I want your feedback

[myriamha]

I have a 7 months old Yorkie "Royce" and I would like to get the feedback regarding this . I work during the day so I'm away from home for about 7 hours during that time I gate him in the kitchen and I dont leave any toys as Im scared to death of accidents . Then when I come home at 4 PM all my time 90% of my time is devoted to my little boy, I take him for a walk and I take him with me basically everywhere I go then I play with him take care of him prepare his meals brushhim etc,,, at night he sleeps in my bed .
I feel terribly guilty about gating him for 7 hours but I have no choice I have to work ( hopefully by the end of June I will be able to cut on my working hours sothat he is not gated for7 hours ) . Do you think that according to this schedule he has a balanced day ? And how many hours a day do you spend playing with your yorkie ?

[YorkieRose]

You have to do what you have to do..work.

There are playthings you can leave for him that are safe...get one of those treat balls..put some treats in it and he can roll it around until they fall out.
I, always had a small TV in my kennel and it was in my house with me there..but they liked the soaps...lots of people, faces and talking.

as long as your boy gets lots of attention when you are home, I think he will be very well adjusted. They tend to sleep most of the day anyway...

[peanut]

I think he is fine gated for that long, I would put a few toys in there that are safe to entertain him. When I first got my Lexie, I kept her in a gate in my kitchen and she has turn out fine. She has run of the house now but she didn't mind being in the kitchen as long as she had some of her toys to play with.

[Aliwags]

I think you are doing just fine. Dogs do sleep most of the time, whether we are around or not. This way, he gets all his sleeping in, then can be awake to be with you. Besides, the kitchen is big enuff. The treat ball is a great idea. I have a friend whose poodle goes nuts with it, and will play for a long time.

[2WILDNCRZYORKI]

I think he is fine!!! We tend to feel guilty for leaving our babies but you have to work. As long as you give quality time and exericise him its okay.

I think its just more our guilt. Like someone else stated maybe leave a tv on or something or give him safe toys to keep him busy. I am home the majority of the time and my Yorkies sleep a lot of the day if that helps. Ü

[Patti]

I think it's fine. I always worked when I had dogs until I got Cali. Now that she is getting older almost a year she sleeps more. My 9 year old pom sleeps all day.

[SnowWa]

MyriaMha -- I leave my dog gated in the Kitchen/laundry room area for 6 to 7 hours, four days a week. He is 9 months old and has been kept there since I got him. He doesn't bark or whine and seems just fine left there.

He has a dog friend in the other part of the house (I'm sure they both sleep and ignore each other while I'm gone) - and two birds near by. He has his bed and food and water. He has a light left on (when it's dark) and a radio going. He has a lot of different toys there all the time, and I don't worry a bit about this. He has several stuffed animals and things to chew on.

I take my dogs outside when I first get home and spend time playing with them and visiting with my neighbors (thank God for summer!) I don't play with him all the time in the evening because I'm busy - but he wears a belly band and has free run of the house - so, he's busy and happy. We do go outside several times every evening - and he and my other dog play and run around like crazy --so he certainly gets a lot more execise then I do. He also sleeps with me.

The above works for us. And, like you ----it's the way it has to be!

Carol Jean

PS: I wouldn't worry about leaving some toys with him. I think he should have something to play with or chew on while you're gone.

[JeanieK]

Dogs are very resiliant. They get used to our schedules. I think the Tv is a nice idea, or at least a radio. Also if they can look out a window, it's nice. Definitely leave some toys. When I am gone and come back, mine have their toys strung over the entire kitchen, so I know they play with them.

[chestermama]

I leave chester for 9.5 hrs when Im at work, I work part time. I leave the radio on for him and he sleeps on my pillow or under the covers. I think your doggy is very lucky to have you.

[Annie&Badger]

I don't think there's any problem with leaving him for that length of time but you really should leave him some toys for stimulation. And leave a radio or TV on in the background. Yorkies are really smart dogs and if he's not got something to occupy his mind, then I think that could cause him harm frankly. He's not going to sleep for seven hours so what does he do when he's awake? It seems a little cruel to leave a puppy for seven hours without any form of mental stimulation at all; although I appreciate that's not your intention. Pretty much all puppy-specific toys are designed not to break or choke them or anything

Please leave him something to do

[sandraj]

You could leave a Kong or another pretty much indestructable toy to give him something to do.Otherwise,his set up sounds absolutely fine.You are doing a great job.
I take my pup for a walk when I get home from work and play/brush/play with her after dinner.She sleeps with me too. Weekends are great as we have so much more time together.She is healthy and happy.She spends about 7 hours gated in the kitchen some days--less depending on my daughter's Uni hours. She has three cats for company,but I leave her toys and chews,as well as water and kibble. She is always pleased to see us all when we get home.

