i need answers quick

[libby]

i know there are threads that cover some of this stuff but it seems like i have been on here night and day reading all the post. i have learned alot but i need short qiuick answers to a few questions if you don't mind.
At 8 weeks
Feeding:
should she be eating as much as she wants right now? i keep her bowl in her area all the time.

bath:
is it to early for a bath? what age does she need her first bath?

potty training:
is it nessesary to start carrying her outside at 8 weeks old or should i just keep her on the puppy pads?do they potty pretty much everytime they eat?
libby has been. we put her in her area to eat and potty then get her out to play with her and she stays out until i think she's hungry again and potties.does this sound like a plan or what?

spoiling:
my baby has slept with me the last 2 nights because i can't leave her downstairs by herself. is this starting something that i'm going to be sorry for because my daughters slept with me and i didn't think i would ever get them out of my bed. they still ask everynight. i never thought i would have a dog sleeping in my bed. never say never.lol

thanks for any help you can give. i just need to know i'm starting out right.

[minniemn]

I never bought an 8week old puppy, but did raise 3 puppies from birth to 11 weeks... so I will go by what I did when they were 8 weeks.

I did take them outside to go potty in the potty area, then after they were done, we went to the play area outside... I took them out potty at regular intervals, once they woke up, when they were done playing and done eating. They did not always go to the play area outside to play after done going potty, because I didn't want that to be a habit. They also had pee pads everywhere, but the more I took them out potty, the more I decreased the amt of pads... I still have one out now, even though the pup I kept is 6mo old.

I free fed them and had water available at all times (sometime around this time I did take the food and water away at 10pm thought so they wouldn't have to potty so much at night)

They would sleep with me sometimes, but one at a time (3 puppies was too many), and the one I kept still does sleep with me- along with my other yorkie and my cat.

This is just all what I did, I don't know if it was right or not, but it worked for me.

[Dawn125]

I would pretty much have food available at all times until at least 12 weeks old unless you notice an obvious overeating problem.

It is not too soon to start bathing, even if only to get her used to having a bath. Make sure you don't let her get cold though.

As far as sleeping in your bed. The choice is yours. It's fine as long as you realize that you will never get her out of your bed later. So if you don't want the dog in bed with you forever than maybe you shouldn't let her sleep there now. Mine sleeps with me every night whether I want her there or not!

I think if you have the stamina for it then take her outside to potty as much as possible in addition to the potty pads. It's never too soon to start good habits. I was kinda lazy about this when my baby was that small and I think it may have slowed down the potty training process for me.

[bchgirl]

I'd leave the food out for her. I kept kibble out all day, but did serve a wet/dry food mixture 3 times a day.

I took Trace out every 30 minutes. Yea, it's a pain, but he quickly got the idea and it doesn't take too long before they can hold it for longer intervals.

The sleeping in the bed helped w/ learning to hold it. We took him out at 11pm and then again at 5am. This is still pretty much his schedule, dh gets up early. Trace comes back in and goes back to bed.

He sleeps with us although on occasion he has slept in his crate. He prefers the bed, but doesn't protest the crate too much

[whispersmom2]

You might try getting some of these answers from the breeder based on how she/he treats the puppies in the home..

[Patti]

I let Cali sleep in my bed after when she was about 20 weeks. She sleeps better and longer now that she is in my bed. I still worry that she will fall off, but I keep a night light on and she has stairs that she is trained to use to get off and on the bed so she can get down during the night and use her wee wee pads. The first week or so she would get up during the night and use the pad now she sleeps all night gets up goes and uses her pad and comes back up to give me a kiss. My human dtr slept in my bed from the age of two until she was 8 years old. One day she just daid I'm going to sleep in my bed tonight and that was that. She is a real good kid (20) and we have a very close relationship.
I do not free feed Cali because my pom is a pig and would eat all her food. I fed her every3-4 hours at first and she is still getting 3 meals a day. She is 6 months now and I think I may cut back on her feedings to two a day and maybe a little snack at night.

[minniemn]

Originally Posted by whispersmom2

You might try getting some of these answers from the breeder based on how she/he treats the puppies in the home..

You are right, I apologize for answering... she just said she needed answers quick- and I figured that obviously the breeder didn't care much about the pups to begin with, considering she let them go at such a young age.

