Just adopted a teacup yorkie and struggling

[Lovetodream88]

A small dog can absolutely not be left outside all day and if it is small enough to be pray for a hawk or anything in your area it should not be left out alone ever. In the rain is a huge no no if its all day it could become very very sick. Yorkies don't necessarily have to be "spoiled" but most of the time time they do require more attention and human interaction then other breeds. Hitting a dog not matter if it light or hard is never acceptable. You need to take the dog out to the bath room every hour I would say when potty training and give lots of praise when they go potty outside and a treat. If this dog is to much for you I would suggest surrendering it to a rescue. It can be hard to change behaviors it has had for 4 years and you really have to be willing to do that.

[yorkietalkjilly]

If I were you, I wouldn't put myself through all of the time, vet bills & brain drain it is going to take to learn how to deal with a dog this tiny and with these issues with the lack of experience that you have with the breed. I, too, would tend to recommend that you rehome this tiny dog with a rescue group that can place her with someone who has the experience, knowledge, time & patience to deal with the problems present now & those that will arise later.

[MauiGirl]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

If I were you, I wouldn't put myself through all of the time, vet bills & brain drain it is going to take to learn how to deal with a dog this tiny and with these issues with the lack of experience that you have with the breed. I, too, would tend to recommend that you rehome this tiny dog with a rescue group that can place her with someone who has the experience, knowledge, time & patience to deal with the problems present now & those that will arise later.

I agree. It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to deal with training issues, and so far it sounds like the OP might not be cut out for it. You really have to love and want the dog in the first place in order to go the extra mile to make it work. Due to the circumstances of acquiring this dog, that might not be the case.

There are some people out there who are up for the challenge and ready to do whatever it takes, and to love the dog unconditionally even if it all fails. It might be best to let him go be with one of those people, and do him and yourself a favor.

[nanahas3]

Welcome to YT. If you and your girlfriend do decide to keep this little one the best thing you can do is to LOVE him. They respond to the feeling of love more than they do anything. In order to train him he needs to feel safe with you above all and once you have his trust the training will be so much easier. Have you tried pee pads for him? We started ours (even our 5 year old rescue) out on them and gradually moved them closer to the door each day and then to the porch, then the yard. It takes time but it works. If after a trainer and trying you find you just cannot bond with him then yes it is best to find him a new home. I will tell you yorkies are one of the most loyal dogs you will ever have. Good luck.

[lillymae]

Welcome to YT ! First let me ask, Is a small indoor dog something you want to deal with ? If yes then prepare yourself as this dog WILL steel your heart once all the kinks are worked out BUT you may be in for the ride of your life as they are absolutely NOTHING like a large dog. So now lets get started, 1st you need to confine this pup at all times when you can't keep an eye on him with every move he makes & I don't mean in a crate. You can get an x-pen or put a baby gate up & keep him in the kitchen with his bed, food & water bowls & potty pads. Keep his bed, food & water at one end of the room & the potty pad at the other end. When you can be there to dedicate 100% of your attention then let him out of confinement & the second you let him out of confinement, take him outside & while he is in the act of doing his potty business tell him good boy go pee/poop & reward him. Do not give human food until you research what is acceptable to feed that is safe & will not cause pancreatitis. Take him for walks & do things to bond with him. Yorkies don't like to be alone at bed time so either let him sleep with you or put a crate in your bedroom for him to sleep in at night. Also as someone has already mentioned NEVER let him outside alone & while you are outside with him, keep an eye out for hawks & owls as they WILL make off with him. Yorkies are not like large dogs & are runners so he will need to be leashed at all times while outdoors & not behind a fenced area & they can be escape artists so make sure the fenced area is secure & that there are no small openings that he can slip through. Also when walking him use a harness & not a collar as collars can cause collapsing trachea in small dogs & this is life threatening & can't be reversed. When vaccinating do NOT do all vacs at one time as it's too much in their tiny bodies.Always use positive training. If all of this is not something you were prepared for & you don't have the desire to change your life style then as others have mentioned, you need to consider a reputable yorkie rescue, otherwise Welcome to being owned be a Yorkie.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Since tiny dogs are fragile, watch the dog closely to keep it from jumping off couches, chairs, beds, etc., since they can be easily injured, sometimes dislocating a joint or fracturing a bone or two & requiring even surgery to set or internally fix the fracture. Other dogs can hurt them fairly easily in rough play or an attack.

[MauiGirl]

I just saw your other similar post : http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...e-help-me.html

And all I can say is please let someone else rehome this dog. It doesn't sound like he will ever be a good fit for you.

[riordana]

If you do decide to surrender him to the rescue, I would be happy to help transport him from Portland to Couversmom in Washington.

