Our 4 year old Yorkie is a great but there are small things I would like to work on and would like suggestions from this forum or guidance to find a pet training forum. (We attended multiple puppy training courses and had great results. She walks on a leash well, doesn’t bark unless it’s a quick warning when someone approaches the house, only gets on the sofa when invited, she will stay when I maintain eye contact then hustle when I call her.) Here are the two things I want to work on first…
When company comes over or we go camping, she’s so tiny that she puts her paws on the chair to get petted. Some people love it, others don’t want it. If I say off, she will immediately stop but she will make her rounds to others. I don’t want to keep saying off and enjoy our company so I resort to putting her in the backroom in a calm kind manner. My goal is to have her lay on blanket on the floor beside me with a chew.
She loves to play ball but doesn’t like to release. A long time ago, we refused to take the ball from her mouth and she will release it to our feet. For company, it’s a problem. She will release if I put a small bowl of her food at their feet but they have to lean over so far that it’s a pain. If someone has ideas on how to get her to respond to release rather than tug of war with the ball I would appreciate it. We’ve refused to take the ball from her mouth for 2 years.
I know this is a small problem with everything going on but I would love guidance on how to make a good pet into an excellent pet.
The Great Courses has a 12 hour course on dog training, on sale now. Or, even better, a library in your area may own it. Course is at The Great Courses I haven’t watched it (we don’t have a dog) but I have found their other courses to be of great quality.
As for dropping the ball, I remember reading someone saying that some breeds and/or dogs have trouble releasing a ball. Their solution was to use 2 balls; their dog got to keep one clamped firmly and was happy to let the other go. That was probably a bigger dog than a Yorkie though
Our dog went through a number of obedience classes, including therapy dog certification. He will ignore high reward food placed on his nose in a “freeze” position, spit out same high reward food at a “drop it” command, will “leave” anything alone on command, etc…
He will not, under any circumstance, retrieve a ball. He will “drop it” but will not bring it back. We’ve tried every training technique to no avail and at age 10, we’ve given up. The only time he’ll slightly consider returning a ball or toy is if I have a treat in my hand and usually the object gets dropped 12 feet away from me and not at my feet ; ).
FWIW, we have trained him to bring balls/toys back to his bed. That seemed easier for him then bringing it to us although it defeats the purpose of “fetch”.
As far as your dog putting her paws on the chair to be petted, be super consistent in ignoring her until she’s in a sit. When she’s in a sit, then lavish her with attention. If she jumps up, ignore her entirely (not even negative attention). She’ll learn quickly!
Thanks for the ideas! She’s doing great releasing the ball when I use two. Also realized while I was telling her off, I wasn’t telling her to sit. Kinda like telling a child what not to do but not telling them what to do.
@deb922 , lol but not funny, this is exactly the problem right now for many dog families - someone is always home - so when someone is NOT, the dog freaks out! “My people are walking out that door without me!!”
The old usual is leave a tshirt or something of the owner in the dog’s cage or near their dog bed.
Give a Kong filled with peanut butter or whatever and give it to pup when you are walking out the door.
The other idea is to start leaving pup for a short time each day. 5-10 minutes to start. Gradually lengthen the time.
What is the dog doing when they leave? (like is it destructive or so worked up they don’t feel it’s healthy?
She’s a rescue so they know she might be nervous. Daughter who is her WFH buddy, does try to go out every day to at least check the mail. She tries not to rile up the dog when she comes in the door. The boyfriend not so much.
They have a ball with a treat inside, I don’t think the dog is into that.
They dog must have had a family before because she knows how to sit and behave. She’s a really well behaved dog.
They went out with friends over the weekend. Put a gate up just to block the front door.
But the dog scratched up the door so much that there were pieces of the door on the floor.
Are they using a crate? It can be so reassuring to a dog. Keeps her safe and the house safe. I’m no trainer but I would put her in the crate and intentionally take a short walk. Slowly extend the amount of time. Don’t make a big deal of greeting when they get home or when they leave. My dog used to submissive pee when my husband came home. He started ignoring her when he arrived then gave her attention after he changed from his work clothes. Problem went away.