If your Yorkshire terrier barks too much, you should start looking for the reasons why it is behaving in this way. Of course, dogs will bark, but smaller dogs seem to bark more frequently than their larger counterparts, depending on their breeds. Here are some typical reasons your Yorkie is barking too much and what you can do about it.

His food may be to blame for excessive barking. First, make sure your Yorkshire terrier is eating enough at meal times. Sometimes Yorkies can be very picky eaters and won’t eat all of their food at one time. Taking away his food bowl too soon can cause your Yorkie to become malnourished and cause a nutritional deficiency. Leaving the food bowl out long enough is a good way to ensure your Yorkie gets the right amount of food.

Keep in mind, though, that you ultimately control how much food is too much for your Yorkie, because you don’t want an underweight or overweight dog.

Try to eliminate all distractions, loud noises, and any interruptions to eating time, as this can help your Yorkie relax and focus on eating his food.

Yorkies have a keen sense of hearing and any small interruption can distract him from his food bowl and thus start his barking frenzy.

Yorkies are companion dogs and therefore love social interaction. Yorkshire terriers can become reclusive when left alone all day. They may also feel abandoned while you are away for long periods of time.

You may feel the need to get another dog to keep your Yorkie company, but this may not be the answer. He is probably just looking for your company and attention.

Or the end result may be that you just have a ‘yippy dog’ aka ‘barker’ on your hands.

In that case, you really need to spend more time training your Yorkshire terrier to say “Shhh” or “Quiet” when you give the command.

Laying a good foundation for training your Yorkshire terrier will have a huge impact on his behavior and will result in a loyal, loving and obedient companion for years to come.