I need help with a very needy Yorkie!
 

Hello!
I have a sweet little girl, named Maggie. I love her so much, but she has become more and more needy. If I am taking a bath she whines until I get out. If I am on the computer she has to be in my lap or she whines. I can not do anything without her, or she throws a fit and whines. The last time she was left home alone she tore up the blinds to see out, and was a mess when I got home. I love her dearly, but I want to be able to take a bath, read a book or go run errands without having to watch her or have someone babysit her. Please, any advice? Anyone going through this as well?

Welcome to the world of Yorkie!
Yep, I think most of us have gone through the samething.
As she get's older it will become less. I have taken a bath
every night my whole life, candles, wine the whole bit.
My kids say that's how I lost 2" I just shrunk away from the hot
water. LOL
Anyhow after getting Buddy it was so bad with him whinning
over the tub I stopped! Been taking showers for the past several
years. I do take a bath on the weekends and he seems to have
outgrown this behavior now. Give it time I'm guessing she's still
a baby.
They just don't want to be alone as puppies but when she mature's
she should outgrow most of this.

welcome...glad you joined us...
i must say, your not alone . lexi to this day is up my butt and she will be
4 years old soon... it does get better though, i will promise you that..
they just want to be loved and have all the attention.

Hi there!

Welcome to the forum! My baby Bailey is the same way after 5 years. I don't mean to dsicourage you, but he hasn't gotten any better since he was a puppy. I can't take a bath, I can't close the door, I can't go to the bathroom without him attacking the bathroom door... When I leave the house he throw a temper tantrum. I've gone through 3 trainers and two puppy classes and I DO work with him!!!! He's just a stubborn little thing. I wish you luck! If you find anything that works for you, please pass the information along. :)

She sounds like she has separation anxiety. Why don't you do a search on YT about this? There is a ton of information here on that topic.

Also, you can try to help her (a) become more independent, (b) attach to other people, and (c) attach to other dogs. For independence, you can try bully sticks or flossies - most dogs LOVE to chew on these for hours by themselves. For other people, do you have friends, family who can play with him more? For dogs, try setting up some doggie playdates, or doggie daycare.

I have three yorkies and they are the same, every move I make they are right behind me. Layla is 2 yrs. Chase is 1 yr. and Bella is 6 mths old. As far as saying it gets better with age, I'm not so sure I agree with that. I think we as furbaby parents just learn to adjust to their neediness. I have to say honestly that I love the attention. Try to visualize sitting at your computer doing homework with three yorkies on your lap, chasing the cursor on the computer screen. It is times like this that I take them out and play until they are tired, so that when we come back in they nap and I get my work done. Welcome to the wonderful of yorkies.

Toby is the same way. You HAVE to try bully sticks! If there's something I need to do without him following me and staying underfoot, I give him a bully stick. When he has it, it's the only thing on his mind. But be careful from buying from the stores...some of them stink to high heaven, lol. There's a member here on YT that sells them at a great price and they don't smell. Her link is www.westbrookdog.com. (I hope it's ok to post her link on here) Hope this helps.

Hi and welcome to YT!!
Now you are just like all of us YT'ers....you are now OWNED by a Yorkie!!
KiKi is the same way...some days you would think she is dying she cries/whines so hard...they do get better....but it's just Yorkie love!!

Hi....
I am definitely in agreement with everyone else. I have a six year old girl, who is just everywhere I go. My son always hums the song," and everywhere mary went the lamb was sure to go""!!! But after awhile you get use to them following you around. When I take a shower I always leave the door cracked a smidge so that they can sneak in. When I have to go to the doctors, we tell them that we are going there and that we will be back soon. They seem to understand when we say be back soon. I definitely think two are easier then one, in this circumstance. That way when you have to go out, they have each other.:animal36

:p Thanks for the link Crystal...I have heard a lot of YT'ers talk about these bully sticks...I am going to check into getting some for KiKi! :p

I agree, they rule the house. Just like toddlers, ignore them when they are acting up. They were generally get the clue if you do not cater to their whining. They loveeeeeeeeee to be paid attention to and most of the time that is not a problem at all, however, they need to know that that there are times when they can't be the center of attention. Try ignoring it, while reassuring them everything is okay. I find when I need to get work done and will need time alone, I play with her first, so she tires out. That usually works.
Most of the time, I have to say, we have been blessed with an angel.

Sorry you're having such problems. Mine follow me every where I go too. My husband says one day their going to crawl up my butt. I don't have problems when I leave, because they keep each other company. I don't know if this will work, but maybe if you take a bath without the candles, and let her come in with you she'll see what's going on, and become disinterested. Of course you'll have to take a shower when you're done.

Just be careful with how much of the bullystick your little one consumes because my little one has had bathroom problems and an upset tummy from eating eating too much at one time. I will only give it to him for 10 min. a night or he gets sick.

Bully sticks are a great distraction... And try giving her little puppy toys too. She might just need other things to do while your busy.. Find what she really likes and can get excited about! Otherwise all her attention will be on you :aimeeyork

:eek: Ohhh thanks for the warning...I just placed an order for some of these! :p I will be sure to monitor how much of it she eats! :p

My little Maggie is a whiner as well. She is 8 mos and she has gotten better. there was an instance that I was able to pin the exact time she was whining and used the clicker from class, and treats, to get her to stop. Once I was able to get her to practice that, each time she whined I would go thru the training. Granted she still whines, but I can say, "ah, ah" or "quiet" and she will stop.

