Is this normal?
 

We just got our yorkie Andre, he is 16 months old and we are letting him run free in the house but everytime we call him over or come towards him its like he gets scared, puts his ears down and puts his head down! Is this because he is not acustomed to being here with us? When we picked him up from his original home he didnt seem to be timid, he was running around like a crazy. Is this normal? and if it is how long should it take for him to get acustomed to us? Also when we take him out he just starts marking everything! He does it a little in the house too, is this normal? I would have also thought at this age he would respond to his name and he would know basic commands but everytime we call him for the most part he just ignores us :confused: , at this age is it too old to train him? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

No, I don't think that's a normal response when he cowers. It
sounds to me like he was not given positive reinforcement when
he was young which now makes him leary of human interaction
until he realizes it's alright. Can he still be trained? I would think
so...Get him involved in some training classes to boost his self
esteem and also work with him daily on the floor where your on
his level to build up his trust in you and his new environment.
In regard to his marking...Is he neutered? If not that may or
may not help at his age. Many people use belly bands when
they have such issues so you may want to check into those.
Good luck with your new guy and remember a lots of love and
patience will go along way in turning things around with him.

pup
 

He sounds fairly normal for being in a new home with new people, give him time to adjust..get some belly bands and have him neutered..and many ignore their owners when called...mine come fairly well, but had a few who acted deaf unless it suited them...

At his old home, "COME" may have meant "come here, you're in trouble".

One should NEVER use "come" if you're about to scold your dog - and many people make this mistake. This is esp. dangerous bc if you're outside w/ him and let's say he's about to cross the street or whatever - you want "come" to be an absolute for him, for his own safety.

What you need to do is re-teach him that "come" is an awesome thing w/ his new mommy! So, get some little training treats (I always used feline Tender Vittles in obedience class, cheap and they love 'em), stand/sit a few yards from him - say "come" in a really happy, fun voice (try to say it as FEW times as possible) - when he comes to you, give him the treat and praise/pet him like he just created world peace.

Get farther from him each time - eventually you want to be in another room, say "come", have him bound/run in happily bc he knows "come" is a good thing, and give him the treat.

The goal is to get him to "come" with just one "come" command - again, for his own safety.

It is good to use his name before each "come" too - as in, "Andre! Come!".

Good luck. Don't worry, he'll get it.
Ann

Marking is normal for an intact male, especially if there is another male furbaby in the house. Is he the only pet? Even so, if he came from a home where there were older males, he's just trying to make his new home his. I brought home a 3 yr. old male and a 2 yr. old female from a breeder, who had about 10 other adult yorkies, I already had another 3 yr. old male and 2 yr. old female at home, the first thing the male did was mark every doorway in the house, I guess it made him happy because he never did it again. As far as not knowing his name or basic commands, if the breeders had a lot of pets they probably didn't work with him. The 2 yr. old female I brought home didn't know her name when we would call her, however if we whistled or clapped our hands she would turn and run to us. I called the former owner to ask if she had a nickname, they informed me that by the time they purchased her, as she was the youngest of them all, they would just whistle for them when it was feeding time or for any other reason, so she didn't know her name. It will just take some time, just make sure you call him by name every time you are petting him, feeding him anytime you do anything with him. And it is never too late to train. As far as having him neutered to stop the marking, because of his age, it may be too late.

It sounds pretty normal for a dog to react to new surroundings. I have one that shakes like a leaf in any new situation and I know for a fact no one has ever laid a hand on her. Just give him time... and a belly band is a great idea. Also...yes. you can teach an older dog new tricks. Don't be afraid of training him!

Yhea, Andre isn't neutered and in his previous home there were 2 male dogs and 1 female. I don't think they trained him at all because the lady did tell me they sent their other 2 dogs to training but not Andre.

hi, when we got joey he was 4mths old and acted the very same way,every time we called him he would cower thinking he was in trouble,we just keep picking him up and telling him its ok its ok,it took about a month before he started to trust us,now when we call him he jumps and turns in circles, he now knows we love him and we are calling him to give affection.this little guy came from a basement floor where he had been by himself all day with no one to play with so i think he was very timid and scared,continue to love him and he will adjust just like our loving joey.as far as making yes he still does that to but we dont scold him, we just put him out hoping he will get the idea sooner then later, lol good luck and congrats on your baby.