New Yorkie will only sleep
 

Hi,
I just adopted an older Yorkie, 9 years, from the local humane society. This is his 3rd day home and all he will do is eat and sleep.
I've shown him several toys and he could care less.
He does well on walks and will jump up and down to my chair with seemingly no effort. I watch closely and he seems to be in great shape

His poop has been good also.
My concern is his lack of interest in anything besides food and sleeping. He won't even go for a ball toss. Just looks at it.

He was with his old owner all his life until she gave him to the pound and he was then there for 3 weeks. So, I imagine he has some natural depression but I worry he won't come out of such a trauma.
Any advice?

It can take several months for them to get used to things and come around. Has he had a vet check up? You probably are just going to have to keep trying and give lots of love and have lots of patients.

9 years old and with the same owner, I would say he is missing his home and momma. If he was owned by an elderly person they more then likely didn't play with him or encourage him to play with toys. Nice long walks introducing him to the new smells in your area is a good bonding process for you both, weather permitting that is. Take him in the car for short rides if it's only to the bank and back home. If you have a back yard, spend some time there with him. He needs to gain trust in you and bond with you. With rescues you need a lot of patience to gain his trust in you and that doesn't come over night. Sleeping a lot can be caused from stress, being taken away from the only person that he knew all his life, caged up in a shelter for 3 weeks, then home with you. He can be confused, give him time to adjust. Walks together is perfect for bonding.

They do a vet checkup at the shelter and all is fine physically. They also neutered him and I'd forgotten about that. He certainly has lots of reasons to feel lost.

His name is George. I was going to attach his pic but the image I have is too large. Will work on that.

I think the puzzle for me is how when he is around the neighbors he perks up but then a few minutes ago he saw a neighbor driving up and he really wanted to run over to the car. I let him off his leash to play with her little dog and George ran away. It took me a good 20 min to catch him.

Yes, I imagine it will take around 3 months for him to feel like he belongs. It's just so sad the previous owner felt she had to take him to the pound but I suppose their was a stress on her side also.

I hadn't thought that the woman might not have played with him with toys. Hopefully he'll come around toy wise.
Also hopefully he just can come to trust me before too long.

Rubye

Never let him off leash unless in a safe fenced in yard.

I know that now. :)

Are Yorkies known for running off?

Yes. They love to run away either playfully or in your case, he might have other reasons, since he's a rescue. Does he know any commands? Maybe do some food or treat related games and training with him? It'll help to bond with him.

For my two, I never let the off leash even though they are decently well behaved. There's just too many other dangers that could arise. But IF I ever do in a safe environment, I let the run around with the leash still attracted to their harness. So if need be it's a lot easier to quickly grab the.

Well, this guy won't get off the leash again.
He knows sit and stay, although it must be a very firm "stay".
This early morning he went poop inside. My fault. But he had to come get me. He kept running back and forth from me to the door until I followed him to the spot.
It was really very cute.
I have pee pads down now cause I move too slowly in the morning. I'm hoping he'll know what they are for.
We shall see.
Thanks for the advice.
Rubye

Poor George. He's definitely missing his owner who he probably had a strong bond with. It will take him time to develop a new bond with you. Definitely do NOT let him off leash unless you've got a fenced in yard with a very tall fence. Even when Gidget is in the apartment, she has her leash attached to her harness. If she gets out the apartment door, she's off like a streak of lightning. Fortunately my apartment door opens to the inside of the building so she can't get outside but it can sometimes be a challenge to catch her. Who wants to give up their freedom when running around is so much fun!

The "only" way I was able to catch George is because he finally let me.
I must have been a hysterical picture though--a 70-year old overweight woman running along the hillside calling after her dog. :)

Well guess you don't need another person to tell you to never leave George off leash. Yorkies have a high prey drive, and will take off at the sight of squirrels, birds, cats, even a fluttering leaf. As a 75432wq.aou were very lucky to have caught George. George wanting to run to the car may be from his past, maybe someone he liked very much used to come in a car to visit. I would be very careful on walks with George wanting to run up to cars, no retractable leash for now, walk on a 4 or 6 foot leash until he is fully bonded with you.

