Quiet Puppie
 

Hi Rosie is 12 weeks old now i have had her since 8 weeks.She is so quite not at all yappy as everyone said Yorkies are.Shes adorable playful and obeys me all the time when asked to sit or stop biting.Is my heaven sent angel going to change ?? shes so lovely but everyone says "you wait" she will change soon.Please tell me she wont,i adore her as she is :aimeeyork

She's a baby and hasn't grown into her full personality or territoriality yet. Once she is old enough for all her canine instincts to develop and mature, she will probably bark when she is anxious, lonely or senses what she perceives to be a threat. You can teach her when it is appropriate to bark and when to "Quiet" on command using loving, positive reinforcement once she begins to take up her true doggie nature in a few months. Just Google "teach dog not to bark" and read all of the various techniques. I would stay away from using aversives such as spraying a dog in the face or e-collars and throwing cans with pennies across the floor - all methods that can scare or cause mistrust in some dogs. But just good positive reinforcement that makes a fun game out of the serious business of training while the dog is learning appropriate barking will work out fine. I just taught Tibbe to bark on command, treating him every time he did, and then after he'd learned that lesson well, once he'd quieten himself, I began saying "Quiet" and treating him. Eventually he associated my saying the word "Quiet" with stopping barking and waiting for his treat "paycheck", which he always got during his training. Eventually I phased out the treat every time he'd go "Quiet" on command but now that he's learned the lesson so well, when he does quieten on command, I usually do get up and get him a little kibble treat and give him a big, big hug. He's such a good boy! But just remember, our dogs are largely what we allow them to become as far as behavior.

Thanks for the comment,i will try my best to keep her as yummy as she is now :p

Not pushing this guy or website but this link just came up on my Twitter. Read what he says about how training a dog in the right way can help it to develop into the pet you want and all it takes is a few minutes at a time in short sessions that add up to no more than 15 minutes of your day. And it gives your puppy so much fun, structure, bonding, learning how to control impulses and respect of you and your authority - all while seeing it all as a fun and challenging activity she will come to beg you to do. Dogs LOVE to work learning, achieving and getting something back for it - kind of like we do.

Jim Burwell's Petiquette | dog training in Houston | dog trainer Houston | Jim Burwell | puppy training Houston ? Together we can raise a happy and obedient dog

Just emailed Jim Burwell so hopefully get good tips.Im new with a Yorkie and hear so many negative things about them but i just fell in love with her so took my chance.So far so good,think shes a mummys girl haha:)

I got my Tibbe at age 9 mos., and he was a kennel-crazy, unsocialized, fearful screaming/barking/growling/biting mess of a dog and with a lot of patient and fun training, setting early boundaries, very slowly desensitizing him to his fears, playing challenging games, lots of exercise and love, he's darn near the perfect pet. Took a year but in 6 months he was a different dog. Training and working patiently with him in short sessions frequently worked a miracle on him and now he never ever really misbehaves or destroys anything about the house. He's the happiest dog I've ever known, craves attention but can stay alone without stressing at all, meet approved strangers with a happy, wagging body, loves all dogs and is totally clean in the house as far as pottytraining. Just 15 minutes a day spread out in short sessions and done almost every day at first to set the patterns can just totally fix most dogs' behavior problems. Only the severely abused and psychologically damaged dogs take more daily time than that. And it's fun, fun, fun, fun, fun to see them start to blossom and become a real buddy during the work. You both get so much out of it.

