Obediance School Dropout
 

Hello all. Have spent the last few days reading many of your posts about the joys and tribulations of yorkie-dom and feel much better knowing I am not alone! My current issue is with the Obediance Classes I started with our local parks and rec. There were about 20 dogs of all sizes and ages (several very large, strong dogs).My little Chico is 7 1/2 mos old and weighs 7 1/2 pounds and was the smallest (and most wild) dog there. Chico's biggest problem is lunging at anything that moves. He wants to bark at the dogs, pull towards them, let the smell him and turn over on his back. During class, he could not stop trying to chase the other dogs during any of the active drills. He could do the sit, stay, down etc, just fine until the dogs were asked to heel, come, etc. The only instruction I got from the teacher/helpers was to yank on the choke chain over and over again(chain was required for the class-sorry) After the last class, I was practically in tears knowing that it had to hurt him, but also realizing that he simply could NOT stop chasing. Sooo, I'm not going back! I will also call the teacher and share my concerns the needs of small dogs. I'll keep working with him on our daily walks (with a halter), and do more treat and positive training.
By the way, this is a very smart dog! He can sit, stay, speak, roll over, down, and can "go get" his different toys by name! He also "smiles" when greeting people. Thanks for listening!!

The cooked bone!
 

Hello there, My name is Lowri, I have a miniature yorkie called Flopsie, she is nearly 5 months old now.... !

I read your story about the pulling on the choker, I can imagine that it was awful for you... I am trying to get flopsie to stop pulling, so I bought a cat harness which does not involve the throat if she pulls... I find that most of the collars and harness's that I buy her are meant to be for cats, but I never find anything small enough for her!

Anyway, I was going to ask you if you knew anything about the cooked bones that we give them after a lamb lunch etc.. I say to her : "go and get your bone" she goes to find it, brings it to me, and shows it to me in her mouth, then I say to her "oooowwww....!! That's flopsies's bone!!!! but then she drops it as if she is scared of it, and as if it is mine or something.. she knows that it is hers, she knows that it is her treat, she knows that I dont want it... and she knows that I gave it to her... So why does she drop it infront of me and run off ?

I'm talking about a shank of lamb that we humans put in the oven and eat with potatoes and vegetables and some gravy... then when all the meat has been eaten off the bone, it is then given to the dog to chew... !!

Just wanted to be sure that everyone knows what I mean... !!

Any ideas, it's fascinating me and i am dying to find out the psychology behind it!!! looking forward to hearing from you !!

Regards, Lowri... x

It's harder w/ small dogs. For me, I'm used to training w/ the choker chains because I've always had larger dogs (pull up to sit, pull down to lay, etc). I even asked my mom how to get Rocky to lay down and she was like "I don't know since we've always used the chains". If you find out any advice on how to train w/o the chains please post!
I don't like even using the regular collar on Rocky because his neck is soo fragile, theres no way in hell I'd get a choker chain (I'd have to be really really really convinced that it wouldn't hurt him.

:welcome4: Welcome to YT!!

When we went to puppy school choker chains were not allowed.

A small dog can also be trained with his halter on! Just give it a gentle
tug when he/she is doing something wrong. It's the same thing but there
is of course no pressure on the throat. I trained Bud that way in walking on
leash, sitting and lying outside. We are still working on not attacking LARGE
DOGS, this is his favoite thing to do! He positively has no fear when it comes
to large dogs. Have fun and good luck.:aimeeyork

Try some clicker training ,you can do a search on here and see some excellent posts on training. I think that a training class which uses positive training methods gives you the best results in the long run. I would not use a choker chain on a yorkie you may end up damaging the neck and the dog having a collapsed trachea.
My Alfie used to pull on his lead and I used the clicker training method of stopping ,then click when he relaxes and move on takes a while and a lot of strange looks from everyone,you have to stop each time he pulls, then he gets a reward for not pulling they learn that its more advantagous to walk beside you with no pulling!
Training should always be fun and it can be,hope you find a solution and a new class!

Yorkie smile?
 

Hi Lowri & Flopsie - No, I haven’t given Chico any bones yet, but I'll bet he'd love it! I'm not sure what goes through their little brains when they look at you like you're supposed to know! Chico loves playing catch with his ball/toy, but he insists on shoving it under the sofa when he brings it back. Then you have to dig it out and throw it again, and again, and again. He'll also shove it under the coffee table and works really hard at getting it out until he gives up and barks at you to get it for him. Does anyone know how to end the "fetch" game without finally just ignoring him?

Also, we started out with cat collar and halter, but know he can were small dog sizes. (7.5 lbs)

And does anyone else's yorkie "smile" when greeting people? He actually raises his upper lip and shows just his upper teeth. I'm working on getting him to smile on command - he's getting it!

I do know this works in training them not to pull on the leash. Or at least its what I did with kizzy. With her harness and leash on when she starts pulling, just stop, stand still. Do not move or say anything. let her pull when she realizes she isnt going anywhere she will stop and turn and look at you. Then just start walking up towards her. Do this everytime if it takes you 20 minutes to do a 5 minute walk. She will soon stop and look at you when she sees pulling doesnt get where she wants to go. Kizzy now will even wait for me to get to her then we start walking again. She rarely pulls anymore.

You did the right thing stopping the classes. I would never goo to a training class that required you to have a choker colar. I think those things are so cruel. Look for a positive trainer.

A lot of training for BIGGER dogs requires choker/poker collars. That doesn't mean the trainer isn't positive.

A positive trainer doesnt use corrections like they were doing with the choker collar. I realize training for big dogs they use this method but its not good for yorkies that have delicate tracheas. You need to find someone who is familiar with small breeds. Chachi goes to a class with a positive trainer and they use treat reinforcement.

I carry a few vest harness that will not choke your dog while pulling if your interested.
YOu can view them at our site under vest/harness.

You should never use a choke chain for a small dog. Training and patience. Maybe you should take your yorkie out more often with all the dogs so maybe he won't be so excited to see dogs and pull.

That's why I said Bigger dogs ;) As for using it for a small dog, yeah I would say they aren't familiar w/ smaller dogs.

Thanks for the reply. I'll keep doing that - although he heels pretty well unless there is another dog in sight. Then he completely loses control until we get past it. I can even get him to sit by me, but the instant we start to walk , he will go crazy again. We have walked past a house with the barking dog at the fence evey day for months and it's the same story every time. Today I just picked him up and held him like a baby until we got past - much better!

If you have access to a big dog, train him infront of the bigger dog. That teaches him to be behaved even around other dogs.