Mischievous behavior..help!!
 

Hi, I'm new here and need some advice. I have a 7 mo. old baby, Maggie. She has a wonderful, lively personality, but is very mischievous! She is obsessed with food for one thing, (and I mean people food, NOT hers), and has been from the day I brought her home, around 12 weeks. We do NOT feed her table scraps, and any time she gets a special treat it must be in the kitchen, in her bowl or with her sitting and calm. Having said that, she is still obsessed with our food! Lately she has even been climbing on top of the kitchen table to look for/steal food that may have been left on it! I'm so worried that she will get hurt doing this..and she knows she's being naughty since she scrambles off quickly if she even hears any footsteps coming towards the kitchen. Even with my lecturing everyone in the family about the importance of keeping all food put away and out of her reach, there are still times when we slip up. I don't know what to do besides scold her in a firm voice, but it doesn't seem to help at all. Does anyone out there have experience with a super sneaky, mischievous, stubborn yorkie? Please share any advice you have on how to handle my naughty little Miss Maggie and break her of these dangerous habits. I love her to pieces, but sometimes her behavior is over the top !! :eek:

I have 2 boys who are obsessed with human food also. I don't know why either because I do what you do, no feeding from the table, all food goes in their bowl in the kitchen AFTER we are all done eating and cleaning up, etc... What I started to do was tell them to go to the kitchen when we are eating (table in dining room) so they go to their bed in the kitchen and watch us from there. After we are done eating, if they were good I save a small small portion for them and give it to them on a plate on the kitchen floor. If they do not behave they get nothing. One of my boys used to jump or climb on your lap while you were sitting eating at the table. I make sure all chairs are pushed in all the way so they cannot use the chairs to get on the table. I don't know if that will help you but try gating her somewhere when you are eating and repeating to her where she is, like 'kitchen' thats what I did. So now I don't have to gate mine, they automatically go there and stay there until we are done eating. Its a much more pleasant meal time for us without them begging at our feet the whole time. :)

Hi, Welcome to Yorkie Talk!! I have no advice....sorry....i'm just bumping your thread up so you can find some more advice!! Good Luck!!:D:D

Shes a terrier...........:D

LOL..funny you should say that..I keep telling my husband that she's strong on the TERRIER part. :D

Thanks for the replies guys...I'll keep plugging away! Hopefully she'll outgrow it...or not, lol.

I think they (our babies) are very much like human in craving for better food. I don't have that problem anymore since feeding mine homecooked as it is already yummy to him. I think if I am a doggie, I will also choose the food that is on human's table and not doggie kibble or canned food hehehe.

I have a yorkie/malteze mix I think, about 7-8 pounds. There is no controlling her around food or in keeping her contained.

We have babie gates to keep her in or out of the kitchen. She is able to
scale/jump over the 3 ft. baby gates.

She has learned to open the doors under the kitchen sink where we keep
the treats. One morning we found she had jumped over the gate to get into
the kitchen and ate a whole bag of $5.00 treats. She does not get sick or have diaherra after these stunts. Now we keep a baby lock on the doors.

We recently bought a high kitchen table pub size to try to keep her off the kitchen table. Does not work, she still gets on the high table and jumps off.

Never hurts herself. She has even scaled the bricks on the outside of our
house when she is in the potty pen and gets out.

She has dug under the pool fence to get out. She is something... With
these dogs, you just have to be steps ahead of them.

OMG, your baby makes mine sound like little angels! :) :) She sounds like quite the character! You are a good good terrier mommy with all your patience! :)