DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

and sadly I think I have as well

Ever since we had our son 2 1/2 yrs. ago they have been extremely misbehaved and as I suspected it only got worse after having DS #2 last month. Today alone I found dog poop under my dining room table and on our bedroom carpet. The last month I was pregnant I steam cleaned all of our rugs and found urine stains all over it which I never noticed before b/c the colors int he carpet hid it. One constantly pee's on the bath mat in the bathroom and even on our couch occasionally.

I never thought I would be that person to look for a new home for my animals (I have had animals all my life) but I am at my witts end and so is DS. We are to the point where we dont enjoy our animals...they are more of a nuisance than anything and we are always angry with them more often than not.

They are destroying my house besides the fact that finding pee and poop all over with 2 small children is disgusting! I just dont see any other option at this point.

WWYD in my situation? I have already had them in training 2 different times and spent hundreds, probably a couple thousand, on private training. My only option is to crate them all day inbetween letting them out but I feel that is mean. I am just lost

Message edited 10/17/2009 11:19:24 AM.

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

This is a tough situation If you prefer not to crate, Maybe you could try confining them to a smaller area during the day, like the kitchen, where they couldn't have access to carpets?

Have you tried hanging a bell from whatever door you take them outside through? And everytime it is "time" to go outside ring the bell and say whatever you normally would start associating those words with the bell and they will associate the bell with time to do their business outside. They will usually learn to ring the bell themselves when they have to go. And as I'm sure you know, go outside with them & make a big fuss when they do "go" outside.

Also has the amount of attention or play time they get from you decreased suddenly since you had your DS? I heard somewhere that if you think they are acting out because a new baby gets more attention, you can try giving the dog more attention specifically when the baby is near so they learn having the baby around is actually a good thing for them.

Good luck!!

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Do you treat them for good bathroom habits?
Can you get rid of the carpet?
As you're well aware, yorkies are notorious for having bad bathroom habits.
Do you use pads?
Do they act up in other peoples' houses?
My yorkies are evil when they want to be so I can definitely understand your frustration .

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Posted by HelloThere

This is a tough situation If you prefer not to crate, Maybe you could try confining them to a smaller area during the day, like the kitchen, where they couldn't have access to carpets?

Have you tried hanging a bell from whatever door you take them outside through? And everytime it is "time" to go outside ring the bell and say whatever you normally would start associating those words with the bell and they will associate the bell with time to do their business outside. They will usually learn to ring the bell themselves when they have to go. And as I'm sure you know, go outside with them & make a big fuss when they do "go" outside.

Also has the amount of attention or play time they get from you decreased suddenly since you had your DS? I heard somewhere that if you think they are acting out because a new baby gets more attention, you can try giving the dog more attention specifically when the baby is near so they learn having the baby around is actually a good thing for them.

Good luck!!

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Try to understand that crating is not mean. Dogs are den animals and often feel the need to protect "their space". When a dog has the run of the whole house, the need to protect that vast area can be overwhelming. By giving them a small crate, you've given them a safe haven away from the toddler as well as reduced the amount of space they need to "worry" about.

I totally understand the feeling of wanting to open the door and tossing them out sometimes. I cannot tell you how many times I've had to count back from 100 to avoid screaming at Luna because she got into the garbage,peed on the floor, ate Maddie's hat,etc. My mantra is "we chose her, she didn't choose us." Even when I just "know" she did something to be spiteful I try to remember that her ill behavior is always somehow my/our fault- whether it be because we forgot to take her out or she's feeling ignored..

Every night, we make a point of spending "family time" on the main level of the house so Luna can hang with us. She's not allowed in the playroom in our lower level because she loves to chew the baby toys. During family time Madelyn will throw a ball for Luna, Luna gets tummy rubs from everyone, generally we all spend time showering attention on Luna. This clues Luna in to knowing she is part of our "pack". We've seen a definte improvement in behavior since we starting doing this a few months ago.

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

I am just curious? you say you have spent tons of $$ on training? What did those trainers all say ??

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Message edited 10/28/2009 5:35:26 PM.

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

After seeing your other thread, it looks like you have already decided anyway, but I wanted to tell you that any trainer that uses aggressive methods on dogs is not fit to train family pets.

I'm not going to try to reason with you since you're going to be looking for a home for them, but I think you should be honest with people who come to look at them so they don't wind up getting transferred to another home again.