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Sorry my computer had a PMS moment and sent the first reply before I was finished in error :)

Well guess you don't need another person to tell you to never leave George off leash. Yorkies have a high prey drive, and will take off at the sight of squirrels, birds, cats, even a fluttering leaf. As a rescue he could have ran off wanting to go back home. You were very lucky to have caught George. George wanting to run to the car may be from his past, maybe someone he liked very much used to come in a car to visit. I would be very careful on walks with George wanting to run up to cars, no retractable leash for now, walk on a 4 or 6 foot leash until he is fully bonded with you.

I agree with canana in working on commands, see what he already knows, if "stay" needs a firm tone, that's what you will have to use. 9 years old is "not" to old to teach new commands. If he is food motivated he will learn fast for that treat reward. Working on commands builds a bond with his owner, always high praise and treat rewards when he gets it right.

I have a rescue, he was 2 1/2 yo when I got him, we are a team for 4 years now and I am still leaning new things about him. I was very lucky, he bonded with me instantly. He is # 5 yorkie and none of my now passed girls were ever left off leash.
Don't give up on toys, although 9 year olds in my experience with my 4 girls played less with toys and more with me.

Please keep us updated on lil George, it is so tragic when these sweet lil babies are given away after so many years of living with one person.

They are terriers all it takes is something to catch their eye and wham they are gone. There are actually very few dogs that won’t run off unless old or trained very very well.

Bella slipped out of her harness once. It only took about 5 minutes to catch her, but I don't trust her off leash and keep a very close eye on her now when leash walking her. If she got loose on a busy street or around vicious dogs, she would not last long.

Thank you all so much for your advice. I am very open to any advice you may have. I just want a good life for George.
I do have him on maybe a 5 ft leash and a harness but he doesn't like the harness. It seems to itch him so I may try a more expensive one. Thinking perhaps the chemicals or dyes may be irritating. He does wear his coat with no objections so that's good.

I've started making home dog food because a rather expensive commercial food makes his poop more greasy. I'm big on watching poop. :)

I bought some balls a bit smaller than tennis balls and he's not even interested in those. What dog doesn't like fetch? George. :)

One that never had a ball and played fetch.
When I adopted my kid he came with a shopping bag with all his belongings in it, but not one toy. So off I go to buy some toys, not knowing what he liked I bought a variety of toys, big toys, small ones, fuzzy ones, soft rubber ones, squeaky and non squeaky ones and balls of all sizes and shapes. I was all excited and anxious, I couldn't wait to get home and give him all these goodies. When I came home and he settled down I teased him with the stuffed bags then emptied them out on the floor expecting him to go nuts over all the toys. I got nothing but a blank stare, I teased him with the toys, rolled the balls, bounced the balls, swatted the balls, nothing. I said what dog doesn't even like balls. So I gathered up all but a few toys and balls. Throughout the day I would tease him with the toys, I rolled and bounced the balls, nothing but blank stares. One night I am sitting on the sofa, all of a sudden he grabs his fluffy squeaky alligator and starts killing it, flinging it all over the room, I am cheering him on saying kill Ally lol. It took several weeks for him to play with the toys. It was months before he played with the ball. When ever we went in the back yard I would take soft rubber toys, and a few balls, I would roll the ball but it was always ME that retrieved the ball. One day he grabbed and threw it in my lap, I was shocked lol, I tossed it and he bought it back and dumped it in my lap, and the game fetch began. It took one year for him to play with balls. Now he's like a little kid, he LOVES new toys and will play for hours with it and loves balls.
So, it could take some time for your little guy to get the hang of playing. If he was with a senior most of his life he more then likely slept out of boredom, nothing to do, no one to play with him, no toys for him to play with. Keep playing with his toys, roll and bounce his balls, tease him with his toys.

I trust that your home cooked dog food is properly balanced nutritionally--that might have an effect on energy level. If it's not, you might be able to find another commercial food that is more agreeable to his digestion.

If you are going to homecook you need to get a recipe from a vet nutritionist and use a supplement or you will be doing more harm then good. Balanceit.com is a good place to start.

