Please critique my current training / lifestyle approach for my rescued pup!

[Zora]

wall of text warning
First, here's some background on my little baby which may be helpful in any assessments or advice you guys may have. Zora was found abandoned, outside in a bag of dog food, two days before Christmas. From what I've been told, she was living in the garage of a rental home. The family left the house with half of their possessions, two months behind on rent, and the dog outside. We think she was outside for 3 to 5 days prior to being discovered. She must have been exposed to children because there were 3 children's bikes left behind. The whole situation was very strange. The Christmas tree was still left up, some food in the pantry, and a 5 gallon pitcher of what seemed to be urine was in the kitchen. The point I'm trying to make is that we have no idea what sort of lifestyle or training my girl has had thus far.
Upon rescuing her, I took her to the vet. The vet told me she was about 6 or 7 months, judging by her teeth. She's in better health than to be expected, and was slightly overweight (likely from gorging herself when abandoned). The food she was eating was adult small-breed food but the vet recommended switching her to puppy small-breed, which I have. She's quite hyper and the vet said this could be because she has anxiety over being abandoned. The vet recommended putting her on puppy prozac but I told her I want to wait until her next appointment (13 Jan) to see how she's doing then.
Since getting Zora, she's calmed down a little bit. She responds to her name usually, and always when I call her. I'm crate training her and she never ever cries in her crate. In fact, it makes me think she may have possibly been crated before. Her crate is right beside my bed and she sleeps all night without crying or whining.
Currently, I work for my dad and am allowed to bring her to work with me. We own a small, local hardware store that's close to home. Currently, this is what a regular day at work for her is like:
5:30 - wake up, take her out of crate go potty (just pee)
5:35 - eat breakfast and back in crate while I shower / get dressed
6:00 - walk for 20 ish minutes (she goes potty again - #1 & #2), come back inside & finish getting ready ( i let her run around w me here bc she's always at my feet)
6:30 - leave for work
6:40 - get to work
she'll usually play around with me and the other employees until around 745 (we open at 7 but don't get busy til 8ish)
7:45 - potty
7:45 - 9:45 - crate time in the office (sometimes the secretary is up there and lets her run around and play but not always) I practice "sit" and "down" with her here
9:45 (it could be as late as 1030 depending on how busy we are but no later) potty and play break with me for 10 minutes)
12 - 1230 walk her for 30 minutes on my lunch break (again, approximate time, could be 1230 - 1)
1230 - 245 (ish) crate time again
245 - potty and play for 10 minutes
3:00 - 5: 00 - crate
5:00 - potty, and she gets to come out of the crate and hang out with me because once the sun goes down, we don't really have many customers
6: 00 we go home
6:15 dinner, 30 minute walk
then she just kinda plays with me around the house until I go to bed which is between 10 and 11 usually
so that's what our life is like, typically, and here are the questions I have.
Zora is pretty well potty trained (meaning that I take her outside and say "go potty" and she'll pee.almost instantly) We always go to the same spot first, then we will walk around and play. She'll hold her pee throughout the night, but .... when we're downstairs just watching TV, she'll suddenly pee on the carpet down there, even if I just took her out an hour before. At her age, she should be able to hold it. Why is she doing this?
Should I be using a separate phrase for when I want her to poop? She takes forever (and I mean like 30 minutes at times) to calm down enough to poop. and it's been averaging about 13 degrees outside. I put a jacket on her but I worry she's freezing and that's really why I want her to go faster! I don't care how long she takes, but she's so cold! we have about 4 cleared acres that I walk her around on (on a leash) as well as a small, dirt road to walk on. I don't like walking her on the road at night though because it's treacherous and not state maintained.
She's forever biting her leash, no matter what I spray on it. I've ordered the Bitter Apple to try next but I've tried other products so far and no success. I've heard to try a metal leash, but my vet told me Yorkies have bad teeth and I'm concerned this may harm her.
She really likes to bite me, even during play. Usually I act like I'm hurt and ignore her, but I'm afraid to ignore her for too long because then she may pee somewhere out of spite.
What else am I doing wrong? I worry that I'm going to be hurting her long term because she gets to see me so often at work, but I just graduated college with my bachelor's a few weeks prior to getting her, and will be moving towards a career, and moving out soon. Am I setting her up for separation anxiety?
She doesn't really like to be held or cuddled with for more than a minute or two, and only with me will she tolerate it at all. Is this because she's a female or will this change in time?
I love her so much but I've never had a dog on my own before and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right! Any advice will be appreciated. I'm sure I've left a lot of details out so feel free to ask away!!

[Annie09]

Hi and welcome to YT! God bless you for rescuing this beautiful little girl!

My Annie is a rescue too, and after 4 months, I still cannot housebreak her. I have contacted a professional animal trainer to come to the house to train me on what I am doing wrong. .

I am happy to share what I learn, but it may take a while before I can back to you. You will get some great information from the folks here. I have learned so much from them!

Take care and good luck with your little sweetie!

Katheleen

[Marhcarter]

I'm no good with training advice, but it sounds like Zora has gone straight to yorkie heaven. It sounds like you are doing everything right to me, and this pup has it made! I can't imagine being able to take my pup to work with me. That is fantastic, and it sounds like she is certainly being well socialized. The pee on the carpet may be a marking behavior? Good luck, and kudos to you for rescuing this pup!