[QuickSilver]

Dog training is not an either/or. It's very possible that previously this dog WAS spoiled and untrained. However, that does not mean that he needs military discipline. It just means he's untaught. It's perfectly possible to train dogs with positive-only methods.

As others have said, yorkies can have tremendous difficulty with potty training. This can frustrate even the most gentle souls, so really consider if you have the patience to work on this for months. Literally, months. Take a look at the Training section, that has dozens of potty training threads.

Also consider that border collies are genius dogs. I volunteer as a dog walker, and there is a world of difference between a smart large breed dog and some of the not-so-smart little dogs. A Labrador will usually figure out that he should sit at street corners after one or two tries. Some small dogs don't grasp that for months, or ever.

To be honest, I'm not sure why it bothers you that he wants to be near you when he eats. Put his bowl down and read a magazine for 15 minutes. As long as you are giving him a good quality food, he will eventually eat it, though again, maybe without as much gusto as the large dogs you are used to.

Yorkies are known for being exceptionally attached dogs, and absolutely cannot be treated as outside dogs. One, because they will be miserable, and two, because they are easy prey. Owls have been known to try to take dogs as heavy as 14lbs.

[lynzy420]

Having raised and cared for 27 (including the 2 I have now) St. Bernard, Sheepdog, Pointers, Bloodhounds, Coon hounds, Black Labs, Pit Bulls, German Shepherds, and Yorkiepoos, I can honestly say there is no comparison between a Yorkie and any other dogs I've ever had, ever. Yorkies are different in so many ways.

Unless you fully educate yourself and really dive right in to a committment of training and caring for your Yorkie, you really should give it to a rescue.

I am an excellent trainer, infact I once got a call at work from my neighbor because my poor Black Lab was crying in the yard....problem was: when feeding them that morning and cleaning up after them, I told him to sit and stay.....I forgot to "release" him!!! He was not tethered, he was just very obedient. I left work, pulled up to the house, "come Shine" and gave him a kiss and hug and a treat...I felt so bad. With that said, My Yorkies will laydown, stay, roll over, give paw, give five, give kiss, go in your house, and hand signals with my deaf one, they listen almost all the time....however; not all the time. There are days when I can't get them to do a single thing I want, when litter box training goes right out the window, when hurt feelings make them stop eating and get sick. When I just don't know where I went wrong....Come here now...and they both go running under the bed...arrrghhhh, I just clean up, and start over again...they drive me crazy....but I long ago decided this is just the way they are! They are very different then other dogs, very....

When I read this thread my first thought was that you think of all dogs as "animals" and I couldn't help but think a Yorkie just may not be for you.

They are so different. I am not criticizing, I am just letting you know that you are in a whole different league with a Yorkie...everything you know about dogs does NOT pertain to a Yorkie...Word.

[Teresa Ford]

Originally Posted by lynzy420

They are so different. I am not criticizing, I am just letting you know that you are in a whole different league with a Yorkie...everything you know about dogs does NOT pertain to a Yorkie...Word.

I too am a trainer (30 + years) I have trained all kinds, working dog, therapy dogs, pets and search & rescue breeds. For the last 15 years I have mainly worked with toy breeds and have developed training geared especially for them. Honestly,Yorkies really are unique. Many tried and true methods just don't work with them. Personally I think absolute outside potty training is very difficult. I prefer washable potty pads or litterbox. If you are not completely in love with this little fellow, please give him up to a rescue. People should not just put up with a dog. Like children ,I think every Yorkie should be cherished, wanted and loved. There is always a perfect match waiting to happen.

[Zoejane]

Welcome to YT, as others have said you have come to the right place. I have had my baby for 4 months, I got her when she was 12 weeks old. This was my first experience with a yorkie and I was going to do everything just right. So I read all the books I could get my hand on, had my plan all laid out of how to potty train her, etc. the only thing I didn't account for is that these little babies are simply that, babies. They get their feelings hurt so easy, and need more attention than I ever realized. I have told many people that say her and then decide they want one too, that I have spent the past few months more tired than I have ever been due to taking care of my new baby. I can't just put her down and go about my business. I watch her constantly, what is she chewing on? Does she need to pee pee? Zoe do you need a drink? Let's play a game with your food so you will eat, etc, etc. and my baby is even pretty well behaved and not nearly as small as yours at 4 1/2 pounds. Maybe she is spoiled, but I love her more than anything in the world and realize if I'm not willing to give her my all that I shouldn't have her in the first place. However the awesomeness, if you spend time with them is that she looks at me and cocks her head when I talk to her, she follows me everywhere I go, she gives me kisses when we go to bed, she sleeps all night right next to me, she loves me more than anything and brings me more joy than anyone or anything I have ever been with. But yes, she pees in the house from time to time, not always, but occasionally. I have to spend time with her when she eats because she likes to eat it out of my hand rather than her bowl. She insists I play with her in the evenings when I would rather sit and watch tv. She brings me her squeaky worm and doesn't stop squeaking until I play.

