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[Nega]

Okay, so: One Thursday afternoon, I came home to my mom having bought an adorable six-week old puppy, who is part Pomeranian, part Yorkie. For those who want to see what she looks like. Her name is Bear, don't ask me why, and...I'd like some tips on how to take care of her and train her. My mom's mainly going to look after her, but I want to help as much as I can, especially with training her so she'll be easier to handle. Right now, we're in the process of crate-training her and I don't honestly know what to do. Any tips?

[Thecard]

Uhh... different things work for different dogs, but ours run straight into their crates when we let them inside because we trained them well.
Well, one does.  The other is spoiled now.  We let her stay outside, so now she thinks she gets to be a house-dog.  She is trained much better than the other though.  I mean, she'll just lay down and fall asleep in the middle of the living room.

Anyways, we gave them a milkbone every time we brought them in and put them in their crates.  They started to realize we like them to go in.
'Course, you'll have to watch out that your pup doesn't try to game the system.  Try cutting 'er off a little after she gets used to going into her crate when you call her.

Also, make sure to call her by her name whenever you're near her.  Don't just call her by her name when you give her treats or are trying to train her.  She'll think Bear actually means "cookie" or "go to your crate."
Our more-stupid dog once thought her name was "drop it!"  The more attentive one picked her name up really easily though, and I can actually get her to follow me, stop following me, go into her crate, sit down, or go inside the house just by saying her name and pointing.
I'm convinced she understands what I mean when I say "go on!"

[PanH]

I was gonna say something mean about drowing chamber or danger room, but ..... she's so cute !

Just try not to walk on it.

[Nega]

Tomorrow, my mom is going to go shopping for more pet supplies, so I'll tell her to add some milkbones into the list. The problem, though, is that when it comes to training, one of the main things you need is, well...a treat. Problem is, she's too small to be having treats, and I don't know what to substitute it with. :/

[Thecard]

Tomorrow, my mom is going to go shopping for more pet supplies, so I'll tell her to add some milkbones into the list. The problem, though, is that when it comes to training, one of the main things you need is, well...a treat. Problem is, she's too small to be having treats, and I don't know what to substitute it with. :/

Oh, stupid me.  We had the same problem with our beagles.

Give her a couple pieces of her regular food.  It's not the same kind of treat, but it'll be special to her.    D'aww...

Yeah.  Just make sure she knows what her name is, and training will be loads easier.

[Nega]

Got it. I might have some question's later, so...don't be surprised if this topic gets bumped again.

[Thecard]

Got it. I might have some question's later, so...don't be surprised if this topic gets bumped again.

Nah.  It's cool if you do.  To be honest, I'd probably miss it if you made a new thread.

You know, I just realized 'Thread' is one letter off from being an anagram of 'Thecard.'

[Funk]

some tips (from haveing a now 30KG  9moth old malamute)

the good news is yorkie arent all the strong, so pulling will be easyer to cope with.
but pulling can still make walking her a pain.
short leads are go on dogs that bolt off to chase stuff, the long run up fron a extension lead hurts when you stop it with your wrist.

as for treats dogs will try any thing you offer them so apple and orange segments work as good treats.
cheap toys tend to get broken fast, ok you have less dog.

if the dog is going to get to a large size then you need to train it not to jump visiters.

Yorkshire Terrier are noisey and often have a small dog or napoleon complex.

train 2 or 3 tricks at a time to keep the dog guessing.

[Thecard]

Well, it's best if you can walk your dog without pulling her.  And also, try to train Bear to not jump visitors even though she's small, because claws will still hurt people wearing shorts.  Also because some people hate adorable things being adorable.

[kilakan]

On feeding, stay away from foods with Byproduct in the ingredients list, as well as foods that say they have sugar, beat pulp, corn meal, and a few other nasty ones which I can't think of.  Oh and if you are getting them any sort of dehydrated meat strips or anything for a treat, check it's ingrediants list to make sure it's not preserved from irradiation, or excessive amounts of salts or chemicals.  As humans we can eat all the chemical synthesis we want cause we know when it's making us sick, dogs on the other hand can't tell you.