Thanks Joan!
Good to hear that your guy came to enjoy toys in time.
Perhaps they just need to be totally secure in order to have the lightness for play.
Stress can make all of us just want to sleep the day away.
And when I think about it, depression can make playing seem senseless.
You're probably right that his previous owner didn't use toys so much to play with him. I live in the country where the prevailing attitude with pets seems to often be "let them run free." In other words, they don't do much with pets except to feed them. Strange imo.

I wanted George in order to have someone to love and take care of like you would a baby. He really is very well behaved overall in that he doesn't bark or go inside.
He does jump on people though and I really don't like that. I guess, as someone suggested, I won't open the door without his leash on. Or at least will need to hold him.

Do you all give your babies chew treats like Bully's?

I used to give bully sticks but my girl broke her tooth on one and $500 later I opted not to give them anymore. They also came out with a study about all the bacteria on those things. I personally do not recommend them.

Thanks Taylor.
Good point on the Bullies.
Do you recommend any treats for chewing for Yorkies?

Nylabone makes edible ones and non edible ones but they are made in the US and I use both.

I'm going to go with the apple treats cause they're less expensive and see if he likes them. They look fairly healthy. Thanks.
Rubye

As for darting out of the door, you have to enforce the command word of "stay". I have a gate on my front porch, bad mistake on my part I always allowed Cody out first. One day I got a delivery, they didn't close the gate behind them, I opened the door and Cody flew out and off the porch, I only had him a few days, I am running and screaming his NEW name, I am crying because I know I am going to loose him, he stopped to sniff and I snatched him up. Thank GOD I live in a community, cars drive slow. Lesson learned, now he is not allowed out unless I invite him with the command word "come". If someone comes to the house he has to "stay" he's not allowed to come out, he doesn't like it, but, he will listen. Very important commands are Stay, Come, Drop it and Leave it. For chewing I give my kid Bully sticks made by Red Barn, 12 inch long, not braided ones. My kid is 12 pounds, not a tiny and has good healthy teeth. They are hard to start, once started they aren't quite as hard. some ppl say they stink but there is no smell from the ones made by Red Barn. I would have the vet check George's teeth before giving Bully sticks. Do not get antlers, they are too hard for toy breed dogs. My Cody has come a longggg way as to who he was when I first got him to the dog he is today. He is a perfect boy, I was blessed.
George needs time, he has much to adjust to, new smells, schedules, sounds, voices, and you, his new momma. Every thing in baby steps.

I think I'll work on stay first and since he seems to already have the jist of it it shouldn't take too long.
I need to get some small treats for reinforcement.

I used to give my terrier Red Bull bullies and he just loved them. George doesn't seem to be big on chewing though. I think he may have actually been fairly well trained.

You saw the posts on the importance of balancing the home cooked food right?

I did Taylor. I was looking at the recipes last night but some of the older ones leave a bit to be desired. Like adding Karo syrup. Imo sugar is the very worse thing anyone can eat.
I have gastro problems so try to keep a low Fodmap diet for myself and it has helped to make me more conscious of good nutrition.
Do you think a healthy diet for humans works well for dogs also?
I think rice and oatmeal are good for fillers with meat, along with a veg or two.
My main concern is giving him too much meat cause of the fat. Because of his age, 9 yrs, I worry about that.

That does not sound like a recipe from a vet nutritionist. I can not stress how important that is. It must be a recipe from a vet nutritionist and the supplements are extremely necessary. Balanceit.com is recipes from a vet nutritionist and there supplement is great. If you don’t do it right you look at bone loss. They can fracture their bones easily loose teeth and stuff. Humans and dogs are very different in what the need nutritionally.

No. Some human foods are poisonous for dogs, and dogs don't have the same nutritional requirements as humans. It's very difficult to cook a healthy meal for a dog using human ingredients only. It really must be done in consultation with a veterinary nutritionist like Taylor said. If that's too difficult or expensive, then you should probably feed a good quality commercial food. There are many good commercial foods out there for Yorkies. If you want some suggestions, let us know!

Cheerios is a good reward treat, most dogs love them, just one tiny cheerio for each command that is done.