Fun Fact: “No!”

No is a word that we all tend to say or yell to our Yorkshire Terrier, Cavachon or Yorkie Mix multiple times throughout the day.  The only problem is that they don’t understand what no means.  Dogs tend to get confused and anxious when words are yelled towards them or said multiple times.  Haven’t you ever found yourself screaming, “No, no, no, no…?”  A way that you can use the word “no” properly is by directing “no” towards whatever object or person that you don’t want your dog associating with.  By doing this your dog will associate that person or object with something bad rather than feeling that they are being yelled at.

Dog Introductions

If you live in an area where there are other dogs you will have to deal with dog introductions.  Dog introductions can have many different outcomes.  It can be a pleasant, embarrassing, aggressive or uncomfortable experience.

My terrier, Lizzie, is very good with small dogs but will bark at a large dog even if it is a few blocks away.  We all like to call this the “Napoleon complex.”  Although our small dogs appear aggressive when they are barking at larger dogs it is really a reaction to fear.  They think that if they bark and appear aggressive that the larger dog may not feel as powerful.  This can be a very embarrassing experience when the larger dog is walking by nice and calm while your terrier is barking away.

Most Yorkshire Terriers, Cavachons and Yorkie mixes behave well with other small dogs, but there is always the exception.  The most important thing that you can do to protect your dog and other dogs is to ask the owner of the other dog if it is okay if both of your dogs interact.  Most owners will say, “Oh yes, my dog is friendly” or “Oh no, my dog doesn’t do well with others.”  Once you have permission to have your dog interact with another make sure that you keep your leash taught and are able to react quickly if there is a problem.  You never want to get into a situation where the leashes become crossed or you have to yank on your dog’s neck.  If you have to yank on your dog’s neck an injury could occur.

Whenever you dog is interacting with another dog you want to remain vigilant.  Your dogs may be getting along one minute and be in a serious fight the next minute.  Dogs can have very good friends; you just want to make sure that they have time to get to know each other!

Fun Fact: Vision of a Dog

Yorkshire Terriers, Cavachons, Yorkichons and Yorkie Mixes, like all dogs, have a different view of the world than humans do.

 Many of us think that our dogs are colorblind but in fact they are not.  They do not see as many colors as we do but they can differentiate colors within the range of sepia hues.

Although dogs cannot see as many colors as humans can, they have different benefits to their vision than we do.

Dogs have a broader field of vision and can detect movement better than humans can.  Our field of vision has a range of about 160 degrees while our dogs have a field of vision from about 200 to 270 degrees.  This fluctuation depends on the size of a dog’s snout. 

Because of the broader field of vision and a special membrane that covers their eyes they can detect movement from a much larger area than we can and they have much better night vision than we do which is why many dogs are used for hunting and like to do a little bit of hunting of their own in the back yard.

Even when a dog begins to lose their vision they are still capable of leading a full life because of the fact that their sense of hearing and smell is also so excellent.

Preventing Injury to Your Dogs Neck

When it comes to choosing supplies for your puppy one thing that you may want to consider is buying a harness instead of a collar.

Yorkshire Terriers, Yorkichons and Cavachons are very small when you will bring them home at the age of 8 weeks.  Their necks are also very fragile.  When you put a collar on a small dog, even when they are full grown, it is much easier for them to suffer a neck injury than if you were to use a harness.

My boyfriends family was walking their miniature pinscher in the park about three years ago right around Christmas.  He was wearing a collar.  A larger dog approached him and Rufus, the miniature pinscher, jerked on his collar as the larger dog came towards him.  He seemed fine and they continued their walk and returned home.  That evening Rufus was having trouble walking, was falling when he tried to get up and wasn’t able to jump on the furniture like he had been in the morning.  His family rushed him to the veterinarian’s office where they found that he had injured his spine and was suffering from internal bleeding in his brain.  They did not think he was going to make it through the night.

Rufus did make it through that night and was able to come home but to this day, three years later, his one front paw is still paralyzed.  He falls over sometimes when he is excited and he isn’t able to run or jump like he was before the injury.  All of this could have been prevented if he had been wearing a harness instead of a collar.

In my opinion, putting a harness on your small dog can prevent many injuries from occurring and can help you to have piece of mind that your puppy or dog will be able to enjoy all of their outdoor activities with less risk of being injured.

