How Do You Train A Yorkie Not To Leave Your Yard?
 

does anyone have any advice on how to train them to stay in your yard?
we would like to be able to let them outside without putting a leash on them but they like to run off and look arround when they are not on a leash.

I tried that, guess what I now have a fenced yard.. :(
He originally did good, he would walk the perimeter,,and stay in his yard, bark right at the edge at people and dogs, it was funny.. But ON occasion, he couldn't stand it and right out in the road he'd go to greet someone on the other side of the street.. He would do fine late at night or early am, to go out to pee, but when there was a distraction.. he could not be trusted, ya just never knew when it would get the best of him.. and I couldn't deal with the what-ifs.. I don't know if I would bother to train them to do that,, they are feisty, little attention seekers,,and sometimes they just gotta GO FOR IT..:mad:

It can not be done...I had a girl who never left our yard in the first 8 years of her life..she was my shadow, always right by my feet..one day I was in the front yard with her and she suddenly darted across the street, barely being missed by a car..have no clue why she did it, but I have never trusted a Yorkie outside, unleashed or unfenced again..EVER!

A friend used to open her front door and her Yorkie would run from the house directly into the open car door.did it hundred's of times, never diverted his path...one day he decided to run across the street and was killed.

My garden is enclosed would never trust him not to run off. I have a cat flap he used to use to go in and out when he wanted.

We have a fence
 

I can't even keep my two out of the flower beds and garden. Can't imagine having to try to keep them in the back yard. Remmy is really good (most of the time) with commands in the back yard. But Chance is a pup and does what he wants. Half the time I'm chasing him around the backyard.

In my experience Yorkie's have an extraordinary sense of adventure and are extremely inquisitive, even as mature adults. These qualities are truely what makes them special however, they often get so involved in their quests that they throw caution to the wind. I would just resign yourself to the constrant of a harness and leash or fencing the yard both for their safety and your peace of mind.

I would never trust a yorkie outside by itself without a fence and I have one yorkie that when she gets out of the yard will just stand their and not go anywhere.

:goodpost: There's a reason all the 'good breeders', who care about their pups, ask "do you have a fenced yard?" before releasing them to a family. Mine asked me that at least 3 times during our interview.

I would never trust either of my dogs without a leash outside in a yard with no fence -- NEVER! My apartment has a nice fenced in patio for them to run around and play. And when I go to my dad's house (which is almost everyday), he has a big fenced in yard -- so I allow them to run around and play there without wearing a leash.

We aren't allowed to have a fence (townhome) Loki goes out on a leash every single time he goes outside - and he's trained to potty outside only too. I would never trust him not to run - and he is very well trained. We work on recalls every day and I know for sure he is only about 75% reliable. He has a tie-out for when we're on the patio grilling and I don't leave him outside unattended even on a tie out. I don't think you can trust a terrier not to run off.

We have a boxer and Yorkie of course. Our boxer is almost 7 and we don't even let her outside without someone watching her, and she never goes anywhere. There are way to many dangers out there to let Yorkies be outside unsupervised. Besides the fact that your baby can leave the yard without a fence another dog could enter your yard.

Reminds me of a story
 

Our fence was open without me knowing when I let Remmy outside to potty. Remmy always goes to the side of the house to do his business....I can't see him over there. Anyways I heard a scratching at our side door that is in our garage. Remmy got out of the fenced in yard and instead of running off came to the front side door and scratched to get in the house. Now I don't get it...he scratches to come in but NEVER scratches when he needs to go outside. :rolleyes:

I NEVER said anything about leaving them outside unattended. I just want to be able to let them out side to do thier business without putting them on a leash and then when they are done have them listen to me when I tell them to go back into the house. of just be able to play fetch with them outside without worring about them running off. When they were puppies they were really good about it, they stayed close by, but it was also winter then. Now that it is nice out they just want to run arround chasing birds and take off exploring the whole neighborhood.

We have tried working with our girls on this...but I am not sure it is 100% possible. We have started out by putting on their leashes and just letting them drag behind them as they play, that way we can reach them before they run off to far (because they do try to get away at times)!!! This has seem to work pretty well and the girls are able to play in our front yard with us watching over them closely!!!

The only way to do this is to work on a reliable recall. Just get the yummiest food you have and only give it to them when they come. Make "come" mean "come get this food in my hand" I still think that when the time comes, a bird or another dog will be more interesting... Yorkies are stubborn.

Says Remmy: "Moooooooooooom....what am I doin' out here?! It's skeeewwy out here!?" LOL

This reminds me of when Mozart (our shih-tzu/maltese/silky mix) was just a pup and he got out of the backyard. Well, I called and called - he wouldn't come. Though I love him to bits, I would not leave my multi-challenged daughter in the house to chase a dog all over town. So, I just prayed, "Lord, you'll have to keep him safe and bring him home, cause I can't". I paced and checked the doors: "Mozart!" Nothing. Then, several hours later, I looked out the front door, and there was Mr. Mo....sitting quietly, just waiting for me to FIND him! <gggggggrrrrr!> I was never so happy to see his li'l mutt face! :)

Ginger was the same. She would walk straight to the car and straight to the house every day, so I started to trust her. The other weekend I went out to get a CD from my car and she came with, that is until the neighbor caught her eye. He was hanging out in his garage with the door to the house open and had just walked inside. She bolts across the street, into his garage and into THEIR HOUSE with me chasing her barefoot. I have never met the neighbors and I’m freaking out—what if they have a dog!? They were very nice and helpful in the situation though. Thank goodness their dog was in the back yard and not in the house, ready to eat my intruding little girl. I’ll never trust her outside like that again.

