Hi, I am new and want you to meet my naughty Tinkie...Help please!

[camillek]

Originally Posted by BabyGirlYorkie

Hi!

My name is Annie and I just found this wonderful Yorkie board/site today! WOW! I am so happy to meet others who have Yorkies

Tinkerbell is my first Yorkie and she is a puppy (5 months old). I have had a very frustrating time with Tinkerbell, but, love her dearly. Tinkerbell's groomer said that "Tinkie" (nickname for Tinkerbell) is an Alpha Female . The groomer said that Tinkie is very pig headed and thinks she is the boss of me . I would have to agree!

For example: Potty pads don't work for Tinkie cause she will tear, rip, shread and eat the puppy pad. We had Tinkie in a nice playpen with all kinds of room when she couldn't be supervised (deluxe puppy bed with fresh soft bedding twice a day, lots of chew toys and snacks etc). Well, Tinkie learned to climb up on the netting of the playpen and then jumped off, which was very high and dangerous for her at the time she was only 2 lbs). To make it safe for her to be in the playpen, we put a clear 1/4 inch plastic board arcross the top of the playpen. Well, Tinkie found another way out by eating a hole in the netting of the playpen and then got out. We then had to get the largest in house kennel we could find to keep her safe during times we were gone. That works, but she will destroy anything left in the kennel.

Tinkie has lots of play time outside of her kennel, I don't want you to think she is in there all the time, cause she is not. She actually could be out all day if she would behave but she doesn't. She attacks the cat, which is dangerous cause one bite from him and she would be dead. He leaves her alone but she will nag him to death! So I have to kennel him when she is out. She also chews things she isn't supposed to, like wood, carpet, furniture . And, I have so many chew toys for her and appropriate chew snacks available all day long. But, she chooses to chew stuff that she shouldn't. She also will eat cat poo if she is quicker than me at getting to the door to the cat box.

She nips at the kids and will bark at me and try to bite me when I tell her no . I am just so frustrated. She is sooooo pretty, adorable, and tiny. I just don't know what to do. I thought about training, but then I picture her attacking all the other dogs or biting the instructor and so I haven't tried it yet. Can people sue for your dog biting thier dog?

Anyway, that is my story.....Tinkie is something else! I love her and won't sell her, but I need to find some solutions so everyone can be safe.

Thanks so much for your time and consideration!

Sincerely,
Annie

Annie, welcome to the board. I just thought I'd put in my 2 cents. I also have an alpha female in Cecilia. I did not have as much trouble as it sounds like you are having, but I can still relate. Cecilia was a nipper when younger and I just had to be firm with her let her know that it is not okay and give her something else to chew.

As far as the cat poop. You cannot blame her for this and it will be very hard to get her to not do it. The reason is that cat food is made to be more flavorfull than dog food and so it is tasty to them even if it has already been through the cat. Imagine if someone put tasty treats out for you and couldn't understand why you kept eating them. The best thing to do is put it in an area that she is not allowed to go. You would have to think of something that kitty can access but tinkie cannot. Depending on how capable your cat is at geting places and if you have anywhere in your home that would fit this suggestion will determine if this is possible. Perhaps you can put a kitty door up that tinkie could not get thru. Sorry my ideas are lacking, I don't have a cat.

As far as potty training, make sure that you start out with many pads in various places and be sure to reward her when she goes on the pad. Progressively remove more pads until you have out only as many as you would like her to use. Be sure that if you find that she has gone somewhere other than the pad that you do not reprimand her unless you catch her in the act. Otherwise she will not be able to make the connection as to what she is being punished for. She will become confused and this will impair training.

How old was tinkie when you got her? I have heard that puppies taken from the mother and litter too soon can have aggression issues because they haven't been fully socialized with other dogs and learned to get along nicely.