I take Rosie for 3 10 min walks a day along with my other mixed breed dog and she loves it.She is clean apart from odd wee wee now and again,never crys at night going in her crate and is just happy to be alive.My two kids aged 15 and 8 adore her and carry her around everywhere she loves it.When i took her to the vets he said she was a very calm happy puppy and should be thankful as alot of Yorkies show signs of being the Alpha at as young as 10 weeks ?? shes perfect (so far) cant think of a negative :) Im as proud of her as i was of my two sons being born haha

She sounds like a sweetheart

She's very much still a baby and won't really become a full-fledged Yorkie in attitude usually until she's a few months old. At that time, they begin to assume rulership of the world and take on all the happenings of the day PERSONALLY. In their eyes, life revolves around and is directed at them so they become quite involved in all aspects of daily life, the little terrors! I just love the Yorkie attitude and bossy ways as long as the little tyrant isn't allowed to become a holy terror in the process. But with some good training, you can let them have their attitudes and bossy way as long as they do what you request of them and stay well-behaved. I may tell Tibbe to be quiet from a barking frenzy and he'll stop - but he'll grouse, grumble and snort and give me stink-eye and stalk out of the room and give me the cold shoulder in return at times. I could stop that but why? I think it's adorable that he's still his bossy little self and will still sass back in the midst of stopping the behavior I disagreed with. And even after a long while and I'm supremely made to suffer his absence from the room long enough, he'll saunter back in after a long while and eventually grace me with his royal presence, letting me know how darn lucky I am by glancing over from time to time in a condescending way. But all I have to do is say "Training" or "Walkies" or "Squirrel" or "Come get cuddles!" and he's done with his payback and up and ready. And during training if I ask him to do a certain command over and over and over several times in a row, he'll growl the whole time he's doing the last few! He prefers me to keep each command to about 3 and move on. He's outspoken but well-behaved and I love the combination of such a tiny little thing being such a tough guy to someone so much bigger while pleasing his mommie doing everything she asks. And to give him credit, he only sasses back when he thinks I'm being unfair according to his rules.

So very true! LOL.

You might have a quiet girl who will stay that way, it's too soon to tell for sure. So for now, just enjoy every wonderful minute of it.

No kidding! That wonderful baby quiet of some puppies is for sure misleading in most Yorkies, once they grow into their full Yorkieness. I love a quiet dog but more than that, I adore a dog with a lotta umph and a little 'tude who will go quiet when told. But don't get me wrong, I will sit here and let Tibbe bark himself crazy at the garbage truck, squirrels, the postman and people walking near our property. I want him to sound the alarm when he disagrees with something and to get to exercise his lungs and doggie barking abilities. I only quieten him if he goes on & on, which he rarely does. He'll bark like a crazy dog for a minute or so and then usually stops himself to just watch and bark occasionally if they move "wrong", etc.

Zoey was a yapper from the start... Still is but I love her to bits!

I will just have to wait and see,but as she is so placid i just thought maybe she will remain placid.My other dog yapped from 2months and has never stopped,although i think Rosie is aware of my attitude towards my other dog when his barking for no reason and has hopefully put her off copying.Here is living in hope and enjoying my baby girl x

At what age did she start ??

She was little over 2 months when I got her but breeder said she started barking already bit over a week ago... Magnus on the other hand was quiet till about... 5-6 months.. He still doesn't bark as much as Zoey though. Two VERY different personalities.

Oh bless :) I have done nothing but worry about her since i got her as she is so tiny.Think im worse than when i had my own two sons ( so my husband says) just wish i could upload a picture of her,but for some reason it wont accept file :rolleyes:

My Ellke is not a barker (thank goodness) she is almost 6 months old and only barks when she gets excited playingand that's minimal, she doesn't bark when people come to the door, just gets excited for company :).

Oh great :) so dont need 2 yapping all day but lets face it you love them anyway :animal36 Im keeping up the exercise and she sleeps and eats well,so hopefully she will stay content x

My little girl is 8 months old and doesnt bark!!! :)

Thats what i like to hear :) she had a barking fit yesterday as a cat came into our garden but after that silence again.I know dogs bark and i dont have a problem with that,just hear so many negatives about yorkies and so far there so wrong.My baby girl is an angel,long live ROSIE haha :aimeeyork

It's not a Yorkie's fault if he is yappy. He was bred to be a very independent, take-charge kind of a dog who thinks for himself and will keep going after his most active, fast kind of prey - namely rodents and rabbits and such critters. Such a head-strong dog is going to speak up when he disagrees with something going on around him and want to take charge and best it. The trouble is because they are small, most owners don't set boundaries and stop small dogs' excessive barking after the initial alerting barking. As the terrier is strong-willed due to his breeding, sometimes one must reinforce your command to go "Quiet" by standing the dog down(in a calm, teaching, firm but never mean attitude) until the behavior stops. Most owners won't do that the same as with the big, booming barking of large dogs and so the little guys get used to barking in unlimited amounts. Of if they do it, they don't do it every time and keep it up.

