Backs away from me
 

I'm confused about one of my Yorkie's behaviors. Whenever I try to pick him up or attempt to pet him, he backs or runs away. I adopted him from a caring shelter- where he was born- almost 1 year ago and have been his only owner. He's well taken care of, goes to doggie daycare for social time, and has never experienced any sort of abuse or trauma. In short, he has a happy life and is treated like a prince but acts as if I've done something that traumatized him. Even when I prepare to take him for a walk, which he gets excited about and loves, he runs away from me when I bend down to put his harness on.

Is this a dominance thing? How can I train Sarge to submit so that I can pick him up?

I have a suspicion that he associates being picked up with being put in his crate for bed. Which does happen but is only one of the reasons I reach to get him. I would love to be able to snuggle with him but he allows this only when he has chosen to jump in my lap! I also can't "catch" him for grooming (which he likes) or simply to pet him. Any thoughts on what I might do and any insights on what the root cause of the behavior may be? I don't know if this is related, but he is an aggressive ankle biter too- and that hurts! I will bend down to push him off my ankle when he is attacking.

Thanks!
:aimeeyork

Welcome to Yorkie Talk! The behaviors you are describing, running or backing away, are pretty common among these little ones. Work on the "come" command. Ask him to come to you and when he does, praise and give a small food reward (single piece of kibble maybe). Then let him go on his way. Always give the command in a happy or excited way.

Mix that up with having him come for the other things. You may also want to try crouching or even sitting on the floor, especially if you intend to pet him. My older boy has a healthy concern for things coming in over his head, so he is on guard if a person is towering over him with a hand coming to pet him on top of the head.

I have one boy who will always come when called, and the other comes, but stands just far enough away until he determines what I want him for. :D

Ankle biting -- when Max was a pup, he liked to play bite my toes in the morning. If he didn't obey "no bite," I put him back in his xpen while I brushed my teeth and dressed. He learned if he wanted his freedom, he couldn't bite my toes. It's a little trickier with a crate -- you don't want your little guy to think the crate is punishment. If you have an xpen or can put up a baby gate to cordon him off when he ankle bites, that would be better. Definitely work on "no bite" and try saying "ouch" or yelping when he bites.

Thank you!
 

That's all comforting to hear! I didn't know backing away was a fairly common behavior. I'll try your advice. Thanks so much! I hope my feet and ankles can stop being targeted too! :)

This is what Duchess does. She makes sure I don't do anything to her like give her a bath or give her any meds :p She also expects a tummy rub for her efforts too.

Buddybear doesn't ankle bite but he backs away or stays out of reach unless I say "come here" in as deep a voice as I can, and point to the floor next to me. Sometimes he takes his sweet time doing it and almost always does the little bow with his front feet and head on the ground with his butt in the air.
Practice on a deeper male type voice, which is hard for me to do. Hope it works for you.

Zoey does the same - stays just out of reach unless she wants to come. My Gina was a little better. She would come but only two or three steps at a time. They are funny little things.