Is your Yorkie trainable?

[alaskayorkie]

Is your Yorkie trainable? Are you confident that you are either in control of its behavior or are headed in that direction?

Or are you putting up with bad behavior because, well, that's just the way your dog is and there's no changing it?

I bring this up because one of the best, most caring dog owners I know has a Yorkie that misbehaves. She barks uncontrollably. She has a dominant personality. Don't get me wrong. I love her dog. I wish mine had her outgoing spirit. But she can be a handful.

I've been lucky. The two Yorkies I own are trainable. My previous one, Jack, wasn't, but I got him as a 10-year-old rescue and he had so few bad habits that I overlooked the barking that I couldn't control.

Just wondering if trainable is the rule or the exception for YorkieTalkers.

[kjc]

I have hope! I think each one of mine fits into a different category. I've been trying different techniques, divide and conquer seems to work the best so far. Group competions work for some things, but can get quickly out of control. The fact that they are clowns and I end up laughing so hard at them doesn't help either! But, I must say, we do have fun!

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by kjc

I have hope! I think each one of mine fits into a different category. I've been trying different techniques, divide and conquer seems to work the best so far. Group competions work for some things, but can get quickly out of control. The fact that they are clowns and I end up laughing so hard at them doesn't help either! But, I must say, we do have fun!

I can identify! There are some habits mine have that I know are wrong, but they're just so cute and funny that I don't worry about it.

[ArmaniMan]

Mine are trainable to my standards- I know there are trainers out there who wouldn't agree with everything I do- I don't "invite" mine on to the furniture, they don't need to get down when asked, they don't have to sit quietly before they get fed, they don't need to walk in a perfect heal, etc. However, they are quiet when I tell them to, they don't pull on the leash (they may just walk ahead of me), they come when called, drop things I tell them to drop, know basic obedience skills like sit/ down/ stay. Know to get permission before taking treats from strangers, are well socialized with other dogs.

Basically, they are well behaved to MY standards. I am sure with some work they could learn all those other things, but I am not competing in obedience, or out to impress random people. I want them to behave enough that they do not become a nuisance to others and that they are easy enough for me to control.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Tibbe was practically feral when I got him with no behavior skills, barked constantly, screamed nights, hated cuddling, fought me constantly - but he is now a loving, confident, smart, bright, happy and obedient little dictator loaded with personality! I just used the things I've learned reading about behavior modification and positive reinforcement plus a life of caring for dogs and he ate it all up, quickly learning how to behave himself and do it with a flourish! He loves to work at his obedience and trick training more than life itself. What a ham! He has one remainng behavior problem but it is not bad behavior - it is just that after living the lst 9 mos. of his life apparently outside in a covered crate, he still has some fear of some noises but he is working to master those like the trooper he is. Ninety-nine percent of the time he is an extremely self-confident, aggressive little ball of fun, baiting me frequently to play-fight with him. He always wins! What a gem I got when this little over-animated toot walked into my life May of 2008. LIfe hasn't been the same since!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by ArmaniMan

Mine are trainable to my standards- I know there are trainers out there who wouldn't agree with everything I do- I don't "invite" mine on to the furniture, they don't need to get down when asked, they don't have to sit quietly before they get fed, they don't need to walk in a perfect heal, etc. However, they are quiet when I tell them to, they don't pull on the leash (they may just walk ahead of me), they come when called, drop things I tell them to drop, know basic obedience skills like sit/ down/ stay. Know to get permission before taking treats from strangers, are well socialized with other dogs.

Basically, they are well behaved to MY standards. I am sure with some work they could learn all those other things, but I am not competing in obedience, or out to impress random people. I want them to behave enough that they do not become a nuisance to others and that they are easy enough for me to control.

This exactly.

I don't expect him to be a command obeying robot. I like a dog that thinks for himself, etc. I don't need or want him to be a "perfect" obedient dog but he is perfect to me.

I except him to be polite in public... not jumping all over people (that he doesn't know), no obnoxious barking, no obnoxious leash pulling, friendly to dogs and strangers, etc. These are all things that I expect out of him.

