Your Yorkshire terrier doesn't understand English the spoken word; however he understands the tone of how you say it and how you move your body.
Tone, inflection and consistency of your verbal commands is learned fairly quickly.
Your Yorkie first learns certain verbal commands early on like his name, the word "No" as he has probably heard them often enough.
Yorkies are known to have a mind of their own so adding hand signal commands to your training routine will help with your Yorkies behavior.
Here are a few ways to get started with hand signals.
Eliminate all the distractions before starting this type of training.
Your Yorkie should be at least six months old before incorporating the use of hand signal commands.
Start with the verbal command 'sit' to get their attention before beginning hand signals.
Use an authoritative tone of voice so he knows you are serious.
Now command your Yorkie to 'sit.
When he follows your command with 'sitting' make the hand signal for 'sit' several times while saying the command verbally.
It will take repeated effort on your part before he obeys the hand signal for 'sit'.
When your Yorkshire terrier is successful with the hand signal and your verbal command, begin by just using the hand signal for 'sit' alone.
Be sure your dog is looking straight at you when using the hand signal for 'sit'.
If your Yorkie is successful with obeying your hand signal to 'sit' be sure to praise him and reward him with a treat.
Start out early in the day training your Yorkshire terrier and repeat about an hour later.
Remember patience and consistency is key to any dog training.
Over time you can eliminate the verbal part of the command as well as the treat.
So now that the first hand signal command 'sit' has been mastered by your dog you can now move on to other commands using hand signals.
Take the time to be with your Yorkshire terrier reinforcing all that he needs to learn from you on a consistent basis and you will have a loyal and obedient companion that the whole family will enjoy.