[kimp5]

They change a lot in the 8-14 month range..at least in my opinion. I would try and catch her when she pees on the carpet and say No No firmly and bring her outside immed.
I think at this stage your doing a lot more than most and she just has to get comfortable and settled. It just takes time. Trust me if she is pottying 90% of the time in the right place and time you are winning the war. They regress often times in their behavior but it can be corrected so dont be surprised if other little things pop up. I liken it to being a toddler and "testing the boundaries". As with a child, setting limits and a schedule like you are doing is best..nice job!

[Zora]

thanks for all the responses! I appreciate it! I'm just so nervous bc I want to do everything best for her and I'm not sure how to go about it. Also, I keep hearing that Yorkies are "impossible" to potty train, and that's really worrying me!

[gemy]

She has an amazing schedule with you! Good job done!

RE the carpet - you may not be thoroughly enough cleaning up the pee stain. You need an enzymatic cleaner and one that will soak through right down to the pad. If she is truly peeing in the same spot - you can also try a pee pad right there, until you clean up all that wonderfull pee smell.

I too would wait on puppy Prozac - have you tried rescue remedy? Also there is an old but true adage - a tired dog, is a good dog! I know that in wintertime it is hard to get enough exercise - when it is so cold outdoors.

Here are some thoughts for you - play a game of hide n seek. Hide a toy or a treat and ask her to find it. You start small step by step. Have her in sit stay - take 3 paper plates and place them face down on the floor about 3feet away from her. Take one treat and place under paper plate and let her see you do that. Release her from her Stay command and say Find IT.

Stair work - If you have either stairs at home or at work when you take a break. Here is a stair by stair work up. You sit on one or two stairs above her and she is on the ground level. ask her to come for her treat. She will walk up the step and then you hand out the treat a little above her nose. She will normally lift up to try to eat treat. Let her have it! Next time lift above her nose higher so that she begins to rest her two front paws on the upper step with her neck stretched up for the treat. Work on having her hold it longer and longer before you reward her.

Leash walking (on an easy lead in the house) Now to make this fun and interesting. Leash up your gal, after you have prepared a bit of an obstacle course for her. For example : in the kitchen you can have a low height stool placed directly in her path - and the first time through you let her go under it, or on top of it, BUT not around it. Reward either action with a treat.
In the living room prepare a Zig Zag course using throw pillows, or bricks, or biggish plastic Tupperware containers, and say a empty roasting dish.

Here the idea is at each piece of equipment you want her to do something different. In the empty roasting dish for example you would like her to jump in it and come to a sit. Reward for jumping in, and reward for Sitting too.
For the throw pillows you would like her to Climb up on the first one, go around the second one, and Lay down on the third one.
Dependent on the size of the Tupperware container - at first you might like her to just walk over the plastic lid, and then stretch her neck down into the bowl to get a treat!

Now all this is about fun and exercise. Be patient with her and with yourself too! Laugh lots at fun and silly mistakes.

But I did hear something in your first post, are you thinking about changing jobs and or moving to a new home, where-in you think you will not be able to spend as much time with her?

If so, start now, to let her be without you starting with a couple of hours a day. Use an Xpen with a bed and some safe toys with-in it. Start maybe on the weekend - go out to the gym yourself for 2 hrs or shopping, have her in the Xpen. Don't make a big deal about leaving or returning. If she starts to whine and bark and cry when you return - first ignore her don't go into to see her, then if she continues use your Quiet command, and if she quiets immediately go in and reward her with a treat or a petting, and then let her out.

That's all I have for now. Good luck with your gal.

[Zora]

WOW! Thanks for all these cool ideas, I can't wait to start working with her on all this!

Yes, I'm definitely going to be moving out, most likely to an apartment, and getting a 9-5 sort of job soon (or as soon as somebody will hire me =\ ). So that's why I'm concerned with her seeing me too much right now! But I also don't want to pen her if I don't have too. So what you're saying is leave her at home sometimes for a little bit, not in her crate but in a separate, larger play area? I will look into that, thank you again so much; this is awesome!

[gemy]

Originally Posted by Zora

WOW! Thanks for all these cool ideas, I can't wait to start working with her on all this!

Yes, I'm definitely going to be moving out, most likely to an apartment, and getting a 9-5 sort of job soon (or as soon as somebody will hire me = ). So that's why I'm concerned with her seeing me too much right now! But I also don't want to pen her if I don't have too. So what you're saying is leave her at home sometimes for a little bit, not in her crate but in a separate, larger play area? I will look into that, thank you again so much; this is awesome!

Yes a larger confinement area, sometimes a washroom can do the trick. Or you can get a childs' play pen, or go to a Pet Depot and take a look at the various Xpen options they have.

Now with my dogs as they are adults they are in their crates, but only for 4 or so hours. Each dog easily can hold their bladder for that long, after all for eight hours a night they hold it.

I am hopefully receiving a large breed puppy on Wed, and she will be crated at night and I will sleep in the room with her, as she given her long journey and the newness of her circumstances might need to go out at midnight or 2 am or so. So like a new baby, you sleep with your ear opened and if you hear a certain whining you get up, put your boots on leash her up, and take her out to her pee area. And very good girl and pets as a reward. But then she comes back inside to her crate, and I to my bed for some more sleep.
Usually large breed dogs are house trained within a wk or so, after they are eight weeks old. And that is a very good thing

My Yorkie holds for at least eight hours as an adult, and sometimes 10 hrs, and he is totally outside trained - which can be a pain in the wintertime!

[Juliealfies mum]

Great advice on training, you seem to be doing well and the toilet traing will come. We have always had Yorkies and never had one the did not get toilet trained.
Remember that training should always be fun, you also look at clicker training they have good ideas on training.Good luck and thank you for rescuing this little one.