Well she said when Julie returned her Mom spanked her- So I'm going to assume her Mom was standing out there calling her?? I'm not sure, but that is how it sounds.

Also it sounds like it was an accident.. dogs do bolt out of the door sometimes.

My point about the timing is that the Yorkie might think that she is being punished for returning instead of being punished for running away. At any rate, if she is whacked after she returns to the house and has no point of reference as to why she is being whacked, she will be a confused puppy. The OP didn't make it clear as to whether the dog getting out was an accident, but think that the mother should have been looking out for the puppy a little more carefully than she was. Thank goodness the puppy wasn't hurt, and hopefully the mother will be more alert next time...

I understand what you are saying..:D I will tell you one thing, I have never been so mad at Peanut in his life LOL. It’s like some devil dog jumped into his body at the time. I’m so lucky I live in a small track where people go slow ( we have a lot of kids in the neighborhood) He is so small -him bolting across the street people may not be able to see him driving up. It was really strange- he use to do that as a puppy, but would never EVER go that far. He has never done that as an adult. I know he remembers it because of how he sits when I open the doors.. I also tell him to stay and he gets a treat when I come in.

This is so true. Your supposed to take the dog back to where it was, then scold it, NEVER smack!

Do you have any dog sitters in your area? Ask your Vet. or the assistant if they know of anyone who stays in your home to watch the animals. We have a wonderful gal who does this.

@Yorkiedaze - Does what?

Thank you all for your posts. On my way to my parents' tonight, Dad is having surgery on one of his eyes. So, I will respond to your posts tomorrow afternoon when I return home.

Starlette

:thumbup:I would try this first and if you still don't like how your mom handles the situation, leave her with a day care.

You should never scold or discipline a dog when it returns even if it ran off as you will just be teaching it that coming back yields negative results making it more hesitant to come back and you want them to come back.

Good morning.

My apologies for not responding soon. I'm glad many of you agree with me that spanking in general is not good for a puppy.

@Teresiana – You stated, “ ‘Since your mom says that Julie "has to learn", maybe you could actually show her the way you would handle the situation. That way, she can see & practice a new method.’ ” They have seen me MANY times how I have Julie get busy in their front yard. What I do is attach a 16 foot leash to her harness and escort her to the front yard to get busy. This leaves her no chance of her running around the front yard or out onto the street. There are times when they follow this procedure, but most of the time they don't. Understand that my parents are in their early 70s. With my dad, he has end time liver disease and I believe he has some dementia. Combined these two together, Dad has a hard time remembering how I want her to go outside to get busy. As for Mom, there are times where she will put Julie on a leash, and most of the time she won't. IMHO, I don't feel comfortable leaving Julie with them for an extended period of time due to the circumstances at hand.

@Teresiana – You stated, “Then again, I don't know how the set up is at your mom's house”. I will explain. The reason my parents have Pablo, Tori and Julie get busy in the front yard that is not fenced is because they have Chance (Golden Retriever and Pit Bull mix. Who has been abandoned by my brother and basically dumped onto my parents to take care of, which personally I never thought was in the best interest of Chance or my parents. He has never been socialized, and pretty much lives in the backyard alone till around 8 or 9 PM in the evening; Hangs out with my parents for about 30 to 45 minutes and then is escorted to his crate for the night. Truly a dogs’ life! *shakes head in sadness*) He is another story altogether. I am giving you a brief summary as to why my parents have Pablo, Tori and Julie go out the front door to the front yard (unfenced) to get busy. Lastly, they have a wooden 6 foot fence that surrounds the backyard where Chance stays.

I noticed that Mom gave her one spank on the bottom. I asked Mom about the intensity of the spank. She stated, "real hard". I don't know if she was serious or just kidding. This is why I don't like her way of disciplining Julie or her two dogs.

@MomtoJasper – You stated, "Do you have friends that would be willing and able to keep her while you are gone?” Wish we did, but we don't. Sabu has always gone to doggy daycare during those times we were away that he could not accompany us.

@Magnus – You stated, “Another option would be pet sitters? Not sure about where you live but there are sitters that puppy sit in their own home where I am”. Are you suggesting that the puppy stays in the pet sitters’ home while you're are gone? I have never heard of this before. If you are suggesting that Julie stay at a pet sitters' home, how would you interview that person?

Lastly, I’ve thought about leaving her at doggy daycare with Sabu. My concern there is that I am currently trying to socialize Julie with other puppies at Petco. However, she is very timid. I don't think staying at doggy daycare would be in her best interest and help her “socialize" with other puppies. I would feel this would traumatize her instead. When she was born, she was born in a litter of four puppies total. Three of the four puppies died in the first couple of weeks, Julie was the only survivor. Therefore, she has pretty much grown up alone without any sibs to learn from and play.

Thank you for reading my post in this difficult/sensitive predicament.
Starlette

I'm glad she didn't get hit by a car.

I've never used this sort of "pet service" myself so I can't tell you from personal experience but I do know some ppl that have. From what I've heard, if the pet sitter is legit, s/he'd have all the licenses/insurance/etc.. The person should also give you references for you to check. I've heard couple of bad experience stories but more good ones. (ones with good stories, they did all the reference checks and what not)

About the daycare... Zoey's never been a very "social" pup. She's not horrible but she prefers being just with her brother or alone rather than with bunch of other dogs. Still, there are times when I have no other choice but to leave them at daycare. When I do, I make sure to let them know that Zoey's sensitive so take extra care for her and keep an eye on her.

Magnus/Zoey are always very happy to see me when I come to pick them up and even though I know Zoey wasn't thrilled about being there, I haven't yet seen any sign of illness/stress when I bring her back home.

How about you do a trial run... Take her to daycare for half a day and see how she does? I hope you find arrangements that work for both you and your pup....

I've never spanked one of my guys, I Growl at them in stead. Haven't had to do that to one of my Adult dogs in a long time, but...

My Female Becca wags her tail when I Growl at Ichabod (puppy). :D

maybe like other people said take her to the day care for a half a day and see how it goes