[lovespandp]

Hi! Welcome to YT!! Is that your sweet baby in your avatar? He is darling!!

I think it’s a great thing your Vet warned you about hawks. Most people don’t realize they can and will swoop up your baby. Hawks, Owls, Coyotes, just are some of the predators to be on the lookout for, at all times.

Like you said I would start off inside your home. Find a good harness, you want one that doesn't go around the neck. They have Buddy Belts, however they are pretty expensive.. plus you should wait until he is full grown to buy one. That way you know what size he will be and get the correct BB accordingly.

I know Petsmart/ Petco has some cheap harnesses, my friend bought a really cute one for her yorkie/ mix.

As long as the harness fits and it is secure, it should never slip off or snap off. With Rudy being so small that will be your key issue, is finding one that fits him properly.

Once you get the harness, I would put it on him throughout the day, reward him when and if he leaves it alone. If he tries to get it off or bites at it correct him, tell him no bite.. when he stops reward him. Do that a couple times a day so he gets use to the harness being on... Then once you get that accomplished you can hook the leash to it and start walking him around the house.. when he does good on the leash reward him, do that a couple times a day as well… In time he will get use to the harness and walking with a leash- Then you can gradually start walking him outside.

Sit is a pretty easy trick. You have to teach him sit before you teach him stay.

Get something yummy, Boiled Chicken breast is always a good item. Or you can use whatever treats you are using. Just use small, small sizes.

Hold the treat above his nose with one hand and the other hand press down on his bottom until he sits.

As you are pushing down tell him to Sit, and give him the treat. Make sure you say something like “Good Sit” so he associates the word sit with sit.

If he jumps on you during this training session tell him No in a firm voice. Once he has calmed down show the treat again and try again. Do not reward jumping or playing behavior, wait until he has stopped. Doing this will teach him jumping is an unwanted behavior.

With a puppy it is best to have training sessions, also some say it is best to play with him a little bit before the training session so he isn't too wired up. You can also do it at a time where he wants treats, if he just ate breakfast or dinner and is full he might not want to eat anymore..

Once you have Sit accomplished, you can try Stay. Stay is a little more tricky.

What you want to do is put the leash and harness on Rudy. Oh also never ever ever never hook a leash to a collar on the neck. Yorkies have very fragile trachea's. Any hard pressure on their trachea's can cause a collapsed trachea. Very Important!!

Anyways, hook Rudy up, harness and collar. Tell him to sit. Tell him to Stay ( You can make a hand gesture to him while you stay Sit. Open hand like you are going to give him a high five usually works.) then walk about a foot or two in front of the him. Count to thirty seconds then walk back to him and tell him Good Stay, reward him. If during those 30 seconds he breaks the sit walk back to him, and put him back in a sit. Tell him Stay again and walk out and count 30 seconds. Once he has accomplished stay for 30 seconds you can increase the time.

What you’re going to learn is Yorkies LOVE to learn, they are very smart dogs. I have taught Peanut tons of tricks, he gets so excited when I grab the bag of treats and sit of the floor because he knows I’m going to teach him some things. We have a member here that has taught her Yorkie Jackson TONS of tricks!! Her screen name is Brister and her name is Brittney. If you ever want to get in real training she is awesome, and I’m sure she would teach you!!