Don't Let Your Yorkie Run Away

One of the scariest things a Yorkshire terrier owner can experience is their Yorkie getting out the front door without a leash on and attempting to run away. Yet, many owners struggle daily with a Yorkie that attempt to do just that. And because Yorkshire terriers are not like cats and have no desire to go anywhere without us, why do they so eagerly burst through the front door whenever it is opened? It is important to not only understand why they do it, but specifically how to stop it to keep your little friend safe and to maintain your peace of mind.

What Causes Your Yorkie to Run Away

One of the basic reasons why some Yorkshire terriers like to run away because they just don't understand the real danger of ding so. When someone opens that door of your household your Yorkshire terrier sees this all new world and they want to explore it not thinking of any consequences. It is impossible to tell your Yorkie that if they go out there, they'll be subject to cars, other animals, your neighbors, and any number of other possible problems that could cause them harm. And usually if your Yorkie has escaped from your household once but you caught them they would typically try to do it again, since they have already taste that freedom and nothing has happened to them.

The Rules of the Household

The first step you must take is to make your household rules that are clear for everybody in the house and the Yorkie as well. For example, all the people that live in your household (you included) should never open the door without clearly knowing where is the Yorkie right now, or there is a big possibility that they are hiding somewhere and once the door is opened they will attempt to run away. Let someone hold the Yorkie when you or other people attempt to enter or exit the household.

Your visitors must know those rules as well. If your visitors have a dog but without this particular problem, they would never figure it out unless you tell them.

Teaching Your Yorkie to Stay Inside

Before you start your training it is highly recommended to gain basic Yorkshire terrier info on obedience training. Start with the basic commands sit, stay, and down. When it comes to getting your Yorkshire terrier's attention and keeping them in a single position applying these commands is very helpful. Just these commands by themselves will not completely take care of the problem but will play an important role. As you progress, you'll be teaching your Yorkie that the door is your territory and that it cannot go near without your specific permission.

Maintaining Position

While teaching a Yorkshire terrier to sit and stay is important, it should go a little further when taking control of the door. The following are some easy steps that you can take:

Introduce a Hand Signal - Along with the "Sit" verbal command, teach your Yorkshire terrier to obey a hand signal, such as an upheld hand, like a crossing guard.

The Distance from the Door - it is very important to establish some critical distance to your door that the Yorkie can not cross under any circumstances when you open it. Every time when you walk to the door keep the Yorkie behind the line while you're walking. In case your Yorkie gets up make sure that you have them sit one more time.

Holding the Position - just having the Yorkie to sit when they move toward the door is not the whole thing you have to do; what is also important is to bring them back to their original position. When you bring the Yorkie back to the position where they supposed to be, start the process once again. Overtime they will learn that the barrier can not be crossed and their attempts will fail.

Practice you will need to practice this command repeatedly and reinforce it whenever the door is opened. Even though there are guests in the household waiting for you, you still before leaving, should take extra five minutes and repeat that exercise with your Yorkie. A clicker can help in this process making your practice sessions more effective. And surprisingly to learn how to train a Yorkie with a clicker is easy, so everyone can do it.

You need to make sure that the Yorkie performs all the task correctly, maybe not from the first try but eventually. If they move even one stop forward start again. But, if you can get to the door, turn the knob and open the door without them reacting, reward them for following your commands.


If you want to learn about training Yorkie puppies go to how to train a Yorkie puppy.

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Orignal From: Don't Let Your Yorkie Run Away