[ladyt]

You have nothing to be concerned about. They adjust very well to our schedules. Kiki is crated while my sister is in the house. We work different schedules and she does not want to be responsible for him. I rather he stay crated than worry about him uncrated while she is in the house and not paying a lot of attention to him. She said she is amazed how he does not make a sound while she is walking all around him, but the minute he hears my voice after I come home he starts barking, because he knows it is time to come out of the crate.

[BLowry]

If I have to leave Sadie for a long period of time I put Animal Planet on for her...Now she knows as soon as I put AP on that I am leaving and she follows me around the house barking...lol....not happy that she isn't coming with me.

[myriamha]

Hello

Thank you for your input I really appreciate . I only leave him in the kitchen with a rubber ball that im sure he wont be able to destroy org et it in his mouth .I left a kong once and at night I noticed that he threw up some light red liquid and I think that was from chewing his red kong so I decidednot to give him his kong while im gone . He has plenty of toys but what scares me and freaks me out is that my neighbor's dog choke on a bone and died when they left him alone at home that's why I decided to give him just the rubbr ball as it;s the safest . What other type of toys are safe ?

Originally Posted by Annie&Badger

I don't think there's any problem with leaving him for that length of time but you really should leave him some toys for stimulation. And leave a radio or TV on in the background. Yorkies are really smart dogs and if he's not got something to occupy his mind, then I think that could cause him harm frankly. He's not going to sleep for seven hours so what does he do when he's awake? It seems a little cruel to leave a puppy for seven hours without any form of mental stimulation at all; although I appreciate that's not your intention. Pretty much all puppy-specific toys are designed not to break or choke them or anything

Please leave him something to do

[Annie&Badger]

Originally Posted by myriamha

Hello

Thank you for your input I really appreciate . I only leave him in the kitchen with a rubber ball that im sure he wont be able to destroy org et it in his mouth .I left a kong once and at night I noticed that he threw up some light red liquid and I think that was from chewing his red kong so I decidednot to give him his kong while im gone . He has plenty of toys but what scares me and freaks me out is that my neighbor's dog choke on a bone and died when they left him alone at home that's why I decided to give him just the rubbr ball as it;s the safest . What other type of toys are safe ?

I've read your posts before and it's occurred to me - and I hope you don't mind my saying so - that you are a lot like me in that your puppy means very much to you and that you worry about him a lot and him getting harmed. Almost the way a mother would worry about a child. I think it's important to keep in mind though that it's actually extremely difficult to kill a puppy unintentionally. I've found Badger before calmly chewing through a sharp plastic pen that broke into minute pieces (he just spat them out), chewing and swallowing a whole cigarette (didn't bother him at all), swallowing human hair and cotton wool (went straight out the other side), idly chewing the stuffing out of a toy (just spat it out in little slimy lumps that I'm still finding all over the place) and so on. The point I'm trying to make is that they instinctively know what they should and shouldn't swallow and when they do swallow something, their body will get rid of it. They may occasionally throw up or something but this is typical of them. I've gotten over seeing the odd vomiting fit or runny poo - this is just a puppy thing and I'm pretty sure they all do it as they grow and adjust

I think the red stuff from the kong was the filling probably or something else. It's definitely not the die from the toy if that's what you're concerned about. I normally leave Badger for between two to five hours a day but I leave him a stuffed, jingly mouse that's designed for cats (I took off the whiskers, tail and felt eyes off it before giving it to him), his favourite soft, stuffed, puppy (I always check the seams on toys when I buy them and look out for any potential weak spots - if they are there, I don't buy them), a few jingly plastic balls with bells in them designed for cats (they are hard plastic and he's never chewed through them at all), some teething rings and plastic bones (very hard plastic, he's never managed to chew a piece off and he's got some serious chewing habits), and a variety of little puppy toys that he's barely interested in but occasionally chucks around. I leave him in our bedroom and I've never, ever come home and found any problems at all. I will scan the room before I go for any stray cables, turn off any electrical things and remove the plugs, remove anything that could fall on him if he bumped into it and so on

I have, with the exception of your example, only once before ever heard of a dog choking on a bone and that's when I was a child. It was a chicken bone which should never be given to any animal anyway. Your neighbour's story is very sad but I think very, very, very rare. I would definitely leave your little boy (gorgeous puppy by the way! I remember his photos!) something noisy (they love jingly bells), definitely some chewing rings (these are guaranteed not to break up, I promise), his Kong but with a few treats inside (I have run by the Kong with the vet and he says they're one of the best toys for his dogs and he's a Yorkie nut) and some solidly made soft toys for his amusement (just remove any bits that he could chew off and swallow like 'tails' and 'eyes' and so forth). Whatever he does chew off, he won't swallow - they very rarely swallow anything they shouldn't anyway. To put your mind at rest, why don't you do this one day - just for an hour - and leave him while you go out. I GUARANTEE you will come home and everything will be fine

If you want to, give us a list of toys you think you could leave if you want to run it by everyone and get their advice