Hello, I'm getting a healthy little Yorkie pup at 8 weeks old in 7 days! Any tips?
 

Hello, My name is Shaun. I am getting a healthy little yorkie pup at 8 weeks of age in 7 days. I have done much research and feel really confident in raising him. I joined this community for any advice I could get on bringing this little guy to settle in a new home.

Congrats!! Such an exciting time. My best suggestion would be to see if the breeder would be willing to keep him a few more weeks. The time between 8 and 12 weeks are very important for puppies to learn social skills and manners from his mom and siblings. If that's not possible, than locating a great vet that can help you with health information is a must. JMHO, I wouldn't use the vet that this breeder uses, but find my own. Perhaps someone here can recommend a vet in your area.

Please post some pictures after you get him home. :)

As a breeder I would tell you IS not the best to bring such a young puppy home, he needs to stay with his mother until 12 weeks of age, he needs to learn puppy manners and etiquette from her, also from experience I can tell you that when you take puppies away from mom so early some develop bonding issues, talk to the breeder and tell her what we said and see if she will keep him with the mom until 12 weeks that what a good breeder does, if not I will look for a 12 week old, because this breeder is NOT a good one and the health of the pup is not her primary concern.
best of luck if you still bring this little pup home so young..
hugs,

Its pretty important a yorkie stay with there mom until 12 weeks. Sense that did not happen please be prepared for possible potty train issues, biting issues and socialization issues. Also you need to know the symptoms of hypoglycemia and have nutrical on hand in case he has a hypoglycemic episode. It is very important that he be eating every couple of hours and not be left alone for more then an hour because if he has a hypoglycemia episode he can have seizures and it can result in death if no one is there to see him and help him. Also make sure not to take him places other dogs can go until he has had all of his shots. Use a harness to hook the leash to and a collar for tags only. Good luck with your pup and we are here for any questions you have.

Hello and welcome to YT. You got some wonderful advice.

I miss understood and thought you had the dog already (I am pretty tired). You should not take a yorkie home before 12 weeks period. A good breeder will not let a pup go home until 12 weeks and if they do they are not a good breeder and I can guarantee they cut other corners to save money like genetic testing to make sure your pup will not have any genetic issues and you could end up with a sick pup and having to spend a massive amount of money to fix it. Most 8 week old yorkies who go home have problems eating and some end up having to be force fed and still have ended up dying. We as lovers of this breed and buyers of these little babies that feel pain and things need stand up and do our research and say no to these bad breeders by not buying there pups and not keeping them in the business.

Who is the breeder you are getting the baby from? Are they in the Huntsville/Conroe area? Has the breeder started your baby on vaccinations yet, and how many puppy shots in the series has the baby had at 8 weeks of age?

I would advise you to take the advice above, any respectable breeder would appreciate your concern and oblige, ps awesome news

Welcome and gratz on the new pup. These folks know their stuff so if you can hold off a few weeks it might be for the best.

Hi Shaun, welcome to YT! How exciting that you are getting a new pup. The best advice I can give you to give you the healthiest and happiest furever companion for the next 12 - 14 years would be to leave the little guy with the breeder until he is at least 12 weeks of age.

Before a pup can become a good companion for a human, they first need to learn to be a respectful dog - and that is taught by mom and siblings during the critical time between 8 and 12 weeks.

Congratulations and good luck - you have come to the right place to learn and share yorkies!

Very nicely put

All of the above.
Be sure to also have your vet appointment already scheduled prior for the 48hr appointmebt (meaning pup is examined by your vet within 48hours of being in tour possession).
Do fecals at the appointment (bring a sample of the pups poo in a bag for the vet to do labs on it).
Get nutrical from vet.
Have them give a thorough health and paracite evaluation-complete with blood panel.

Hi Shaun -

Congrats on your upcoming arrival. Welcome to YT.

All good advice from great members.

I would recommend getting some nutrical - I gave mine a little pea size drop every few hours the first few days they were home. Sometimes when babies come home, they may not want to eat. A new environment can be very stressful for these little ones.

I set up their area before I brought my pups home - I gave them a nice sized area (master bathroom) and set up their beds, potty pads, food and water dishes, and some toys. I got some baby blankets at Target - smooth on one side and sherpa on the other - they love snuggling in their beds with their blankets. They could see me when I was in bed and I could see them.

X-pens are great for sectioning off an area of your home for them to have their own area. Baby gates work really good in door frames. I also bought some outlet covers for outlets close to the ground - they will lick or chew anything they can find.

There are so many suggestions for getting ready for a new baby, hope some of these are helpful for you.

Thanks!
 

Thank you everyone for your wonderful advice. I know there are some concerns about taking the puppy home at 8 weeks, especially toy breeds, and especially Yorkies. Through deep research I have found that the puppy does learn things from the mother that can benefit his social behavior. They say at 10 weeks is a good time to acclimate a puppy to a new environment, just about as many say get the pup at 12 weeks. I believe I have what it takes to be with him at least every hour or so. I have already checked with my vet and have the vaccine schedule, he will have his 8 week shots when I get him.

I have seen the pup and will meet the parents this week. I also called references and the Vet the breeder takes the pups to and made sure I was calling the "vet", spoke with several people and they all said her litters have always been great and her pups are well developed at 8 weeks, as long as the owner knows exactly the responsibility it takes to raise a Yorkie pup.

At this point I have read through this entire website and really appreciate all your concerns! It's great to have a community! I will post pictures, and please any other advice!

Thanks for the hospitality!

- Shaun :aimeeyork