This is one command that is better not taught unless thoroughly controlled. If you constantly give your yorky treats for barking, you may be encouraging barking and yapping – which in turn can become a real problem that requires much corrective training.

Make sure you teach him controlled ‘speaking’, or barking on command only. Don’t allow him to begin barking for its own sake, or to use this as the first step in aggression.

If you can make your yorky bark on a given signal, however, it can be a great trick that can also help your security. The mere barking of a dog is often enough to make an undesirable person back off. And if either you or your yorky are ever injured, he can signal where he is, or you are by barking.

If your yorky’s lost or has been accidentally locked up somewhere, he will respond to your command to bark – even at a distance. But if your training is lax and your yorky isn’t properly controlled, he may become a nuisance and bark constantly.

In the process of learning to speak on command, therefore, your yorky should also learn to when not to ‘speak’. Indiscriminate barking is easy to encourage; the hard part is getting him to stop on command.

By far, the easiest way to start off the training is simply to encourage your yorky every time he barks. Every time you hear your yorky bark, tell him “speak” or “bark”, whatever word you want to use as a signal.

The hand signal you use is up to you, but the standard one is to hold out your hand and move it up and down slightly. At the start, whenever he barks of his own volition, give your selected voice command and hand signal.

To reinforce the barking, give him a treat every once in a while. This way he’ll start to associate his bark with your command and signal.

If you take advantage of all the available opportunities to make your yorky connect barking with the command, he will. Some yorkys bark at the slightest provocation, while others are slow to become aroused.

A yappy dog naturally learns to speak more quickly than a quiet one – he may also take more working later when it comes to controlling him.

Testing for social status is normal in dogs. If there is no clear leadership in a group of dogs, conflict may break out until one is established. This aggression may be overt; or it may be so subtle that you’re unaware of what is happening because the bullying occurs when you are not around.

In any group of dogs, the best promoter of peace is a clear pecking order.

But for this to remain stable, the group has to stay constant. Bringing in or removing one member of a group will disrupt the status and necessitate its reestablishment.

An animal that has not learned his place shows no respect for authority or social order, and shows no mercy to subordinates. This is why fights often occur when new pets are brought into the home, or put in with others that have formed a social circle, such as dogs that normally run together in the park.

Most often, newcomers are eventually assimilated into the group, but some tightly knit groups will not easily open up for a newcomer – especially if he poses a threat to the more dominant dogs.

With some other breeds, the social hierarchy is not obvious; while others have a clear, sharply defined one. Terriers are so competitive they cannot tolerate the close proximity of other dogs that might be a threat of any kind.

Only a very small social grouping is possible with these breeds; they will allow no threatening newcomers and will constantly bicker among themselves.

With this type of yorky, the only time peace reigns is usually when the dogs have been housed together from an early age, or when they are a mated pair.

Because ranking is established early, these pre-acquainted dogs may squabble, but rarely get involved in injurious fighting unless extraordinary circumstances prevail.

Another main cause of fighting is a dog’s sexual drive. This natural (and highly volatile) hormonal force is seen most acutely when there is a female in heat around.  A male yorky may become aggressive toward strangers who he thinks might interfere with his possession of the female.

After the actual mating, a previously normal dog may start exerting dominance. However, it is the violent rivalry among male dogs over who is going to mate with whom that causes the worst problem.

If more than one male is present around a female in heat, there will be undoubtedly be a fight for sexual possession.

Knowingly or unknowingly, owners frequently reinforce and even encourage the formation of bad habits. When their yorkys lick at chairs, pull on shoes, take socks, or bring the leashes out, they ignore it.

They then wonder why the dogs eventually chew or possessively hoard these items. To prevent your yorky from gnawing your possessions, give him a suitable substitute he can chew to satisfy his oral cravings.

Rawhide bones and solid, hard rubber balls are good choices. Encourage your yorky to chew on these to the exclusion of everything else. Don’t give him anything that can be harmful if ingested, such as soft rubber toys.

Also, be sure not to give him anything that he could later generalize to include your possessions. Foe example, never give your yorky an old shoe or discarded glove. Later, he may not stop to distinguish between his old one and the new pair you just bought.

Giving your yorky bones from the butcher can be dangerous if they can splinter or are small enough to get lodged in the throat. Small fragments of bone can become impacted in the large intestine of older dogs and cause serious constipation.

If you must give him one, make it a heavy thigh or shank bone that you have thoroughly boiled to remove all the grease, thus making it almost sterile. If you don’t take this precaution, the grease stains will get into your floor and furnishings, encouraging your yorky to chew at these spots.

A yorky that chews out of spite or anger has no excuse and needs to be corrected harshly. There is no way to explain to a yorky that you have to go out to shop or work and can’t always be with him.

Simply confining your yorky in a separate room for a while each day while you stay in another will demonstrate to him that at times he will be alone without your company..

Every once in a while, check him to see if he is up to any mischief. If he is being good, praise him; if he is doing something he shouldn’t, punish him. After this he may be on guard, not knowing whether you are there or not.

However, confinement generally needs additional methods to ensure compliance. If your yorky is really obnoxiously spiteful, direct harsh reprimands are needed.