New Yorkie Parent--LOTS OF QUESTIONS! Hi! I am new to the forum, and to yorkie ownership. I am loving my little yorkie girl, Mia, but have lots of questions. She is almost 10 weeks old, and we have had her for 1 week. For the first few days, she was just all love and cuddles and sweetness. Now that she is more comfortable in our home, she is hyper, and loves to play-bite when she is excited. She is impossible to love and cuddle with right now because she won't stay still, and keeps trying to jump down out of my arms--or else just wants to bite. Within 24 hours of getting her home, she learned to sit. She very much wants to please!:) However, she is VERY PICKY about food, and the treats I bought for training are of no interest to her. I eventually found out that she loves baked chicken (our leftovers), and used that to teach her to sit. When we ran out of chicken, I tried cheese--which she LOVED, until the second day I tried to use it and she turned her nose up at it. When she is being trained with food treats that she loves, she is so crazy hyper that it is difficult to get her under control. All she wants is the treats. So, since I ran out of chicken, and the cheese didn't interest her anymore, I thought I would reward her with PLAY. I think that is where I went wrong. She learned to lie down, but gets so excited when I praise her that she wants to bite and chew something! I would grab a chew toy to divert her from my hands, and we would play tug-of-war (I am careful to make sure I win.). The problem is, now that is the only kind of attention she wants. I don't know how to settle her down again and cuddle with her. It is almost impossible to groom her right now because she won't keep still. I read the thread on teaching bite inhibition, and decided that maybe I should just let her play-bite if that is what is making her feel loved right now, and as long as there is no real sign of aggression. I do think she is probably teething, also, so there is that to contend with too. Am I doing right to let her play rough and bite, or am I allowing behavior that is going to be a nightmare when she gets older? I want her to be able to be around children and others without having to worry about whether she is going to bite them!:( Also, I don't know what to reward her with for good behavior because she is so picky! I've tried Cheerios, she seems to have real trouble chewing them. They keep coming back out of her mouth! I have more questions, which I will address later, but if anyone can give advice on this it would be very appreciated!:) |
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Congratulations on your new puppy. I agree, careful with the treats or you might end up with a puppy who doesn't want to eat her food. Also, you don't want the treats to exceed 10 - 20% of her entire diet or you risk upsetting the nutrient balance that dogs need. I wouldn't be disappointed that she doesn't like cheese. It is fattening and can cause serious health problems if used to excess. I give my big boys only a couple tiny shreds of Parmesan (less fat) when we make pizza (which is often in this house :D). Baked chicken -- make sure it doesn't have salt or other seasonings. We steam or bake plain chicken for our guys. Biting - definitely need to continue to work on that. She is teething and she is a puppy. Keep replacing your hands with an appropriate chew item like a toy. If she nips, you can yelp and fold your hands across your chest. I taught my boys "no bite" and when they didn't listen, I withdrew my attention. Playtime ended and I got up and walked away. Rambunctiousness -- puppies are full of energy and will only cuddle when they want to. Set up a schedule of activities including meal times, sleep times, brief play times and training, and so on. Try to do the activities at the same time each day. This will have a calming effect and her body will fall into a rhythm of expecting things at certain times. She still will be an energetic puppy though. :) Accept that cuddling will come only when she is tired. I combined nap time with grooming/massage/cuddle. When Max would take a nap in his doggy bed, I would put him on my lap and massage him, then introduce the comb gently. |
Welcome to YorkieTalk. She is having issues with the biting because she was not left with her mom long enough and there mom teaches them about biting from 10-12 weeks so she missed out on that which means you need to teach it to her. I used a squirt bottle and would squirt Callie when she would nip and say no it worked very well for us. Puppy's are hyper its just how they are. |
Thanks for the advice. It makes me feel better to know that this is normal. It is such a change from the first couple of days we had her home! I started breaking the Cheerios in half and that is working a little better. I will have to get a more definite schedule in order--harder to do in the summertime, but I will give it a try. Thanks again! Will post more questions later.... |
Puppies ARE adorable but a lot of work :p Just keep at it with her training, consistency and constant repetition, LOTS of praise ands make it a fun game and before you know it Mia will be an absolute angel :wub: One of the most stubborn, hyperactive dogs our family ever had was Lady who was a Labrador-cross and at times she had us banging our heads against the wall (or WANTING to!!!) but after a few weeks of training she blossomed into THE most wonderful dog who could anywhere with us. We had 17 wonderful years with her :thumbup: Put the groundwork in and you'll soon reap the benefits and have a dog that EVERYONE will adore :D |
Congrats on your little one!! I can relate to the biting thing & rest assured that Mia will be find with kids and her biting will stop. Billi is about 19 weeks now- she was the same age as Mia when we got her & OMG her biting was out of control at first! Those teeth are like little razor blades! :eek: What we did was make a high pitched "squeak", like "OUCH!" & then pull our hand away & quit playing for a few seconds. Then we'd put our hand back and if she bit again we'd pull away again. It didn't take more than a day or so for her to get the message and she's much, MUCH better now. And I'd fully trust her with kids now (though I don't trust kids with her, not unsupervised anyway). Try doing that with Mia and I'll bet she gets the message too! Good luck! |
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I would be very careful with people-food as yorkies are quite prone to digestive issues and pancreatitis. I have a treat-motivated monster, too, and he is a cheeseaholic. I have resorted to frozen green beens and I also get baby carrots, but slice them lengthwise into at least fourths, if not smaller, since he doesn't seem to care about the size, just the treat itself. I also use Blue Buffalo treats but also cut them into tiny pieces. Yorkies are crafty-smart and your new furbaby will have you trained inno time! :D Mine will bring me a toy to throw, but won't actually let me have it unless I have treats available to give to him IF he decides to bring it back.:rolleyes: He also shows me when he has forbidden objects (shoe, quarter, grocery receipt) so I will "trade" a treat for it...Victoria Stillwell's positive reinforcement training backfired on this one. Good luch on the training and congrats on the new furbaby! |
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Max liked to nip my toes in the morning when we would get out of bed. I put him back in his xpen to calm down and told him "no bite." He had to wait for me to brush my teeth and dress, then we would go downstairs for breakfast. He learned if he wanted his freedom in the morning, he had to stop nipping my toes. Edit to add: don't use crate confinement for any kind of punishment. The crate should be "safe place." |
Welcome to YT! You've already received great advice here- praise is always a plus when they do Anything right for you! Take some time and read the threads in all the different sections. This site is packed full of useful info! :) Glad you found us! |
Hi there! You've received some wonderful advice! Nothing to add here. Just wanted to welcome you to YT and say Congrats on Mia! Just be consistent and patient. It'll be ok. The first few months of puppyhood are the most time consuming, draining, frustrating, and rewarding. ;) :) |
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Welcome! I'm still a new Yorkie mom myself, I do have 3 other dogs. This is a wonderful place for information and fun!! |
Thank you! Just wanted to say thanks for all the good advice, and the support.:) I'm glad I found you! |
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