Yorkshire Terrier Training: Train Your Yorkie To Obey Commands With Hand Signals

Training your Yorkshire Terrier to learn hand signals is an easy way to teach him to follow basic commands. Yorkies are stubborn and can be difficult to train, but using hand signals instead of verbal commands will help you control your dog’s behavior. Here are some tips on how to get started with this type of training.

• Wait until your Yorkie is around six months old to begin hand signal training. Before this age he will be too young and may become confused.
• Teach a verbal command to ‘sit’ before beginning any other training. Once your dog has mastered this verbal command, you can start training him with hand gestures.
• Get out where the light is very bright. Command your Yorkshire terrier to “sit.” When he sits, make the hand signal to sit, which is with your open hand palm down. Push your hand down two or three times while saying the word ‘sit’.
• Do this repeatedly for about ten times. If your dog obeys your verbal command every time, you’re good to go. Then try using just the hand signal, making sure your dog is looking directly at you when you do so.
• Wait about an hour and start this process again from the beginning. Do this early in the day, before your Yorkie is too tired.
• As soon as your dog masters this signal command first hand, he is ready to start training other commands.

I encourage you to learn more about how to train your Yorkshire terrier.