My Yorkshire terrier is the sweetest dog in the world, but I could not teach her to come to me when I called her name. At first I thought she might have a hearing loss. I took her to my veterinarian and he checked for any problems. He said that she could hear just fine. So how would I solve the problem?
I started by holding her in my lap and saying her name to her over and over. Then I would put her down and wait for a minute before calling her name. When she responded to that by looking at me or walking over to me I would give her a small treat. I did this for days to reinforce the sound of her name to her. Her name is Sarah and I thought that maybe the soft sound was making a difference. I didn't want to change her name so I just kept working harder.
Finally I took her out in the back yard to see what would happen. I have a street behind my house that is filled with traffic. The noise is noticeable when you are trying to talk in the back yard. I used a louder tone of voice and that made a huge difference.
I now work with her for twenty minutes each day. I don't use any commands except for her name. It has taken more than a month but she will now come to me when I call her name. She is almost a year old so she is ready for more training. Training a Yorkie can be difficult sometimes, because of their personality.
Connie Ragen Green is an official dog lover. To find out more about training small and toy dogs such as Yorkshire Terriers and Maltese visit http://www.YorkshireTerriersAretheBest.com
Source: www.articlesphere.com