How do I get my Yorkie to heel
 

My Yorkie is 5lb and 8in tall. When on a harness she will not heel. She acts very stubborn and will not move. If I let the leash out she will follow about 10 ft behind. As soon as I bring the leash in she resists. I treat her with kindness at all times.

What do I do to get her to heel correctly? Is she too small to heel?

Is she happy wearing the harness? It might be why she resists when wearing it.

You could try popping the harness on her in the house then just carrying on as normal so she gets more used to it. Just start by putting it on her for a few minutes at a time and throw some treats around then build the time up.

She will learn then that wearing it leads to good things. :)

You could even try clicker training and clicking when she is at heel to reward the position but she will need to be tuned into the click first.

Best of luck!

She likes the harness but she wants to do her thing!

My first Yorkie was what looked like to be stubborn if the leash ever when remotely tight she would freeze in place and basically sit down ... some times of the leash even touched her back she would freeze for that as well .... for me it took a hell of a lot of patience ... she was 2 years old when I came into her life and she had never been walked before .... I started really slowly and go a few feet and coax her along .. it would take 15-20 mins to go 10 feet .. then I'd pick her up and I'd "walk" her to out destination ... a beach with lots of sand (North West sand so not real sand) .. I'd let her run around there and then would carry her till we where almost home ...she's missing her momma by now so its easier to have her move forward .... still took a while .. I'd have to stop immediately if the leash went tight and then coax her forward all with a loose leash....

Over the course of the next few years I did this every day ... extending the time before I pick her up and in the last year before she died I had he walking around the block and even some times to the shops and back ... she even go to the point where we could walk down a busy pathway with out her being to freaked out ....

My new baby is the total opposite .. as soon as the harness and leash are on she's raring to go and looks like a little sled dog trying to get to her destination as quick as she can .... so with her I need to start doing some sort of training with here so she can walk more calmly and at least loose leash just in front of me .. preferably at my side .... she is still under 5 months so I'm cutting her some slack right now ..which I'm sure is not the right thing to do to let it continue .. I'm thinking of an obedience class for her ..

Any way sorry to ramble on ... good luck and I hope you can find a happy medium so you both really enjoy walk time :-)

She is very stubborn! If ther is nothing she won'ts to do she will do pretty good and follow about two feet behind me. If I pull the leash up tighter she will pull the other way! She is a year old. I take here out every day.

I don't worry that much about heeling with Tibbe - am more interested in his enjoying his walk as best he can and as long as he doesn't pull or cross in front of me, I let him walk as he wants, lagging back or out to the side or ahead. It's all about him and his enjoyment. I let him sniff, pull ahead and take all the time he needs all the way up the block so he gets to "read the mail" of the scent of other dogs, cats and people and pee, potty and just take it all in at his own pace. If he wants to stop & sniff for 3 minutes in one spot, we do. Then, on the way back down the block, we speed it up and go briskly to get in some good exercise for him. I do stop should he ever pull on the leash and stand there until the leash goes limp and then start again but he just doesn't pull. He's learned I'm easy with him on walks as long as he's not pulling or causing me to stumble.

You could watch some of the YouTube teaching heel videos with the most hits that are taught by serious dog trainers and not those who try to be amusing at the beginning before they ever get to teaching or hogging all of the video time hawking their training business and get some great pointers, see the best at work. Watch them over and over and over and get the feel for when to move and what to do to anticipate the dog's moving out of position and how to place a correction in a timely fashion, when and if to treat, etc. Watching a good dog trainer teaching "heel" is far easier than reading how to do it to me.

In obedience class, they had us lure the dog in heel position with a treat, held in a way to get them exactly where you want them -- close and by your side. With big dogs, it's easy just to hold a treat down from your side. If this doesn't work with little dogs, they suggest using a spatula or long spoon that allows you to get the treat closer to their face. In that case, a little canned cheese works great. You can even allow the dog a lick or two along the way.

Good luck.