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JS_2018 · 11-26-2018, 02:38 PM

Hello everyone! We are joining you from Calgary, Alberta. I'm Jehn, I'm dog mom to Cosmo (1.5YO yorkie) and Stella (6.5YO standard poodle.) I have 4 kids (12, 11, 9 & 9), a leopard gecko, and some tropical fish.

I'm here to ask some questions as I'm fairly new to the breed. Cosmo came to live with us at 7 months old. We'd been trying to find a rescue that's a good fit for us, which is challenging when you have allergies and 4 kids. My husband had a yorkie before, but I was always more of a big dog person. After having my heart broken twice during the rescue process, my hubby hooked me up with his breeder and she just happened to have a boy she'd kept to show... He had Cryptorchidism and had to be neutered so she was looking for a good home. He's a rugged and lively boy, very playful and he loves the kids. Didn't take him long to steal my heart, and here we are about a year later. :-)

As much as we adore him, unfortunately he has some bad habits and possibly some health issues.

House training is an ongoing issue. He never used a pad. He hates being crated and will mess in his crate. I've tried tiny crates and big crates. He figured out how to climb out of his wire pen a couple weeks after we got him. He's fine when he's asleep, and he goes all night (10pm-7am or longer!) without a break... but when he's up, he wants out every 20-30 minutes, sometimes more. Very frustrating.

He shakes a lot. Everyone seems to think it's normal for the breed.

He barks at every new person who comes to the door, and won't stop for 10-15 minutes.

He lays down or drags his feet sometimes when we go for walks, and refuses to walk. Not all the time, but it's a few times every walk. He doesn't seem to enjoy the outdoors unless he's free to roam.

He's gotten nippy lately. Never with me, but sometimes with certain kids and occasionally my husband. He hasn't broken skin but he lunges at faces and hands and I'm not sure how to stop it. I've instructed the family to say "ouch" loudly then put him down or in his crate and ignore. Not sure if it's working just yet.

I'm thinking it's time for some classes with him, but we will have to put a wrap on him when we go out because he pees. He's very anxious and I've tried everything from vet-recommended treats to CBD oil which just makes him sleepy.

To make matters worse, he may have a congenital defect that affects his spinal cord. He fell down the deck stairs this summer and was walking like a drunk after so we took him to emerg. He was x-rayed and sent to a neurologist who wants to do a $2600 MRI to determine whether he has this defect or not. He was back to normal within 4 hours of the fall, so it could have just been swelling. We don't really know unless we do the MRI... Neuro said to keep an eye on him for now and if he has any further issues come back.

So, no idea if any of these issues are linked... He does not seem to be in any pain day to day, but he does have the shakes and we are struggling with potty training and a little bit of aggression. This dog has wiggled his way into my heart so much and I love him dearly. Would love some advice on tackling some of the challenges we're having! <3

Lovetodream88 · 11-27-2018, 08:27 AM

Hi! Shaking is not normal, it normally means cold, pain of fear. Since you are in Canada in may be cold. Yorkies have no under coats so they get colder easier. Potty training can be difficult in stubborn Yorkies but it is doable. The crest should be only big enough for him to turn around it. A firm no when he bites and giving him a chew toy might work. When you take him for walks take treats and lure him to keep walking. I think a basic obedience class would be a great idea.

nanajoy · 11-27-2018, 09:55 AM

I would suggest signing up for obedience training. It should result in a chance for additional bonding time, and I am sure an experienced trainer who gets to know your little one may have suggestions regarding your multiple concerns. Good luck, and welcome to Yorkie Talk!

airplane · 11-27-2018, 10:00 AM

It’s great to see another person from Alberta here on yorkietalk. I’m from up north in Grande Prairie. I’d think a number of classes would be a good start to tackle the behavioural issues. I’ve done many classes with my yorkies through the years. Manners classes, obedience, etc. There’s tons of different classes and they all help with lots of different things. Or even private classes with a really good trainer might be ideal just to get more specific help on the issues you’re dealing with.

I’m sorry to hear about the health issues. I’m not a geneticist but if it’s congenital it’s obviously meaning born that way. Hopefully it was just a suspicion and isn’t the case. The shaking sounds off to me. We both live in the same cold, windy, dusty province. So I kinda disagree with what was previously suggested - I can’t see it having anything to do with being cold unless you keep the temp really low in your home. Even when my yorkies were out playing in the snow, they wouldn’t start shaking until 5mins or so had passed in time outside. I never saw shaking inside the house even on the coldest winter days.

matese · 11-27-2018, 12:16 PM

Welcome to YT, I definitely agree with obedience training.

Shaking is not normal for the yorkie breed, see your vet on this, take a video of his shaking to show your vet.

