Teach yorkie to stand guard? I think someone wanted to steal her on our walk today!

[BabieChloe]

Originally Posted by Maximo

If a strange man approaches, or anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable, tighten her leash up so that she is near your feet. Then give her the sit command. The person should not invade your personal space.

You are the one who should control the situation, not the dog. The dog should be neutral.

When all else fails, definitely pick her up.

We do have a member here, courageous (Carla), who had a man try to snatch her dog. Thankfully, Carla was holding onto the leash tight and fought off the man. Her baby Yazmin was unharmed. A warrant was already out for the man's arrest and he was captured.

Another reason for using a shorter leash is that there have been reports of dog nappers running up and cutting the leash to take the dog.

I saw that story about Carlas dog and that's EXACTLY what I thought of! It's scary. The leash cutting is also pretty scary.

I usually wind up the leash closer when people approach but not so close that it's tight because if anything people only stop for a few seconds. I'm going to start pulling her more close to me though when anyone passes.

And the pepper spray is a good idea - I should get Chloe her own personal one, lol

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by BabieChloe

I haven't measured it but it's a short leash which I do wrap around my hand.

Do you think she jumps because she is still a puppy? I know some people with dogs and their dogs don't seem to care if a stranger is around. If Chloe sees anyone walking outside she automatically speeds up and tries to sprint away. It scares me sometimes because she doesn't even look back. This makes me wonder what kind of training people do with the dogs that they walk without a leash?! I want to train that type of loyalty.. not that I would walk her without a leash, but I think you know what I mean.

It is because she is not trained in this area. Practice with a friend. Walk Chloe up to the friend outdoors, stop within a few feet (same distance you would greet any person). Tell Chloe to sit and stay when you come to a stop. Takes a lot of practice.

Ideally a dog should do this, sit and stay at your feet, and allow you to greet people.

If she tries to jump up, tell her down.

People who walk their dogs without a leash teach them 'heel' and all of the other commands, ideally. If Chloe is running out at people, you need to teach her the 'come' and 'stay' command.

[Pam Shaw]

ALWAYS listen to your intuition, especially when you are feeling threatened or uncomfortable! Too many people try to put those feelings aside and be "nice". The person making you uncomfortable does not deserve "nice"!!! You showed the right reaction!

[tjdmom]

How scary but you are smart to trust your instants! So glad you are both ok!

[valeriejsmyth]

I have been attacked by a stray dog while walking my yorkie. I always wear my pouch in case I have to grab her and put her in it. She used to sit and go down when other people were walking and approaching us with their dog. She would let the dog or people come to her, but after the attack she became more protective of me. I had to shorten her leash length and would go on the opposite side of the road if I needed more space. When I take them to to home improvement stores, I put them in the cart with a blanket on the bottom and they love people to come and pet them. I try to keep a balance between the two behaviors. When someone I didn't know tried to approach me on a walk I would just say they aren't friendly and keep walking. I have even changed directions if I see another dog/s coming my way that may stress her out.

[pinkpatty]

I have a command I have trained every dog I have ever owned. Keno is no exception, one of the first commands I teach is "Check It Out" this puts the dog on alert, they go into almost a guard mode. If I give this command to Keno he comes and sits at my feet and stands guard. He will allow no one near either of us until I release him. A good friend of mine who raised police dogs for the Michigan State Police, by the name of Thora Wendt gave me that trick 40 years ago and I still train that command first.

[Oddsock]

Originally Posted by BabieChloe

When I was walking in the mall a few weeks ago, a woman with 4 gorgeous yorkies was walking with her yorkies in a nice basket-type stroller.. when I approached the basket too closely the dogs barked really loudly and stood up - I think it's time to teach Chloe this, I'm sure the owner had to teach this to them. My yorkie doesn't bark at all unless someone comes home so I was trying to avoid teaching her this but I feel when I am outside and if a dog barks at me it automatically just makes you back away.

I taught her the stay command which she follows in the house but outside she ignores it. I think I need to start bringing the treats outside as well so she can learn "stay" is for outside, too.

Sometimes it's taught, sometimes it's the dogs instinct. My dogs are in a basket on my knees, when i'm in the wheelchair. (they have harnesses on that have a d ring underneath that's hooked on, most people don't see that) Caleb would greet everyone, until we got Pippi, then he changed and became protective. He'll postiition himself between her and others and bark, it they stare he'll growl. When I say it's ok and give them permission to greet, he's friendly, but not overly. He's become Pippi and my guard, this wasn't taught. He's top dog.

Glad you and Chloe's safe. I'd also lie and say it's a spayed male, if asked.

