Need a dog psychiatrist

[Windrider]

There is a trainer I know of who adopted a severely abused collie with one of the worst people-fear issues I'd ever heard of. She chronicled her story of taking Babe from an animal that would curl into the fetal position and empty her bladder when approached by people to one who went to agility trials and earned Excellent level titles. The story was originally published in Collie Connection, but can be found online here:
http://www.awca.net/rescue/babestor.htm

Your little Yorkie isn't anywhere near this sad a case. Sounds like she is improving at a steady pace with your patience. But Cathy Toft is a world class trainer and has many insights into overcoming fear that you might find helpful. Look especially at the chapters titled "Working with a Fearful Dog."

A lot of it is, as people here have mentioned, rewarding the dog with treats for any move towards you. Cathy Toft used a clicker, and it is fascinating to read how she shaped Babe's behavior step by step, first turning her head towards her, then facing her, then making eye contact, etc. Until you have a recall and are allowed to touch the dog. I think you'll find her articles very helpful.

 

[BunnyMomma]

She is adorable! I had a yorkie for 17 years. They are wonderful dogs. She will learn to trust you eventually. Since she came from a puppy mill and was used as breeding stock, it is likely that she wasn't given the kind of attention that builds loyalty. You made a good decision to take her home with you. When you finally gain her trust, you will have the best friend a person could ever ask for. Seeing your yorkie made me miss my Chili. She was 3 lbs. of love, and the best friend I ever had. Our whole family loved her. The best advice I can give you, is to snuggle her on your lap and gently pet her every chance you get. Food is a good treat too, but snuggles will win her trust without all the calories.
Best luck to you and your new best friend!

 

[Redyre Rotties]

Step one, STOP trying to force things. A dog like this MUST be allowed to come to terms with the situation and come to you on her own. Let her drag a line when you put her outdoors so you can get control of her from a distance and help her to come into the house.

Cultivate non threatening body language with her. No eye contact. No reaching out towards her. Show her the side of your body rather than the front. Kneel or get on the floor. For now, don't try to touch her at all.

See if you can hold her food bowl while she eats. If she will, drop each piece of food into the bowl and let her eat it before you drop in another one. Feed her treats from the other side of the fence if she will take them.

Using the line in order to eliminate chasing and cornering her to catch her is important. This is very very threatening to a dog, and each time you have to do this is a big set back in your trust relationship.

You are just going to have to really back off and give it time, and it could easily take weeks before you see any real progress. Be kind and be patient. And bless you for saving them both.

 

[watchdogps]

You can also put a line (leash, no loop) on her for when you have to let her out, so that you can get her more easily. While waiting or her to come to you would be ideal, in the real world sometimes we need to get her in so we can go somewhere ejust calmly step on the line and nicely pick her up, or encourage her to follow you. Don't drag, if she won't follow just pick her up. tc. A line would minimize the dashing around, during which time she i s panicking herself.
This will take a loooong time, but with patience, she will come around. By long, I mean she may not seem "normal" for years, but one day you will go "hey, she's pretty normal!" My very first dog was totally unsocialized, and it took so much work, but it was worth it.

 

[BorderKelpie]

Tehtering, groundwork, marker training.....

PM sent!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Awesome job keeping it up Creed!

PS. Expect some regression in training. It's a normal process of learning, but sometimes it feels like you are taking two steps back for every one forward, and can be frustrating. It too passes. Drop in whenever you are feeling frustrated or discouraged too, because it happens.

Oh! And I forgot crating. We don't crate our cattle dog anymore because she no longer is fearful (she would shake, cringe, pee all over herself, have vivid nightmares, etc when we first got her), but it was an invaluable tool for working with her. It can offer many dogs a feeling of safety, and is so helpful when you need to be on a routine based schedule. It may not work with your dog because of her background (how is she doing with housetraining? Caged breeder/kennel backgrounds can make that extra hard). The only thing is, the crate HAS to be a positive place only. Never a place for time outs or punishments. Treats should be offered. It really helped bring our dog out of her shell over time, and we knew when the trust switch had finally flipped because she stopped using it.

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

Quote:
This I agree with very much. Use a technique called "umbilicalling", or "tethering". I have seen this work wonders and have used it many times myself. It is the single best way to gain a dogs attention and, ultimately, trust. I would tie her to you 100% of the time except at night. Take her outside on potty breaks yourself and when you do this you can give her a longer line. Umbilicalling works best when it is done with NO attention given to the dog. NO talking to the dog, NO eye contact and NO purposeful touching. Umbilicalling cultivates an excellent bonding and training cycle with the dog. It allows the dog to learn to think with you.

This gives the dog a chance to start learning your routine without the pressure of any real contact or pressure from you. The dog only has to learn to stay out of your way and move with you. Those two things can be very underestimated in boding with a dog, but they are very important. Pretty soon your movement together will start to have a flow. She will learn how you move, what to expect of your actions. This will in turn start giving her some confidence as she starts to understand what you are doing and relax in your presence. It is an amazing tool in behavior modification of fear issues in dogs.

Allowing her to just run loose would be counter-productive past a certain point. Dogs allowed to run free can and do stop their positive forward bonding with their owners. It becomes a comfort zone to them. Umbilicalling gives that comfort zone a much more workable situation where the bonding and training can be constant and the improvement can be made much quicker and with a good final result.

To achieve this with her you can start with a light weight 6 foot lead and tie it to your belt loop or a longer leash if you aren't wearing pants with belt loop.

The comments on hand feeding her are also very good. If she'll take food from you that is wonderful, if not, give her a bowl and let her see you drop it in one by one.

 

[piecemaker]

We have a 2 yorkies. One that is very much like yours. But that is just how she is, she has always been shy.
One thing I want to add is be careful what you use as treats. Yorkies and most small dogs are pron to pancreatitis, a VERY painful stomach problem. Both ours have it. We are useing that moist and meaty brand dog food for treats, that way they eat without all the treats.
Good luck with our new ones thank you for helping them

 

[verity]

I have done 'rescue' for many, many years and it sounds as if your shy little Yorkie has made impressive progress during the time you have had her --

she will probably turn into a 'velcro dog' and you may be longing for the 'good ol' days' when she wasn't trying to be in your pocket at all times --

Enjoy them both -- as well as 'Helen-the-Hen' ---

Blessed are the people who rescue the 'needy' ones --

 

[Creed Bennett]

Well, it's been a busy day here. I worked on my brooder house getting it ready for a batch of Australorps that are coming in next week. I did get some time to work with Trixie today. She did well and I got to scratch her under the chin a little while ago. It's amazing what shy dogs do when you have been giving them salmon patties. My wife was sitting in the recliner late last night and she reached down beside the chair where the dog bed is and was petting what she thought was one of our other dogs. (We have six total) It turns out it was Trixie. She has also noticed the two chickens that I have in the house in a pet porter that I'm treating for a cold. She really likes barking at them. Her and her buddy Abby the collie have been in the back yard digging after a mole and making a mess most of the afternoon while I was working. The other good sign is she has been walking up the steps that my wife has beside the bed for the other dogs to use to get up there with. She walks up and looks at the other dogs, thinks a minute and gets back down. I bet she gets up there tomorrow.
Thanks to all of you who responded. Trixie and I both really appreciate it!
I'll keep you all posted on our progress.