The worst issue I have with Cecilia is that she likes to hump my leg when I am laying on my bed. I wasn't aware that female dogs did that, but apparently females with aggression do. I should do a better job at trying to counteract the humping, but it is just so darn funny I can't help but laugh. She was also spayed 3 weeks ago and I thought that the humping would stop, but as soon as she was feeling better, it was back to the humping. Maybe she needs a boyfriend? Besides that she is doing awesome and most of her progress has come within the last few months. She is 10 months old. I hope all goes well with tinkie and just remember that she is still very young and it may take time, but if you are consistent you will see results. Post some more pics we'd love to see them.

Camille and Cecilia

[Maddie-Rudy-Mom]

Welcome Annie and Tinkie to Yorkie Talk Tinkie sounds like a little toot! I Have one I am fighting with to be the alpha "Rudy" he was one in Nov. and still gets the best of me some days. There personalities are all so different. Good luck will Tinkie in time she will get that you are the alpha in the house........Cindy

[BabyGirlYorkie]

Thank-you Maddie-Rudy-Mom for responding to my post :-)

Do you have any stories of Rudy being his Alpha self? ha ha I heard that if you have an Alpha Yorkie that getting another Yorkie isn't a good idea cause they will fight? Do you know if this is true? Part of me thinks she needs a playmate, the other side says that she wouldn't get a long with another dog? It just seems like she wants to play and she wants to play rough. You should see her with my son's sylvester slippers, she will roll around with it for several min.'s...its kinda cute, but it also makes me wonder if she would even do well with a companion cause she plays so rough. Does Rudy have any playmates?

Thanks again :-)
Annie

[Higgin's Mom]

Hi Annie and Tinkie! Welcome to YorkieTalk and the nicest group of people and dogs you'll ever meet.

We had a little dog named Tinkie (short for Tinker) when I was a very little girl.....a loooooong time ago. She was a cross between a Wire Haired Dachshund and a Brussels Griffon and lived to the ripe old age of 17.

Sounds like your Tinkie is a little devil. It's a good thing they're so cute, right? I think some firm training is in order, perhaps with a professional trainer or at the least a very good training book/plan. We have found that stopping all play and a firm no seems to work when Higgins is not behaving. So far, so good.

[BabyGirlYorkie]

Hi Camille and Cecilia!

Thanks for responding to my post. I am glad you asked the question about how old she was when I got her because it is another concern I have. I bought Tinkerbell from Petland in Iowa City, Iowa. She was 2 months old when I bought her. My husband bought her for me for my birthday and so he didn't know enough to think about where the store got her. The store promised us that she didn't come from a "puppy mill" and they gave us a 3 year health warrenty. They said they only get yorkies from responsible breeders who are both state and federally regulated. But, I am wondering now since Tinkie shows so much aggression if that was a lie or maybe a stretch of the truth. If she is from a puppy mill, what kind of emotional problems does this implicate? I have the pedigree, I wonder if I should track the breeder down and see what kind of environment she was in. Or, can an alpha dog show aggressive tendencies for other reasons other than being born into a puppy mill?

Thanks Again Camille and Cecilia :-)
Annie and Tinkie

[BabyGirlYorkie]

Hi Higgin's Mom!

Thanks for responding to my post :-) Yes, Tinkie is a little devil at times. However, other times, she is absolutely adorable :-) She let me brush her last night for the first time, usually its a struggle. I have an appointment for training classes starting next month! I am excited because from what everyone here has said so far, training seems like a real answer to our problem :-) I was just afraid she was going to hurt the other dogs, but I talked to the instructor yesterday and she said they handle this all the time, which made me feel relieved! I thought Tinkie was just the devil and there was nothing we could do.....so now I have a renewed sense of hope that she will be good in the future and will fit into the family and become a sweet dog someday :-)

Thanks Again Higgin's Mom!

