Hello from a brand new Yorkie Owner

[patchesmom10]

Welcome to YT




Patches & Winnie

[Patti]

I got Cali at 9 weeks also, before I knew about the 12 week rule. She went through a bad stage of lunging at me and biting me. I have had other yorkies (also gotten too early)and they never did that so I didn't know what to do. So anytime she started the biting, I would say "No bite" and get up and stop paying attention to her. She grew out of it and is the sweetest of my 3 girls. Since this is your first dog you will learn as you go along. Just keep asking questions and read up on training them. Patience is imperative to living with a yorkie since many can be very stubborn, but they joy you will get in return will be well worth it.

[Aliya]

I think a puppy class would be a very good idea. My vet does a monthly free puppy socialization class, and invited me to it. I'm really looking forward to it. Dora is getting better at soft chewing, by the way. She still forgets, but I've also changed MY attitude, and am getting a lot more patient! This is training for us both!

[Pettas Grammy]

There is already excellent advice posted here for you, so I thought I might just let you know how comforting both little " Petta", (my daughter's Yorkie) and I find it when she so lightly chews my fingers then licks them with her soft little tongue. I always try to rinse all soapy residue off my hands to decrease any chemical ingestion to her tiny system. This dog breed has me wrapped around it's lovingness! Never thought I'd love an animal this much again. You're lucky you found the breed right out of the gate! I have a Cardigan Corgi, my second (a big dog personality in a little dog-very happy) and a s**tzu (that's got to be spelled wrong! It was auto-edited-lol) but it's the Yorkie that had me at first bite! A Yorkie is a dear, loving, joy filled friend-enjoy!

[cslat1]

I'm so glad you found YT. It sounds like you have gotten a lot of very good information. A puppy is such an active little creature. You will need lots of Patience with little Dora. Things will get better. It took my pup about a year or so to calm down. I'm sure you love her to death. Did I mention patience?

[Buster Brown]

Welcome to YT and the joys and frustrations of an new Yorkie puppy. They can be challenging to train but their feisty behavior is one of the things you will come to love. They have done studies that the dominance theory is counterproductive. Just think if your teacher or boss forces you to do something against your will do you feel resentful? If they praise you when you were right and did not reward you when you were wrong. Would you not strive to do right. Studies show that when you force a dog to do something through dominance yes they will do it but out of fear and who wants a fearful or resentful response. The more pleasurable you make learning the more your dog will enjoy and understand the process. This will make teaching new tricks easier to learn. Yes it can be frustrating until they get it but when they do it is so rewarding for the both of you.

[Aliya]

@ cslat1: Yes, I am VERY glad I found this forum! After going through a frustrated few days (which I can also blame on sleep deprivation) I've suddenly shaken myself up and taken a more patient attitude with Dora. And she is really loving in return. My favourite is when she climbs into my lap, which she sometimes does by jumping - and totally misjudging the distance, going facefirst into my leg!

@ Buster Brown: I think you are generally right about the love-not-fear thing, but I do want her to know I'm in charge. Could you suggest some strategies? When she's irritated or doesn't get what she wants, she often growls. I don't want her to do that, as I think she could scare others (e.g. children) when she's a bit bigger. Do you think she is trying to be dominant? I am trying to occasionally pin her gently (but firmly). When she does something I want, I praise her a lot. Sometimes, though, I get the sense she doesn't care or isn't paying attention to my praise. Is that normal?

@ PettasGrammy: Shih tsu? Schitzu?? LOL Thanks for sharing how much you love your Yorkie. I'm getting lots of hope and support through this forum!

[laci32]

Welcome to YT

[JTB]

I have been given a two year female yorkie that weights 3 pounds and I was wondering if anyone has a small yorkie and could give me some tips.
She is sweet and coming along great with house breaking.
She has to be spay and that scares me because of go under she is so small.

[candigirl]

Originally Posted by Aliya

You give me hope, candigirl! It's just good to hear that I'm not the only one going through this! I'm going out for a spray bottle.

Could you all also tell me what games your Yorkie likes to play? I've read that tug of war and wrestling should be discouraged bc it encourages biting. She seems to like fetch, some.

No problem, honestly i've heard that too about the "no tug of war" rule but Lexie loves to play it so i still play it with her. What i did though was teach her "drop it" so whenever i want her to let go i give the command and she obeys, this teaches her that i'm in charged of the situation, i initiate and end play when i want to. Playing tug of war with her never made her bite me or cause her to be aggressive so i personally don't see a problem with it. I never played wrestling with Lexie cause that's not really my thing, i play fetch with her and she loves "chase" she runs with a stuff toy in her mouth and wants me to chase her and catch her lol. Otherwise she sits and plays with her skinnes, she lovvess those toys because she can make it squeek on her own she has the fox and the squirrel. How is the progress going by the way?