“Let’s say you already have a number of toys out to play with and three of them are tennis balls. They all look alike. We’ll use that to confuse mom and dad. And, this is another of those times when you can make them get up and move around a little. I mean… look at them… they NEED the exercise.

“Before you start, take one of the tennis balls and hide it in another room. Then, get their attention while running around looking at the other two balls and the rest of the toys… but act like you are in a panic. That will get them to notice your frustration. Go from one toy to another, flip them with your nose… roll each ball away from you and keep frantically searching. While all of this is going on, I’ll sit back and look totally disinterested.

“One of them… usually mom… will start asking you what you are looking for, tell you to bring her a ball, and make other comments trying to calm you down. When you don’t calm down, she’ll decide she has to help you find what you are looking for. When she gets up, start trotting alongside her… and while you do, look up at her as if asking if she is going to find it for you.

“A nice touch right about then is to have your mouth slightly open, your tongue hanging out a little and keep a smile on your face… Yeah, a smile! They really eat that up.

“Let her walk around, looking behind the couch, in the bedroom and kitchen, the hallway, bathrooms and everywhere else she can think of…while you keep that anxious look on your face.

“If she hands you another ball, check it over, then push it away… get the idea across that there is only one of those tennis balls that you want… and this one ain’t it! She will keep looking until she finds it…

“Once found, look real happy, play with the ball for a minute, flip it in the air, roll on it, etc.

“Mom will sit back down…

“Then, you can bring it to her so she can throw it and you can chase it. But… only do that once or twice, then put that ball down and go do something else… as if you have lost interest in the ball…

“It will drive her nuts! And you win the game!”

So, when we would get ready to go somewhere and we wanted to put him in his crate, he crawled under the cabinet and hid until we were gone. Being free to roam, it seems he spent much of the time we were gone on the back of the couch… looking out the window and waiting for our return.

And along came Sassy. It took her awhile to catch on to when we would be leaving her in her pen, but now she can tell what we are planning. We are pretty sure Spanky has been coaching her, telling her what to look for… like when we get our shoes on, maybe get dressed up a little more than normal.

Now, she see the signs and starts getting nervous, walking around and carefully avoiding getting too close to either of us. Then, she goes under an end table… out of our reach… and from where she can quickly escape, if necessary.

So, we have to try and trick her so she is in the open and near one of us long enough to grab her and place her in the pen. But, we are running out of ideas as she gets smarter and smarter. And, it is taking longer and longer before we can go out the door. By then, we are nearly too tired to go.

Ah, Yorkies… we sure do love these little critters, but they are just too darn smart!

One of the things he has enjoyed doing, over the years, is to try and exercise his reluctant mom and dad as part of his game of playing ball.

He is older, now, and doesn’t play ball quite so much, anymore. But, he used to bring us the ball, have us toss it and he would chase it – pretty standard Yorkie stuff.

However, if we had been sitting a little too long, he might decide to make one of us get up and retrieve the ball after he shoved it under the door to the coat closet. He would sit and whine, look at us and whine some more until one of us got up to get it for him.

Well… he must have shared this little trick with young-and-eager-to-learn Sassy, our pup. And, she decided to expand on this opportunity to see us move. She plays with the ball in front of the TV stand. Then, when she thinks we aren’t looking, nudges it with her nose until it rolls out of her reach. She then looks at it, growls and gives little barks while looking to see who is going to get it for her. She also modifies this trick to have the ball end up under the couch, the desk in the office or even on a shelf of the coffee table.

Since we are older, even using a grabber to reach under things is a challenge and not near as much fun for us as it is for her. Luckily for me, mom is usually the one who caves in and goes to get the ball.

So, what does Sassy do to thank us for getting the ball? She goes right back and puts it under again, so we can continue the game that we don’t want to play.

Spanky taught her well…

Guess I’m lucky though… just a couple of hours before that, I had some bills and $50 cash on that same table… I don’t want to encourage her, but she could have taken the bills!

I know… I know… there is a long history of kids saying the dog ate their homework. Well… in our house, that would certainly be true, except our kids are a couple of decades beyond school.

Seems like any time we aren’t paying enough attention to her, she finds paper and rips it apart, leaving pieces all over… usually behind my chair (a place that isn’t all that easy to reach for cleanup) or under a curio cabinet that is actually Spanky’s hiding place.

When you are getting old and less flexible like we are, it is difficult to reach. Thankfully we have a “Grabber” we purchased from a TV commercial a few years ago. That helps.

