Originally Posted by ashley_ (Post 3886799)

We call Joli the "referee", "enforcer" or "herder" because she does just that. ...And if I yell one of the cat's names she will start yelling too. She has also figured out that scratching is bad, so if she hears the scratching she will either herd them back into their room or yell at them (she will do this even if she is in her "room" (aka the crate) in my room and can only hear the scratching).
Sometimes this is nice, like when they are scratching or doing something bad. But others not so nice like when the cats get backed into a corner and Joli doesn't understand why they aren't going to their room. lol. And she is teaching Somi this bad behavior. I need to figure out how to only let the good behaviors rub off. LOL. :)...

Originally Posted by ashley_ (Post 3886799)

We call Joli the "referee", "enforcer" or "herder" because she does just that. The cats are technically my roommates and therefore "live" in her room and Joli and Somi "live" in my room. And Joli and Somi are definitely not allowed in their room because they get confused by the cat's litter box and feel the need to pee everywhere and the cats are not exactly welcome in my room but they aren't as good at listening. UNTIL Joli can tell them. Joli will herd them back into Anna (roommate)'s room whenever she feels they have been out long enough. And she will just stop at the doorway and not go any further. :) And if I yell one of the cat's names she will start yelling too. She has also figured out that scratching is bad, so if she hears the scratching she will either herd them back into their room or yell at them (she will do this even if she is in her "room" (aka the crate) in my room and can only hear the scratching).
Sometimes this is nice, like when they are scratching or doing something bad. But others not so nice like when the cats get backed into a corner and Joli doesn't understand why they aren't going to their room. lol. And she is teaching Somi this bad behavior. I need to figure out how to only let the good behaviors rub off. LOL. :)

Like I always tell Anna.... yorkie >>>> cat. :) and most definitely smarter :) [no offense cats, but you have nothing on yorkies:aimeeyork]

Originally Posted by navillusc (Post 3886886)

Oh yes...or when they are coming to sit on Brody's Mommy's lap...lol...which is weird 'cuz he didn't do it before that day. During the night, the cats will jump up on 'their counter' (we had a 120+lb Shep/Lab 'kibble vac' until last Feb so had to keep kitty kibble up high to have any left for them...lol) to eat kitty crunchies, so he hears them when they jump down, and if we don't close the bedroom door now, he lights up every time he hears a cat stirring in the kitchen. It's quite a jarring experience when you're sleeping or just about! lol He'll also 'herd' them whenever he chooses...or walk right by them, sit down beside them, curl up with them, sniff them, etc. so you just never know when a cat is about to cross a Brody line for which a Brody discipline is about to be meted out. lol

Our cats are very good...almost invisible most of the time unless it's chilly snuggle weather, but occasionally they get where they shouldn't be right then. The 'rolled up' rug was 'new' and my cats must all 'try out for fit' anything new in the house. If you lay a paper towel on the floor, they will all, in turn, sit on it and look around, lay on it, fluff their fur on it, curl up and nap on it...something...and then it's like they say, "Cool," and walk away. Cardboard boxes and crinkly bags...paper or plastic...must be tried on or at least inspected, as well. Plus, with that particular cat, "down" means "hunker" so we have to use "Off" or "Get Off" or he'll just make himself as small as possible and as close to the surface of whatever he's on as possible. He's also bigger and heavier than Brody by at least half, and he's almost 14 years old so he's well established with us having been born to a feral at our house. lol

Originally Posted by heide210 (Post 3887353)

OMG,that's funny that your cat will get really close to the surface when u say down.Our cats will also inspect anything brought into our home.When we give Gabby treats we say Pepperoni and she will run to the kitchen and when we grab the bag it will make that noise and the cats would also run to get there treats.Now the cats will run to the kitchen when they hear the word Pepperoni

Originally Posted by navillusc (Post 3887461)

Yes, he absolutely does...lol He also likes the Bil-Jac and Blue Buffalo small dog training treats, and will 'sit' when the command is given...his brother who we recently lost, would sit as well to get his treat. It was really funny at first because Brody would take a while to sit when I first started his training, and I'd have to give 2 cats a handful of treats before Brody got the first one. I first used cheese and some other tasty morsels for training, but then got some packaged treats that held up better in pockets. I learned early on to cut those treats in half when I opened the bag. lol Mia doesn't really like those treats or cheese much...good thing she LOVES to please me!

So, when you order Pepperoni Pizza, do you s-p-e-l-l P-e-p-p-e-r-o-n-i...or just give treats? lmao

Originally Posted by heide210 (Post 3887469)

LOL....We have to be smarter than her,so we will text the word pepperoni...hahaha

Originally Posted by navillusc (Post 3887500)

Brody and Mia have learned that when we s-p-e-l-l it means something special that they want. We are considering texting as well. :D

Originally Posted by heide210 (Post 3885415)

So we have a cat that likes to use our couch as a scratching post.Every time I see our cat scratching I'll clap my hands and say his name real loud.

