How To Keep A Yorkie Entertained (With Or Without You)

We are simply too busy these days.

We have so much going on that it is difficult to free up as much time as we’d like to spend with our pups.

And Yorkies are little balls of energy as it is.

They need to get that energy out somehow, or they end up destroying your home.

That means you need many different ways to keep your Yorkie entertained, both with you and on its own when you don’t have time.

Keep reading for some great ideas on how to keep a Yorkie entertained, along with some great toys to help you out.

 

How To Keep A Yorkie Entertained

There are tons of ways to keep a dog entertained. You could give it some toys to play with, especially ones that enhance mental capacity and promote logical thinking.

You could play physical activities like a game of tag, hide and seek, or fetch. These games are beneficial for pet owners and Yorkies alike.

You could provide some treats, especially long lasting ones like a chew bone or a chew toy. And there are many more possibilities.

We’ll give you a bunch of great ideas below for keeping your Yorkie entertained, both by spending time together, and at times when you are not around or your attention is not on your pup.

We’ll give you recommendations for thing to buy as well, if they are necessary (or just helpful) for each activity listed. These are all products that can help a lot in keeping your pet from getting bored, or from suffering from developmental disorders.

 

Go For A Walk

Walking is a crucial routine for any dog, and Yorkies are no exception. Regardless of the weather outside, they need to go for a walk.

Walking provides then with the exercise they need to burn excess fats. It also stimulates their minds, which is just as important. Finally, it allows them to urinate and defecate.

And a big benefit to you is that walking is a way of burning off some of that pent-up energy they constantly develop inside their tiny bodies. This will make them much less of a handful in your home.

Finally, taking your pup for a walk is a good bonding time for you and your Yorkie. You can teach it some tricks, or turn the walk into a full-on training activity.

To walk your dog, you need a leash and a collar, at a minimum. We recommend a harness over collars for Yorkies. You can find a rundown of the best harnesses here.

 

Play With A Flirt Pole

A flirt pole is a giant cat tickler for dogs. It is an amazing toy for Yorkies because it allows them to get back to their instincts as a ratting dog.

All you have to do is to move the stick to tease your Yorkie. It won’t take long (probably a fraction of a second) before your pup chases it. This is tons of fun for them and gets them some exercise, too.

 

Stuff Kongs With Your Yorkie’s Favorite Treats

Kong toys are pretty popular dog toys. And they have been a great gift to mankind, too. You can never go wrong with one and your Yorkie will love it, too!

If you want to keep your Yorkie occupied, all you need to do is to stuff some of its favorite treats inside the Kong toy. Then, you are good to go. You can put some peanut butter in there, or freeze your pup’s favorite broth inside.

Kong Toys are made from non-toxic, indestructible, and dishwasher safe materials. They come in different sizes and have indentations and different shapes, so your Yorkies will find them amusing and appetizing at the same time.

 

Play Interactive And Puzzle Games

Interactive games like the Nino Ottosson Dog Brick Interactive Puzzle are games that give dogs some mental training, in addition to just being fun. They are originally from Sweden.

In the specific game pictured above, you can hide treats in the hollow compartments under the bricks. Your Yorkie then has to slide open the bricks to gain access.

These types of games help your Yorkie build up some confidence and enhance its critical thinking. It is an excellent way to keep them occupied and entertained at the same time.

Another great example of a puzzle toy is the Outward Hound Dog Casino Puzzle Toy. This particular toy helps critical and analytical thinking, by providing your pup plenty of mental stimulation.

Yorkies are born extremely curious. They are very nosy and get into everything. If you give them a puzzle, they want to make sure to solve it, or at least be aware of what is in front of them.

Having puzzle toys keeps your dog occupied by making it curious. This benefits its mind and body. All you have to do is to fill in the trays with your pet’s favorite treats. It will play for hours, until it gets the treats it wants.

Another type of puzzle is one that requires your Yorkie to work for its meal. Not just a treat, but the entire meal.

