Let's be honest/Are Yorkies a challenge?
 

My answer would be YES they are;) I have never had a dog so challenging nor did I ever think dog's were! That is before I got
Buddy. Reading books about Yorkie's did not prepare me for his
personality and his challenge to be Alpha. Actually I never even
knew about the word Alpha:confused: I have had dogs in the past and they
were loving family pet's. Never gave me a problem for the 16 & 17 years
they were family member's. An 86lb GS and a 22lb terrier.
Then along came this little 6lb Yorkie(14wks) who within 3months tried to rule
the roost, so to speak.:confused: I actually thought something was wrong with
his brain at first. I didn't find YT until he was around two yrs old so I
was blind and doing research on the internet about aggression which
is what I thought he had. Actually he did have aggression as he got
older but I found out also that he didn't want to be babied he wanted
a leader. At my age a leader is not what I wanted to be. I have been
leading three kids into maturity and now I wanted a rest.:p The last
laugh was on me because now I had the biggest challenge of all.
A Yorkie:aimeeyork. With lot's of training, patience and love we got threw it all.
Today Buddy is a wonderful, friendly, loving campanion but I was
clueless as to the challenge they can give you.
I can't be the only one with a Yorkie who gave me a run for my money.
Fess up, did you think you got more than you bargained for?

Neither one of mine likes to get in trouble so they are for the most part pretty well behaved. They bark more often than I like though and Jewels was a challennge to potty train. In fact almost impossible as she still has accidents. They are 4 though and have mellowed with age.

Mine is quite passive. he just lets my maltese rule the roost. Now that is another story my maltese was and still is a challenge.. Love both though..

I've had Yorkies for years, so I knew what they are like and was prepared. But YES!! they can be a challenge. They just have so much personality and they are stubborn as well - that's quite a combination. I love everything about my Yorkies but there are times when I wish they would just give me a rest and not be standing two feet away from my face with a toy in their mouth and their heads cocked to the side waiting for me to interact with them. Regardless, they make me smile EVERY SINGLE DAY and I am truly addicted to them - just as you are with Buddy. :)

We knew that Yorkies could be bossy and persistent before we got Ellie but never imagined we'd have to stay on top of her about everything. This a a huge challenge and it does get exhausting. At age 7 she is still as challenging as she was in her puppy stage except she doesn't chew things. She thinks the house is a great place to potty, she barks at everything and attacks the vacuum, mop, broom, etc. to the point where you can't even get her attention. Let's see what else. She still growls when she doesn't want you touching her food although we have done nothing in life is free on occasion and she gets in trouble when she does it. She growls when you are touching or kissing her in certain spots her for too long. She has been known to bite. She refuses to be leash trained and I'd like if she was so we could go for relaxing walks and burn some of her frustration. She barks at visitors so much that they must feel unwelcome. She knows when we are serious because she rolls on her back to submit but she is constantly trying to be alpha. It can be draining but I'd do it all over again.:rolleyes:

Ellie May could be Buddy's sibling! LOL
However he surrendered to me touching his food and he is house trained.
All the rest is Buddy to a T. Amazing how much you love them even
after they drive you up the wall. I guess that's just unconditional love:p

Oh but the annoying part in that she knows darn well where to go to the bathroom and can hold it just fine in a diaper but sometimes she just doesn't feel like asking or waiting a few minutes. grrr, it is irritating.

And she used to get treats for pottying outside but I stopped. She would run in to the treat area as to say, "Where's my treat"? Now that no treats are offered, no need to pee outside, right?

Looks like she's one step ahead of you at all times.
A lady with an attitude! Isn't that what a female is all about
anyhow? Attitude :p

You need to be more alpha! Yorkies will control whatever they think needs controlling until you go alpha on them about it and relieve them of the responsibility.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ARCHIE (Post 2623464) . I actually thought something was wrong with his brain at first.

if you had asked me this when I had only Samson I would have said no, all the research I did on yorkies didn't describe him at all. I even say he is another breed stuck in a yorkie's body because he is the opposite of everything I read about yorkies.
When I got Harley on the other hand I understood what all the books were talking about and its funny because I constantly say that Harley has been "touched in the head" which years and years ago meant you were "special / slow / odd". He drives me nuts daily, it actually took me a while to really bond with him because he was so different (I am so over that now, I love my furbabies more than anything). My daughter describes him as sloppy, which is a great word because he just bee bops through life in an odd way and everything he does is sloppy. This puppy also wanted Alpha position from day 1 and we still battle on some days. But he is soooooooo cute I can't even stand it and I tell him all the time it is a good thing you are so cute because it makes all your challenges so worth it.

