Advice needed/welcomed

[megansmomma]

Hi there and welcome to YT with your new little rescue. To me it sounds like Toby just needs a little more time to adjust to her new environment. If his foster mom told you that he was trained, liked to cuddle etc just give him time. When I first brought Bogey home from the shelter a little over a year ago he was a total spaz, didn't know what it was like to be picked up and help, how to do stairs, what grass what, how to ride in a car, potty outside ALL the time, the list could go on forever! Now he is laying in my arms sleeping while I am typing this to you. It will take time for him to adjust to you and his new home.

Here is a link to an excellent article that was made a sticky in the rescue and also training forum:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ll-rescue.html

I would like to suggest that for his potty issues, that you purchase BELLY BANDS and put him in one right when he walks back into the house. It is hard IMO with puppy-mill rescues to use a crate because some are traumatized by being put into that environment again. The above article addresses some of this as well and offers more suggestions.

As for "scolding" him for potty accidents this is never a good idea even if he was not a rescue. If you are giving him treats for potty, you need to be standing next to him to reward with a treat otherwise he will not associate the treat and potty. If he comes into the house after potty he will only associate the treat with coming into the house.

If you would like to try to make him your little lap dog, I would suggest that you go to him on the floor instead of trying to make him come to you. Sit on the floor with a few treats and allow him to come over and treat and praise.

It will take a lot of time and some effort to make him comfortable in his new forever home.

To this day Bogey will still run if anyone raises their voice. Good luck and if you need any more help please PM me. I will do as much as I can to help you and Toby through any rough spots.

[westieboy]

Originally Posted by diannenet

He's come a long way in two weeks and maybe I'm too anxious but he's had several "accidents" in the house even though he goes potty every time he goes outside and gets rewarded when he comes in.

Dianne

You should reward outside right after he goes potty - within seconds or he won't know why he's being rewarded.

If you want to speed up his comfort level with you randomly give him treats every time you pass him or approach him. He'll love you really fast. Good luck, it just takes time.

[tjdmom]

I think you've gotten some great advice and I'm probably just repeating what others have said.... but I will say that some babies are more snuggly than others. My 1st yorkie and my little shadow is Zoe. She follows me everywhere and lays right next to me when I'm on the coach. Very rarely will she sit on my lap but always right next to me. At bedtime she's at the foot of the bed and that's where she wants to be. Now Libby is only 6 months old and she wants to be right on top of me. Literally. Right now she is sitting on my shoulder. I swear she thinks she's a parrot. She doesn't follow me around like Zoe but at night time she lays much of the night at the foot of the bed but eventually makes her way up so that she is laying right next to my face with her little head on my pillow too. They are very different. I love them both but Zoe will always have a special place in my heart even if she doesn't snuggle as much. Just concentrate on the things you like best about it him and also give him some time. On the potty training, I would be hesitant to disicpline him too much. If you catch him in the act, take him right out and give him a really good treat when he goes outside. If you don't catch him in the act, just ignore it. Are you crate training? You might have to back up and start just as if he was a new puppy..... Good luck!

[diannenet]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

Hi there and welcome to YT with your new little rescue. To me it sounds like Toby just needs a little more time to adjust to her new environment. If his foster mom told you that he was trained, liked to cuddle etc just give him time. When I first brought Bogey home from the shelter a little over a year ago he was a total spaz, didn't know what it was like to be picked up and help, how to do stairs, what grass what, how to ride in a car, potty outside ALL the time, the list could go on forever! Now he is laying in my arms sleeping while I am typing this to you. It will take time for him to adjust to you and his new home.

Here is a link to an excellent article that was made a sticky in the rescue and also training forum:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ll-rescue.html

I would like to suggest that for his potty issues, that you purchase BELLY BANDS and put him in one right when he walks back into the house. It is hard IMO with puppy-mill rescues to use a crate because some are traumatized by being put into that environment again. The above article addresses some of this as well and offers more suggestions.

As for "scolding" him for potty accidents this is never a good idea even if he was not a rescue. If you are giving him treats for potty, you need to be standing next to him to reward with a treat otherwise he will not associate the treat and potty. If he comes into the house after potty he will only associate the treat with coming into the house.

If you would like to try to make him your little lap dog, I would suggest that you go to him on the floor instead of trying to make him come to you. Sit on the floor with a few treats and allow him to come over and treat and praise.

It will take a lot of time and some effort to make him comfortable in his new forever home.

