My giant Yorkie is a giant problem

[pja]

Hello - first day here and hoping other Yorkie pros can help. Kevin is a giant Yorkie estimated to be just over a year old. He is a rescue and I have had him for about 3 months. I am starting to be convinced he was put out by his former owners because he is incorrigible. I have two other dogs, a Bichon mix for 6 years (since he was 8 weeks old) and a Schnauzer mix rescue est to be 5 years old (had for 2 years). With the first two dogs I have gone through many training classes and I also volunteer at an animal shelter so while new to Yorkies, I am not a dog owner newbie.

Kevin was not neutered when found but was the day I brought him home. He appears to have never been trained, but I have taught him sit and he does respond to a firm "no" now. I already consider him part of the family and love him, but there are several issues I need help with.

-Excessive barking - I think this seems to be for attention, but it is also if I am not doing what he wants fast enough. Exp, the dogs sleep in the bedroom with me and as soon as I turn on the light in the morning he barks until he is let out, which incidentally is first thing I do. Same when he wants food (which is given on a schedule). He also barks crazily if I have my cell phone in my hand or flush the toilet(??!!). I get he is associating these things with something causing him agitation but it needs to stop.

-Jumping - on everything

-Biting - he has nipped 3 people, 2 on the tush and one on the hip - the one on the hip did not seem intentional, when he jumps his mouth is usually open and he has HUGE teeth and it seem he more hit her with his teeth. The other two he straight-up bit them on the butt. He does sometimes jump on me and I push him down and then turn my back on him with a "no", he has never bit me but has hit me with his open mouth as he is jumping.

- Leash - the first 5ish minutes on a leash he is like the Tasmanian Devil. I am using a harness and have a double loop leash so I can hold him close until he settles but we both must look demented during those few minutes which seem like an hour. As he tries to bite and grab the leash I correct with No/Enough. He loves to walk and I give him a good deal of exercise but this is stressful on all of us.

- Overall he is good with the other two dogs, but he can be very aggressive about resource guarding food and toys and will take away stuff from them even if it is not his. Definitely does not share well.

I was having issues with him marking but have solved that by crating him when I am not there.

I do not want to give up on the little guy, but I do not think that the type of group training I took the other two to will work for him as the other dogs will be a distraction or a source of aggression for him. I am willing to invest in him if I can find a good (reasonably priced) trainer in SE Michigan.

Sorry for the very long post. Any help is appreciated.

[Wylie's Mom]

Hi and welcome to YT . Glad you found us. And bless your very big heart for taking in rescues and for working at the shelter.

I don't have much advice except something to try for the barking...take an empty metal can and fill it w/ coins or nails. When he barks excessively, shake it super hard and say NO! -- the goal is to startle him out of his barking / interrupt him. This doesn't work for all dogs, but it might help.

As far as your other needs, I'm rather useless...but if I were you, I wouldn't hesitate taking him to a class, despite his issues...a good trainer *does* understand these kinds of issues and should be able to help, even in a class. And if they can't help, they could give you your money back and perhaps recommend someone who could.

[SirTeddykins]

Originally Posted by pja

Hello - first day here and hoping other Yorkie pros can help. Kevin is a giant Yorkie estimated to be just over a year old. He is a rescue and I have had him for about 3 months. I am starting to be convinced he was put out by his former owners because he is incorrigible. I have two other dogs, a Bichon mix for 6 years (since he was 8 weeks old) and a Schnauzer mix rescue est to be 5 years old (had for 2 years). With the first two dogs I have gone through many training classes and I also volunteer at an animal shelter so while new to Yorkies, I am not a dog owner newbie.

Kevin was not neutered when found but was the day I brought him home. He appears to have never been trained, but I have taught him sit and he does respond to a firm "no" now. I already consider him part of the family and love him, but there are several issues I need help with.

-Excessive barking - I think this seems to be for attention, but it is also if I am not doing what he wants fast enough. Exp, the dogs sleep in the bedroom with me and as soon as I turn on the light in the morning he barks until he is let out, which incidentally is first thing I do Our dog trainer advised that it is a big mistake to let some dogs sleep with you or even in the same room when they are insecure/dominant - I would assume since the dog is a rescue dog he may be insecure and so shows tendencies like possessiveness of your space which is encouraged when you allow dogs to sleep in the same room as you do - I would advise putting a crate or a bed somewhere else in the house - even just outside of the bedroom door - to command your space back. Same when he wants food (which is given on a schedule). Do not give him food when he barks - this is demand barking and if you do what he wants when he barks you are telling him that's how he gets his way - when he barks you say QUIET and as soon as he's not barking - you praise him and reward him with his food He also barks crazily if I have my cell phone in my hand or flush the toilet(??!!) Again, when he barks, say QUIET and praise/treat him immediately (my dog started to do the same thing with phones - yes, it is annoying but persistence is key). I get he is associating these things with something causing him agitation but it needs to stop. it sounds like insecurity and I'll bet he looks to you when he barks - unless you tell him NO or QUIET - you are telling him barking is acceptable under the above conditions