He's allowed to jump on furniture whenever he wants, he jumps and gets excited when I come home and I LOVE it, he's also allowed to act that way with my close family who love him and don't mind being jumped on and given kisses, etc.

[gracielove]

After being owned by a Shih Tzu for 15 years I was not totally ready for the different type of personality I was facing when my baby came into my life. I had not wanted another dog after my FooFoo dog left me. He was so well trained and such a good friend but after a few months I knew I was not meant to live without sharing my life with such a loving creature. I had always wanted a Yorkie so I started looking into finding one. At first Gracie was a perfect angel. She basically house trained herself with the help of pee pads. It was when she was about four and a half months old that the bossy, challenging part of her personality came out. It was a struggle for me to make her realize that I was the boss around here and not her. You want your baby to love you but I knew I could not allow the bad behavior she was exhibiting anymore than I would allow my human children to behave so badly. It was for her own good and the good of our family that I educated myself on how to be THE BOSS and convince her that she was not THE BOSS. I must say I have had much success in this endeavor but I have found that each family member and basically everyone who enters our home must use the same tactics in order to have consistent success with this strong willed four legged child.

[hartygirl]

I have a lot of things to work on with mine, but they are so smart and eager to please.

Mine range from young to senior so what we work on is different for each pup. I love to watch them learn and see how excited they are when they do something right, smart little buggers now how to work it for play/treats!

We use Tamar Gellars books as templates for reward based training and I get a lot of tricks and commands on here from superstar pups like Jackson

[JMuedog]

I need a multiple choice option. Both dogs are trainable BUT they each have habits I haven't been able break them of yet.

[suda]

George is doing fine really but barks at the neighbors dog, he knows I don't like it too much but I think the neighbor is the problem really as he encourages them to bark at each other. My main issue is going out side to do number 2s during the night if I don't hear him he goes in the corner, I wish I could get him to bark to go out same as he barks to come in. I have been giving him a treat when he asks to come in so maybe I'll start treating when he goes out.

[Princess10]

Princess is still a work in progress.

She can catch onto trick training fairly easy but when it comes to modifying her behavior she's quick to turn a deaf ear.

I also, do not expect or want perfection. Her mischievous behavior is what I love about her! I'd just like to chill out her territorial barking, I don't even know if it's possible since she's full of those terrier genes. I'd also like to stop her from jumping on people. While most of my family doesn't mind, some do. But it rarely happens at home so it's hard to enforce.

We'll see....holding out hope!

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Fortunately my 2 are very good listeners. For the most part I can get them to do what I want but there have been times when the excitement of the situation has taken over. A couple of instances being a guest coming over and they wanting to greet and sniff and seeing another dog on a walk. lol

[gracielove]

There is one very frightening thing that I have not been able to stop Gracie from doing. Once she became "Miss Know It All" she decided she wanted to get outside. One day she darted out the front door and ran as fast as she could as far as she could. Thankfully we don't live close to the road but she follows the driveway up to the road. I have to be so careful when I or anyone else opens the door because she will dart out so fast. She snuck out the door with the cable guy a couple of weeks ago. He didn't see her until he got out to the road and there she was trying to hitch a ride I guess. I thought she was shut in the bedroom with my daughter. I almost passed out when the cable guy came to the door with her in his hand. This is one more reason to get those basic obedience commands engrained in your dogs head. Now when I bring in groceries or have to have the door open for more than a second Gracie gets put on her leash. I have ordered a harness so she can go out for walks and I hope this will help her to not have such an urge to explore the world. We are still working on the stay command and will continue until she can be trusted to stay for more than a few seconds.

[laci32]

Andy's issue that seems to be a constant battle is he is not very friendly towards other dogs until he gets to know them. I know why he is like this. At a young age a yellow lab picked him up. Some time ago ago a large dog ran up on him before I could get bent down to pick Andy up the larger dog tumbled him.

These things stick with him and he would rather growl and excessive bark at them than to let them close. I am glad however he has a few that walk the same times we do and he has friends to play with .

[chachi]

I have one that is and one that isnt. Jewels has never even been able to be trained to do tricks. Shes not badly behaved though she has an extremely submissive personality shes just untrainable even on potty training