Sassy can reach into small trash cans, gets up on chairs and gets onto tables to get paper… and loves those postcard inserts that fall on the floor so easily while you’re looking at a new magazine.

So, I’ve nicknamed her “Sassy the Shredder” and I sure hope she gets past this stage very soon…

Does your Yorkie like to shred paper? Have you been able to train her to stop? Share any funny stories about shredding with us… we’d love to read them.

First of all, many people enjoy walking their Yorkshire terrier and this can be a great way for the two of you to get the exercise that you both need. You need to keep in mind, however, that the ground can be considerably hot and many of us don’t realize it because we are wearing shoes. This can be very painful and perhaps even damaging to your dog’s paws. Always make sure you keep the surface in mind and test it periodically so that you are sure that it is not too hot for the walk.

Another thing that you need to consider is the fact that dogs don’t have the benefit of sweating like humans do. Heatstroke is a very real possibility for dogs whenever they are out, especially in dogs with shorter snouts or if the weather is humid outside because it makes panting less effective. Watch your dog very carefully for signs of tiredness or if they seem to be panting more heavily than what they should. Remember, a dog will not stop on its own in many cases if it is having a good time playing, and heat strokes can happen rather suddenly. Always give your Yorkie ready access to shade and water and make sure that it takes advantage of it regularly.

One final thing that I would like to mention, and this is true of Yorkshire Terriers as well as any other animal, is that they should not be left in an automobile with the windows rolled up whenever it is hot outside. Even on a fairly mild day, temperatures inside a car can reach a much higher level than what they are outside. This is not only harmful for the dog, many dogs die as a result of being left in automobiles. If you are going to be out and about, take your little guy or gal with you whenever you go inside and never trust in a slightly cracked window to provide your dog with the air that it needs.

Well, here is an article about about some Yorkie “actors” who displayed their talents in a high school “Wizard of Oz” production and wowed the audience…

“‘It’s the ‘ahh’ factor,’ musical director Diehl said, and audiences reacted as predicted when 6-pound Chloe stole the opening, running across the stage as Toto, and providing closure at the end. “

Read about these furbabies and their show moms in this newspaper article, by clicking here.

Make you want to see how your Yorkie might do on stage? Has anyone on Terrific Yorkies had their little one in a play, musical, video, on TV? Please share the experience.

You may have already seen these video clips. But they are funny. The first is about a dog named Denver. Turn your volume up and check it out here (about 4 minutes long.)

The second is about three poodles… you’ll get a kick out of these three… Click her (just 35 seconds.)

Have any stories or videos to share about guilty Yorkies?

My wife has bathed our puppy and had pretty good success… so far. But, when it comes to the combing and brushing, Sassy is less sure about her safety and gets a little sassy about the situation.

Yesterday, Sandy was combing Sassy’s hair (no bath involved this time), when the pup once again lived up to her name… grabbed the comb and took off with it… chewing on it as she went.

Back to bathing, check here to ready the article.

Well, our cable was totally out last night – TV, phone and internet. So, we didn’t get to look for the Doggie Moms show or even check e-mail… but, today I found more information on the program.

The new reality TV show, Doggie Moms, that began yesterday (2/16/11) may only be on New York channels. But, all is not lost… they have the first episode available for you to watch through their website… click here to see it.

There is also a Facebook page where you can see comments and keep up with the show through the NYC Media page… here.  And “Like” it, if you want…

Have fun… and, if I counted right, there are more Yorkies than any other breed on this show… that’s because they are Terrific!

There’s a new game called Puppy Park! featuring Corduroy the Yorkie. Corduroy gets  caught up in “bone collecting, cat avoiding, frantic frollicking.” The game is available for 99 cents… but, there is also a free version to try out. It is called “Puppy Park Lite!”

Read this article to learn how the game came to be created… (if the link doesn’t work, copy and paste this one into your browser: http://bit.ly/eOrMlS)

Almost makes you want to go out and get an iPhone…

One of the most common problems that people tend to experience whenever they bring a new Yorkshire Terrier into the home is that the original dog may not get along with it immediately. At times, this can lead to a little bit of scrapping between the dogs but in most cases, the original dog is simply going to ignore the new member for a while. This is something that tends to go away, and most Yorkshire Terriers become best of friends after they have been around each other for a while.