I also wanted to state that my pups were bigger than average (not even on the growth chart) so taking their food away at night didn't harm them, they also got it back at 5 am.... funny thing is though, even though they were too big for the chart since birth on up to 11 weeks- they all stayed under 6lbs so far at 6 months.

anyways..... since I am not a "breeder" (only breed once, and my "mom" had a problem after the birth, and had to be fixed) I will stay off these subjects.

good luck with the pup

[butterfly]

It's good to get them going outside as soon as you can, as often as you can. Don't get frustrated with her because it's going to be some time before she can hold it and remember outside. When they're young like this they really don't have control over their little bladders.

[wnalegria]

Originally Posted by libby

i know there are threads that cover some of this stuff but it seems like i have been on here night and day reading all the post. i have learned alot but i need short qiuick answers to a few questions if you don't mind.
At 8 weeks
Feeding:
should she be eating as much as she wants right now? i keep her bowl in her area all the time.

bath:
is it to early for a bath? what age does she need her first bath?

potty training:
is it nessesary to start carrying her outside at 8 weeks old or should i just keep her on the puppy pads?do they potty pretty much everytime they eat?
libby has been. we put her in her area to eat and potty then get her out to play with her and she stays out until i think she's hungry again and potties.does this sound like a plan or what?

spoiling:
my baby has slept with me the last 2 nights because i can't leave her downstairs by herself. is this starting something that i'm going to be sorry for because my daughters slept with me and i didn't think i would ever get them out of my bed. they still ask everynight. i never thought i would have a dog sleeping in my bed. never say never.lol

thanks for any help you can give. i just need to know i'm starting out right.

Have you tried to contact the breeder that you bought this puppy from? You are asking a lot of questions that should have been answered at the time you picked this kid up. I am just curious what information was gave to you and what you asked about.

With simple questions I think it is always best to ask the breeder you got the kid from.

[libby]

thanks to all of you that have tried to answer my questions

it wasn't my idea to get her at 8 weeks libby's mother was killed so i guess she just decided to let her go early i don't know if that's the reason she let her go early or not.
i don't know why the breeder let her go at 8 weeks but i did ask questions i may not have asked everything. i felt like i could get some answers from this board. i have seen people ask these types of questions on the board before and they got answers.
i'm just trying to take care of her the best i can. I'm sure all of you don't already know everything there is to know about yorkies or there wouldn't be as many post on this board.
but that's ok i'll get my advise from my vet or breeder. i'll just look at all the pictures of yorkies on here and maybe search old post.
thanks anyways

[wnalegria]

Originally Posted by libby

thanks to all of you that have tried to answer my questions

it wasn't my idea to get her at 8 weeks libby's mother was killed so i guess she just decided to let her go early i don't know if that's the reason she let her go early or not.
i don't know why the breeder let her go at 8 weeks but i did ask questions i may not have asked everything. i felt like i could get some answers from this board. i have seen people ask these types of questions on the board before and they got answers.
i'm just trying to take care of her the best i can. I'm sure all of you don't already know everything there is to know about yorkies or there wouldn't be as many post on this board.
but that's ok i'll get my advise from my vet or breeder. i'll just look at all the pictures of yorkies on here and maybe search old post.
thanks anyways

I think your missing the point. It is always good to ask the breeder first- beacuse they may have some of the information that is vital to giving you correct and vital information. Many folks will say my "breeder told me to do this for this problem what do you think" The more information that you can supply to us the better we are to meet your needs. We then Know what has been reccomended to you and what you have done. Same way when a kid has seen the Vet none of us that I know of are Vets- and we just can give you our experience with situations and what we have learned and what professionals have told us- and what may or may have not worked.

[minniemn]

Libby, don't feel bad for asking your questions- that is what this forum is supposed to be for.

I was surprised to read that you should of just asked the breeder, instead of some helpful hints from people, and felt I was wrong for answering your questions with my opinions.

I am sorry to read what happened to the mom, keeping the pups together would still of been a good idea for a couple more weeks, just so they could learn a few puppy things- but this person obviously did what she thought was best.