Annie

[BabyGirlYorkie]

Thank-you KristiC for responding to my post! Sounds like you have had some problems too with an Alpha. I don't think I will be getting a companion for Tinkie till she has been trained and is an adult for a couple of years. I think also her companion will be a rescue Yorkie that is older. Puppies are like babies! I remember getting up the first month at night to check on her. Have you taken your dogs to training so maybe they can get along better? Or, can an Alpha dog change when it comes to getting along with other pets? I worry about Tinkie and my cat. The cat gets so mad at Tinkie bothering him, he is a no nonsense kinda cat. I am hoping that they will have a much better relationship after Tinkie gets extensive training and learns to respect other members of our family. Anyway, good luck with your two darlins :-)

Annie

[reeselvr]

Hi! i was reading over your post and man is it nice to see that i am not then only one with a spoiled little yorkie i recently got my yorkie the day before thanksgiving his name is reese and he is 4 months old he is a tiny little thing weighing only 2.2 lbs but not scared of anything but i am lucky to still have him after i took him home i noticed he had a cough and a bit of a cold since this is my first yorkie and overall new puppy i freaked i took him to vet and that said that he was seriously sick then i took him back to where i purchased him from and they wanted to keep him till he got better talk about seperation anxiety i visited him daily for hours at a time he is now home and in as good health as he could possibly be and of course like your puppy spoiled rotten i am having a really hard time potty training him though he will walk on his potty pad sniff then walk on carpet and go to the bathroom then when you call him he runs b/c he knows that he has done something wrong have you had any luck training?

[BabyGirlYorkie]

Hi Reese's Mommy! Thank-your for responding to my post too!

I am sorry that you and little Reese had to deal with him being sick. I have been pretty fortunate so far[knock on wood], Tinkie has been very healthy. Thank-goodness too, cause it would cause me much cognitive dissonance if anything happened to her!

About the potty training: Tinkie used her potty pads right away (to pee), which is really strange, because then about a week being at home with us, she decided it would be more fun to eat them! ack! I don't know if this is true or not...but I get a sense that Yorkies are more intellegent than a lot of dogs. This is my first yorkie, but I have had other dogs, and Tinkie is so dang smart she sometimes stuns me! For instance: it took ONE time to get her to understand the potty pad was for peeing! What I did was when she pee'd on the floor and wiped the pad with the pee then took her over to the pad and had her take a quick sniff and then I praised her. Everytime she started to sniff around, I picked her up and put her on the pad. And, today I started in the morning and with her ears...I didn't tape them...I just praised her for having them up and tonight when I started to say, "Tinkie I love your cute little ears...good girl" she raised them and tried to keep them up! I like her ears up because she is sooo much more expressive that way. She will cock her head to the side and lift one ear when she is wondering what I am doing or trying to understand me. The poo training has never worked. I even tried to put seperate pads in two different locations for her to pee on one and poo on the other, but she didn't do it. I am now wondering if poo'ing is more embarrassing for her in public view...kinda like a cat doesn't like to be watched when they use the litter box, because she always finds a remote area to poo. right now it isn't too difficult to clean up, they are small and on the wood floor which is easy to clean up with clorox wipes. But, when it is warmer outside then we are going to train her to go outside instead.

I wonder if Reese knows what the pad is used for? I wonder if the pee smell might not be strong enough to elicit the pee'ing response? Maybe you could try wiping it with his puddle on the floor and then gently say no and then carry him over to the pad and have him sniff the puddle on the pad and then really reward him a LOT for it!

For Tinkie, I think we have a power struggle going on big time. She realized within a week that I was at her beck and call and she took advantage of that. Sometimes she acts like a toodler who has a fit. For instance: she was trying to get my sock off tonight, and I told her NO and she barked at me then turned around and started tearing up my shoe, throwing it all over the place..like a temper tantrum. Anyway, our potty training has completely been stalled till we get into the training classes. First, we need to get her to behave then she will probably comply much more...crossing fingers!

Good luck with little Reese, I am sure he is just not smelling the odor from the pad. Do you use the pad in the crate? Does he use it? Or, does the pad cover all the space on the floor of the crate? If you do then maybe try folding it in half, so he can recognize that some of the space is not the right place to pee..this may carry over to the potty pad outside of the kennel.

