Everyone has made really good points.

I wanted to add, that training a dog, especially a Yorkie takes time and patience. Punishing is the WRONG approach. They do not learn the right way by punishing (that is hitting, yelling and especially putting their face into the potty - please do not ever do that again).

The correct way to train is positive praise for GOOD potty and a small treat to back it up. I use Peanut Butter Chips from the baking isle, they are small and effective. Yorkies are very smart and they are eager to please, but most of all, they love their Good Boy treats :)

...again, hitting and putting their faces into potty accidents are NOT successful approaches, these things will ONLY put fear of the owners into them, and that is not end result most owners want. You want your Yorkie to learn the things that make you happy ;) so those are the things you need to focus only. Ignore bad behaviors and reward good ones - progress will happen faster than you think.

And as others have stated, if you can not properly changes your training methods, please visit our Rescue Section, as you will definitely be able to find a family that will do the job correctly.

Best Wishes :p

Here is a Group of YT Members in Maryland. Maybe you can have playdates, and get some good tips on how to raise your fella, or if you need to rehome him, they could help too!

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/mid...timore-md.html

Now isn't that the truth! Well said!!!!!!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I have to agree. I think the emotional damage to your Yorkie has already been done and probably isn't repairable. This breed is very different from a Lab, as you have sadly found out.

I give you credit for realizing that there is problem and deciding to rehome him. May I suggest a rescue group? They will take great care to evaluate him, work on his issues and place in him the perfect home so he doesn't risk being rehomed again.

I kind of think the realationship that you have built has damaged his thinking of you. He does something negative you should redirect him to a positive... For example if he goes potty ( and you see him doing it) then take him where he should be going. A lab and a yorkie are literally a different breed... One can be 60-100 pounds the other at the very most 20 pounds. Smacking them on their bums can just get ones attention and cause serious harm to the other. You should never hit a dog or smack them period... Why would the come to something that causes them harm? If you want to keep him you need to build a POSITIVE relationship. Also you want your pup to feel his crate is a safe place not somewhere he goes to be punished. Start doing things with him that are positive, when he comes to you give him a treat, when you are watching TV grab a toy he likes and put him on your lap and relax, show him you have a positive side and are not just there in a negative way. Many times it is us that need to be trained so perhapes looking into a training class so they can teach you how to properly train your pup. You can't feel resent toward your pup because he is scared of you... That is like being mad at a child for being afraid of his abuser. If you feel that you can't do these things I believe you are right... Rehoming is the best option.

I am so sorry that you are dealing with this, but Lola did the same thing with me...I was the one who spoke to her sternly when she did something wrong. I am the one who bathes her, brushes her coat, brushes her teeth, gives her medicine and was very persisitent and constant in training her. My fiance and family members are the ones that just played with her all day, so of course she was more attached to them then she was to me. I never hit her though...I sometimes clapped my hands and said "bad girl" but never spanked her. When I first had her, she had Giardia, so I had to wash her constantly and give her medicine 2x a day, so from day one, she knew me as the one that does the bad things to her while my fiance is the one who got to play with her.

I also was home with her all day so she was so excited to see my fiance when he came home from work.

I did see that she was my lap dog...I started to give her treats and she knows me as the one who gives her them. If I say treat, she gets excited for some chicken jerky. If I say cheese, she runs to the fridge waiting for a piece.

She also knows that I am the one who rubs her tummy, so now when I come home, she immediately runs to me and then lays on the floor and wants me to rub her belly.

You cant give up on him. He is freightened from you and probably is not happy with you, but you need to start slow and be consistent. I would come home and hug him and kiss him and say "good boy" as much as you can. I would pet him and pick him up and have him on your lap. I would also give him treats as often as you can (small bites...I give lola small pieces of string cheese and I break the jerky in 1/3rds so I am constantly giving her).

You need to find a way to bond with him....she knows I am the one who will still brush her teeth, wipe her butt, brush her, clean her eyes, give her heart worm medicine, but she also knows I am the one who takes her to daycare, gives her the treats, rubs her tummies and allows her to sleep with me with my fiance is away.

It will take a very very very long time, but if you have the patience and the will, it can work. Constant positive reinforcement is what you need. He will come around...you just need patience.

As for potty training...lola is 99% trained. She has ruined my beige carpet and sofa (completely ruined!!), but its OK, because now when she sleeps with me she holds herself until I take her out, but if she is in her xpen, she knows to pee on the wee wee pad. I did not want her crated all day...so maybe if you try to put him in an xpen instead of a tiny cage, or give him reign of the kitchen (slowly of course...confine him to an area and expand the area every week little by little and decreasing the wee wee pads) He will get the idea of where to pee.

Also, when you come home take him for a walk right away...go out for a long walk. Then 2 hours later, take him out for a walk again...keep doing that if you want to potty train outside. I did that with Lola and she only pees if she is stuck home in the playpen during the day or at night.

The love she has for me did not come overnight, but she adores me the same, just in a different way than my fiance. Having Giardia in the beginning put a little crink in our relationship since its contagious, I was constantly cleaning and couldnt give her a ton of toys and she had special food that she had to eat, but she knows I love her and will spoil her to pieces, but she also knows that there are rules, and I am the enforcer of them. ;)

Good Luck!!

If he loves your girlfriend so much, why not give him to her??

My first thought on this post, is that it is a prank. If it is true, I hope a good home can be found for the dog.

I thought prank at first....but it has a ring of truth about it :confused:

I'm surprised people are immediately suggesting a re-home, particularly since this dog has aready been through one.

I firmly believe you can train a dog to do pretty much anything. Remember, our perceptions of scary behavior and dogs' perceptions can be very different. Thor hates our cleaning man because he wheels a big, noisy trash can around. We may not think that's dangerous, but to Thor, someone yelling at him for no reason is scary, and big rolling trash cans are scary. That's his world.

Similarly, other things we humans would be disgusted by, someone forcing us to smell pee or poop, I don't think this is such a big deal to dogs. They LIKE smelling these things, though that doesn't mean they want their nose rubbed in it. Don't worry, I would never do this, but comparing a dog's reaction to this and a human's doesn't make sense because we are so different in this regard.

Very often a dog will decide he doesn't like a certain family member, sometimes for what we consider good reason, sometimes not. Training a dog to be calm around skateboards is similar to training a dog not to bark at other dogs, or trust men. They can all be done, with patience and understanding of the doggie perspective.

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You have been given some good advice already..please take it... You really do sound like you are ready to give up and I hope that's not the case...If you chose to give it another shot, you would have to commit to starting from a clean plate, no animosity towards him, no scolding, punishing, for you will end right back up where you are now.... We are here for you, to help you and I commend you for coming & doing the research for help.

If you do proceed to want to give up your baby, there are several of us members here that live in Maryland....I know you are frustrated but whatever you do, Please, please, please do NOT take your baby to a pound, dump him on the side of the road, etc. I'm sure any of us in MD that is close by(I would no matter how far you are), would be willing to make sure he goes to a proper Yorkie rescue before you do something like that.

Please take a deep breath, think about things, come on here and read some more and ask as many more questions as you'd like before making any hasty decisions.

I wish you the best of luck!!! :)

I agree I have 3 100% trained small dog's Because i never yelled or scolded them for potty accident's. Only praise the good & stop hitting it's abuse!!

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I agree:thumbup: