Yorkie Puppy Training - your puppy WANTS to obey

Before you can begin Yorkie puppy training you need your Yorkie puppy to take you seriously. First you need to establish YOURSELF as the 'ALPHA DOG' of the house. Your Yorkie needs to know that you are the 'Leader of the pack'. You have to let your puppy know who is the boss, YOU.

A couple of simple ways to do this are:

1. When leaving your house, always be the first one walk through the door and back in the door on return, and not the puppy.

2. Always be the first to eat, then feed your dog only when you have finished your meal.

3. Do not allow your Yorkie to sleep in your bed, let your puppy know and define a sleeping area seperate to your own.

4. If your Yorkie is laying in your way when you want to walk past, do not walk around, instead make your puppy move out of your way.

5. You set the rules, give your puppy attention when it is suitable for you and not when your Yorkie puppy thinks its best.

Telling your puppy who is the boss in this way is a MUST and the first stage in your Yorkie puppy training. You cannot expect your puppy to obey any other commands without first establishing this.

If you do this first i.e. make your puppy listen, you will find the rest of your puppy training much much easier.

A quick question, does your Yorkie puppy know their name?

An absolutely vital part of your Yorkie puppy taining is the that your puppy knows thier own name. In order for you to tain your puppy any further they must first repsond to you when thier name is called.

One simple way to do this is:

1. Take one of your Yorkies favourite treats and hold it in your hand but keep the treat away from your body.

2. Usually your puppy will look at the treat and not at your eyes. Keep calling your puppies name repeatedly until he looks at your eyes.

3. Once you have established eye contact give your puppy the treat quickly.

4. Put another treat in your hand, this time in the opposite hand and repeat step 1.

5. Repeat this process until you are confident the puppy recognizes his name.

6. Then just call your puppies name and reward him for looking at you with a big hug and lots of petting.

This type of Yorkie puppy training is called 'positive re-inforcement' that is rewarding your puppy when they respond to your commands. It is a much more effective training method than scolding or coercion.

The best way to describe this is by following the example below:

Lets say that your puppy is trying very hard to get your attention. Your puppy shows this by jumping up and down and finally jumps up your leg.

Your probably very like to say something like 'down boy..down'. This is likely to be quickly followed by you taking your puppies paws off you and placing your puppy on the ground and petting the puppy.

So, lets see whats going on in your puppies mind for a second. Your puppy thinks when I jump up and down my owners leg, I get rewarded with some nice petting, I think I will do more of that so I recieve some more petting.

Even if your scolding your puppy for this behaviour, your puppy thinks everytime I jump up and down I get attention, I think I'll jump up my owners leg more often.

and so the cycle will carry on...

"...I was able to house break Tiffany in less than a week. She now consistently goes outside to 'do her duty' and, although she still has accidents occasionally, the whole family is happier. It was especially helpful for us to understand her thought process and why she was doing what she was doing..."

Read What Helped This Lady With Her Yorkie Puppy Training ...