New Member New Mom

[tangobango]

Hi. My name is Leslie & I live on the west coast of Florida near Tampa. I am already the mom of 3 parrots. Tango & Edie are african greys. Jack is a white capped pionus. On Jan 1st I will be a brand new mom of a 8 week old yorkie. We haven't decided what to name her yet. My husband likes the name Bristol (he's a NASCAR fan, Bristol is a short track..get it..short track). Her nick name would be Brissy. I want a more sweet girly name but I want my husband to contribute also.
In my pursuit to be a great mom I have read two books on yorkies and have read all of your FAQ's ect. One question I have is what is better, a cage or carrier to have her in at home. One book says a cage the other says plastic carrier. All of your expertise would be appreciated. Any other advise?
We visit her often. She is at a home environment with 3 adult yorkies and plenty of people. She has 2 sisters and 3 brothers. She is the runt but very healthy. According to the chart she should be 2.5 to 3 lbs at 24 mths.I have taken over 2 baby blankets and some toys that will come home with her so that might help with her separation.
Well, that's pretty much it. I look forward to reading the posts for enlightenment and tips. Leslie. (any suggestions for names as you look at her picture?)

[daisy mae06]

HI welcome to YT I am from Florida too Near Tampa I live in Nebraska now though. I'm trying to come up with names for ya here is one. Darlington nick name Darling I'll try to think of more.

[FlDebra]

What a cutie -- and I love the idea of the name --
Bristol -- short track --
You are not going to believe how loving Yorkies are -- I am amazed every day by these wonderful little babies! I have a 2 month old and 4 month old right now and every day is a delight. Well.....all but the poo and pee cleanup details..... but we are working on that!

Can't help on the cage or plastic crate -- we don't use either. My DH does not want to cage them. I know it would be easier for training, but this is the way it has to be here.

[Hokule'a]

Awww, what an adorable face! Congratulations!

[cheer1027]

Your new baby is absolutely adorable! As for your question...I was told it depends on the person training them and the dog themselves on what they perfer. Zeta tried the "pen" and hated it! She wimpered the entire time she was in there like she felt she was always in time out or something...I couldn't do it anymore. So, we got her a small metal crate (big enough for her to lay around or play in with her toys) and she loved it. She doesn't mind going in when it is time! I would say it mainly depends on you training your baby to use it. I wish I could give you more help but that was our experience.

[Josie's Mom]

Welcome to YT!


I'm so glad you found us. Josie will be 3 years old in January. We've had her since she was 14 weeks old. She makes me so happy. I hope you new Yorkie brings so much happiness also.
I have to say "Brissy" is a really cute nickname As, for the cage or carrier? I would say, it's what best works for you. Neither worked for us. Josie, owns
the house.

[bellaismybaby]

Darling baby...and cute name idea! I bet you can't wait to get her home. Yorkies are so loving..and fun I never have used a crate for Bella. She slept in an x-pen until she didn't need to get up at night to potty. I have a small plastic crate at my house on the floor she plays in, just in case I ever do need to crate her she won't be afraid. There are alot of people here that can help you with crate training though. Bella has been pad trained since I got her, so when I left her alone she stayed in the kitchen area. Good luck

[yougetthesmiles]

Hi Leslie! Congrats on your new baby girl! how exciting! sounds like you have done a lot of research and thats wonderful! you will make a great yorkie mom!

[tangobango]

Thank everyone for the great welcome!!!!!!!!!!!

[abbie's mom]

Hi Leslie - Welcome to YT, and congratulations! You are in for a most wonderful adventure as your Yorkie grows in personality. Sounds like it's a very blessed li'l guy to have found such a loving home.

[Amber_lv]

Welcome to YT you will love it here!! I love the name Brissy it's cute! On the question of cages i put Peeka in a small cat carrier at night to sleep when you first bring her home it is good to put her in a small enclosure so she doesn't pee or poop also so she feels safe. during the day when you want her immobile i used a baby playpen so he had some room to play i put a bed for him and lots of toys some people prefer and x-pen which is a metal cage like deal which is great as well it really depends on how she handles being in there. also make sure you have some nutrical on had for low blood sugar(hypoglycemia) and have a good vet on hand for your girl to come home. Good luck and if you have any More questions please ask!

[ChicagoSoul]

I am kind of new to Yorkie parenting as well. At the same time, I already managed to get a few tricks under my belt after having Manya (my baby girl) for two weeks now.

Having said that, you should take my advice and adjust it according to the age of your puppy. When I had mine, she was 14 weeks old. Yours is going to be only 8. So, you would have significantly more work to do.

Anyway, I believe the key is to find the best vet you can have. This way, you would know that your pet is well taken care of and healthy. The vet will also be instrumental refereing you to the best groomers and puppy classes if you ever decide the puppy to enroll into one, which might be a good idea since she is so small.

With respect to your initial question regarding the cage or the carrier, I would probably suggest a plastic crate that would be relatively small initially and gradually give her more and more room.

The key for you right now is to be able to train her to use a wee wee pad. You should try crate training for that. Puppies learn where to go to pee from their mother. You, however, won't be able to fully appreciate this mom's training since you are going to get the dog early.

