Yorkie 6th sense
 

I was going on a business trip a couple weeks ago, and packed my bag early. Took it downstairs and then proceeded to take the Yorksters for a walk. They just wanted to get back into the house as soon as we started. Mr. Gatsby kept pawing at my leg, like he wanted me to pick him up. He never does that on a walk unless a big dog is coming our way without an owner (or he has a stick/leaves sticking to him and can't walk right). Very strange behavior so I check him out and there is no debris on him, so I pick him up and there are no threats in sight, but he is shivering/scared. Yorkies wouldn’t do anything but wanted to get right back into the house.

Do your guys notice/start to panic when there is a suitcase being packed? Can't tell if his Yorkie 6th sense is taking over and he knows what’s going on or it’s my imagination… :rolleyes:

It is not your imagination. I think they understand the suitcase the same way they know when you get your purse, shoes, coat or keys. Mia gets so excited when she sees the suitcase because she thinks she is going. When she saw me packing, she went and got her ball, and jumped in the suitcase. Hubby said it was a fluke, but we were both amazed when she came back a second time with her bully stick, jumped in, placed it, then jumped out and walked away as if to say "I'm packed and ready to go".

Yes. Sorting the diaper bag, kids back packs, dance, karate, sports bags etc the dogs get antsy...they know.

The jingle of keys solidifies it and they run circles go to the dog cabinet and want leashes on...or hide as to avoid the kennel.

Dogs are no dummies - they definitely recognize pattern behavior and can easily put two and two together once they recognize one. In the past, you packed and then you left - easy as pie to presume that you will leave again next time you pack. The shaking could have been from worrying about your leaving them and getting insecure.

If you packed a suitcase and took them for a long, fun walk ending in a long play session and treats, and then you packed a suitcase again, some days later, they would probably get pretty excited, thinking another one of those fun outside play/walk/treat sessions was about to ensue in the future. Some dogs shake out of excitement and anticipation.

He could have been shaking from some noise or smell he didn't like outside and it was completely unrelated to the packing. Many dogs shake when they are ill or cold or want something really bad.

Did he stop shaking when you brought him back in the house? Has he done the shaking before when you packed a suitcase or during a walk?

If he stopped shaking when you brought him back in the house, you might start fiddling with the open suitcase and play-packing to see if he will start shaking again. If he does, to keep him from routinely establishing this type reaction to packing, you could just toss him some high-value treats or occasional squeaky toys to hunt and eat/play with from time to time as you pack, and/or, in between bouts of packing, just start a good game of tugowar, fetch or other positive redirection of his thoughts and energies or take them for a good outside walk and play session and return to pack some more. Tie packing a suitcase with something very positive and rewarding as well as leaving as a behavior pattern and, in time, he might start to think of packing as not all bad.

They know:)
Joel always knows 5 minutes before even we know were leaving, lol
He stays away so we can't catch him for his crate:)

My two definitely know when I'm packing. They watch to make sure I'm packing their stuff too. They also know when it's time for me to go to work and know when they get to go. Whenever I put on heels, they jump up on the couch because they know they aren't going :p

Thanks for the responses. There is no doubt that they are smart enough to pick up on patterns and they become used to things that they like and expect.. My guys will, for example wait by the pantry at a certain time in the evening after their dinner for a nite time greenie snack. You cant try and skip a night, because they dont forget! But in this case, it seemed very strange to me that they would have made the association because I only go on travel maybe once a month, and sometimes even less often. I cant figure out why our boy was so freaked out, but I agree with trying to get him used to the bag so he loses the association, if he actually made it; it cant hurt. When one of us is gone, they wait by the door for a couple of days until the pack is back together.... So sad! But you have to bring home the kibbles :D

They watch your every move. Gracie knows if she is staying home when I go out by which purse I pick up. She will go lay down on the floor in the living room and give me the sad puppy stare if she sees me pick up my "traveling" purse.

They are very smart. I have a cat that does the same thing. He sees a bag come out he sits on it or in it. And won't come out lol

They know...they watch everything you do, listen to how each word is said, and have wonderful command of your language, even though they may not be able to speak it back to you.

:yorkiesar

They definitely know. I will just be getting ready and all of a sudden she is following my every move. She will pace by her travel bag or make noises by her clothes as if to tell me to put it on so she can follow. And the keys thing...she knows that signal right away!lol :D

The definitely know. Brandi does the difference of me going to work and just leaving the house to run an errand. If I am leaving to go to work, she just lays on the bed and goes to sleep. She doesn't even walk me to the door anymore. But if I am leaving to run an errand, she sits on the bottom step waiting for me to put on her leash. I love that she knows my routines and behaviors.