-Jumping - on everything - tell him NO or DOWN as soon as he even looks like he's about to jump on anything - praise him for listening

-Biting - he has nipped 3 people, 2 on the tush and one on the hip - the one on the hip did not seem intentional, when he jumps his mouth is usually open and he has HUGE teeth and it seem he more hit her with his teeth. The other two he straight-up bit them on the butt. He does sometimes jump on me and I push him down and then turn my back on him with a "no", he has never bit me but has hit me with his open mouth as he is jumping. tell him NO and lay down and praise him when calm - if he's jumping when he's greeting tell him NO and ignore him anytime he's not calm whether or not his mouth is open

- Leash - the first 5ish minutes on a leash he is like the Tasmanian Devil. I am using a harness and have a double loop leash so I can hold him close until he settles but we both must look demented during those few minutes which seem like an hour. As he tries to bite and grab the leash I correct with No/Enough. He loves to walk and I give him a good deal of exercise but this is stressful on all of us. - I have the same problem at the minute so not able to help with this yet!!!!

- Overall he is good with the other two dogs, but he can be very aggressive about resource guarding food and toys and will take away stuff from them even if it is not his. Make him wait for his food and tell him OK to release him after you make him lay down at the food bowl - this tells him that you are in control of food not the other dogs or him - praise him for waiting and eating only upon release Definitely does not share well.

I was having issues with him marking but have solved that by crating him when I am not there. - I did too recently. You have to watch him and if he even looks like he's lifting his leg say NO and tell him go potty in the right spot and reward him - if he doesn't go - crate him for 20 minutes, tell him to go potty again and let him out only after he's gone potty - marking and potty is NOT always the same thing and if he's gotten used to marking with no consequence the only way he'll learn its not acceptable is when you catch him and correct the behavior

I do not want to give up on the little guy, but I do not think that the type of group training I took the other two to will work for him as the other dogs will be a distraction or a source of aggression for him. I am willing to invest in him if I can find a good (reasonably priced) trainer in SE Michigan. - my trainer said you have to be the general to a soldier - I think with more consistent training and patience - you can crack the above - but it will take work and time

Sorry for the very long post. Any help is appreciated.

I have put some comments in red for you which I hope will assist.


I'm not suggesting anything is easy or quick! It sounds as though you are being too lenient for his personality so just up the authority and give him a leader and I think he'll be okay.

[matese]

Welcome to YT I have / had some of the same problems with my rescused 3 y/o. I'll start off with talking on the phone, when I was on the phone he would bark, whine so much I would have to hang up. All my telling him no barking or no whining did nothing, 2 weeks later no improvement, he wanted all my attention, was DEMANDING I hang up the phone and gaze lovingly into his eyes. So one night while he was doing his HANG UP THAT PHONE AND FOCUS ON ME, I my told my friend to hold on a minute, said let me try something that use to work on my girls, I got my FLY SWATTER lol, came back into the room, waved it at him, he jumped off the sofa and shut up, the next night again, the barking and whining, I had left the fly swatter on my end table, all I did was pick it up and quietness lol. The fly swatter rules lol. For some reason my girls all now past were afraid of the fly swatter,I never ever even touched them with it, when they would get unruly I would say, "I'm gonna get the fly swatter" and they would settle down. Cody now does not bark or try to distract me when I am on the phone, all it took was showing him that fly swatter 2 times. Anytime he refuses to listen to me, I show him the fly swatter. The fly swatter rules lol. Give it a try, you may have to wave it a little bit or smack it against your leg. It cost nothing, I think we all have a fly swatter in our house....Demanding to eat, Cody eats at 7AM and 5PM. Many times I am out of bed at 5AM, Cody thinks he's going to eat, he'll start barking, whimpering, whining, I tell him NOT NOW. When 7AM comes he gets feed, the same thing for his diner, at 4PM he will start, I tell him NOT NOW. It took maybe 8 days, now if he bothers me to eat he knows what NOT NOW means....biting, when he gets extremely excited he jumps up and nips at me, this has been since day one and I have him 9 months now, he has nipped me while I am standing, he nipped my butt, my back my arm and left a nice red mark. I tell him NO BITING in a veryyyyy firm voice, it took 3 weeks for for to stop the nipping, when he gets really overly excited before he starts him jumping I'll tell him firmly NO BITING, he gets really excited when he sees the deers, chipmunk or that pesty squirrel. The nipping has stopped. This is what worked for me. Ya gotta that that fly swatter, it holds magic in it lol.

[pja]

OMG - I like the fly swatter idea. I was doing a similar thing with Kevin with a piece of foam pipe insulation but once he realized it was foam it lost its magic. Thanks for the suggestion.

[matese]

Originally Posted by pja

OMG - I like the fly swatter idea. I was doing a similar thing with Kevin with a piece of foam pipe insulation but once he realized it was foam it lost its magic. Thanks for the suggestion.