Originally Posted by gracielove (Post 3887808)

When I first got Gracie I had taken in a litter of kittens and they were about her size when she came home. I still have one of the kittens from that litter and Gracie still loves to wrestle with her. Missy the cat is much larger than Gracie but Gracie is sure she is the boss. You can tell when she thinks she is losing the match because she will start to bark more. It's a good thing I have steps for the bed at night because if she hears a cat move some where in the house she has to go check it out. She has her job to do. I hope if I get another dog that Gracie will not be as bossy with it as she is with the cats.

Originally Posted by navillusc (Post 3887500)

Brody and Mia have learned that when we s-p-e-l-l it means something special that they want. We are considering texting as well.

Originally Posted by concretegurl (Post 3887354)

-Kind of OT but my Shcnorkie (Yorkie Mini schnauzer hybrid) would herb the children.



Now strange as it is, many mini schnauzers are strong bred for their abilities in working lines and herding was something they actually did-in Germany they were used to watch small farm animals chickens, etc.



This 'ability' was very strong in Scoobers, he would circle and organize the kids playigin the yard if we had a group of them-it was quite funny to see him do it on his own, until I noticed he was circling barking and snapping his teeth-he never nipped or it but that was a little to close for comfort in seeing him progress this behavior on his own.


We really worked on him never mouthing but he'd still snarl and put his face on the children's legs, again he never nipped or bit (except the vet tech one time in rescue) but it was progressing so I had to put a stop to this game by having the kid's teach him soccer.



Unfortunately for us as cute as it was we had to detour the entire behavior because I'm not a strong enough trainer to isolate one activity against instinct (I still can't fully train him with recall or to be off leash outside of the yard one sniff of a scent he's gone in a cloud of dust).



So you really do sometimes have to choose what behaviors they take on and weather or not they can be allowed or have to be trained out.

Originally Posted by heide210 (Post 3888486)

Wow,that's neat that Scoobers instinctively knew what his duties are and reacted by herding the kids.I would of also thought is was cute until Scoobers started snapping his teeth.

Originally Posted by Teresa Ford (Post 3887880)

People that don't have a Yorkie sometimes raise their eyebrows in doubt when they read our stories. We know that Yorkies are very sensitive to their human.
Rubin is a tattle-tail.
When I was potty training the puppies, if some one made a mistake. He would bark and come and get me. I am not kidding, he would show me the accident, then go put his paws on the guilty pup. Yet when the corner of my quilt was marked with urine, Rubin (the only leg lifting male in the house) was staying in his Yorkie Cave (aka the crate !) He wouldn't even come out for his beloved stinky liver jerky treat.

Originally Posted by shelimcallister (Post 3887904)

I love this thread!!! What an intuitive girl you have.

Yorkies are such a fantastic breed which I never knew until I adopted Max. He is very intuitive as well and will kiss me if I'm upset or smile if I speak in a "happy" voice. He is my right hand man and easily adjusts to any environment (even at 6 months). When mommy needs a nap, he will lay on my lap and wait for me to wake up even if he is not tired.

We are very blessed with amazing little furbabies...aren't we? :D:D:D

Originally Posted by ralphthepoodle (Post 3887915)

Your Gabby is very smart! (:

Originally Posted by akima (Post 3888221)

My kitty used to do the exact same thing, she DESTROYED my new leather couch.

You can buy these clear plastic double sided sticky strips at the petstore and you just stick them to the couch where the cat scratches. Cats hate the sticky feeling on their feet so when they go to scratch they hate it and stop. Works wonders and you cant even tell they are there.

Originally Posted by concretegurl (Post 3888500)

I searched my pc, I swear I took about 30 videos of it because it was so cute.

This was when he had first started playing and interacting with tthe kids-it was both amazing and very cute but yes he would "nose" the ankles of the kid's and when I noticed he started getting more excited about it and snapping, it quickly had to be put under control before we had a nip or bite.

He has a few times since herded the kids in the yard when we had a group of kids here playing but thankfully that part of the behavior never returned.

Teaching the kids to get him to play soccer (well okay he mainly just jumps on the ball and uses his front legs to paw at it and away from the kids)was probably the best way to detour it gave him a new focus-need to get a video of that for here this summer when they are playing in the yard.:)

Originally Posted by heide210 (Post 3888528)

Was this a link to one of the video's if so it's invalid

Originally Posted by concretegurl (Post 3888533)

No I can't find them. Too many folders in too many different video programs-every time I get a new cam it comes with new software & a new video player.:rolleyes: