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I have a wonderful Yorkie who is very smart but I am having a terrible time getting him to walk on the leash. He is so inquistive and runs hither and yon, pulling and straining at the leash so badly that I fear he will choke himself. I must say that Josiah is very BIG for a Yorkie. My last little guy was 5# at maturity and "Joe" has far exceeded that. Please give me so hints on how to get this guy to walk with me. I do have him in Puppy class now and we are just beginning to get into leash walking. The class has 7 to 8 dogs, most of them bigger, but Joe gets so distracted that walking is the last thing he wants to do. We use treats, and loads of praise, but he still wants to pull way ahead of me. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Yorkiemom

>>I have a wonderful Yorkie who is very smart but I am having a terrible time getting him to walk on the leash. He is so inquistive and runs hither and yon, pulling and straining at the leash so badly that I fear he will choke himself. I must say that Josiah is very BIG for a Yorkie. My last little guy was 5# at maturity and "Joe" has far exceeded that. Please give me so hints on how to get this guy to walk with me. I do have him in Puppy class now and we are just beginning to get into leash walking. The class has 7 to 8 dogs, most of them bigger, but Joe gets so distracted that walking is the last thing he wants to do. We use treats, and loads of praise, but he still wants to pull way ahead of me. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Yorkiemom>>>>

You'll want to work on loose-leash heeling as should be taught in the class. At first it's best to practice it for brief periods at a time. I would suggest for such a young dog and of this breed, to use a chest harness when walking him at other times, until you and he have mastered the loose-leash skills with a collar. A chest harness is safer for him when he pulls than a collar is. Call your class instructor and tell him/her about your problem. I promise, you're not the only one in the class who has that problem! Once the instructor knows how interested you are, I think you'll find there's extra help given on this skill in the class.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

Thanks for your response. I was using a harness on Joe, but the trainer of the class said that my using this was just encouraging him to pull harder. I disagree with her, but she seems firm about this. I don't like him pulling so hard, as I worry about damage to his trachea. I'll use the harness at home, and the collar in class. Thanks for your input. As I stated Joe is one of two small dogs in this class. Yorkiemom

>>Thanks for your response. I was using a harness on Joe, but the trainer of the class said that my using this was just encouraging him to pull harder. I disagree with her, but she seems firm about this. I don't like him pulling so hard, as I worry about damage to his trachea. I'll use the harness at home, and the collar in class. Thanks for your input. As I stated Joe is one of two small dogs in this class. Yorkiemom

Don't use a chest harness on the dog in class, or when you are specifically working together on the pulling--for those practice sessions, switch his lead to the collar. But when you're willing for the dog to pull, use the harness, and give him a different cue word. You might say "Let's Go!" instead of whatever you use for not pulling. The ideal is to teach the dog to never pull, but you don't want to injure the dog or stop all walks in the meantime. With a small dog you have the option of using a chest harness and eventually teaching him that we pull on harness, but we keep loose leash on collar. This is a reasonable distinction that a dog can understand, and we do it all the time with tracking dogs.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com