Lovetodream88 · 11-27-2018, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airplane

It’s great to see another person from Alberta here on yorkietalk. I’m from up north in Grande Prairie. I’d think a number of classes would be a good start to tackle the behavioural issues. I’ve done many classes with my yorkies through the years. Manners classes, obedience, etc. There’s tons of different classes and they all help with lots of different things. Or even private classes with a really good trainer might be ideal just to get more specific help on the issues you’re dealing with.

I’m sorry to hear about the health issues. I’m not a geneticist but if it’s congenital it’s obviously meaning born that way. Hopefully it was just a suspicion and isn’t the case. The shaking sounds off to me. We both live in the same cold, windy, dusty province. So I kinda disagree with what was previously suggested - I can’t see it having anything to do with being cold unless you keep the temp really low in your home. Even when my yorkies were out playing in the snow, they wouldn’t start shaking until 5mins or so had passed in time outside. I never saw shaking inside the house even on the coldest winter days.

I don't live in Canada but I can tell you my yorkies get cold even in the house and shake. Sometimes even when they have sweaters on. These are my boys with the more thin silky coated hair. My girls have very thick hair and don't get as cold as the boys. Just because yours can handle colder weather doesn't mean all do. Yorkies have no under coat just human like hair so there isn't much warmth there.

airplane · 11-27-2018, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

I don't live in Canada but I can tell you my yorkies get cold even in the house and shake. Sometimes even when they have sweaters on. These are my boys with the more thin silky coated hair. My girls have very thick hair and don't get as cold as the boys. Just because yours can handle colder weather doesn't mean all do. Yorkies have no under coat just human like hair so there isn't much warmth there.

Fair enough. I’ll agree to disagree though. I’m familiar with the coat with a silky texture and tends to be thinner in quantity and is much like human hair, as opposed to a soft coated yorkie. But I find it odd for a dog to be shaking often inside a house. I think it would maybe warrant a conversation with a vet because perhaps it could be related to pain or maybe a range of other issues. Who knows. Myself though I wouldn’t just assume it must be because the dog is cold. In some cases, maybe. In other cases, maybe not. The fact that it was brought up as a behavior where the owner hasn’t been able to tie it or link it to being cold, but instead made a comment about it being “normal for the breed”, I think I would for sure have a conversation with a vet about it. Maybe a little bit of problem solving will come to the cold conclusion. Or maybe do an experiment by turning up the heat in the house. I personally keep mine at 22 degrees Celsius. I have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit.

Lovetodream88 · 11-27-2018, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airplane

Fair enough. I’ll agree to disagree though. I’m familiar with the coat with a silky texture and tends to be thinner in quantity and is much like human hair, as opposed to a soft coated yorkie. But I find it odd for a dog to be shaking often inside a house. I think it would maybe warrant a conversation with a vet because perhaps it could be related to pain or maybe a range of other issues. Who knows. Myself though I wouldn’t just assume it must be because the dog is cold. In some cases, maybe. In other cases, maybe not. The fact that it was brought up as a behavior where the owner hasn’t been able to tie it or link it to being cold, but instead made a comment about it being “normal for the breed”, I think I would for sure have a conversation with a vet about it. Maybe a little bit of problem solving will come to the cold conclusion. Or maybe do an experiment by turning up the heat in the house. I personally keep mine at 22 degrees Celsius. I have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit.

In my original post you will see I mentioned pain and fear being other issues for shaking. Since this person was new to Yorkies they might not know Yorkies have human like hair and no under coat and are prone to being cold and needing sweaters. Yorkies with erect ears also loose heat faster. They never said they ruled out the dog being cold. I would try the most easy to fix first which would be cold but it very well could be pain due to the fall. My boys are easy to tell it’s because they are cold because their ears and tongue will not be as warm and kinda cool. My house is kept several degrees colder then yours and not every one keeps their house super warm. I’m not sure how you can disagree that Yorkies get cold and shake when they get cold......

JS_2018 · 11-27-2018, 03:57 PM

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the advice! I do appreciate it.

I have some t-shirts and sweaters for my little guy as he does get cold quite quickly. I keep my home temp set to 19.5C which is about 67F. I work from home and he curls up and sleeps below my desk in a little bed. At night he sleeps in the bed with my husband and I and he usually snuggles up to one or both of us. He loves the fireplace and will sleep right next to it, or by the (enclosed) fire pit in the summer. He also loves it when he finds a warm spot on the carpet where the sun is coming in through the window... He's not a big fan of going out when it's cold or snowy. His little paws and ears get cold fast for sure. He has very thin, soft hair, and I keep it quite short. I'll try bumping up the temperature a bit and see if that helps.

Most of the time the shaking happens when there are strangers hanging around... Whether it's our home or someone else's. He shakes in the car, in the carrier, at the groomer's, at the vet... Fear is definitely a probability as he's a pretty nervous little dude. He's equally curious though so he likes to explore, and he LOVES other dogs. He used to pee every time I left him alone, even for a minute, but he only does that occasionally now. He gets diapered when I leave the house though as he can't seem to hold it.

