Shy yorkies
 

I bought my Abby when she was 16 weeks old, I have had her for 9 weeks and she still acts like she's afraid of everyone, even me at times. I don't know if she was abused, or just never taken up any time with. I hold her alot and she sleeps with me at night, but she still acts afraid. She won't come to me when I call her. I have to go and pick her up and she runs from me. This is my first yorkie, do they all act this way?:confused:

Where did you get her from?

I bought my pug dog from a pet store. She's also always been afraid of everyone and everything. She's 7.5 yrs old now, and nothing's changed. I think it's from spending her first few weeks of life in a puppymill.

I guess dogs all have different personalities just like people do.

Not all act that way, but puppies are like kids--each has their own personality. I would try to socialize her as much as possible, maybe use treats to encourage her to come, it will take time-but hopefully she will come out of her shell. My boss(a vet) raises yorkies and she bring the pups into work every day--so we(the staff) clean up after them and help with socialization. We treat them all the same--but will still have the shy pup that hangs back. I personally try to give the shy ones extra attention with the hope that when they go to their forever home they won't be as shy.

I bought her from a breeder. She said she worked and went to school and didnt have the time to take up with her. I'm afraid she might not grow out of it. She's so afraid of people, when anyone comes over she hides.

The only time she will come to me is when I offer her a treat. Other than that she runs when I try to pick her up.:(

Awwww, I guess that's just her little personality then. It sounds like my 4 yr old son. :)

It sounds like she didn't get enough human contact and handling in those early weeks.

The 'most' critical socialization period starts long before the pup leaves the litter: 3 weeks to 12 weeks - so socialization needs to start with the breeder and continue from there..... Beyond 16 weeks you've missed laying the groundwork for your puppy's social life.

Socialization

When I first got Bruiser he was the same way too. He is 6 months now and he doesn't shy away from people at all. Once he got a little older he seemed to get braver. If he is in a new situation though he still tends to shake or hide in my arms. As for never coming to you, I think that is there way of playing. It's like c'mon chase me!

Angel was 4 years old and Prince was 5 when I got them. They lady I got them from never took them anywhere. The only people they ever saw were the few people who visited her.

They were both pretty shy, but Angel was extremely shy. The first obedience class we took, she spent the whole class hiding under my chair. She was afraid of everyone who tried to pet her. If we went to anyone's house she wanted me to hold her the whole time.

We spent a lot of time walking around pet stores and our neighborhood. I let anyone we met pet her. I've had her for three years now. She thinks everyone needs to stop what they're doing and pay attention to her. She goes up to people and tries to get them to pick her up. She has become quite the social butterfly now :) Hard to believe she's the same shy little girl from three years ago.

spend lots of time with her.. loving her up... kissing her even if she does not want this at first.. teach her how to lay in your arms on her back.. she will nto like this at first.. but take your time and praise her and love her and most of all have patience...I have babies that were born dec 11th and I can hardly wait till thursday when they will be three weeks old.. for to me the good begins.. and I love to play with them.. and watch them play.. and let them play with my other dogs once old enough... first off they are in an xpen but I am always loving them up..so just keep working on her.. she is young.. I had taken in rescues that come around.. good luck.. anne

No, not all Yorkies are this way. My little Baby Sweet Pea has always been an "in your face" little Diva! I got her at 10 wks and she is my Wild Child, very self willed and inquisitive. On the other side of the coin, my little boy, Nicholas Duke of York, is a rescue. I have had him exactly one year on Christmas Day. He was 3.5 yrs old and had been starved, abused and maimed. He was afraid of everyone and everything. With presistance and love he is very secure now and starting to show his little personality and Yorkie 'Tude. He still is shy of strangers and even hides on occassion.

All Yorkies are different, just like people. I truly believe with presistance and love you will win your wee one over and she will become totally devoted to you. You have recieved some wonderful advice from the other members. Just hang in there!

You'll probably need to train your dog to come to you when called. Treats work wonders for this! As another poster mentioned, a dog may run away simply because it's fun to be chased.

I think if your honey can sleep with you, that shows that she can completely relax around you. I agree that with gentle persistence and affection, you can teach her greater confidence.

My Female Sadie was extremely shy when she first came home, she warmed up to us but it took her along time to warm up to other people. She is getting much better at one year old but it still takes her time to decide to trust some one.
She came from a great breeder and was around people from the start. My breeder hires a staff to come in and care for the pups when she is working so they are not left alone!

Give your puppy time!

Since she's so young it's unlikely she is associating any abuse she's had
Some dogs are more skiddish than others
and see friendly people coming at them to pet them as threats
Think of it thru their eyes ... these big hulking monsters with these big hands :eek:
Love her and treat her whenever she comes to you
as for strangers ....
have people socialize with her as much as possible
have them touch her and love her ... the more she associates good things with people the less she will be afraid of them
Alos skiddish dogs are usually afraid of new surroundings too so bring her out with you as much as possible to experience new things and smells

My Jewels is very shy and I know nothing bad has ever happened to her because we have had her since she was 8 weeks old. I think different yorkies just have different personalities

I think the best thing to do is just give her lots of treats. Keep treats with you at all times. When she comes to you, reward her, when she doesn't run away from you, reward her, etc. Eventually she'll learn that you're not a bad person after all. I would also keep loud noises and fast movements to a minimum, as it might set her back even farther. Be sure to talk gently and loving with her. The best thing to do is just love her and work extra hard to get her to trust. Chip was so shy when we brought him home that he wouldn't even take treats from us!