Maya my Pom is trained to not leave the property. She is ral good about it. If she starts to get farther away from me when I'm out gardening I just say stay on our property and she comes over by me. I can even walk her and Cali and just have Maya's leash drag on the ground and if I see anyone coming or a car I grab her leash. I have never had a Yorkie that would stay like that, they like to chase anything that moves.

The problem is, it only take one split second for them to dart away into the street. So although you can train them to stay right by your side, there is always the chance that they will one day dash off.

As others have said, I too used to live in town and not put mine on a leash, but they did occasionally dash after something, so they cannot be trusted 100%.

However if you want to try to train them, you need to first have them on a long loose leash, and keep talking to them and correct them when they move away from you, eventually let the leash drag, so they are easier to catch if need be and keep working with them. But be aware there is always a risk.

I started with mine as puppies, and never used a leash. The street we lived on was not a busy street so I took the risk and was lucky. You may not be as lucky.

I agree with you a 100 percent. Even the most well trained dogs can run off in a second. Sure they might be trained and do good for a long time. But all it takes is one time for them to dart off and that could be their last time alive. There is always a risk. To me the risk is too great, I would rather know that my dog is safe rather than have a chance of them running off and getting injured or killed. Jmho.

Unfortunatly I learnt the hard way.I lost my precious dog to a tragic accident a few years back and still blame my self years later.It is a huge price to pay for a stupid mistake all I can say is fence! fence! fence.It is not worth the risk under any circumstance.

I have a friend who trained his doberman to stay in the yard. ANYTHING could walk by and that dog would not stray past the perimeter. He trained him by placing him on a leash, walked the perimeter of the yard, any step out...and the dog was pulled back and told no. I admit I tried it with my first Yorkie....nope...across the street was too tempting for him.

Ramsey knows the command come, however, she has recently decided she may not wanna come.

Yorkies
 

I realize you are with your companions and they are not alone....they do not care, something goes "boink" in their brains and they do totally unexpected things.
My daughter had a girl named Maddie...Maddie was perfect she thought.....one day my daughter opened the door of her apt. and Maddie ran into the neighbors apt across the hall..her front door was open..but worst yet..her patio door was open and Maddie end up on the other side of the complex on a highway...my daughter had to get the car to go find her...it was a nightmare...after that she put a small gate across the hall way...these Yorkies can never be trusted.. because sometimes we can not get them back when they go "boink" in their brains...

I agree with all the fence comments, but since you clarify: I was able to do it to maybe 95 percent effectiveness by being consistent. Every single time he wandered toward the street, I said "uh, uh." When he came to me, I rewarded him. When he wandered out of the yard, I said "uh, uh," then calmly walked to him, picked him up and took him into the house. He's 2 now, and when I say "uh uh," he stops. But I still don't trust him if there are cars on the street.

I 'made' a fence out of an xpen in the backyard to close off the one section that was unfenced. Works pretty well.

I wouldnt leave any dog outside w/o being enclosed. I've had dogs that know where our yard is and where it ends, and they have been good about not leaving the yard while I'm outside with them, but if something catches their eye they will run off after it. Or if they get a burst of energy, they'll go for a run and I gotta chase them all around the neighborhood. Best bet is to keep it on a leash, have a dog play pen for it, or have a fence. You don't wanna just let it loose where it can roam around anywhere.

Have a fence and check it often! Even in a fully fenced garden,these little dogs are adventurous and can get out of the most surprising spaces,especially when chasing the cat. Even when fully supervised outside they can do amazing things. I have fenced, refenced and added at least 3 times and my girl is only 7 months old! I wouldn't like to risk it. Yet she enjoys the freedom of being in the garden. She is good at dog areas and will trot off lead at my heels,explore a little and come back. But the front unfenced yard is off limits.

I agree with the fence fence fence comments. No matter how well trained your dog is and what breed it is, they still have natural instincts. It only takes one interesting rabbit, cat, dog, female in heat, ball, kid, bird, etc to throw ANY dog into its natural instincs to chase, play, fetch etc. That is why I am such a anal-retentive about ALL dogs being on a leash when outside walking or in public use places. Both of my older dogs are great about walking with me off leash, (we'll do it on private fenced property) but I never take them outside of it off leash, I never want to experience that one moment in time that I will regret for my babies. I almost lost my Maltese years back when she decided the joggers' ankles looked like a nice bit of prey. Out into the street she went, before I knew it I was running a block to catch her. Never again. (As irony would have it, I am now a runner!) I have a 6 foot privacy fence with all possible holes blocked off and still am outside with my babies. Please know that it is not a statement that a dog is not well trained, it is just that they are dogs, and sometimes we forget that. Especially those of us (me) that think of them as our kids.



MaryKay
AprilLoves' Mommy and slave :) :) :rolleyes:

Just a block?!?!?! LOL, with my boxers they would run and be gone for hours (eventually they ran out of our sites) But I'm sure that boxers are probably faster runners.

But while its on the table, how fast do yorkies run?

IMO a Yorkie can NEVER NEVER be left in even a fenced yard. No matter how well trained they have us (remember we do not train Yorkies. They allow us to think so but they actually train us) they still are bait for predatory birds even in the middle of a city. LONG leads can be used especially the ones attached to a stake with a swivel so they cannot get tangled. Of course, that can only be done in a treeless, plantless yard.

We don't have predatory birds here in NZ.