just wanted to say welcome to yorkie talk, but i will give u a better response later. so much to do in little time.
angelgyrl
mother to ralph:aimeeyork

:yorkietal

hmmm...did these just develop recently? If so...that sounds like there's something else going on...

Welcome to YT!!! Have you tried taken him to obedience school?

Welcome to YT can't wait to see pics of Peanut :p

Welcome to YT!

With the urinating in the house, did that just start recently? If so, he could have a urinary tract infection or another medical issue. If it's been a problem all along, he may just need to be worked with a little more. You may need to take him out more frequently. Is he neutered? If not, that may help as well. You can also buy belly bands so your house doesn't get soiled. You just need to change them frequently and keep him clean. They are a good solution though for dogs with pottying problems

Lacy also doesn't normally listen to me unless I have a treat in my hand. She's smart but stubborn. I'm sure she'd be better if I worked on her training more. Same with yours...just takes a little practice every day.

What kind of bowls do you have? I've heard that some dogs are afraid of stainless steel and others are allergic to ceramic. So you may want to try a new type of bowl or even a plate to put his food on.

:wavey: Glad to have you here.

I know with my 2, I need to pay attn to any of their signals about going outside, mistakes happen if I get too focused on something else - lucily mine will do it in the kitchen

Is the barking aggressive or just a bark?? Sounds like he is trying to communicate with you about something. He's mad you left him :confused: or he's greeting you somehow

Welcome to YT. Did you ever try putting his food on a plate. When I had Penny if it wasn't on a plate she would tip her bowl over, and throw the food all over the place. As far as the peeing is he neutered? How often do you take him out. Mine still have poop accidents in the house, and an occasional pee accident, but for the most part they go outside. Also, if you don't catch them going pee it's almost worthless to try to correct them, because they don't know what they did at that point. Sometimes when I'm cleaning up the mess and they come over I'll tell them it was bad, but they just look at me like I'm nuts. I sure hope you don't have to get rid of him. I'm sure there will be a lot of people here with ideas that can help you.

Welcome to yt:D

Welcome to the greatest place for us yorkie lovers!

Welcome to YT :D i am shure you will get lots of advise ;)

Peanut's been peeing around the house for quite some time now, and sometimes I even catch him in the act. Whenever I do catch him in the act, I try to have him sniff it and just sit there as I wipe it, no yelling or anything, but it still doesn't seem sufficient. To minimize this, whenever I'm home and my brother isn't (he's usually following him around), I hang out with him while I do my thing and he usually tells me if he needs to go by pawing at me. Unfortunately, Peanut can't be supervised 24/7 and so accidents do happen =X

As for the bowl issue, I've tried using ceramic bowls and plastic bowls, nothing seems to really do it for him. Even if he's really thirsty, he won't drink out of it:confused: , I often have to sit there with him and show him that I'm holding the water bowl (this trick only works with water and not food!:mad: ). I'll try using plates from now and and see how that goes (thanks YorkieKids!)

In regards to the barking issue, he barks uncontrollably whenever someone enters the house (which is reasonable), whenever someone enters the room he's in, and whenever someone leaves the room or walks away from him (probably just his way of saying I still want attention). I understand why he barks most of the time, but it's difficult to get him to stop once he gets started and I don't want to punish him for being a good watchdog either...

And as for obedience school, I'm afraid that isn't an option right now because my whole family kinda has a busy schedule on a daily basis.Once again, thank you all so much for your time and suggestions, your help is greatly appreciated! I'll be sure to post up pictures of Peanut as soon as I can.:)

My babies used to like eating out of my hands and not the bowl, but for them it's not an option unless they want to starve lol. I try not to baby them so much. They are spoiled enough as it is. By teaching them it's not okay.. they understand you more and it builds a better bond between you two. I know first hands that obedience school helps. It is time consuming though. I took my first girl to Petsmart puppy training. It sure taught me a lot. Are you from Rosemead, CA? if you don't mind me asking.....

Yeah, I live near the border of San Gabriel Valley and Rosemead. I try not to baby Peanut much either but it's difficult to get him fed if I don't. If I put the food on the floor it's not good enough, he'll pester me until sit there and watch him eat:confused: . And if it's too close to the bowl, well, he'll just stare at me for a while...