Try going thru a door several times each time increasing your time to help with her anxiety, if that is what it is. Maggie and Hot Rod are very good about staying in when I go out the mud room door. '

I used to use a baby monitor when we first got Hot Rod and that helped me to feel better as to hearing that he settled down after a while. You could wait until she does and then go back in if you want. I would wait until she stops whining so she doesn't associate her whining with you going back in. Good luck.

Littlelily is right. I've had my Youkie for 3 weeks now, and I've noticed that when given the opportunity (the 1st week) he tested my husband and I, and acted just like a baby. My last baby (child) is now 20 years old, and I never wanted another baby. (I found out... through research he was just trying to establish himself as pack leader). He'd whine, bark excessively, growl and give me the puppy dog eyes (stare down) when he wanted to get his way.

The start of the 2nd week, I ignored him or said no whenever he displayed undesired behavior. I would then immediately praise the desired behaviors. I also try to make it a habit to praise any desired behavior throughout the day when I notice he's behaving in a manner that I would like displayed more often. For example, when he's playing with his toys or just resting, and allowing me to get work done. I'll give him a treat and say good boy. profusely. This way he understands that when I'm busy, this is the behavior I expect from him.

I know it's been only 3 weeks, and as long as everyone follows suit in the house, (going into my 4th week) this seems to be working.

Like LittleLily, I've been blessed with an angel that seems to be trainable by the book. Thank God.... because, during the first week, I was ready to give him up! I wanted more of a companion (not a baby) for company when my husbands working. Now that he's on the right path, I think i'll be keeping my Youkie.

Good luck to all those having a problem with their little ones.

Welcome to my world. I cant be in the bathroom without CRYING going on outside the door...HELP..I think they just Love us

Welcome to the club... LOL!!! They are just such velcro babies, aren't they!!!

I have my 'posse' following me every step I do and I learned not to lift my feet up anymore in case some paws are around... :D

As for leaving the house I established a strict routine with treats and repeating: Babies gotta stay mommie gotta go shopping. Stay and be good.

That workes pretty well...

Oh.. and THANKS HEAVEN I only have one 'whiner'!!!!

:yelrotflmWelcome to the world of Yorkies. He'll train you!

Yep, Bailey follows me around too - but that's exactly what I wanted.

Does she whine excessively? Nah. Like the others said, if she whines then I either say "no", or "Bailey, shush!" or ignore it. It works!!!

Tonight, we went for a walk - twice, gave Bailey a bath and then went for a drive (her favorite). Now she's asleep on my lap while I cruise YT. Life is good!!!

I have the same problems with my baby. Everywhere I or my fiance' go, he has to follow. Sometimes he will ignore us when he's got his favorite chew toy to knaw on, but for the most part he's attached to us like white lint to a black coat! He only whines when we leave the room, or the house to run errands, but that only lasts for a little while. The worst is in the morning when we leave for work. Even though he is safe in his play area with all his comfort items, he will whine so loudly, and keep trying to jump the baby gate until he realizes that all he has to do is wait for us to get home. I love my little furball to death, and I do hope that he does eventually get better.:aimeeyork

Oh my gosh your story is so funny! I go through the same thing!!! ;)

My baby Chloe is in my robe on my lap as I type!!!! I give her C.E.T. Hextra Premium chews. I got them from my vet. They don't smell and they are not messy at all. I take my baby everywhere!!! I even throw them in my purse while I'm shopping and no one knows she's in there:wink:
Chloe whines while I shower...so I put her in there with me and since then she stopped whining:). I also leave my PJ's on the floor so she has my scent, she lays on them and waits for me.

When I read I put her on my lap and she tries to get between me and my book. She tries to bite the pages!!! :p

She is like an extension of me now....She's just 19wks old, but I feel like I've had her forever! :aimeeyork:aimeeyork:aimeeyorkI love her so much!!!

Good luck with your baby:aimeeyork

I vote for the bully sticks too. Although I never leave the house when they are chewing on them. I am paranoid about them getting choked. Ours are soooo spoiled its not even funny. We have 2 schnauzers and Kayla is our yorkie. They all try to sit in my lap at one time. I stay so tired. They completely wear you out but I would not trade them for nothing. They copy each other. One of my little schnauzers has tore holes in my purse, pants, anything she can grab when I start out the door. Kayla whines. She sounds like she has lost her last friend. I don't know if they ever get out of it, but I have had to buy alot of purses. lol!!!

Charlie loves to follow me. If he notices he is not by my side, he will sniff through the whole house for me.

My husband calls Baxter my "tick". He generally follows every step I take. He is getting better though. He is starting to stay in bed with my husband in the morning instead of waiting by the shower door for me to emerge. This weekend I had him and my sister's dachsund to go with me to potty instead of just one dog. I've gotten used to having an audience.

Thor used to follow me to the bathroom religiously until I started washing him in the bathtub. I think he's decided he'd rather lose sight of me for several minutes than risk the horrors of a bath. :)

Hmm, my 3 are ok with being separated from me while in the house or if I leave. When you go to take your shower, bring her little bed to the bathroom, give her a Merricks flossie to enjoy while you are taking your shower, if you see she is quiet say outloud - good girl. When you are on the computer, perhaps after holding her for a little while, put her down and tell her go play, give her a few toys that she will go nuts over. If she cries when you leave, perhaps walk out the door for 10 minutes... come back so she will see that you do leave but you will be back soon. I hope these suggestions help you. Best to you and your cutie.