Good luck finding them a good home.

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

So the trainer gave you no tips? Just reasons why they are hard to train.. He said they were untrainable?

ETA: did your dogs not bark before you had the children. And where they house trained before you had the children? If they did not bark and were perfectly house trained what are you doing different?

Message edited 10/28/2009 5:59:09 PM.

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Posted by HelloThere

Also has the amount of attention or play time they get from you decreased suddenly since you had your DS? I heard somewhere that if you think they are acting out because a new baby gets more attention, you can try giving the dog more attention specifically when the baby is near so they learn having the baby around is actually a good thing for them.

Good luck!!

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

do you take your dogs out for a walk, or have toys that can exercise their minds? My sister's yorkie would defecate all over the house and I had housebreak him for her since she was not consistent.

is it possible for you to take your dogs our for a walk with your children so they can burn energy? Yorkies are a ball of energy and I feel my sister's dog is never tired.

I saw your other post about giving up a pet and i would look into different yorkie rescues. They can help find your pet a home and sometimes they can provide training for them while they are looking for a home.

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Posted by dilb712

So the trainer gave you no tips? Just reasons why they are hard to train.. He said they were untrainable?

ETA: did your dogs not bark before you had the children. And where they house trained before you had the children? If they did not bark and were perfectly house trained what are you doing different?

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Posted by TheLorax

Posted by HelloThere

Also has the amount of attention or play time they get from you decreased suddenly since you had your DS? I heard somewhere that if you think they are acting out because a new baby gets more attention, you can try giving the dog more attention specifically when the baby is near so they learn having the baby around is actually a good thing for them.

Good luck!!

I know you have two small children so it is hard, but your dog is likely acting out for attention and/or if he isn't getting enough exercise.

When we moved to NC, we were spending alot of time packing and then unpacking and Olli (our younger dog) reverted horribly. He pooped and peed repeatedly on our brand new light cream carpet. We had to start the housebreaking from scratch - the whole 9 yards (crating, treats and super praise for doing business outside, blocked off carpeted areas), and we had to make sure to allot time for just him (not him and our other dog) for love and exercise and belly rubs. His pooping/peeing are now back in check, and while repeating the process was so frustrating, he is such a bundle of joy that it was totally worth it.

Good luck!

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Maybe you should look into a trainer that has experience with small dogs.

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

Posted by jellybean1420

Posted by dilb712

So the trainer gave you no tips? Just reasons why they are hard to train.. He said they were untrainable?

ETA: did your dogs not bark before you had the children. And where they house trained before you had the children? If they did not bark and were perfectly house trained what are you doing different?

The trainer came recommended from a friend of mine who used her for her husky and everyone in her family used this same woman for their dogs. She is supposed to be excellent. Maybe she was better with different breeds or larger dogs. But considering I trained them twice and both trainers used the same methods, I can't imagine anything different being done.

Before I had DS my dogs did bark, but not uncontollably like they do now. They were also fully house broken. After having DS, my male dog got slightly nasty (growled and snapped if anyone say near him while holding the baby). My female dog was actually very protecective and good initially. Only overtime did it evolve into what it has because they were not getting as much attention. As I answered in my other post, anyone who has kids know how much time and attention they require and unfortunatley I am not able to give my dogs 100% of my attention.

My dogs get plenty of exercise. I bring them outside several times a day and kick the ball back and forth with them and play with them. I have a pen outside for them that on a nice day I will let them hang out in. I cannot let them run around in the yard unsupervised b/c the male dog tries to run away

Trust me, I am by no means a bad pet owner regardless of what anyone thinks on here. My dogs are well taken care of and get attention. They just have not adjusted to having children in the house and that is not going to be changing any time soon.

Re: DH has reached his breaking point with our dogs...(does anyone else have issues w/Yorkies?)

I totally feel your pain. We just moved and our yorkie is peeing and pooping all over the house (also under the dining room table on the rug).

We tried confining her to a small place in the house, but she managed to escape by doing damage to the sheetrock, molding and doors.

We are at our wits end, and have started crating her. I feel bad, but it is the only way we can be sure she won't do damage and hurt herself in the process (she jumped over a gate and almost impaled herself). And she still loves us when we let her out of the crate.

Whatever you do, I hope it works out