Thanks again for your post and it is a delight to meet you!

Annie

[camillek]

Originally Posted by BabyGirlYorkie

Hi Camille and Cecilia!

Thanks for responding to my post. I am glad you asked the question about how old she was when I got her because it is another concern I have. I bought Tinkerbell from Petland in Iowa City, Iowa. She was 2 months old when I bought her. My husband bought her for me for my birthday and so he didn't know enough to think about where the store got her. The store promised us that she didn't come from a "puppy mill" and they gave us a 3 year health warrenty. They said they only get yorkies from responsible breeders who are both state and federally regulated. But, I am wondering now since Tinkie shows so much aggression if that was a lie or maybe a stretch of the truth. If she is from a puppy mill, what kind of emotional problems does this implicate? I have the pedigree, I wonder if I should track the breeder down and see what kind of environment she was in. Or, can an alpha dog show aggressive tendencies for other reasons other than being born into a puppy mill?

Thanks Again Camille and Cecilia :-)
Annie and Tinkie

Well I am positive that dogs can show aggression whether or not they came from a puppy mill. I purchased Cecilia from a breeder close to me and I visited the puppies several times before I brought her home. Both stud and bitch were in the home and I still am in regular contact with her so I am confident that I know the environment she was born in. Cecilia has even been back to her house to visit a few times. I don't know anything about Petland personally, but I have heard poor things about them.

When tickie acts up, what do you do? You should try restricting her to an area alone like a bathroom where she can't do alot of damage. If she cries or barks just let her for awhile. If she doesn't like being in there then she will figure out what she needs to do to stay out.

I put cecilia in her kennel and close the door if she acts up alot. At first she barked alot. Now she will just be quiet and wait because she knows that I will let her out if she was good. This method will not work if your dog sleeps or spends alot of time their kennell. Cecilia only uses her for travel, she sleeps with mommy.

Is Tinkie AKC registered? Did petland give you her pedigrees?

[orinskye]

i just reread your post and i zeroed in on something that i didnt spot before......... does she actually shred her pee pad and SWALLOW IT???!!!! if she does then that needs to be delt with, it could clog an intestinal tract ....

[BabyGirlYorkie]

Hi Camillek! Thanks for responding to my post!

Thank-you for the great idea of putting Tinkie in safe place that will restrict her from activity for "time outs" that is NOT her crate/kennel. That must be the mistake I was making, I put Tinkie into her comfortable large crate (large metal cage with lots of room for all of her stuff.) I am going to use her carrier now for time she is being naughty for her time outs. Thanks so much for the advice!!!!

What is a good command I could use when she is naughty? What I do now is say, "No" and "Naughty Tinkie".

Is Tinkie AKC registered? Tinkie is not yet registered, I am still waiting for the papers. I called Petland and asked them where they were and why I hadn't received them. The excuse they gave was, "The breeder hasn't sent it to them yet." I called last month before Christmas. I am going to call again today to see where it is.

Did petland give you her pedigrees? Yes, I have the pedigree. She has also been chipped, I am wondering if her chip is from the breeder or the petstore.

Thanks so much for all of your advice :-)

Annie & Tinkie

[BabyGirlYorkie]

Hi Orinskye!

She was eating the tissue part after she ripped it apart. But, this was weeks ago, I have since removed the the pads. However, yesterday I found wood in her stool. We have a wood burning stove and my hubby has wood chips all around the stove. This weekend I went shopping, so she must have gotten into it when I wasn't there. I called the vet yesterday and she gave me things to do and look for in case this wood she ate hurt her. I have felt her tummy, and she shows no signs of pain. She is also eating normally and is not vomiting. She is acting normal and I am soooo relieved!!! I told hubby to keep that area clean around the stove and to watch her better if he lets her out when I am not there. I hope that she continues to show no signs of having a blocked intenstine.

Thanks so much for your concern :-)

Annie and Tinkie