So, you should probably invest in training her much more then some people who take their puppies after they are more mature.

So, you need to crate train her. I've never done it myself but I learned from others such as professional dog trainers and veterinarians that it is really beneficial. My puppy came to me already trained by her breeder. The reason you want your crate to be small is because yorkies don't soil the place where they sleep. So, you need to get her just enough room for her to be in comfortably. You should put her blankets and toys inside so that she is used to that.

Small puppies like yours go often. So, you need to monitor her. Initially, take her out of the crate every 20 minutes and put her onto your designated toilet place. You should make sure to mark the activity with a word that is consistently used by all your family members for it. Your designated place should consist of Purina Second Nature litter box with a wee wee pad inside (no litter). Some people, including me, think that non-disposable pads are better and more economical since you can wash them regularly than the disposable ones. It is your call. You can also use newspapers for lining the tray, I suppose. Anyway, search this forum for non-disposable pads and you will find websites that were recommended by others on this forum to buy them from for less.

Going back to the subject, you take your puppy every 20 minutes out of the crate and place her in the litter box, saying the one marking word you picked. For example, you place her, saying "Get busy." You do it each and every time with the same word. Let het stay there for approximately 10 minutes. If she does not go, put her back to the crate and wait for 20 minutes again. When she eventually goes, make sure to say the second marker word that you pick for good behavior. For example, you say "Yes." Make sure it is also consistent with all members of your family. You also reward her with a treat and let her play for 10 more minutes outside.

The goal of this exercise is to let her understand that it is good to pee or poop where you want her to go. Remember that you will break for food. Some recommend feeding puppies four times a day. I happened to agree with my vet that three times is better and easier. Again, discuss it with your vet.

I don't belive that puppies should be fed liquid diet. I also don't believe that their food should be always available for them. I feed my baby three times a day dry food, which is much better for her digestive system and for her teeth. Again, it is your call. Manya is on a strict schedule. As a result, she hungry before every feeding and eats everything I give her from her plate by herself. Her breeder always had food available for Manya. As a result, she was not a good eater before she came to me. I put her on the schedule and everything is great.

Another thing is I never feed her myself from my hand. I place her food in her bowl and let it stay there for 10-15 minutes. Regardless of whether she is done or not, unless she is actively eating at the time, I take the food after the designated interval until the next feeding.

You might need to feed her the first day or two so that she gets accustomed to you and your house, maybe longer. I guess it depends on the dog. Ask your breeder for suggestions. After that, she should eat on her own.

With respect to food, I personally stayed with the food that my breeder had Manya on which was Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Formula in Lamb and Rice. The reason for that was that Manya looked good on my opinion, she was not scratching and she had a really good stool three times a day.

Having said that, there are other brands that members of this forum will recommend you to use. I've done plenty of research of food brands and the major point is that you should absolutely check the label of anything that goes into your puppy's stomach. She should not be fed by-products and fillers. While the dog food industry is much better than what it used to be in the past, there are still many more bad choices than there are good one out there. There are also many tricks and mislabeling that you should be aware of before you buy any food.

The rule of thumb is that you should feed your dog only premium quality food. If I had to choose from scratch based on my research what dry food to pick for my puppy, I would pick the following Innova Puppy Dry Food and Naturapet California Natural Lamb Meal & Rice Puppy.

The reason for my choice is that Innova one has crude protein at 26% (a good range for a puppy is 26-28% because significantly less than that is not enough for their development and more is too hard on their liver and kidney) and 12% fat (10%-15% is a good range). Also, the first three ingredients on their list are named meat products (turkey, chicken and chicken meal). It also has herring which is a good source of Omega fatty acids and good for your puppy's brain functioning. With respect to grains, the main ones on this formula are barley, rice and potatoes which are all quality carbohydrate sources. You want that and no corn, which is hard for your puppy's digestive system. This formula also has no fillers, grain fragments or other bad things that can cause problems for your puppy.

My second choice, California Natural, is good because it is an allergy formula that has very few but good quality ingredients. As a result, it is much easier for your puppy's digestion. It also has meat meal as a primary ingredient, rice - good quality grain combined with minerals such as taurine and sunflower oil wich is a good source of linoleic acid.

Other good brands include Merrick Puppy Plate, Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken Puppy (lamb), Old Mother Hubbard Wellness Super 5 Mix Puppy Food and Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul. The reason I have not picked them as my primary choices was because some of them contain fillers, egg products as opposed to whole eggs, and grain fragments. Chicken Soup, on the other hand, used to use a carcinogenic (causing cancer) preservative with their formula. I don't know if they still do. You have to check the ingredient list for Ethoxyquin.

In comparison to my formula, Nutro, the above formulas are better because they seemingly contain more meat. Mine has Lamb meal as a primary ingredient. However it is being followed by rice ingredients (rice flour, rice bran, rice gluten and ground rice), which are split. You will soon learn of this splitting phenomenon that bad dog food manufacturers consistently engage in to trick their consumers. When looking at ingredients, they are going to be listed by weight. So, the more weight one ingredient has in the product, the more precedence it is going to have in the list, i.e., if you split them (as with my rice example), you will get less weight per each part, thus m making meat a more prominent one.