On the irradiation perserved treats they started selling them where I lived recently, and they are actually quite radioactive.  I used my universities giegar counter on them and it sounded like i was standing in a toxic waste dump.  Those would make her sick (and possibly cancer/dead) very very quickly. 

Be mindful of what your dog eats, and don't just take the vet's word on it, they are a union and get told by the union what to sell/push and it's not always the best type of food.  What a dog eats is what a dog is, feed them well and they'll be happy, healthy, and live a long life

[nenjin]

My best advice for training is this: be consistent. That includes what you do and what your mom does. If you have a "no dogs in the kitchen rule" it's got to be regularly enforced. If one of you gives one set of rules, and the other gives a different set, the dog will follow the rules based on who is around.

I have a way larger dog so my rules are going to be a little different but some of mine are....

-No running in the house. A dog that's sprinting around has too much energy and either needs to be put outside or needs to be made to sit still for 3 to 4 minutes until their mindset changes.

-No begging. Period. If you're eating and a dog is closer than 2 feet to you, they're too close.

-No chewing on non-dog stuff, period.

-The dog must wait for me to let them in. If I open a door and the dog tries to shoot past me, it's a bad dog. I make sure I have my dog's full, undivided attention and their rump is on the ground before I let them in.

-Same goes for food. A good dog waits until you're put food in their bowl and you've let them know it's ok to eat. A bad dog sticks its face in the bowl while you're still trying to put food in it. (Failure to enforce this at an early age can lead to food aggression. A good test is if you give a dog food, then try to take it away, if they give you attitude they're developing food aggression habits.)

-When we go out for a walk or come back in from one, I'm the first one out and the first one in. If I open the door and my dog tries to yank me out, they're being a bad dog.

My basic philosophy is to teach my dogs patience (because I have a big dumb yellow dog with way too much energy) and to pay attention to what I'm doing and respect what I'm doing. I've never owned smaller dogs so maybe some of these don't apply, but generally I think a patient, attentive dog makes for a better pet all around.

[Leatra]

Training a smaller dog is a lot more difficult. I'm generalizing: Smaller dogs don't have much patience, they are loyal but not like bigger dogs, they are more likely to 'rebel' against your rules and they are more aggressive when playing with humans and dealing with other animals. A small dog doesn't necessarily equal a dog that's suited for apartment.

I'm not going to say create a lot of rules and enforce them but ALWAYS keep a rule and enforce it when you create it. The consistency thing nenjin mentioned is the most important thing when it comes to training a dog. Dogs are more intelligent than we realize because they are more like clever than intelligent. If you allow your dog to chew your old already-ripped sock, that's what she will be thinking when she is chewing on your favorite t-shirt.

I miss my t-shirt...

[Shadowgandor]

I've been living with dogs in house ever since I was born and they've all grown to be great pets. I don't have a lot of tips, but here are a few things I think are very important:


- Respect the dog. This is mostly a problem with smaller dogs, but a lot of people ignore signals a dog gives when he wants to be left alone. They still grab or hold the dog or are teasing him. Most dogs give subtle signals (turn head down and walk away for example) as to say "I'm sorry but I'm really not in the mood". Continuing to grab him and hold him makes something which should be a pleasant experience into something frustrating and is the sole cause for those annoying little yappers you often see, the only way they could get people to F*** off is to growl or bark.
- Be consistent! If you don't want your dog to be begging for food, never ever give it a snack when it's begging (or could start begging). One slip and months of work is thrown away. If you don't want the dog to sleep on the couch, don't let it come on the couch as a pup either. Don't let him in the house because he's whining, even though it might be heartbreaking.
- Start teaching it at an early age and make it a fun experience. Some people use treats to award good behavior, but we've always awarded the dog with attention. Though treats do make it easier to get him to do something, I personally think it's a lot more rewarding if it's listening because it wants you to be proud of him instead of him wanting a snack.

Those are basically my tips for a sweet and loving pet. You could take Dog Training Courses with Bear, most dogs like those kind of things as do most owners

[Thecard]

And, of course, do remember that you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks.  One of our three-year-old beagles just became a housedog.