You see, thanks to us, Yorkies have a very easy and comfortable life, with a nice and warm bed, love and affection, and above all, free food. But these dogs are natural scavengers.

And they retain that instinct, even if we feed them. They will still hunt for, and find, food for themselves. And that’s a good thing. It improves their mental capacity.

But you never know what they will end up eating. A good solution is to introduce a bit of a challenge. Something they need to solve to get at their food.

There are a number of different options. The most popular is a food dispenser, like the one pictured above. When your dog taps the sensor, food comes out.

These are fun and they slow down your dog’s eating speed (always a good thing), but they are also not difficult to solve. Once your dog has it figured out, it will never struggle with it again.

It is still a great option to present a bit of a challenge. And some of the other available puzzle games offer different types of challenges. They are also less expensive than a dispenser.

 

Play A Game Of Fetch

Yorkies love to play fetch, and they can get pretty competitive when it comes to this game, so fair warning. You need to be physically prepared unless you have an automatic toy machine, like the iFetch Frenzy.

This toy is not just a launcher. It is more like a game. Your Yorkie drops the ball in at the top and then scrambles to find it, because it will randomly roll out of one of three chutes at the base. This is tons of fun and means you don’t need to be there to play fetch.

But if you do not have the budget for a toy machine like that, there is nothing wrong with the traditional ball. These cost much less and are just as much fun.

The big difference is that you (or another human) needs to be involved. On the plus side, this is always a good bonding experience for you and your Yorkie. You can find out favorite ball in our article on the best dog toys for Yorkies.

 

Introduce Your Pup To Plush Toys

Plush Toys are comfort toys for Yorkies, just like they are for us humans. These types of toys have sentimental value and some dogs will treasure their the same way a human child does.

For dogs, these plush toys should be small enough to carry around. But not too small. Some dogs give in to their instinct to “kill” their plush toys to assert dominance. If it is too small, it could become a choking hazard.

There are a lot of great plush toys for dogs on the market. Our favorites are the duck plush toys from Multipet. They are also featured in our post on the top toys for Yorkies.

 

Play A Game Of Tug of War

Games are even more fun when you enjoy it together with your dog. Playing a game of tug of war with your Yorkie is a great way to engage in a meaningful and playful way with your pup.

It is a mental and physical activity for your Yorkie. It challenges it in every way and is a ton of good exercise. It also lets it satisfy some base instincts.

And contrary to some opinions, tug of war does not make your Yorkie aggressive or dominant. Letting your dog win makes it fun and playful for him or her. It gives your pet self confidence and it actually tends to be more obedient after a good tug of war session, not less.

You can use anything to play tug of war. But the traditional toy is obviously a rope. There are some great ropes made specifically for dogs. Our favorite is also featured in our article on the best toys for Yorkies.

 

Benefits Of Keeping Your Yorkie Occupied

Sometimes dogs get in trouble when they are bored. Yorkies more than most. We are their primary source of entertainment, so if they do not get that attention from us, they deliberately focus on other things to keep themselves entertained.

This usually leads our pets to destroy our personal stuff, like shoes and furniture and anything else they can get their little paws on.

By playing with your dogs, you can also decrease the possibility of them developing mental issues, excessive barking or chewing (learn why Yorkies bark so much). The quality of play a dog gets is a good indicator that it will have a happy and healthy life.

 

Keeping A Yorkie Entertained: Conclusion

Finding activities for your Yorkie, or toys to play with, is not a difficult task. There are tons of things you can do with your dog and tons of toys you can buy.

But you want to make sure you get quality toys and focus on the best activities. This means things that stimulate your pet in more ways than one and that have benefits in addition to just keeping your dog entertained.

The suggestions above are all great. Each of them will stimulate your Yorkies mind and body. And many of them involve you, which means some great bonding time.

Of course, you may not have time to spend on keeping your pup entertained, so we also have some activities and toys that will keep your dog occupied all on its own.