Other times I've wondered if it's dietary, or just low blood sugar even as he sometimes won't eat for several hours into the day. He's quite picky, I've had him on 3 different kibbles (Petcurean, Acana, different Petcurean) but he prefers human food like chicken, vegetables, and fruit. Spoiled. :P

I guess I could have given some more info on the medical condition... After the fall, my vet sent me to the neurologist and the neuro wants to do an MRI because he thinks he may have something called AA luxation. The thing is, his worst symptoms were immediately following the fall and he has been walking normal since about 4 hours after the fall (in July). I guess most dogs that have this defect are missing part of the vertebrae, but it could be clearly seen in the radiograph which suggests it's possibly not the case. The neuro still thinks my boy walks funny. After the last neuro visit, I called the breeder and she took a couple of her show dogs out and sent me videos of the way they walk. Totally the same as my little guy. She says she's never had any of her dogs with AA lux, and that it's most common with the tiny yorkies. Cosmo is a big boy, he's 8lbs. So, a $2600 MRI to rule out AA lux seems excessive unless he starts showing symptoms again... Pain is a symptom, but I think he lives a pretty normal, active life. He does not seem to be in pain.

Treatment for AA lux is either 16+ weeks in a neck brace or surgery. I'm hesitant to put my boy through any kind of surgery, I think it would be fairly traumatic given how anxious and attached he is to me. It would have to really improve his quality of life to be worthwhile... And I don't think he is lacking in that area right now.

11-26-2018, 02:38 PM	#1
JS_2018 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Calgary, AB, Canada Posts: 9	Hi! We're new here. :-) Hello everyone! We are joining you from Calgary, Alberta. I'm Jehn, I'm dog mom to Cosmo (1.5YO yorkie) and Stella (6.5YO standard poodle.) I have 4 kids (12, 11, 9 & 9), a leopard gecko, and some tropical fish. I'm here to ask some questions as I'm fairly new to the breed. Cosmo came to live with us at 7 months old. We'd been trying to find a rescue that's a good fit for us, which is challenging when you have allergies and 4 kids. My husband had a yorkie before, but I was always more of a big dog person. After having my heart broken twice during the rescue process, my hubby hooked me up with his breeder and she just happened to have a boy she'd kept to show... He had Cryptorchidism and had to be neutered so she was looking for a good home. He's a rugged and lively boy, very playful and he loves the kids. Didn't take him long to steal my heart, and here we are about a year later. :-) As much as we adore him, unfortunately he has some bad habits and possibly some health issues. House training is an ongoing issue. He never used a pad. He hates being crated and will mess in his crate. I've tried tiny crates and big crates. He figured out how to climb out of his wire pen a couple weeks after we got him. He's fine when he's asleep, and he goes all night (10pm-7am or longer!) without a break... but when he's up, he wants out every 20-30 minutes, sometimes more. Very frustrating. He shakes a lot. Everyone seems to think it's normal for the breed. He barks at every new person who comes to the door, and won't stop for 10-15 minutes. He lays down or drags his feet sometimes when we go for walks, and refuses to walk. Not all the time, but it's a few times every walk. He doesn't seem to enjoy the outdoors unless he's free to roam. He's gotten nippy lately. Never with me, but sometimes with certain kids and occasionally my husband. He hasn't broken skin but he lunges at faces and hands and I'm not sure how to stop it. I've instructed the family to say "ouch" loudly then put him down or in his crate and ignore. Not sure if it's working just yet. I'm thinking it's time for some classes with him, but we will have to put a wrap on him when we go out because he pees. He's very anxious and I've tried everything from vet-recommended treats to CBD oil which just makes him sleepy. To make matters worse, he may have a congenital defect that affects his spinal cord. He fell down the deck stairs this summer and was walking like a drunk after so we took him to emerg. He was x-rayed and sent to a neurologist who wants to do a $2600 MRI to determine whether he has this defect or not. He was back to normal within 4 hours of the fall, so it could have just been swelling. We don't really know unless we do the MRI... Neuro said to keep an eye on him for now and if he has any further issues come back. So, no idea if any of these issues are linked... He does not seem to be in any pain day to day, but he does have the shakes and we are struggling with potty training and a little bit of aggression. This dog has wiggled his way into my heart so much and I love him dearly. Would love some advice on tackling some of the challenges we're having! <3 Attached Thumbnails

11-27-2018, 08:27 AM	#2
Lovetodream88 Yorkie mom of 4 Donating YT Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: LaPlata, Md Posts: 23,247	Hi! Shaking is not normal, it normally means cold, pain of fear. Since you are in Canada in may be cold. Yorkies have no under coats so they get colder easier. Potty training can be difficult in stubborn Yorkies but it is doable. The crest should be only big enough for him to turn around it. A firm no when he bites and giving him a chew toy might work. When you take him for walks take treats and lure him to keep walking. I think a basic obedience class would be a great idea. __________________ Taylor My babies Joey, Penny ,Ollie & Dixie Callie Mae, you will forever be in my heart!