Several weeks ago I was visiting a friend of a friend's new house, Cody is 1000% house trained but hey, ya never know, I tied Codys leash to a kitchen chair while I was being shown the new house, Cody cannot be 1- tied up and 2-cannot be 2 feet away from me, he was carrying on with barking and whining, I asked did the new house come with a fly swatter lol, yes it did, I went into the kitchen, just SHOWED it to him, he stopped barking, and layed down UNDER the kitchen table lol and stayed there no barking, no noise, they were amazed at Codys 360 lol. I told them, ohhh, you didn't know fly swatters hold a magic potion for doggie behavior. I hope it works for you. It is really cute to see their reaction when they see a fly swatter lol.

[matese]

BTW, you say your "giant" yorkie, my Cody weighs 12 lbs, my last girl weighed 17 lbs, she never needed the magic of the fly swatter, my other girls weighed from 10 to 13 lbs, all wild Indians, had magic fly swatter's in every room, but they knew when I would say, momma's gonna get they fly swatter, all would freeze and peace and Harmony would come back lol, so cute, so funny, I had to hide my smile and laughter from them lol. How I miss those lil girls.

[pja]

Originally Posted by SirTeddykins

I have put some comments in red for you which I hope will assist.


I'm not suggesting anything is easy or quick! It sounds as though you are being too lenient for his personality so just up the authority and give him a leader and I think he'll be okay.

Thanks for the words of encouragement and info. I do understand that time, patience and most importantly consistency is the key to dog behavior modification and training. What I needed most was words of encouragement that my Yorkie was not a) the worst Yorkie on the planet, or b) mentally impaired.

Kevin is clearly very smart and like a gifted child, the smarter a dog is, it seems the more they need the authority that you mention. But gosh, 17lbs of fluff is reducing me to exhaustion.

[pja]

Kevin is 17lbs and not an ounce of extra fat under all the hair. I just love the big fluffy head sitting on top those stubby legs. I was a goner the moment I saw him at one of our shelter adoption events.

[matese]

Originally Posted by pja

Kevin is 17lbs and not an ounce of extra fat under all the hair. I just love the big fluffy head sitting on top those stubby legs. I was a goner the moment I saw him at one of our shelter adoption events.

My 17 lb girl did not have an ounce of fat on her,she had long legs,bit she was a beautiful girl with a beautiful body, I LOVE the bigger yorkies. They are so sturdy. For some reason I cannot attach, but I believe there is a pic in my album of her.

[pja]

Originally Posted by matese

My 17 lb girl did not have an ounce of fat on her,she had long legs,bit she was a beautiful girl with a beautiful body, I LOVE the bigger yorkies. They are so sturdy. For some reason I cannot attach, but I believe there is a pic in my album of her.

I looked at your album, she was a beautiful dog.

I am attaching a pic of Kevin. I have not created an album yet and for some reason the profile pic is not yet showing up. I love his nubby tail too.

P.S. I see you are in East Stroudsburg, I used to live in Middle Smithfield Twp. many years ago.

[matese]

lol a lil fluffy cutie, yes the smarter the dog the bigger the challenge. I believe he is still testing you. Cody came to me a very SPOILED boy, he was much loved and adored by his former owner (an 11 y/o lil girl) when I first got him he was like the 5 y/o kid that has a new nanny or baby sister, testing to see how much he can get away with. I was so torn because this dog was taken away from a child that adored him and I knew the dog adored this lil girl, it was very hard for me to be firm with him, no one can take the place of a child that adore him. But he was getting worse over the next 3 months, he started the hard nipping. When I had him 5 months I put my foot down, I knew he was happy, comfortable, loved and trusted me and knew he was in his forever home. So the training started and the magic fly swatter appeared. He is my perfect lil boy, still demanding, and spoiled even more. He is my first male yorkie, he is veryyyyy smart, learns new things quickly, I love him so much it hurts. You must be consistent, use the same command words, and yes a lot of patience. He will get it. Although the hard nipping is pretty much in control, when he gets crazy excited, I have to tell him NO BITING very firmly and loud so he hears me over his barking, he has the run of my very large back deck, he sees deer and critters, will come flying in the house, wants to go in the yard where he saw the critters, reason for his crazy excitement......Middle Smith field has changed immensely over the last 8 years, route 611 in Stroundsburg is mall after mall after mall. Still flooded with tourist, Even with the by-pass made 2 years ago, week end traffic in Stroudsburg is still horrific. I was born and raised in NY, Da Bronx, had a summer home in The Pocono's for 25 years, moved her permanently 13 years ago. I live on a mountain in a heavily wooded area, away from the hussel & bussel, but with all the shopping centers and new supermarkets I am not isolated, stores are all 20 to 30 minutes away. Many changes since 1980.

[SirTeddykins]

Originally Posted by pja

Thanks for the words of encouragement and info. I do understand that time, patience and most importantly consistency is the key to dog behavior modification and training. What I needed most was words of encouragement that my Yorkie was not a) the worst Yorkie on the planet, or b) mentally impaired.

Kevin is clearly very smart and like a gifted child, the smarter a dog is, it seems the more they need the authority that you mention. But gosh, 17lbs of fluff is reducing me to exhaustion.

no problem - I often think my yorkie is the worst boy in all the world, he doesn't weigh 17lbs but I might after I'm done chasing him around to get him to behave - hahaha