[Rhetts_mama]

Scary. I'm glad you trusted your instincts and that everything turned out well.

[DBlain]

I see you live in NYC I just got back from there and spent several days walking around the city with Lola on a leash or in a stroller. Walking a dog in New York City is very different than in the suburbs, first there are the crowds to be concerned with, then the tourists who want to take a photo on just about every corner and then what I find the most concerning is the large amounts of homeless people and kooks that roam the streets. Because of the crowds we used the stroller a lot, on several occasions what appeared to be deranged homeless person tried to reach in to pet her, I quickly moved the stroller out of reach and kept going. I also kept two leashes on her and wrapped it around the stroller several times as well as my hand. When on leash it was a very short one and only in un crowded areas, of course I was afraid of her getting stepped on since people are walking and texting and not often looking where they are stepping, but I was even more afraid of smokers that were flicking ashes or their cigarette butts on the ground while not looking where it was landing.

I think yorkies are to small to stand their ground, so I would rather be the one to take the precautions than teach her to be wary of strangers. I want Lola to remain a lover of all people even those she has just met, so I would rather protect her than teach her to get her back up when an unknown person approaches. On a side note if I lived in a city like NY or Chicago I would invest in some pepper spray, because of the amount of "odd" people living there.

[DBlain]

on a side note, I do agree that it is a good idea to teach your dog to not jump when greeting friends or strangers. I use the down command for that, and LOL often have to use it when on the toilet, for some reason that is the only time Lola seems to want to jump on my lap

[JstPooh]

Gizmo does the same thing in the bathroom first thing in the morning and it's the only time he does it. I guess that's just him saying good morning!

[BabieChloe]

Originally Posted by DBlain

I see you live in NYC I just got back from there and spent several days walking around the city with Lola on a leash or in a stroller. Walking a dog in New York City is very different than in the suburbs, first there are the crowds to be concerned with, then the tourists who want to take a photo on just about every corner and then what I find the most concerning is the large amounts of homeless people and kooks that roam the streets. Because of the crowds we used the stroller a lot, on several occasions what appeared to be deranged homeless person tried to reach in to pet her, I quickly moved the stroller out of reach and kept going. I also kept two leashes on her and wrapped it around the stroller several times as well as my hand. When on leash it was a very short one and only in un crowded areas, of course I was afraid of her getting stepped on since people are walking and texting and not often looking where they are stepping, but I was even more afraid of smokers that were flicking ashes or their cigarette butts on the ground while not looking where it was landing.

I think yorkies are to small to stand their ground, so I would rather be the one to take the precautions than teach her to be wary of strangers. I want Lola to remain a lover of all people even those she has just met, so I would rather protect her than teach her to get her back up when an unknown person approaches. On a side note if I lived in a city like NY or Chicago I would invest in some pepper spray, because of the amount of "odd" people living there.

It's crazy how you described the walking situation so perfectly.. especially the walking and texting/not looking where people are going part. I might've phrased my question wrong, I basically just want her to stay calm if people pass and not to jump. Little yorkies aren't meant to stay guard as a big dog.. Although she is very courageous for her size, lol. I'm assuming you went to places like 34th street or times square? I would never walk her there because you are right.. I can't even pass there by myself without getting squeezed through people so I would definitely be scared to walk her there - she would go so crazy! I have paranoia of her running away as is

[BabieChloe]

Originally Posted by DBlain

on a side note, I do agree that it is a good idea to teach your dog to not jump when greeting friends or strangers. I use the down command for that, and LOL often have to use it when on the toilet, for some reason that is the only time Lola seems to want to jump on my lap

Mine does the exact same thing LOL about the toilet

[DBlain]

Originally Posted by BabieChloe

It's crazy how you described the walking situation so perfectly.. especially the walking and texting/not looking where people are going part. I might've phrased my question wrong, I basically just want her to stay calm if people pass and not to jump. Little yorkies aren't meant to stay guard as a big dog.. Although she is very courageous for her size, lol. I'm assuming you went to places like 34th street or times square? I would never walk her there because you are right.. I can't even pass there by myself without getting squeezed through people so I would definitely be scared to walk her there - she would go so crazy! I have paranoia of her running away as is

yes we were in that area twice since we come in from Long Island to Penn Station, Lola rides the train like a pro One day we even shopped at Macy's. When we got out in the Chelsea area she walked on her leash a bit more. What part of the city do you live in? I can't remember if I told you about the groups we belong to in the city, Lola is now a pup scout in New York City troop, Teri (Verbena) and I attended a meeting at Shake Shack last week in Madison Park, or whatever it is called, so much fun and lots of fun crazy doggie moms, but now I am back in boring MI