I often think would I have gotten the 2nd dog knowing what I know now and the answer is yes, Harley brings a different aspect to our live, Samson is cute and such a lover boy but Harley is hilarious and such an independent little guy who brings laughter to our lives every day.

I must be lucky, LOL. Jackson is not like that for the most part. He definitely has his moments where the Yorkie comes out in him but he truly is a good dog. He sits before he eats, now without me even asking him. He does all sorts of tricks that I taught him and learned them so quick. He potty trained fairly easy considering his breed. He is 7 months old now and while he will still have an accident every once in a while.. it's gotten down to about once a month, if that. 99% of the time, he waits for me to walk in and out the door first. When he does get outside without a leash, he doesn't go far and will usually come when called. If his name calling doesn't work, asking him "Want a treat?" definitely gets him running. He gets along wonderfully with almost every dog he meets, big and small. He lets me put my face right near him while chewing a bone and has never ever growled at a human. He occasionally will growl at the other dogs but most of the time - I don't blame him! LOL. He's never bitten. He's a wonderful leash walker now that I've got the Easy Walk Harness. He walks right next to me, sometimes a bit ahead of me but he truly enjoys just being on a walk with me and sniffing everything. He's become a fantastic car rider and although, I still must pick him up and place him in the car, he sits still while I buckle him in and then the rest of the ride, I see his nose going a mile a minute in the rear-view mirror, sticking straight up in the air. When I take him to my cousin's little league ball games, he simply sits or lays in the grass right next to me until I let him move around a bit. He's always been pretty laid back since I got him.

Some of his Terrier traits... he's an alert dog. If he ears an unusual noise, especially if he was in a deep sleep, he jumps right up from what he was doing and BARKBARKBARK high-pitched. He's gotten very good though after me saying "Enough! Quiet!" where he stops. I usually have to check on things to let him know it's OK and then he settles down. He is weary of strangers and will not let you just come up and pet him unless he's been around you for 20-30 minutes. He warms up faster to women and children then men. For the barking, out of 10... I would say he is probably a 5. He's not obsessive about it most of the time, it's something I can deal with, and 98% of the time will stop when I tell him after he gets a few more barks out. Even though he can be very cuddly and lovey, he's also independent and likes to just go lay by himself sometimes, although usually I wake up every morning to him cuddled up real close to me. When his "sister/brother doggies" (my parents dogs) have something he wants (i.e. a bone) he will just bark at them to try to get his way. Or if he wants to play, he will bark in their face. I'm working on stopping this behavior! He chases and barks at my dad's cats...

Overall, Jackson is seriously a very good dog, in my opinion. Sometimes I can't believe I got so lucky with my over-sized (13lb) 7 month old Yorkie. He's my little boy! Yes, he annoys me at times, but I feel I'm very lucky. He's a great companion and I think we make a good team.

Yes ~ Challenging is a very good word.

I have to admit though, of all the things that amaze me, it is how smart they really are :rolleyes:

That's because they THINK! I see the wheel's spinning in his head
when he has to THINK things over. For instance, when we go for a walk
and I turn a corner. He will sit and not move, trying to get his barrings
to see if we are getting closer to home this way. If he realizes yes
we are he will pull me in the oppisite direction. I swear he THINKS:p

Oh God, yes. Jackson is SO smart. It amazes me sometimes!! Same thing... I really can just SEE the wheels in his head turning!!

I agree that Yorkies can be challenging in their way- but to be honest, I've been lucky never to have had a Yorkie that gave me a REALLY hard time. The one's I've had have definitely had a lot of personality, loved to play and be with me constantly, and all gave me a run for my money, but I wouldn't have traded a moment of any of it. Luckily most of them eventually learned that momma is the boss and when momma's happy, everyone's happy :)

You are right :D That's exactly what I mean, they Think and Process very, very well. Almost human like....but then they go and have to do dumb dog things...like...eat poop :mad:

Well Brister I must be as lucky as you lol Ive never found Tia challenging at all, ever.She is my first and only yorkie but I have had other breeds before.
She only barks to play
Potty training took 2 weeks
Loves to be groomed, including nails and teeth
Never growled or lifted her lips at anyone or dog
But the best bit is she waits until shes invited up to the couch .
Sorry guys but Ive found yorkies really easy.
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LOL!!! Yes, definitely challenging! ;) :eek: Izzy is a challenge only because she is a puppy, but otherwise, she is easy....however, she has started just recently barking/growling at sounds in her head. Have to be in her head because we hear nothing when she is doing it. :rolleyes: :p Huckleberry is easy except for his non-housebreaking ways....UGH!! Harley is our antisocial, leave-me-alone guy....unless it's his family and then he is happy for the attention. Now Livi.....Lord help us, she is our main challenge! :) She is bossy, sassy, opinionated and very strict with her own rules that she gets quite upset about if we break any one of them. She is most definitely the queen around here. Lucky for her she is so darn adorable! :)

Tammy

Thor totally does this too. He's generally pretty behaved on walks, but he knows where ALL the parks are in relation to our current position, as well as all the stores that give dog treats. He will stop at a corner and dig in his heels if he sees we are going to miss one of these key spots. :rolleyes:

I would say that Thor has been more challenging than other dogs, but not as challenging as some of you describe. The potty training was definitely hard, and even after the magic 30 days, I know I can't trust him completely in my office.