So my best advice to you is that if you are not willing to totally change your lifestyle for this baby then you should find someone who is. I'm not saying that is the case and maybe you are committed, I just think you need to be aware that it is a lifestyle change and not just an extra moving thing around.

Good luck to you

[Charlies Mamma]

Originally Posted by mrsp

I found this site and I have found myself in a very different situation. I recently came into looking after a 4 year old teacup yorkie that my girlfriends mother could no longer look after. There is myriad of issues with this dog has and I hoping to find some kind of help.

I have been around dogs my whole life and I even raised sheep herding border collies and I have trained several bird hunting labradors, but this thing is driving me far more nuts than any of my other dogs.

to start this dog has a major potty training issue. I have proven that he is fully capable of holding it and does not have a problem with incontinence. if he is not held or i set him on an elevated surface where he cant move he will manage to roam the house and piddle where ever he pleases. again i have put him in a kennel several nights and he has had no accidents, but he seems to have issues when he is just sitting around the house. I read another post that said I should let him roam our backyard for awhile and get used to peeing out there. unfortunately i live in oregon and the day i chose to leave him outside for the day it poured rain all day and my girlfriend has not forgiven me for leaving him outside soaking.

my second problem with this dog is his eating habits. he only eats if there is someone around to watch him eat and there has to be boilded chicken mixed in with his food. I died a little the first time i saw this and it was kind of the straw that broke the camels back and I decided to look at some training. i put him in a closed fenced area with his food for an hour by himself and the issue with having someone there for him to eat seem to be solved, but he is only eating a small portion of food and I am worried he is not getting enough nutrients.

I believe these problems stemmed from the previous owner and how they raised him so far. They would constantly carry him, pamper him, spoil him and they chose to not to discipline him for his piddle problem. also if he did not eat his special dog food, they would just give him a bowl of boiled chicken.

I am hoping to find some answer and learn how to recondition this dog. I will not let this dog run our lives and I also know i cant treat it like one of my collies or bird dogs.I would like him to let us know when he needs to use the restroom and hopefully figure out if there is something wrong with his eating habits.

to help put things in perspective for my training methods, my last dog was a 60 pound border collie that I trained for sheep herding. I treated her like a normal human, fed her scraps of meat and other bad foods, swatted her when she disobeyed or did something bad, and was very stern with her, but i never had a single issue with aggression, running away and she was always attached to my hip and she lived to be 16.

any help will be greatly appreciated.

You know... Im sorry, I know I already posted on this but I am so upset about it I just cry. I cannot even imagine doing these things to my baby. I am in the midst of trying to find out if he has a liver shunt, I have emptied my savings for surgery, doctors etc... and yes he eats boiled chicken. I cant even imagine "taking him to the back yard and ..." if he was ill or injured (I have read your other post)

You should not have this baby in your home, all the things that you are listing are typical yorkie things. Im sure he can be trained to potty outside or on pads IF you take the time to do so but it doesnt sound to me like you want to.

And just as an FYI: even abused dog love their owners that doesnt make the abuse right.

[gracielove]

There is a Yorkie Rescue and New Homes needed on YT. You might consider posting there. There are also Yorkie rescue people her at YT who will hopefully be able to help you. You can go to petfinder.com and do a search for a rescue in your area. It sounds like your little guy is going through quite a bit. Yorkie rescues are well prepared to deal with the stresses that Yorkies that have to be re-homed have to deal with. Please consider doing this little one a kindness and put him in a good Yorkie rescue.

Yorkies are terriers and have a totally different personality than the dogs you are accustomed to dealing with. They have to be trained much differently. A small Yorkie does run a person's life. They are lap dogs. They get cold very easily and really think they are human. It sounds like you do not have the personality for that type of companion. Please, never hit, swat or in anyway physically or psychologically harm a dog. Positive reinforcement always works best.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by gracielove

There is a Yorkie Rescue and New Homes needed on YT. You might consider posting there. There are also Yorkie rescue people her at YT who will hopefully be able to help you. You can go to petfinder.com and do a search for a rescue in your area. It sounds like your little guy is going through quite a bit. Yorkie rescues are well prepared to deal with the stresses that Yorkies that have to be re-homed have to deal with. Please consider doing this little one a kindness and put him in a good Yorkie rescue.

Yorkies are terriers and have a totally different personality than the dogs you are accustomed to dealing with. They have to be trained much differently. A small Yorkie does run a person's life. They are lap dogs. They get cold very easily and really think they are human. It sounds like you do not have the personality for that type of companion. Please, never hit, swat or in anyway physically or psychologically harm a dog. Positive reinforcement always works best.

Excellent post.