How do I Train my Yorkie?

by Leanka
(South Africa)

Question

I have read a lot about these puppies and about how to housebreak them and so on.

But what I would like to know is how do you teach them to sit( do you press there bum onto the floor) and lie down and fetch?

How do I go about teaching her these tricks?

Answer

Whenever you are training your Yorkie, make sure to have a good supply of small training treats on hand.

Then decide which commands you want to teach.

To teach the sit command, use your dog’s name, and then say, “Sit.” Of course she won’t get it the first time, so hold the treat high up into the air and say it again: “Sit.”

Try to say the command as her bum is moving toward the floor, which it will naturally do when she turns her head up to watch the treat rise in the air.

Make sure to reward every sit, even if she does it without the command, and especially when she hears the command and performs as needed.

To train your Yorkie to lie down, call her over while you have a treat closed in your hand. Make sure she smells the treat and knows it’s there. Then pat the floor in front of you and say, “Down.”

If she doesn’t get it after several tries, it’s OK to press her down toward the floor, but not too hard.

You may find it helpful to let her follow the treat in your hand and move it down along the floor so that she naturally lies down to keep smelling it.

Say, “Down” right as she is starting to stretch out on the ground to reach for the treat.

Reward her every time she does it, even for partial attempts early in training.

For the fetch command, start with a squeaky toy and tease her with it until she starts trying to get it from you.

Toss it just a few steps away and then call her back as soon as she has it in her mouth.

Pull the toy out of her mouth and reward her for it immediately with praise and a treat.

Hopefully these tips will help, but if you are still struggling try our Yorkie training e-book which has been written in collaboration with a professional dog trainer and will teach you the way she successfully trains dogs.

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