Sad to say but my furbaby knows more about me than any human could ever know. Okay so some of that is my fault but at least with Brandi i can trust that she won't take advantage of me.:p Or maybe she does and I just don't know it........hmmmmmmmmmmm. :D

Guinness would have packed his wardrobe, toys and deer antler as soon as you opened the suitcase or he would go try to pull his carry tote out the closet.

My big dog does that. He starts whining and trying to get outside every chance. Blazer always wants to go outside with us so I haven't noticed anything different with him yet.

Hmmmmm.....at least not in the correct accent.....;) :p :D

Oh dear, it hasn't happened yet with Harry holiday-wise, we've always taken him :)

But, with Rosie our labrador, we had to put her in the kitchen and take our suitcases to the car out of the back door, after having packed them in the spare bedroom, like some sneaky kind of couple of people. Creeping down the stairs like we were burglars! :eek: Sally + Harry x

lolololol!!! :D

ROFLMAO!

I bet Rosie knew anyway...:p

LMAO...ours long ago got wise to us s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g as a sign that we were about to do something they want to do, too. :p

I am really starting to think he is smarter then me lol :rolleyes: we were going somewhere yesterday and I know this is bad but he was riding in my lap in the passenger seat well he started barking at somebody jogging well daddy told him NO we do not bark at people and we use our inside voice in the truck, usually that works in the house BUT nope not this time!!! Guinness huffed then started mumbling under his breath which of course made everybody in the truck laugh... Guinness does NOT approve of being laughed at so he looked right at my husband gave him the stink eye then turned and did one long nonstop lick across his entire window which he knows daddy hates!!!

Sorry but you can not tell me he did not know what he was doing lol

Amy is only a little over 3 months old. My husband says she is definitely my baby. I can't leave the room without her following me. If for some reason I close the door she will whine and cry until he lets her out to find me. If he doesn't, some times she will piddle on the floor. Not much but enough to tell me she is mad if I don't take her with me. It is funny but then again it isn't. Hope I never have to be in the hospital for any amount of time. Maybe she will grow out of it.

Awwwwww!
 

Awwww. That is the absolute cutest thing I ever heard!!! She was saying, "Me too!" What they understand is truly amazing.

Just this morning I noticed Liberty was, shall we say, needing a bit of 'spiffing up', and I made the mistake of saying, "You need a bathies today". Mistake. Liberty looked like someone hit him with a cattle prod and he zoomed into the master closet to hide. Yorkies are more perceptive than some children I've worked with.

Wow, those are some great and amazing stories. I agree its so sad that they just want to be with us all the time (are we really that much fun to be around???:D). And I do recognize some of these behaviors. I totally agree that they understand our routines and can adjust. Most notably, they certainly do learn quickly when you are going to work and will be out all day, vs. when you are going out on the weekend (we rarely go anywhere during the work week, as we hate to leave them at home). Any time we are going out on the weekend, they get very nervous that we may leave them and are super excited when they get to come along. I just did not think that Gatsby could know that I was going to be gone for a while based on packing, but you have me convinced. There was nothing else to upset him so it must have been that... Rather than trying to desensitize him to packing, I think I will try the same thing next time and that should confirm that he is SUPER SMART. He did fool me the other day, when he was nagging me sitting at the PC, so I told him to go get a particular toy, then he eventually disappeared and I forgot about it. Only hours later did I notice that he actually did go downstairs to bring that toy for up, it was right outside my office and I know it was downstairs. He is crazy smart and his sister is too, just in a different way.:aimeeyork:aimeeyork

That is just too cute! I can picture him doing the long lick and looking over his shoulder and thinking "Hah!" hehe

My cousins Maltese will grumble under his breath when she tells him to stop barking. lol It's too cute. She calls him her little grouchy ole' man.

LOL They know just what to do to et their point across...too cute! :D

yes they know, they are very in tune with their owners

Brody is very toy centric...and he knows all of his toys by name. He keeps his toys picked up...they 'live' either on the love seat or on our bed...whichever he has 'assigned' to that toy. If one falls off, he fetches the toy. If HE drops one off, it is intentional and you are either supposed to fetch the toy or race him to it...his choice. This is how the game is played. :p

A crinkly bag must contain a toy...even when it doesn't, he is certain it must have a toy in there somewhere...and will walk on hind legs to see in the bag and if there really is a toy, he will fetch it straight away out of there.

Mia knows of his toy-centricity and will get one of HIS toys (even if it was supposed to be hers...but all toys 'are belong to Brody'...lol), dangle it in his face and start an 'errrr-ing' war over the toy before relinquishing it...to her great pleasure...I swear you can see her smile over how she 'worked' Brody with the toy. :D

"Crazy smart" may even be an understatement...for a Yorkie! :p

Yorkies are a trip! I am over hear laughing to tears at everyone's personal stories...:lol tears