Most dogs love to bark and it gives them something to do, as many toy dogs can have somewhat boring lives in domestication and living inside 24/7. You can't blame the little guys for wanting to have a job and they think alerting to danger or everything that moves such as they were bred to do at the beginnings of the breed, is their job.

As I said in an above post, I teach my dogs to bark with a treat for barking on command and then, after they have thoroughly learned that command to "Bark" or "Speak" in about two weeks, I progress to teach "Quiet" by waiting for them to they take a breath between barks, when I begin to say "Quiet" and treat them w/in 3 seconds. Wow, this is a fun new twist to the "Bark" game to them and they are shocked at the change but work to learn this new tack. So I keep getting them to bark on command, and then say "Quiet" as they pause for breath and treat and in time, start to tell them "Quiet" as they are still barking. If they stop barking right away, they get praised/treated immediately. And working that way, they are taught to go quiet on command. In a month, a dog should have these two commands down pretty well but you keep teaching it as just part of their daily training program.

And if you teach them to stop barking with the "Quiet" or "Enough" or "No/Stop" command, it really does become like a game to them to stop barking and get their payment of a nice treat. But once they have learned that command and should they keep barking despite the command, you must reinforce the excessive-barking boundary and stand up and walk toward them, your body attitude purposeful, firmly backing them down with constant eye contact, giving the "Quiet" command perhaps just once again(never more than that), pointing directly at them and standing over them until they go quiet and stay quiet. Once they do go quiet under that tense circumstance, don't re-excite them right then by praising because they got & stayed quiet(as they could start right back barking again from the excitement of the praise), just keep pointing and looking at them and walk into the kitchen and get them a treat to mark their good behavior. If they start back up barking again on the way to get or immediately after the treat, stand them back down again in the same calm, firm manner, giving the "Quiet" command, eyes locked with theirs and pointing and walking toward them where you stand and stay until they go quiet, at which time they get a treat. Barks again, repeat. Over and over until the dog learns that excessive barking will be met with a stand down and your stern visage and eye-locks until they reason that this is going to be the outcome every darn single time they bark too much so to save face, they stop themselves after an initial spate of barking. A few more of these episodes of standing them down in a firm but never mean way begins to teach them that barking boundaries are always enforced in this pack and besides, when they do go quiet, they get a lovely treat. In time, they learn how much barking you will allow before it gets drastic so they learn to stop themselves after the allowed barking. But, a few months down the line you might have to do some more stand-downs as dogs do tend to forget you keep boundaries and push the boundaries, as dogs are juvenile in nature for most of their lives. So expect recidivism! :)

Eventually they learn your preferences and actually do tailor their barking patterns to what you have taught them if you are consistent, always patient and loving in your training. That is why many Yorkie and toy-dog owners have yappy dogs, they just don't enforce boundaries in a firm, gentle manner.

You speak so much sense and thats what i have been doing (keeping her active) its summer time in London ( got sunshine :)) so she has been played with constantly and kept active,although she loves her quiet time curled up on her bed.Not once yet have i had to stand my ground with her,she seems too good to be true :aimeeyork apart from puppy nipping which again she stops with a loud OUCh everything is running far to perfectly :rolleyes: My other cross breed dog barks quite alot at cars or people knocking,Rosie just runs to me for a cuddle.We have our half hour cuddle every morning with a brush and spray and hair in bow she loves it.Long may my bliss continue x