Capturing a Behavior

Training your new Yorkshire Terrier, Cavachon or Yorkie Mix puppy can be done in many different ways.

One of these ways is by capturing a behavior that you are happy with.  A key part of this strategy is to always have treats available to give your puppy.

To capture a behavior you have to be paying close attention to your puppy.  When your puppy does something that you approve of you “capture” this behavior by saying “good girl” or “good boy” and giving your puppy a treat.  They will begin to associate an appropriate behavior with receiving a treat.  As you puppy gets used to performing a particular behavior you can give them different treats such as a pat on the head and eventually a “good girl” or “good boy” will be enough praise.

I purchased my dog, Lizzie, when she was five months old.  She was trained to be a show dog but her adult teeth came in crooked so she was put up for sale.  A show dog is taught not to sit.  Of course we wanted Lizzie to sit and we needed a strategy to do this.

We decided to try to capture the behavior of sitting.  I kept treats with me at all times and Lizzie would “stand” in front of me as she was taught to do.  Eventually she sat down.  She immediately received a treat.  It got to the point where Lizzie would sit, I would give her a treat and she would walk around the coffee table and sit again.  She quickly learned that if she would sit, she would receive a treat.  We used this same technique after she learned to sit to teach her to lie down. 

The technique of capturing a behavior worked for us and I’m sure it can work for you as well.

Puppy Training Must Start From Day One

When it comes to training your new Yorkshire Terrier, Cavachon or Yorkie mix puppy you want to start right from day one.  It is very important to decide what behaviors you approve or disapprove of from your puppy and have a plan of how to address these behaviors.  If you allow them to do a particular behavior one day and then scold them for doing the same behavior the next day they will become very confused and not know what you are expecting of them.

When I picked up my terrier, Lizzie, the first thing I decided was that she was not going to beg for food.  I know many dogs who have to be placed outside, in a cage or are just plain obnoxious when their family is eating a meal.  I did not want that to be an issue in my home. 

I am the type of person that eats most of my meals on my couch while watching TV.  It is particularly easy for a dog to hop onto a couch when they are very small.  The first night I brought my puppy home she jumped on the couch while I was eating dinner.  I gently placed her back on the floor.  This process continued over and over for a few weeks.  She would jump and I would put her on the ground.  She would jump up again and I would put her back on the ground again.  After a few weeks she realized that while we were eating dinner she was to sit quietly on the ground.

Training a new puppy, or even an older dog, is all about repetition.  You have to decide what you want them to do and show them by repeating the process over and over again.  It also helps to have treats handy!

Fun Fact: Superior Hearing

Humans have the ability to hear from a range of about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.  Our dogs have the ability to hear a range of about 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz.

Daily activities that we may not find irritating or scary have the ability to affect our dogs differently, especially when they are puppies.  They may chase the vacuum cleaner, bark when we are drying our hair, become scared if a motorcycle drives by while out on a walk and bark when we do not hear or see a thing.

Yorkshire Terriers, Cavachons and Yorkie mixes will use their keen sense of hearing to alert their loved ones when they hear noises that they are not familiar with.

Dog Food Allergies

Your Yorkshire Terrier, Cavachon or Yorkie mix puppy may need some special attention in their early years when it comes to choosing the right food and diet. 

My dog Lizzie, who is a little over a year old, has had issues with the food that we have been feeding her.  As a puppy she was given a Chicken and Rice formula.  We noticed over the past year that she has been in our family that she is always scratching.  She scratches her ears, her belly and her armpits all of the time. 

 We decided to switch her to a Lamb and Rice formula a few months back and the same thing was happening.  Three weeks ago we decided to switch Lizzie to a Fish and Potato formula.  At first she was still scratching but now the redness and irritation has started to go away and she is not scratching nearly as much as she was. 

Scratching and itching is a major sign of a food allergy and it is something that you want to keep an eye on as your puppy is growing.  The key to switching to a different food is to do it slowly over about two weeks.  You want to start with 3/4 old food to 1/4 new food.  Do that for a few days then go to 1/2 and 1/2.  After a few more days you can go to 1/4 old food and 3/4 new food.  Wait a few more days and then you can switch completely to the new food. 

This is just an example of the type of issue that you will have to keep an eye on over the first year of your puppy’s life.  They have allergies and irritations just like we do.  You may have to experiment with a few different types of food and brands of food but when you find the right one your dog will be happy and fulfilled!