Question
We have recently adopted a 5 year old male yorkie called Buster.
We have had him for a few days now and he is a lovely dog until its time to take him for a walk.
He only has to hear you pick up his lead and he goes mad, he will jump up us, run around in circles and when he see’s the lead he will bite it and pull on it until you clip him on. He then pulls on the lead when walking.
I’d like to get this sorted as I’m worried he might hurt himself because of how excited he gets plus walk times are a bit stressful at the moment so I was wondering if he’s like this because he’s not used to being on the lead and if there’s anything we can do to change it.
our other problem is the barking/crying at night.
We’ve been leaving a light on and have even left the tv on so that he can hear voices but its not helping. Is this just a settling in stage or something to be more concerned about.
Yorkie help
I’d like to offer some advice if I may…
First it’s important to make sure that you use a body harness instead of a collar with your Yorkie.
This is because of his small size and how much easier it is for him to hurt himself on a collar because he is so small.
A body harness will prevent him from accidentally straining so hard that he hurts himself.
The pre-walk excitement that you are experiencing is perfectly normal and not anything to be concerned about.
When you’re leash training, start by holding the leash close to you so that he does not have a lot of room to run around.
Hold him to your left side tightly and say, “Heel”.
Keep some small training treats handy and reward him when he walks right next to your left foot.
Keep repeating the heel command and rewarding your Yorkie for staying close to your foot.
Gradually give him a little more leash as he starts to get the hang of it.
Make sure you reward him every time he stays close to your foot while you?re walking and using the heel command.
As far as the nighttime crying/barking is concerned, in most cases your Yorkie just wants to be with you.
If you are keeping him in a dog crate at night, try putting him in your room. Then you can tell him to shush if he starts crying or barking. In most cases, if he knows you are there, he will calm down.
You should also give him a blanket or other warm cloth with your smell in it.
He wants to know you are near, especially if he was a shelter dog. He wants to make sure he hasn’t been left alone, and giving him something warm that smells like you is a great way to reassure him that you?re sticking around.
Easy Walk Harness
I have a Yorkie that pulls and I have tried a lot of harnesses and the best one that worked for us is the Easy Walk Harness made by Premier.
It’s very humane as it is a harness, do not cause choking, gagging and it works. No more pulling.
The excitement is normal but can be trained. I do wait till they are calm, try clap your hands once to get his attention and do it again if he is still excited.
When he calms down, only then you put the harness/leash on.Same goes for when your going out the door, make it sit and stay till u get out first and call it when its calm.
As for sleeping time, he has to be in your room if in a crate. That helps ease their anxiety because it feels like to them, they are abandoned again. It scares him.