A little scaredy cat...
 

Hello all!!

So Lou'e is now 15 weeks and he is a dreeeeam. I couldn't have asked for a better dog than him. He is a sweetheart and is so smart. :)
I just have a couple of questions if you guys can provide a little insight?

How many treats a day can or should I give him when training him to do things?

He likes to walk around in a circle around me when we walk...any suggestions?

And...

He seems to be afraid of the oddest things!
I got a little picture that says "A spoiled rotten yorkie lives here" (so cute, I know) and it is rather small and tried to take a pic of it with him but he literally BOOKED it when it came near him...why is he afraid of some of the most random things?

Any suggestions or advice will be very helpful as my breeder kinda ditched my emails. :-S

-Sandra & Lou'e <3

Hello all!!

So Lou'e is now 15 weeks and he is a dreeeeam. I couldn't have asked for a better dog than him. He is a sweetheart and is so smart. :)
I just have a couple of questions if you guys can provide a little insight?

How many treats a day can or should I give him when training him to do things?
For treats, I get the soft ones so I can cut them really tiny then you can do more training with not so much treats.

He likes to walk around in a circle around me when we walk...any suggestions?
Not sure, maybe a shorter leash, Joel does that too sometimes:rolleyes:

And...

He seems to be afraid of the oddest things!
I got a little picture that says "A spoiled rotten yorkie lives here" (so cute, I know) and it is rather small and tried to take a pic of it with him but he literally BOOKED it when it came near him...why is he afraid of some of the most random things?
When Joel was a pup I taught him "check it out", I took him all around the house saying check it out(to random things like the vacuum, washer,a chair... ) and when he touched his nose on it he got a treat. Now unfortunatly he's not scared of ANYTHING, lol

Any suggestions or advice will be very helpful as my breeder kinda ditched my emails. :-S

-Sandra & Lou'e <3

Thanks so much ilovejoel ! :)

Are cheerio's okay as treats for training? do you have any suggestions as to what sort of treats I can give Lou'e for training? i am so new to this.

The leash I have is already pretty short....should I make it shorter so it is taut to where my arm length is?

I will try for him to "check things out". Good idea! :)

Thank you!!

-Sandra & Lou'e <3

Yes, a lot of people use Cheerios, mine doesn't care for them. You can also use carrots or green beans cut up:D
As for the walking, I haven't had much luck with mine, lol but I am teaching him to walk by my side:)

Zeus used to walk around circles with me...LOL Little dorks. :) What I did was keep the line really tight and extend my arm out when we walked. After a few days, I relaxed and when he tried to walk around me, out my arm would go again. It hurt, LOL, but he doesn't do it anymore. Took about a week to break him of the habit.

Thanks so much Brezofleur. I shall try that. :)

Anyone have any other suggestions regarding my other questions? What sort of treats should I buy for training?

I know we talk through emails, but I figured since I was on, I would add my 2 cents! Little Lou’e is so adorable!! I love seeing pictures of him! You can also do veggies for treats, small bites of carrots, green beans or even frozen peas! My brothers dog can’t really have dog treats- so they feed her frozen peas and she just loves them!! If you are going to use dog treats just look for the healthier ones- the ones with better ingredients- You can also do tiny pieces of boiled skinless chicken breast. Use tiny pieces in whatever you use- so he thinks he is getting more when he really isn’t.

Peanut is scared of a lot of things… I think Yorkies are just kinda nutty- if you ask me. He is still small and a puppy – so things to me might seem bigger than they really are- most things will be foreign to him.. just work with him, get him use to things and he will a brave little sweetie! Never let him run and hide- make him confront whatever it is- If you don’t nip that behavior in the butt young he will most likely have that type of actions as an adult.

Out of nowhere Peanut was deathly scared of an extension cord- so a couple training sessions and he was good to go- Now he will walk over them and not hide and shake in a corner when one is out!!

It depends on what the treat is as far as how many your pup should have. Many trainers use bits of freeze dried meat to teach tricks and behaviors. You can break off a small piece to give when the your pup does something right. Fruits (not grapes) can be given or veggies. Just don't over do it. Make sure your pup is eating all the food he is supposed to get. You don't want him filling up on treats.

Maybe try keeping your leash shorter to stop the circles. Try to keep him right at your side so he learns that is where he should be. It is safer to walk him beside you in case you encounter an unfriendly dog on your walks. You will also be able to stop him from eating things he finds along the way.

Huey loves baby carrots and green beans. We also have used training treats from petsmart and now that I make sure everything is made in the US, I cut up bigger treats into tiny pieces. As long as he can get a taste, it works.
Your comment about Peanut and extention cords made me laugh. I have so many friends who have had to replace multiple chewed up computer and phone chargers, extention cords, phone lines...tbe list goes on. They are jealous of me because Huey avoids cords like the plague. He doesn't act necessarily scared of them, but he really doesn't want to touch them, either. It is funny when he has the zoomies and runs circles around the living area...he jumps up on the sofa and runs accross it to avoid the computer and phone cords that are on the floor. When he can't go around them, he either jumps over them or ducks and runs under them. It is funny to watch when he is trying to keep his speed up!

@LovesPandP ~ as always - thank you so much for always taking the time to answer my questions no matter how silly they are. I owe you a tun for helping me out so much!! I would be so lost! Lol!
You are totally right though, I gotta nip it in the butt while he is young...as you said before, now is the time to have him become the dog I want him to become. :) Thanks!

@Gracielove - thank you for the suggestions! Walking can be a tad difficult, my apartment is too small to try and walk him that way....and a bit cold in Canada so I can't walk him every night, but I hope to get him to learn how to walk properly! Lol.

@Marhcarter - the zoomies?! I love that! Hahah.

Thanks everyone! I didn't know that they could eat peas! Must be funny to watch too. ;P
Thank you!

[QUOTE=sandrag86;4101409]@LovesPandP ~ as always - thank you so much for always taking the time to answer my questions no matter how silly they are. I owe you a tun for helping me out so much!! I would be so lost! Lol!
You are totally right though, I gotta nip it in the butt while he is young...as you said before, now is the time to have him become the dog I want him to become. :) Thanks!

No Problem!! :D