To this day Bogey will still run if anyone raises their voice. Good luck and if you need any more help please PM me. I will do as much as I can to help you and Toby through any rough spots.

Thank you SO much for the link. After reading that, it made me want to have even more patience than I already do. Toby has made great progress once again just in the past 24 hours!!! Last night instead of putting his blanket at the bottom of the bed I thought I'd try putting it beside me in the bed. He laid there all night and didn't move. He's getting a LOT better about letting me pet him today. Maybe we "bonded" during our sleep. LOL We were gone 4 hours tonight and he didn't have one single accident while we were gone. When I got home I took him outside immediately and he peed and got rewarded. Well, since I knew he didn't do anything on the puppy pad, after we were in the house for about 10 more minutes I took him back outside to poop and he did so he got another reward. (He's no dummy, huh?) I did buy a small container of training treats (they are real tiny) today at Petsmart and I've been taking them with me when I go outside with him to reward him before he comes in the house. So every day gets a little better.

His foster mom (she had him for a year) was excellent! He was raised with 3 other yorkies and a poodle plus some goats, cats, and whatever else they had. She loved this little guy dearly. I could tell she cared about him deeply because she called all my references on the adoption form and called my groomer and vet. She sold him to me dirt cheap ($75) and I asked her why so cheap. She said she wasn't looking to make money off of him but she did want to make sure he went to the right home. That comment told me she cared for Toby sincerely.

I clicked on the Rescue and Foster homes needed link and read some of the posts but nothing compares to the link you gave me. Again, thank you very much for that. It was a real eye opener to me!

Dianne

[diannenet]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Not all Yorkie's are snuggly. That may just be his nature, but it is way too soon to tell. His whole world has been turned upside down and it will take time for him to bond with you and settle in.

Regressions in potty training are normal when you adopt an adult dog. Go back to Potty Training 101 and treat him like a puppy. Don't scold him after the fact as that will only make him fearful and he won't understand. Positive training with treats and rewards is the key. If he's having accidents, he has too much freedom. Don't allow him to roam all over your house. Keep him right with you, even if you have to tie his leash to your waist.

This is a must have book for anyone who adopts an adult dog:

Amazon.com: Second-Hand Dog: How to Turn Yours into a First-Rate Pet (Howell reference books) (0021898057358): Carol Lea Benjamin: Books

Thanks for telling me about this book. I ordered it and am reading it now. It makes a lot of sense!

[DvlshAngel985]

How's little Toby doing? I think when adopting an older dog it takes them longer to adjust. I adopted my boy and got him on his first birthday (Aug 1st). Just this past week, or around Christmas time, he finally chased a ball! Getting him to settle down enough to play is a big deal. He's shy so I'm taking things real slow with him, and yes it took 4 months to get him to play with toys. It took 2 months to get him to play chase with me. He still plays with me and only me but every once in a while I catch him wanting to initiate play with my dad, even if he does lose interest 2 seconds later.
Megansmomma is a great resource! I read a lot of what she posts, I don't usually respond, but I have tailored her advice to fit Kaji and my lifestyle. She's got great advice and I cannot believe how sweet she is to share her knowledge with us. She's an angel in disguise!

[diannenet]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

I just wanted to add...we have a "rescue" section here...where there are several YT members who work in rescue and have a lot of experience w/ healing recscue/adoptee doggies.

So in addition to the awesome advice you've already received here, you might tap-in to them as well if you're still feeling things are moving slow. Your guy sounds adorable !

I guess I can't find that section. Can you give me the link to it?

Thanks!

[diannenet]

Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985

How's little Toby doing? I think when adopting an older dog it takes them longer to adjust. I adopted my boy and got him on his first birthday (Aug 1st). Just this past week, or around Christmas time, he finally chased a ball! Getting him to settle down enough to play is a big deal. He's shy so I'm taking things real slow with him, and yes it took 4 months to get him to play with toys. It took 2 months to get him to play chase with me. He still plays with me and only me but every once in a while I catch him wanting to initiate play with my dad, even if he does lose interest 2 seconds later.
Megansmomma is a great resource! I read a lot of what she posts, I don't usually respond, but I have tailored her advice to fit Kaji and my lifestyle. She's got great advice and I cannot believe how sweet she is to share her knowledge with us. She's an angel in disguise!

Thank you! I will have to look at her posts. Toby is doing fine. He still has some hurdles to jump over but we will get there. I'll go into detail later but right now it is 1:30 a.m. and I need to take my butt to bed. So stay tuned.................more info to come.

Thanks!