I recently got a 3 year old female yorkie that was taken from a breeder because he was going to kill her because she wasn't making any pups. So, it's been a few months. And, I'm sure she has mental issues. God only knows her living conditions for the first 3 years of her life. But, here are my problems with her.. I NEED HELP PLEASE!!
1: She refuses to walk on a leash. She puts the brakes on and stares at me. She is uninterested in treats, so that doesn't help. She won't even walk outside unless she is doing the poo circle.
2: She refuses to eat her dog food. I've tried several brands. Dry and canned. But, she LOVES my cats food. I have to feed my cat in a closed room to keep her out of it.
3: Potty training is a joke. If I take her outside 20 times a day she will just sit there and look at me. But, as soon as I bring her inside she pees on the carpet. If I put her in a crate at ANY time she pees in it and on herself.
4: She is so scared and skittish. She will literally sit there and shake at times because she is so scared. I'm assuming she has had severe abuse of some kind. I don't know what I can do to make her trust me. I hold her and pet her. And try to build a relationship. But, she just doesn't care. IS THERE ANY HOPE? I love this little girl, and feel so bad for her. I just want to fix her some how!

1) Will she walk round the house on a leash, or is it only when you take her out to walk her shge won't go? If she is fine at home then I would say it's not so much the leash as it is her being frightened by the 'outside world'. A lot of puppy millers just keep their dogs locked inside or in pens so they don't know what is going on when you take them for a walk.

If she just flat out doesn't like the leash then there are a few things you could try.
A popular one that usually works is to put a collar on her at home and just get her used to the feel of something around her neck.
Once she is used to that you can try adding a bit of weight to it, you can either tie something onto the collar or just attach the leash and let her drag it around the house.

2) Have you tried different brands or flavors? You could mix a small amount of the cat food in with her regular food to encourage her to eat or what I do for my little fuss pot is mix some raw lamb mince in with his regular food.

3) Again, because of where she came from she probably just has no idea what is expected of her. Take note of what times she pottys in the house, I know mine usually tend to go around the same times every day and make sure you keep her outside for a good length of time. Don't forget to praise like crazy when she does potty outside.
One thing that I normally wouldn't recommend but in this case may help... try putting a small square of carpet outside on the lawn. The reason I wouldn't recommend it in other cases it will train them to go on carpet, but in extreme cases where the dog refuses to go anywhere else putting it outside could get her used to going in the 'great outdoors'.
Once she is trained to the carpet outside just keep making it smaller until she eventually goes on the grass.

4) Unfortunately this may be something you have to live with. Some dogs can be skittish and timid their whole lives. She will eventually be comfortable with you and your guests but I wouldn't expect her to be a bold little dog.
You can try obedience classes to improve her temperament. Obedience isn't just about behaviour, it's about bonding with your dog.

I completely agree with Shazzy. Here are the facts, you have a puppymill dog. No legit breeder would kill a dog because it's not producing puppies.

Because she's a puppymill dog she's been through hell and back and has developed a lot of bad habits. Being kept in a cage, or less than ideal situation, will promote bad behavior.

A dog is like a child in many ways. A child learns how to do the things expected of them. Children and dogs aren't born knowing how to behave, they're taught. Your dog is the equivalent of an abused, mistreated, unadjusted child.

Patience is key in everything. I would normally recommend a firm "no" when the dog potties in the house but in this case I would say not to go that route. Calm leadership, lots of gentle praise when she does what's expected, treat training, and lots of love.

I'm sure you'll get her potty trained and leash trained, but like Shazzy mentioned, it's possible she'll always have some issues because of the treatment she received before you came into her life.

It take a special person to take in a puppy mill dog. I'm sure you'll do fine. Patience really is the key, and all the love you have in you. :)

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Originally Posted by shazamataz

1) Will she walk round the house on a leash, or is it only when you take her out to walk her shge won't go? If she is fine at home then I would say it's not so much the leash as it is her being frightened by the 'outside world'. A lot of puppy millers just keep their dogs locked inside or in pens so they don't know what is going on when you take them for a walk.

If she just flat out doesn't like the leash then there are a few things you could try.
A popular one that usually works is to put a collar on her at home and just get her used to the feel of something around her neck.
Once she is used to that you can try adding a bit of weight to it, you can either tie something onto the collar or just attach the leash and let her drag it around the house.

2) Have you tried different brands or flavors? You could mix a small amount of the cat food in with her regular food to encourage her to eat or what I do for my little fuss pot is mix some raw lamb mince in with his regular food.

3) Again, because of where she came from she probably just has no idea what is expected of her. Take note of what times she pottys in the house, I know mine usually tend to go around the same times every day and make sure you keep her outside for a good length of time. Don't forget to praise like crazy when she does potty outside.
One thing that I normally wouldn't reccomend but in this case may help... try putting a small square of carpet outside on the lawn. The reason I wouldn't recommend it in other cases it will train them to go on carpet, but in extreme cases where the dog refuses to go anywhere else putting it outside could get her used to going in the 'great outdoors'.
Once she is trained to the carpet outside just keep making it smaller until she eventually goes on the grass.

4) Unfortunately this may be something you have to live with. Some dogs can be skittish and timid their whole lives. She will eventually be comfortable with you and your guests but I wouldn't expect her to be a bold little dog.
You can try obedience classes to improve her temperament. Obedience isn't just about behaviour, it's about bonding with your dog.

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Crap. You got to this one before me :p

Totally agree with every thing here, great post, excellent information!

One thing I wanted to add was about the leash walking, you can buy a harness and see if that provides any comfort when walking her.

I am sure she doesn't hate you, but like you said God knows, what her first three years of life were like. I commend you for taking on you little problem child and saving her life.

I would recommend getting her spayed if you already haven't. And you can also seek a one on one obedience trainer (until she gets her self esteem up, then I would recommend socializing with other people and dogs), I've heard good things about Bark Busters. Obedience is a great way to help her build her self esteem and establish you as alpha in the home.

Good luck, and don't loose hope, if you need any thing explained or more help, please don't hesitate to ask! :D