[yorkietalkjilly]

I personally would never use a shocking or vibrating device on my dog's neck or throat. In your situation I would use a very long leash and well-fitting harness for potty sessions. If you are a good trainer, perhaps you can teach your dog not to run or even venture out of the yard. If you do it incrementally and don't ever really trust the dog (as he is a dog and subject to do anything) but teach him to stay in his yard, it can be a huge help. My dog is trained not to leave his front yard and though he's gotten out of the backyard twice and been on his own in the great outdoors, he never left the front yard. And he was a dart-darting runner when I got him, claustrophobic, wild, crate-crazy and the slightest thing caused him to bolt. And I do mean bolt from 0 to zoom is a heartbeat!

But I wouldn't use the shocking or spraying in the face with scents and things as those kinds of things on the Yorkie or other very small dogs as they may tend to make your dog reactive and fearful of the unknown. Some become very anxious thinking that at any time and for whatever reason they may get an unsettling sensation or a burst of spray in the face. At first they may associate it with going out of the yard boundary but in time, some just become nervous wrecks, thinking the sudden unpleasantness could happen any moment or just when they run or walk about any time.

Some think small dogs with smaller brains don't associate these shocking or spray devices with what triggers them off such as leaving a yard boundary as well as bigger dogs and tend to just become unsure, nervous of it happening any time after using it a while. Because they can't come to those conclusions as easily, the smaller dog tends more to develop nervous or shock reactions to sudden, unbidden stresses. While a Yorkie trains well for so many things and is a very smart dog, they, like other small dogs, don't routinely have the capacity for training, association and logic that a larger GSD, Border Collie, Golden or Lab and that is one reason they aren't used more often in the first responder services or in many public service jobs. Talk to any person who trains dogs for these services in the military or protection service and they will very quickly tell you that. It's not just size and frailty that prevents the smaller dogs from these types of services.