image credits : Mikaela Dunn - plainstubborn.tumblr.comextracted from publicdomainpictures.net
Training a Yorkie can be quite challenging sometimes, although they are so energetic (which is good because it'll allow you to train for longer period compared to the less energetic one), Yorkie are just so playful creature and tend to lose their concentration fast, this makes them somewhat harder to train because they feel bored so quickly with the repetition.
Once they feel bored, they just won't listen. This can be quite defiant and just plain stubborn each time you try to teaches them something. I've dealt with such Yorkie before, and after some time I found quick tips to help me dealing with this problem.
Tip #1 Train your Yorkie every day!
This is necessary because a dog only have a short span of attention, and even Yorkies are smart dog they still can forgot previous lesson after you miss one or two training day, this law also applicable in other dog breed. If you want to seriously train your dog, then try to train your dog every day.
Tip #2 Praise and Treats as a Reward
Treats and heartily praise are what a dog expects when they succeed doing something, especially Yorkie, they are small animal that easily feel attached to the owner, once this happens they will expect you to shower her with love, especially after she did something great.
The praise and treats will reinforce the positive mindset. It will makes her thinks that what she just did is good, so she will try to do it again and always expect you to give the order, this will train your dog to be more focused on the training session because she feel like she can earn something by following your order.
Tip #3 Special Tone
Special tone when you talk to your Yorkie is a key to make her understand that you are talking to her. Use slightly different tone than your normal speaking tone, a dog can learn it fast because dog is an excellent creature n recognizing a voice. When she make mistake try to use strong and firm voice tone but don't yell, yelling is not a good idea to do the correction, but the firm tone will make will speak by itself that the dog make mistake without making them feel scared, being defensive or surprised.
Tip #4 Playtime after Training
As I said before, Yorkie is so playful. So take an advantage here, use their playful behavior as a reward! Make the play time after training so she feel like she "earn" the play time, this will build further foundation for a Yorkie to listen to you in the training session while keeping them happy afterward.
Tip #5 The Quieter the Better
Other animal and people can distract the concentration, try to make the training session as "private" as possible, this not only increase your bonding, but also make her easier to listen to your command and follow it. Unless the training requires more than one person, then try to do it alone.
Tip #6 Train it One by One
Unless you know what you're doing or having a specific training program (like 7 weeks training program or 10 weeks training program) your best bet is to train your dog once at a time. Until she mastered the command then move on to more complicated training.
Tip #7 Consistent Cue Word
Cue word is one important role in any dog training, although my training method allow my customer to use their own cue word, I always suggest to use it with consistency, this include anyone inside the household. If the word is "SIT" for sit, then all in the house should use the same cue, and make sure you also maintain your consistency in your voice tone, this will avoid slower learning because the dog confused with the cue word.
These seven tips should be done synchronously, so you can get the maximum benefit from the application.
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