[ChicagoSoul]

Had to break it down b/c was too long

In my instance, I am OK for now with rice being more than they want me to believe because in and of itself, rice is a good grain. At the same time, rice flour and rice bran is a grain fragment and filler. So, it is better to avoid those. My other problematic ingredient is Dried Beet Pulp which some believe can cause allergic reactions in puppies (for mine, it is OK). My formula also has egg product and not whole eggs. So, make sure you know what your feed puppy.

With respect to other useful advise, puppies are motivated by only people, food, and toys. See what your puppy is like and motivate her behavior in light of her primary positive triggers.

Some other good things I found and like so far:

Grooming: Chris Christensen Fusion Pin Brush, Original Belgian Greyhound Comb, Pet Silk Moisterizing Shampoo and Conditioner, Cowboy MAgic Detangler, Opticlear Eye Wash and I forgot the brand of Cologne and Ear cleanser I use. The most important thing to remember for grooming is to use a good and non-scratchy pin brush and comb every day to avoid mats. With respect to shampoo and conditioner, they have to be formulated for pets, not humans because dogs have a different pH. Shampoo should also not contain soap since it is too drying for their skin. With respect to eye and ear care, you can always use cotton balls and water. There is no reason to pay extra money if you want to save some. It is better to spend more on other things. if there is no issue in spending, then go ahead. There are plenty of good quality non-allergenic formulas out there.

Clothes: Manya is really tiny. She is 1.38 lbs. So, you will encounter that many stores out there don't even sell things that are so small. Your average garden variety size 8' for dogs is going to be way too large for your and my puppy. You can go to yorkie products section. I know that some of forum people here can custom made certain garments to your measurements.

Since you are in Florida, you might not need clothes. I personally had a lot of troubles looking for extra-tiny sweaters and coats for our Chicago weather. I can give you some commercial manufacturers that sell very small clothes if you need something that our forum members don't have. I remember that there is tinykiki, gofetch and tinkerbellscloset stores that were developed by people on this forum. Maybe there are more. I am sure they will tell you in case you need something.

I belive those sites also have tiny harnesses as well. My favorite commercial harness so far was the one I got on moderntails.com. It is made by Puppia and is called Camouflage II Jacket Harness (size x-small). I like its craftmanship, softness as well as the fact that it closes on the back as opposed to the belly which makes it easier to put on as well as it makes it usable in my case for Manya's car seat as well.

With respect to car travel, I just got Manya Pet Stow-Away multi use product that can function as a car seat, suitcase and a travel bed and I really like it. I know that there are other car seats out there that people on this forum had good experience with.

What else I liked? I really liked developmental puzzle toys for intelligent dogs made by Kjen. They might be a little too advanced for your puppy, however because she is too small but maybe not. You can go and see for yourself.

I also liked chewing toys (minis) by Petstages. Petstages also makes this little soft toy cow that you can put into the microwave and heat. It is supposed to help with separation anxiety because it smell like mommy and it is warm. So, you can get it and put it inside her crate next to her blanket when you get your puppy. I bought mine in advance but my puppy had almost no separation anxiety, so it was not needed.

Most importantly, first six months are critical for the development of your puppy. So, once she gets all her shots (at approximately 14 weeks), you should take her out and try to introduce her to different people (with or without coat, with or without glasses, with or without beards and so forth) so that she gets to be a well socialized pet. Also, make sure you introduce her to children. Don't let them raise her because she can fall and hurt herself but, under supervision, they can play with her on the floor. Also, introduce her to small and large dogs as well so that she is not afraid to stay with others when you are on vacation and like.

Hope it helps.

[wykkar1210]

I love the name Brissy - suits her adorable little face! Wanted to add my input on the crate issue. I received Riley when he was 10 weeks old and couldn't bear the thought of keeping him in a crate. As a new mommy, I tried playpens, doggy gates, etc. but being at work during the day this did not help with the potty training (we were using potty pads). After talking with the vet, she convinced me that crating was the healthiest, most compassionate way to help Riley. Since dogs will not eliminate where they sleep, this helps the puppy learn to hold his pee and strenthen his bladder control. Granted, you wouldn't leave your baby in there for hours and hours but I found that a couple of hours in the beginning worked fine and now at 8 months, Riley has the run of the house and we haven't had an accident in months.

You are going to love being a mommy to a Yorkie. They are smart, affectionate and loyal little companions. I am totally devoted to mine!

Best of luck on your new wonderful adventure!!!

[CJCinTX]

Welcome to YT Leslie! I'm a "Newbie" myself & you'll find all sorts of wonderful people with fabulous advice here. I'm going through a health crisis with our furbaby Muffin & Yorkie Talk has been unbelievably helpful.

Your soon-to-be new addition is adorable & I love the name Bristol...it's cute & clever. It sure as heck beats the racetrack name here in DFW, Texas Motor Speedway!

Muffin's Mommy, C.J.