My Yorkie Needs Training

I have trained many small dogs throughout my career. One of my favorites are the Yorkies. “Yorkies”, or more properly, Yorkshire Terriers, are enjoyable small intelligent companions.

My first impression of a dog is always whether it is fearful or social. Most Yorkies I have encountered have been social, right from the start, especially if I sit down at a sofa. Immediately, they are coming over to me, climbing up on my lap, getting their noses near my face, and boom… I get a few, or a lot of kisses. They will then go about their business, yet come back several times to engage me.

In almost all cases, the first issue that comes up is house training. Most Yorkies are pottying in the home when I meet them. These are smart little doggies that just need some proper guidance, and the owners need a solid potty training program, to sort this out. It takes a bit of effort, but if the owners are diligent in implementing the program I give them, we stop the accidents in the home.

The second issue is, of course, obedience. Surprisingly, most tiny dog owners don’t do a lot of obedience training with their dogs. Yorkies are highly trainable dogs, being able to work up to advanced obedience, if you just put in the time. Some of the problem is that the owners don’t have very high expectations of their dogs. I think they figure obedience is for big dogs, and they expect their little dogs to not listen to them.

A trained dog is a happy dog. A trained dog is a joy to live with. A trained dog is a safe dog, because you can call them back if they get away from you. The owners that decide to finish the training are much better off than the ones that only dabble in the training.

At first, Yorkies are going to be like most terriers, distracted with everything around them… the blowing leaf, that man over there, a dog walking by, scents on the ground, and such. Maybe owners just figure that their dogs are not trainable when they see this, and don’t realize the positive effects that proper obedience training will have on their dogs. With a proper program, and full follow through on the part of the owner, these dogs can be peppy and obedient companions.

I like Yorkies. Super nice dogs. I like training them, and every owner I have met has been a very nice and caring person for their dog. I did a house training lesson for a Yorkie yesterday. We are going to do his first obedience lesson in 2 weeks. I hope we get to finish the entire program together. He is a very funny, intelligent, social dog.