This is not always going to be the case, however, and just like with humans, sibling rivalry can be an issue. Perhaps one of the best things that you can do whenever you are bringing a new dog into the mix is to establish the pecking order, or at least help it along if at all possible. This can often make it very comfortable for all of the dogs, as they will have their particular place in the pack. One of the easiest ways to do this is to hold the original animal on your lap, giving it the dominant position while the new animal remains on the floor. It is not going to be necessary for you to do this indefinitely, but doing it whenever the dogs are getting used to each other may help in getting them to bond properly.

In order for you to help even further, you can avoid becoming stressed out over this situation. Dogs are going to pick up on your stress rather easily, and this can make it difficult for them to gain the comfort necessary to bond with each other. Just remember, in almost every case the Yorkshire Terriers are going to end up running together, sleeping together and being best of friends. It may take a little bit of time, but in the end your patience will be well worth it.

Some of the famous individuals in the form of celebrities that own Yorkshire Terriers include Miley Cyrus, Carmen Electra, Tara Reid and Venus Williams. Many times, you will see these Yorkshire Terriers included in the shots that are taken and pasted inside of the tabloids at the supermarket. Some people even find it more interesting that these celebrities own Yorkshire Terriers and at times, the dogs do tend to be a little bit more of an attention getter than the celebrity.

Some male celebrities also enjoy Yorkshire Terrier ownership, and they are not afraid to be seen with this delightful animal in public. Donny Osmond is a good example of this, as he owns a Yorkshire Terrier named Spike. Donny Osmond has been famous for singing with his family for many years, but more recently he reentered the spotlight when he won the Dancing with the Stars competition in 2009. Orlando Bloom is another individual that is often seen with a Yorkshire Terrier. Interestingly enough, he does not actually own the Yorkie, it is his girlfriend’s dog. He often babysits the dog, however, and is not embarrassed to be seen with the dog in public.

As far as people from the past who have had a Yorkshire Terriers, there are a few notable famous individuals that come to mind. Audrey Hepburn is one of those. She had a Yorkshire Terrier named Mr. Famous. Unfortunately, this Yorkie was hit by an automobile and died. Mrs. Hepburn continued with the tradition of Yorkshire Terrier ownership, however, with Assam of Assam.

Something that I would like to mention is the fact that the Yorkshire Terrier is a long term project and although they can be one of the most enjoyable pets that you can ever have, they are going to be quite a responsibility as well. Never let the fact that a famous individual owns a Yorkshire Terrier sway you into purchasing one on the spur of the moment. This would neither be fair to you nor to the pet.

One of the first things that you should probably understand about Yorkshire terriers is the fact that they do well in the warmer weather. Being a smaller breed, they are more susceptible to harm as a result of being out in the cold for extended periods of time. If you live in colder climates, more than likely you are already familiar with what is known as the windchill factor. This will affect dogs as well, and even a short amount of time outside in the frigid weather can cause harm to your dog. Be kind and make sure that your dog is not left outside for long amounts of time whenever the weather turns colder. A short trip outside, or perhaps a little bit of running around with you supervising will be fine.

Grooming your dog regularly may help it to do a little better in the colder weather as well. A well groomed coat is one that is better insulated, which will help to increase its comfort level outside. Some Yorkshire terriers are very tender when it comes to the colder weather and if you find that this is the case, perhaps even a dog sweater may be able to help. Many people enjoy dressing up their Yorkshire Terrier and a fluffy sweater on a cold winter day can not only make the dog more comfortable, it can be a source of pleasure for the owner as well.

If your Yorkie should happen to get wet when outside and it is cold, you should get him into warmer temperatures and snuggle him in a towel or use a blow dryer in order to dry his coat. Pay particular attention to the pads of his feet, especially if there was snow that might ice up between the pads.

Finally, an automobile is no place for a Yorkshire terrier to be alone whenever it is cold outside. Many people understand the dangers whenever it is hot, but when it is cold, hypothermia can be a real issue and it can occur rather quickly. If you left the dog in the automobile with the engine running, this could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. The safest place for your Yorkshire Terrier whenever the both of you are away from home is probably by your side.

Just wanted to let you know that we have opened our Christmas Shop and also have a short video to show you some of the selected items we are offering.

visit the shop to choose your Yorkie gifts

Spanky chose some fun gifts to offer from a board game called Yorkie-opoly to calendars, books, and even socks with Yorkies on them. Hope you like the video and see something you really want in the Shop. You can also customize your own products, to add your precious Yorkie.

See the one minute video and visit the shop