Help! My Yorkie is Bad

[luvfla]

YOu said he's 5...months or years? If years, has he always been like this or has he gotten worse. I missed it, did you say he is or is not nutered?

[mamisabrosa]

Thank you all so much for your encouragement. I have read the Cesar Milan books, walk ahead of him outside, make him sit for food. You guys have Yorkies, you know how incorrigible they can be. He was born like this. He was the runt of his litter and he was bullying them when I met him. At the time, I thought it was irresistable, but I'm not embellishing, he locks his jaws onto my Poodle when he attacks him. I pull him and it would literally pull my 8 lb Poodle off the ground. I have to pry his jaws off. He is just a little gangster. His best friend is a Rottweiler named Capone (and he dominates him).

Cosmo is my heart, but I suck at being his leader. It's almost like owning a fighting breed where everyday is battle of the will (and bladder). He's like crack though, I know he's bad for me, but I just put the pipe down.

I will try the belly band.

[fourdice]

I agree with many of the other suggestions. You should definately give the pee pads another chance. Whenever he goes on the floor just say no firmly then place him on the pad. Obviously this must be repeated over and over and over again. Showing him who is in charge by removing food, training frequently and ignoring unwanted attention will all help in showing him who is the boss. When he does go on the pad make sure you make a big deal about it. Let him think he really accomplished something great. Dont crate him! Confining him to a kitchen area or bathroom with a pad is ok but crates are not the answer. As far as the aggression goes it is simply an issue of socialization. He needs to be around other dogs and people as often as possible. Also, read up on teaching methods. Yorkies for dummies is a good book to start with. He'll turn around but it takes time and a lot of repetition.

[iluvchewy]

Originally Posted by fourdice

I agree with many of the other suggestions. You should definately give the pee pads another chance. Whenever he goes on the floor just say no firmly then place him on the pad. Obviously this must be repeated over and over and over again. Showing him who is in charge by removing food, training frequently and ignoring unwanted attention will all help in showing him who is the boss. When he does go on the pad make sure you make a big deal about it. Let him think he really accomplished something great. Dont crate him! Confining him to a kitchen area or bathroom with a pad is ok but crates are not the answer. As far as the aggression goes it is simply an issue of socialization. He needs to be around other dogs and people as often as possible. Also, read up on teaching methods. Yorkies for dummies is a good book to start with. He'll turn around but it takes time and a lot of repetition.

A good point is also the "ignoring unwanted attention." My Maltese Chloe used to be evil, as we called her. She was always growling and bit me and my boyfriend pretty bad a few times!!! Now I know I have to let her know I'm the boss, including ignoring unwanted attention. If she cries and wants me to pick her up on the couch (cause she can't jump up on her own), I ignore her and will only pick her up when she's not asking... Good luck!!!

[krys323296]

I tried the belly bands at one point too. Seb didn't like them. Everytime I would put it on him he wouldn't move. I thought it was funny at first but then I realized that it really bothered his skin. He did try to mark his spot a couple of times but then he always smelled like pee. I was constantly washing him and the belly band. I guess it's better than him peeing on my carpet but eventually I got tired of the bands and really stayed consistent with the pee pads. That seemed to work for me. Now he knows if he absolutely has to go in the house, he has a designated area where his pad is. It took some time but we are definitely making progress. Good luck!!

[memeof4]

Hi, I didn't have any problems training my little Izzy. I stay home all the time so I spent alot of time with her. I watched every move she made she is 10 mos old and is completly potty trained. I took her outside when she woke up and every 15 min. Also never leave food or water out. Never give her treats unless she pottyed outside then she got a treat. Just in case I left 1 potty pad in my hall for accidents. I have hardwood floors and I mop them with a solution of water,vinger and alchol. She doesn't like the smell and finally went going on the pee pad. I also went to the door and said outside go potty. She now comes to me and barks to go outside. Hope this will help some ideals.

[JacksonsMama]

BELLY BANDS! I can't recommend them enough. They've saved my carpet.

[mamisabrosa]

Ok I haven't tried ignoring "unwanted attention"....probably because I almost always want to love on him, but I have noticed that he will knudge me until I respond if I'm busy. That sounds like a good idea.

[Grayson's mom]

Belly Bands are awesome! Try those your carpets will thank you

[Treasure State]

I am not by any means an expert but depending on where you live the thing that we love is our automatic doggy door that goes outside to an enclosed kennel area, equiped with toys and fun. We used the potty pads first with the crate and then made our way to the automatic doggy door. This thing is the greatest invention ever. Our dogs love it and we do too and I would never own another dog or house without it. Good luck!

[weddpix2]

I am so sorry that your baby is an alpha doggy. I to have an alpha doggy but I told her that I was going to be the head bit**! We went round and round but being firm with her and repetition helped alot. I too had poodles and found them easier to train than yorkies. I litter trained Kinsey and it took 4 weeks but she finaly got it. I am sending you a website that I used for training her. Maybe it will help you with the pads. http://www.litterboxdogtraining.com/ The litter works best for me because Kinsey tears up paper. She even chews on the litter pellets. But it works for me.

[Hansch99]

Originally Posted by mamisabrosa

Thank you all so much for your encouragement. I have read the Cesar Milan books, walk ahead of him outside, make him sit for food. You guys have Yorkies, you know how incorrigible they can be. He was born like this. He was the runt of his litter and he was bullying them when I met him. At the time, I thought it was irresistable, but I'm not embellishing, he locks his jaws onto my Poodle when he attacks him. I pull him and it would literally pull my 8 lb Poodle off the ground. I have to pry his jaws off. He is just a little gangster. His best friend is a Rottweiler named Capone (and he dominates him).

Cosmo is my heart, but I suck at being his leader. It's almost like owning a fighting breed where everyday is battle of the will (and bladder). He's like crack though, I know he's bad for me, but I just put the pipe down.

I will try the belly band.

I think you have to be very attentive and reward Cosmo whenever he's not picking a fight with your Poodle.

Get Cosmo on a leash (definitely use a harness because of the trachea issues) and approach the Poodle. As soon as Cosmo shows even the slightest sign of acknowledging or going for the Poodle, correct him with the leash with a quick tug--just enough to divert his path and his attention. Then, if he looks up at you, give him a treat--not just any treat, but something that he really, really likes. I know they can sometimes have laser vision if there's another dog nearby, but correct him until he looks at you, at which point give him the treat.

Keep doing this until he's more interested in you than in your Poodle, and be prepared to really dole out the treats. Once he gets the hang of it, you can move him closer to your Poodle and let them interact . . . but as soon as he gets even the slightest bit aggressive, correct him with the leash and give him a treat when he responds to you.

I know it's not that easy, but you have to try to work with him. You said you've read Cesar Milan's books. His show, the Dog Whisperer, is helpful, too if you haven't seen it. Be careful not to try some of the techniques he uses on the "red zone" dogs he encounters, such as pinning the dog by the neck, which I truly believe should be left to a professional. But his show is great for showing 1) how important it is to quickly correct your dog at the very first hint of unwanted behavior, and 2) how the dog owner needs to be more stubborn and consistent than the dog he's training for the training to be successful.

Eventually, he'll begin to associate good behavior with good things, but you have to be 100% consistent and work with him multiple times a day for this to work. If you have success with your Poodle, work with Capone, too, or any other well behaved dog that you can "borrow" from a friend for anti-bully training purposes.

Good luck!