Good News / Bad News
 

First the Bad News
You can change behavior but you can't change temperament. It sounds like you have a combination of the two. Most breed standards, either expressly or by implication, direct the removal of the shy temperament from the program. It's so important that it is one of the few aesthetic traits that warrant removal on it's own, normally it takes three to cause removal. But in these days the standard seems unimportant so we get many more puppies with shy temperament. Since your breeder admits she doesn't have the time to spend socializing the puppies the good news is even better.

The Good News
The Neural Pathways in your puppy's brain are still under construction and you can affect how they progress from this point. Contrary to some advice it will be helpful to take the puppy to loud places with new things and not offer comfort. This might sound mean but which is worse, protect her now and sentence her to a life of fear? or expose her now and set her free? Her startle/recovery reflex and her ability to soothe herself on her own is very important. Holding her a lot is fine as long as you don't pick her up to soothe her when she is afraid. Let anyone pet her that wants to and if possible slip them a treat in advance so that she associates good things coming from unexpected places. When at home use an "umbilical cord" to attach her to you at all times unless she is in her crate. This will end the "she won't come to me" problem immediately and is a helpful potty training aid as well. Most of all never....ever...treat her unless she does what you want. Encourage her but do not make excuses for her, she deserves a life free from fear and you can give it to her. Good Luck!!:D

That is true... if you hold her and cuddle her when she is afraid, then she'll think "Oh so if I act afraid, I'll get attention" BUT only to a certain extent.

I'll share one of my own personal stories. Smokey was abused and left in a crate for his first 6 months of life and we were his 5th home at 6 months old. One of the things he was very afraid of was me kissing the top of his head. The first time I did that, he ran with his tail tucked right under the bed and would NOT come out. I worked with him for 30 minutes to get him to come out. He was petrified. When I finally got him out, I held him and talked really soft, slowly stroking his body. He was shaking all over. I held him close. After that day he slowly got more and more used to it. Now I can hold his head and kiss him all I want. Sometimes he'll even back out, but not out of fear... instead he puts his butt in the air, with his tail wagging 100 mph, and bark at me, then run over and give me kisses all over my face. It took a lot of repetitive but patient trials, but we worked through it.

I think the best thing to do is moderation. Sometimes cuddle and hold her, but don't over do it or she will continue to be afraid. Don't just ignore it and act rough with her cause that could also cause her to be more afraid.

Thanks, I should have been more clear with that. Never be rough, just don't soothe. Be ever vigilant in searching out good behavior and rewarding it. Always be compassionate and start with small encounters, working up to more activity and interaction. Our dogs learn and take cues from us more often than we realize, if we expect them to react poorly....they often will. They read body language like we read a book. When they see us prepare for a wrong response...they give it to us. When they notice that we have tensed up in preparation of something they hadn't noticed...they go on guard and rightly so because in the dogs mind we requested it.

Back to temperament, if after working with your puppy he/she does begin to worsen in the behavior, you have a full on temperament issue. It is genetic and this puppy will be an EGR (Extra Grace Required) dog all of his/her life. This is not an excuse to give up...it's just time to re-evaluate expectations and love her in spite of some things she can't help.

Thanks for all the great advice. Abby lay in my lap tonight on her back and let me rub her tummy. I'm a stay at home mom and I have all the time in the world to make her feel secure.

Thanks for all the great advice. Abby lay in my lap tonight on her back and let me rub her tummy. I'm a stay at home mom and I have all the time in the world to make her feel secure. She's so cute, I could eat her up!:D

Looks like she's starting to come around. Just be patient!

my male and female are completely different. Reno is out going and loves everyone, Meaty is shy and reserved. He will let us pet him but never on his head. and he always gets really low to the ground when we pick him up. he gives kisses once we pick him up but the act of us bending over him to pick him up scares him. If I get on the ground and then pick him he's ok. I think that unlike most Yorkies he is aware of how little he is. Just try different ways of handling her but it might just be her personality just like my little meaty.

Today I was watching Abby. If I don't pay her any attention she will climb up in my lap and curl up and snuggle. But if I try to get her to come to me she turns and runs away. I think she's just teasing me!

I think she's just extremely cautious. Just be gentle and patient... she'll come around! Oh and lots of treats for good behavior!

Keoki is shy and I have socialized him. He is very friendly and happy but with other dogs he is very shy ( not all but most ) and also with some people. I think they are just like people and have their own little personalities- reinforce her with positive reinforcement and treats.

When Abby gets scared she shakes all over like she's cold.

I noticed a lot of little dogs do that.

At first I thought she was cold all the time so I bought her a couple of sweaters to wear.:D Then I realized when some one new comes around or she hears a loud noise she shakes.