The main thing I've noticed is that he is not in the least bit biddable - he will not perform commands simply because I've told him to. He performs them because he knows he'll get a treat, or his dinner, or let outside. If it weren't for NILF, he would never listen to me. He has trouble getting up on the couch by himself, so he'll paw at me to let him up. I always, always tell him to Sit before I will pick him up - and yes, I can see him considering whether he should give in and Sit, or just struggle up on the couch himself. Most of the time, he'd rather struggle. :rolleyes:

Mostly though, Thor has made me want to get a challenging rescue, because it is SO satisfying to see the work we do pay off. Now he WILL let me hold his paws, brush his teeth, go on his potty pad, walk next to me, etc. Now if I could just convince him to stop trying to kill skate boarders....

Hmmm, how about a trade? three for the price of one??:D

Yes ok I really would like a challenge lol. I feel kind of abnormal after reading these posts.
I will keep a close eye on Tia perhaps I might find something challenging lol

:eek: What no Tia challenges?

If you want to experience these so called challenges I will ship
Buddy to you for a week:p

I have been blessed as well! Oliver being my first Yorkie was so good as a pup! And still is....he has the most passive attitude. Everywhere we go someone falls in love with him! Including his surgeon and all the nurses and staff at the hospital where he recently had his patella surgery. Brooklyn has been a bit more of a challenge because she is not as passive and I worry more about her getting herself into trouble because of it. She is very sweet, but, if challenged i worry she will not back down! Now, my new little Maltese, Benjamin, if he were any better behaved he would have to be in some hall of fame or something!! No kidding, he is the best, easiest, puppy i have ever dealt with!! I keep waiting for him to turn demon or something!! Could i be this lucky!!! :D

So to answer your question...i would have to say "no" ....for me Yorkies are not really challenging! :D

Ship away Archie lol . Actually Ive thought of something. When she was teething she pulled a bit of wallpaper off the wall a couple of times, there you go , that counts right?
Wow, I feel I fit right in now lol

Hot Rod was my very own 1st dog and the only thing that I could compare it to was living with my sister and taking care of her G. Shepherd and then a roommates pekingnese. I'd always had cats-who are so independent all their own. I really didn't have time to prepare for a yorkie as hubby and I had only really started to think about getting a dog as one of my 2 cats passed. I had said that once the other cat passed I would like to think about getting a dog. A yellow lab at that! Lo and behold, Hot Rod was here 2 weeks before Christmas!

He has definitely challenged with his eating habits. I can deal with all the rest as it just reminds of a little child wanting their way but the food is something that I worry about. He is a spoiled brat and when gets tired of Maggie, he will show her who the boss is. Maggie is such a sweetie and passive one, she listens so well. She still has her moments but none like Hot Rod. He tries to challenge authority quite a bit but I usually win out 'cause I just wait him out. lol. I can't say if it the yorkie thing but having a dog, in my case, was and is very much a learning experience. and I'm enjoying every single minute. :)

You can borrow Ellie too. ;)
With her behavior, medical and nutritional issues, she is good for a full time job.:rolleyes:

I tell my DD all the time that she was a heck of a lot easier than this dog is! BTW....my DD turns 21 today! WOW! Where did the years go.

Potty training and knocking down & getting in the garbage is a challenge,otherwise they're just like the rest .

My Yorkie, Tucker, is an absolute love. He's so sweet to every living creature. When people come to visit, he's sure they're there to love and admire him. Yes. he gets into mischief from time to time. He has all the chew toys in the world, but prefers eyeglasses, books, and shoes. He loves to cuddle-- puts his head on my shoulder like a baby. I wouldn't trade him for anything. However, he's facing very serious surgery in a couple of weeks. He has AAI. He's in a brace now which has restricted his movements. I'm worried to death about the surgery, but he seems to be a strong, healthy little dog. (4lbs) Tucker's Mom

lol send Buddy and Ellie they will be great playmates for Tia.She is only 11 mths old perhaps her challenging bits will come later. :D