Anyone heard of this before?

[roseslevi]

Originally Posted by Nick777

Thanks everyone, this is a great start for me. I did some more investigating regarding the male dog wanting to hump the arm. He has been 'done', so this is not a sexual thing, but more a dominance thing. He wants to show his dominance by getting her to do this. Makes sense.

Regarding the crates, you are saying that the dogs must be put into crates for a couple of hours each day? Are the supposed to be able to get out, or are they supposed to be trapped in there? What does this achieve? I know that the female dog will be frantic and will bark incessantly while in the crate, and my gf will take the dog out after a few minutes.

Also, no answers as to why the weeing stopped and then started again.

and please, I don't hit the dogs with the newspaper anymore. It was never a hard smack, and I know now that method will not work. I'm not cruel to animals.

Again, thanks to all for your valuable feedback.

I can answer the crate question for you, dogs regard their crate like a safe den to sleep in and spend time in. When you crate train a dog you put it in the crate to sleep at night and any other times you are not watching your dog 100%. Eventually the dog will look to go into it's crate, I leave the doors open and find them napping in the crates often. The way the crate works for house training is that the dog will not soil where it sleeps. This won't happen the first few times..put something down you can wash. The crate should be just big enough for the dog to lay down and spin around. Not much bigger or they will soil in a corner of it. What is nice about the crate is if you have company or need the dog confined for some reason the crate works nicely. Mine are crated when I am at work or nobody is at home. It is for the dogs safety as well. They can't get into things if they don't have free run of the house.
I would like to add that I am happy you gave up on the newspaper. Yorkies are very smart, mine can tell in an instant if I am not pleased with them. You always want to form a positive bond with them, not a fearful one.

[Cha Cha]

Originally Posted by Nick777

Thanks everyone, this is a great start for me. I did some more investigating regarding the male dog wanting to hump the arm. He has been 'done', so this is not a sexual thing, but more a dominance thing. He wants to show his dominance by getting her to do this. Makes sense.

Regarding the crates, you are saying that the dogs must be put into crates for a couple of hours each day? Are the supposed to be able to get out, or are they supposed to be trapped in there? What does this achieve? I know that the female dog will be frantic and will bark incessantly while in the crate, and my gf will take the dog out after a few minutes.

Also, no answers as to why the weeing stopped and then started again.

and please, I don't hit the dogs with the newspaper anymore. It was never a hard smack, and I know now that method will not work. I'm not cruel to animals.

Again, thanks to all for your valuable feedback.

You first said that the peeing stopped when your gf left. And you also said that during that time, you provided some stability for the dogs, which in turn let them know what their schedule would be. If that stability/consistency stopped when your gf returned (your care stopped she resumed care), the peeing resumes because the dogs don't know when to plan on having a potty break. They are creatures of habit. I am a firm believer in a consistant schedule. Once the dogs learn that schedule, they will keep you on it. Someone has to step up and set a consistant schedule and everyone follow it. If everyone does not follow the same schedule then 1 person needs to be the primary care taker that will.

Also, because you are having the potty issues (I do believe in the crates/play pens as mentioned too) but look up youtube for bell training. It's a way to train the dogs to ring a bell when they need to go out. This way, there will be no mistaking their needs and everyone in the house can hear it and let the dogs go out. Youtube has some great videos on how to train for this. It might be something to look at down the road when you have the basics down, or even incorporate into your regular training as you go. They will pick up on it rather quickly.

I also want to commend you for being committed to the dogs after bringing in your GF and her dd. Yorkies are great and fun to have around and you will see how fast they learn. Good luck.

[Teegy]

I think you should get a gold star.
They've obviously been babied and mollycoddled and you are now showing a little discipline and letting them know who's the boss.
It takes a bit of work, which you are obviously willing to put in, the results will come.
Consistency, treats and praise for good behaviour and lots of loving and tickles.
I just bought Teegy some steps because although he can jump on and off my bed I'd like to save his wee joints. Besides when the new puppy comes to live with us, Teegy needs to teach him and I want him to teach him stairs not jumping.

applause to you and don't listen to the screaming banshees

[dawn27]

I dont mean to sound mean but it seems that the gf is a big part of the problem. I know they are her babies, it's hard to hear them cry and whine and she doesn't want to discipline them. Well there you go.... there is the problem. Dogs Need discipline and training form a very early age. If not they run your life... they take on a dominate role as the pack leader. Not a good situation at all.

Regarding the crates, you are saying that the dogs must be put into crates for a couple of hours each day? Are the supposed to be able to get out, or are they supposed to be trapped in there? What does this achieve? I know that the female dog will be frantic and will bark incessantly while in the crate, and my gf will take the dog out after a few minutes.

Cage training is not a form of punishment, it is a safe way to assist owners in the training process. It is a safe place to sleep at night or when you are gone during the day until they can be trusted not to wonder around the house weeing and pooing and being distractive. It will help with getting the weeing situation under control but only after they have emptied their waist before putting them in the cage for any length of time. But only if you use the small cage area, a cage with adjustable divider work well. If put in a large enough cage they will just use a corner of the cage to go potty and sleep in the other. A feeding schedule is very important, it helps get them regular. Getting your dogs on a routine schedule will also work wonders on the weeing in the house issue.

If you have concerns about your gf taken them out of the cage because of barking or other issues then it wont work. She needs to be 100% on board with the training process or you might as well give up before even trying. She has to be able to put them into the cage and leave them until they are in a calm state of mind. Rewarding a frantic dog by taking them out of the situation while in a frantic mode is only adding to the problem!

It wont be easy . . but it wont work unless you try. It could take a few days or even weeks before you notice any change, but well worth the effort.

Baby steps... start out using the cage for a short trips to the store.

As far as the humping... I have never has a problem with that, so I wouldn't be much help there. My only suggestion would be to stop it before it starts. If you are doing something that triggers the behavior stop him from reacting before he has a change to get into the hump postion. A quick comand (His Name and No!!) will help snap him out of it !!

[oliver44]

you sound like an extremely tolerant & patient man, you also sound right & i am impressed that you asked for advise on yorkie talk. hoping your girlfriend reads the posts. i would not allow humping but have to admit i am a softie & my 2 dogs could & should be better behaved. we do it out of love but in the end having control is best just like children. you wouldn't or shouldn't let your kids behave bad or inappropriately. good luck, i think you will work it out