Socialization issues...

[rdugan6]

The same puppy that a "friend" gave us with the leg problems, also seems to have NO socialization. He is 5 months old, and seems to be scared of everything, and either runs or lays down flat on the floor if we approach him! It's getting very frustrating! He will follow us from room to room, and plays with my other dog, but won't come to us AT ALL!!! Help! I'm re-thinking this "gift". He was given to my daughter, and I'm afraid we're in for some heart break!
Any information would be appreciated; He is just the sweetest, most pitiful baby in the world!
Regina

[shecass]

Originally Posted by rdugan6

The same puppy that a "friend" gave us with the leg problems, also seems to have NO socialization. He is 5 months old, and seems to be scared of everything, and either runs or lays down flat on the floor if we approach him! It's getting very frustrating! He will follow us from room to room, and plays with my other dog, but won't come to us AT ALL!!! Help! I'm re-thinking this "gift". He was given to my daughter, and I'm afraid we're in for some heart break!
Any information would be appreciated; He is just the sweetest, most pitiful baby in the world!
Regina

I'm not sure what to tell you other than just be patient. Do you know if maybe something happened to him accidentially and he is just scared?

Good Luck. I sure hope that he gets better. Keep us posted.

[Olivier]

He needs to adjust to your place . As for socialization , you should start to take him out with you . Sometimes peoples are in a rush to see a dog do something .
Give the poor little one time .

[yorkiegold]

This little boy sounds like he has some significant problems. He needs a loving home. If you have the resources to care for him, I hope you will, but if not you should place him.

A Yorkie may not be for you if you are frustrated by submissive behavior. He will never be a Rottweiler. I agree with Olivier that he will gain confidence with some time.

I hope you will invest in having his physical problems assessed.

Good luck,

CJ

[crystalsmom]

It might be a good idea to get him used to a new sound and at least one new person
a day. Five months is still pretty young and it shouldn't be too difficult if you give
him the reassurance and love he needs. Doing dishes, the vacuum, loud radio, siren
from police or ambulance are all new things to a baby or pup. The baby is usually
out with the family but some people keep their puppies so isolated that they do
notget used to all these new sights and sounds and become frightened and do not trust. My kids brought home a shetland sheep dog once and we put an ad
in the paper. It was so frightened that I knew it had been mistreated. It went
under our bed and for 5 days it didn't come out except only once a day to the door
to go out ( it held it all that while) One side of the bed was against the wall and it
was almost back that far. To start with our youngest son would slide under there and give him
food and water and talk to him for a while and then come out. Each meal it would
be a new face and each day we put the food and water alittle closer to us.


Anyway our kids were getting
attached without even playing with him and I know they felt such pity. The
end of the 5th day, he came out alittle and found a really fluffy rug and fell asleep
on it. It was like we won the lottery day in our house; we were all so happy.
About a week after that I got a call from a woman who said she had lost her dog
and I asked what her dogs name was - there was a tag with just a name and she
had it right. I had my husband take the kids somewhere and when she came I
was sick. She was so mean and not delighted to see him at all. I explained to
her we had two little shih tzu that were no trouble and my kids had fallen in love
with her dog and would she consider letting my children have Laddie. She said "no" I told her I'd like her name and phone # so I could check on
how he was doing once in awhile and she seemed to wonder why I would want to do that.
She left and I started to cry (not my kids) but I recovered. The kids didn't miss
him yet when I told my husband the story and I said I wanted to call someone to check
on her house. My husband said "Joan it won't do any good" Let's call her and
see if we offer her $200 (that was alot in 1968) if she would sell. I did and that
woman was over in 15 min. Our youngest saw her coming to the door and heard
us say "thank you" words she never said to us and he yelled to his brother and
sisters upstairs "Guess what, we have two Laddies ." They only had one Laddie
but they certainly learned alot during those two weeks. I was really proud of them
and with alittle more work, we had a wonderful dog.

[alaskayorkie]

THAT story, Crystalsmom, is exactly what I was talking about when I told you months ago that I sign on each day hoping to learn from people like you. What a great, heartwarming story. Thanks for sharing.

[crystalsmom]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

THAT story, Crystalsmom, is exactly what I was talking about when I told you months ago that I sign on each day hoping to learn from people like you. What a great, heartwarming story. Thanks for sharing.

Oh how sweet of you. I always look for your posts and we need some new pictures
of Eddie! Did you talk to the woman at the paper (I think it was) who was thinking
of doing an article about you, eddie and yorkie talk. Don't forget more pictures of
Eddie, he is so darling.

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

That is a wonderful story and Regina...I think your sweet little one is young enough to learn good social skills yet. Enroll him in a "puupy class" at a petco or a Petsmart and even if he doesn't "learn" a thing the socialization will be worth the money. Take him to the small dog park and gradually let him work up the courage to "play" with the other dogs. Take him to the mall and anywhere else you can and get him used to being out and about and around a lot of different people, dogs, and environments. That is the best training you can provide him right now and you will see a change and be so happy you invested the time in him!!

[alaskayorkie]

crystalsmom, i didn't want to hijack this thread so I PM'd you.

[crystalsmom]

Originally Posted by SoCalyorkiLvr

That is a wonderful story and Regina...I think your sweet little one is young enough to learn good social skills yet. Enroll him in a "puupy class" at a petco or a Petsmart and even if he doesn't "learn" a thing the socialization will be worth the money. Take him to the small dog park and gradually let him work up the courage to "play" with the other dogs. Take him to the mall and anywhere else you can and get him used to being out and about and around a lot of different people, dogs, and environments. That is the best training you can provide him right now and you will see a change and be so happy you invested the time in him!!

Very good advise.

[yorkieusa]

I started socializing Kacee at 8 weeks of age and have kept it up. Her very first trip outside at the breeder's was interesting because four vehicles with sirens went by! Anyway, she has been around lots and lots of people and as a result she loves everyone. Thank goodness for that! She gets to go to the office occasionally and gets passed around and loved on until she's convinced everyone in the world loves her! The only time I hear her bark is usually at me 'cause she wants to play. Sometimes she'll bark at something outside, but seldom. She did see her reflection in a glass door off of the patio the other day and started barking. I take her out for different experiences. For instance, now she knows what cows are and if I ask her she'll look around to see where they are. They need to be around other dogs as much as possible, too. When Kacee sees another dog, she wants to play! When I first brought her home, she was very timid and scared of every little noise she heard and would come hide under our chairs if we were outside. She's so much better now and much more confident and I'm certain she is happier because of it. I feel like I have done something right here anyway.

[yorkieusa]

The other day she could hear a woodpecker pecking away at a telephone pole, but she didn't know where it was. I picked her up and carried her out there and I had to hold her chin so she would look up at the top of the pole. When she saw him, she just kept staring for the longest time until the woodpecker saw us and flew off.

[rdugan6]

Thanks for the great advice! I found out that they were hoping to use him as a breeder, but ended up with too many problems. I believe he was kept outside with very little interaction with people other to feed. He loves my other dogs. Including our Great Dane! It's just the people he's unsure about. I read a paper on Socialization, and it was very good. How to start, and how not to re-inforce his skiddishness! Thanks again!

[crystalsmom]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

The other day she could hear a woodpecker pecking away at a telephone pole, but she didn't know where it was. I picked her up and carried her out there and I had to hold her chin so she would look up at the top of the pole. When she saw him, she just kept staring for the longest time until the woodpecker saw us and flew off.

how adorable!!

[yorkieusa]

It was kinda cute. Everything is so new to her and it is so much fun to show her things that she has never seen before and watch her reaction.