11-27-2018, 09:55 AM	#3
nanajoy YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Kissimmee, FL Posts: 870	I would suggest signing up for obedience training. It should result in a chance for additional bonding time, and I am sure an experienced trainer who gets to know your little one may have suggestions regarding your multiple concerns. Good luck, and welcome to Yorkie Talk! __________________ Joy...Mommy to Tyrone and Gus r.i.p. beloved Ozzie and Tucker, and Beauregarde the poodle

11-27-2018, 12:16 PM	#5
matese Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: E.Stroudsburg, Pa. Posts: 67,952	Welcome to YT, I definitely agree with obedience training. Shaking is not normal for the yorkie breed, see your vet on this, take a video of his shaking to show your vet. __________________ Joan, mom to Cody RIP Matese Schnae Kajon Kia forever in my A House Is Not A Home Without A Dog

11-27-2018, 10:00 AM	#4
airplane Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Canada Posts: 212	It’s great to see another person from Alberta here on yorkietalk. I’m from up north in Grande Prairie. I’d think a number of classes would be a good start to tackle the behavioural issues. I’ve done many classes with my yorkies through the years. Manners classes, obedience, etc. There’s tons of different classes and they all help with lots of different things. Or even private classes with a really good trainer might be ideal just to get more specific help on the issues you’re dealing with. I’m sorry to hear about the health issues. I’m not a geneticist but if it’s congenital it’s obviously meaning born that way. Hopefully it was just a suspicion and isn’t the case. The shaking sounds off to me. We both live in the same cold, windy, dusty province. So I kinda disagree with what was previously suggested - I can’t see it having anything to do with being cold unless you keep the temp really low in your home. Even when my yorkies were out playing in the snow, they wouldn’t start shaking until 5mins or so had passed in time outside. I never saw shaking inside the house even on the coldest winter days.

11-27-2018, 03:57 PM	#9
JS_2018 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Calgary, AB, Canada Posts: 9	Thank you all for the warm welcome and the advice! I do appreciate it. I have some t-shirts and sweaters for my little guy as he does get cold quite quickly. I keep my home temp set to 19.5C which is about 67F. I work from home and he curls up and sleeps below my desk in a little bed. At night he sleeps in the bed with my husband and I and he usually snuggles up to one or both of us. He loves the fireplace and will sleep right next to it, or by the (enclosed) fire pit in the summer. He also loves it when he finds a warm spot on the carpet where the sun is coming in through the window... He's not a big fan of going out when it's cold or snowy. His little paws and ears get cold fast for sure. He has very thin, soft hair, and I keep it quite short. I'll try bumping up the temperature a bit and see if that helps. Most of the time the shaking happens when there are strangers hanging around... Whether it's our home or someone else's. He shakes in the car, in the carrier, at the groomer's, at the vet... Fear is definitely a probability as he's a pretty nervous little dude. He's equally curious though so he likes to explore, and he LOVES other dogs. He used to pee every time I left him alone, even for a minute, but he only does that occasionally now. He gets diapered when I leave the house though as he can't seem to hold it. Other times I've wondered if it's dietary, or just low blood sugar even as he sometimes won't eat for several hours into the day. He's quite picky, I've had him on 3 different kibbles (Petcurean, Acana, different Petcurean) but he prefers human food like chicken, vegetables, and fruit. Spoiled. :P I guess I could have given some more info on the medical condition... After the fall, my vet sent me to the neurologist and the neuro wants to do an MRI because he thinks he may have something called AA luxation. The thing is, his worst symptoms were immediately following the fall and he has been walking normal since about 4 hours after the fall (in July). I guess most dogs that have this defect are missing part of the vertebrae, but it could be clearly seen in the radiograph which suggests it's possibly not the case. The neuro still thinks my boy walks funny. After the last neuro visit, I called the breeder and she took a couple of her show dogs out and sent me videos of the way they walk. Totally the same as my little guy. She says she's never had any of her dogs with AA lux, and that it's most common with the tiny yorkies. Cosmo is a big boy, he's 8lbs. So, a $2600 MRI to rule out AA lux seems excessive unless he starts showing symptoms again... Pain is a symptom, but I think he lives a pretty normal, active life. He does not seem to be in pain. Treatment for AA lux is either 16+ weeks in a neck brace or surgery. I'm hesitant to put my boy through any kind of surgery, I think it would be fairly traumatic given how anxious and attached he is to me. It would have to really improve his quality of life to be worthwhile... And I don't think he is lacking in that area right now.