I also know that when my pups here left, those people changed things to suit their lifestyle.. meaning that they may have just let the puppies stayed pee pad trained, maybe they changed the feeding times ect... who knows- I did keep in contact with them, but don't talk to them daily and we just talk about the basics... I did however told them to call with any questions, and I did tell them how I did things and why... but my lifestyle isn't the same as theirs, being a stay at home mom, gives me more time to devote to 1/2hr potty times outside ect.

I hope it helped you to hear a few different way of how those that did answer you do things- if you have any other questions and would feel more comfortable you can pm me- I can try and help based on my experience.

I do know that there have been times that we have had the dogs sleep in their kennels sometimes at night, and it has gone fine, they like their kennels and at times I think they enjoy some alone time- lol. Maybe once a week or once every two weeks they sleep there for one reason or another, but the majority of the time they sleep in bed with us.

Good luck, I am sorry you feel the way you do about posting here, but I do understand where you are comming from.

[mylittletigger]

make sure you have nutri cal on hand at all times, leave food available at all times, I would take her to the puppy pads until she's had her two first sets of shots, and I let Tigger sleep with me since day one (I got him at 10 wks.) I see nothing wrong in spoiling them at all. they are after all part of the family and should be treated as such.

[libby]

Originally Posted by wnalegria

I think your missing the point. It is always good to ask the breeder first- beacuse they may have some of the information that is vital to giving you correct and vital information. Many folks will say my "breeder told me to do this for this problem what do you think" The more information that you can supply to us the better we are to meet your needs. We then Know what has been reccomended to you and what you have done. Same way when a kid has seen the Vet none of us that I know of are Vets- and we just can give you our experience with situations and what we have learned and what professionals have told us- and what may or may have not worked.

i realize that you are not vets. all i was asking for was your experience with your own yorkies.please read my original post again. thanks

[Ponyup]

Originally Posted by libby

i know there are threads that cover some of this stuff but it seems like i have been on here night and day reading all the post. i have learned alot but i need short qiuick answers to a few questions if you don't mind.
At 8 weeks
Feeding:
should she be eating as much as she wants right now? i keep her bowl in her area all the time.

bath:
is it to early for a bath? what age does she need her first bath?

potty training:
is it nessesary to start carrying her outside at 8 weeks old or should i just keep her on the puppy pads?do they potty pretty much everytime they eat?
libby has been. we put her in her area to eat and potty then get her out to play with her and she stays out until i think she's hungry again and potties.does this sound like a plan or what?

spoiling:
my baby has slept with me the last 2 nights because i can't leave her downstairs by herself. is this starting something that i'm going to be sorry for because my daughters slept with me and i didn't think i would ever get them out of my bed. they still ask everynight. i never thought i would have a dog sleeping in my bed. never say never.lol

thanks for any help you can give. i just need to know i'm starting out right.

I'll let you in on what I know for what it's worth. I'm not a breeder or vet, but I did work in a vet office all through highschool, and grew up on a farm and we raise quarter horses and we've always had dogs and cats. Logan was 7 weeks old when I brought him home. Anyway.

Feeding: I would give her no more than a cup a day right now. So if she eats it all right away I would split it into 3 servings. If she just grazes leave it down all day. If she's not eating well pick up some nutrical at petsmart.

Bath: I would wait a couple of weeks to give a fully submerged bath. I would buy puppy wipes (they have them at petsmart) or use a warm washclothes and spot clean. When you do decide to give her a bath make sure to keep her warm and make sure she's dry before letting her run around outside.

Potting: I got my boy in the middle of summer so going outside wasn't a problem. I would take her outside even now, I would buy her a little jacket and dry her off when you get back in. I think potty pads might confuse her if you want her to go outside. I would buy a crate or a playpen to keep her in when you can't watch her. Do you not punish her for potty in the house if you don't catch her in the act and then just clap your hands and say no and that'll startle her and she'll stop going then carry her outside and let her finish and then praise the crap out of her.

Spoiling: Spoiling is your right as a new yorkie parent however, I have a very strict rule about the puppy being in the bed. I've read this confuses the puppy about who is the alpha dog (the alpha dog should have the best sleeping spot) plus I don't wanna wake up to wet sheets. So my pup sleeps in his playpen right outside our bedroom door and that works just great for everyone.

I hope that helps, my breeder didn't give me alot of information either so what i know is trail and error or reading on here or books. Keep reading and posting I look forward to hearing about little libby's adventures.