Please Help!!!

[Aqua Butterfly]

How do you bathe and groom your Yorkie? I'm getting Daisy in 4 days! (I can't believe how time flies!) And I'm getting supplies. So I have five questions:

1. How would you recomend bathing a small puppy for the first time?

2. What shampoo/conditioner would you recomend?

3. How often and when should I give her a brushing and trim her hair? Or

4. Would I need any special things? Like skin care products?

5. What would you recomed for flee and tick provention?

That was topic #1...

Topic #2:

What should I give her to play with? She's such a small dog I'm worried that all the toys our old dog have will be too big, or have parts that will fall off and choke her!

Topic #3:

Well I thought I'd let her sleep in her carrier for a while until she gets old enough, but the other day while I was visiting her she barked and cried and whined and carried on whenever I put her down! When I picked her up she was fine, and when I put her down the same thing happened. As long as she was near my feet it was okay though, but when I put her in the pen she pitchd a fit! I'm afraid the carrier plan won't work, so the only other choice I can think of is to put her in the bed with me! But I'm afraid I'll roll over her and crush her! What should I do?

Topic #4:

What else should I get do you have any ideas? I have so much planning to do! Just tell me anything else that I need to get or know and I'll be so grateful!

[DMorgan]

The excitement in your post made me laugh. Most of those are excellent questions to ask the breeder you are getting your little baby from.

While I can't answer all your questions because I got Simon as a rescue and her was six months by then... I can try to help with some.

Crate training is a great tool that will pay off in the long run. Of course she is going to scream, lol she wants to be help like the princess she is. It may keep you up a bit while she gets used to it, but I think worthwhile.

I wash and groom Simon when he looks like he needs it. Ha, you'll be able to look at your furkid and know when it's time for a bath.

The other things, just ask the breeder, I'm sure they'll be more than imforative for you! Congrats on your incoming yorkster!

Jeni

[chachi]

I sponge bathed mine when they were little. I use four paws shampoo and miracle coat conditioner. I got these at petco. There are alt of little toys you can get. Small balls, stuffed animals, and they especially like squeaky toys. Good luck.

[Mya's_Mom]

Here are my suggestions, I am sure others have more to add or have had other experiences or different advice.
1. How would you recomend bathing a small puppy for the first time?
In the bathroom sink.

2. What shampoo/conditioner would you recomend?
I am extra careful not to get water in the ears.
I am now using PPP -Professional Pet Products - Tearless Shampoo - For the Junior Pet Set - Specially formulated for Puppies, kittens, Ferrets, Rabbits and Hamsters.
3. How often and when should I give her a brushing and trim her hair?
I got my puppy used to a comb even by stroking her with the back of the comb.
She now lets me comb her although sometimes still tries to bite the comb playfully now and then, I just tell her NO wait a bit and try again. She has adapted very well to being combed out. I trimmed the hair on Mya's feet when she was 10 weeks old. I waited till she was sleepy.4. Would I need any special things? Like skin care products?
I would think you would not need that unless there is a skin problem.
5. What would you recomed for flee and tick provention?
I think it can be included in a shot. Maybe someone else has more input on this subject for you.
What should I give her to play with?
Mya's favorite toys are from the dollar store. Her favorite ball is a cotton knit ball that glows in the dark. I took out the plastic beads that were inside and replaced them with stuffing. She also has a tiny teddy bear from the dollar store (cotton filled no plastic or glass eyes or nose to chew off ) a stuffed dog, a tiny rope toy, a lil soccar ball that is leather like on the outside and cotton batting filled....chewable bones. She found my cat's toy which is a simple felt bag. I just bought her a tiny tennis ball. She also plays with this stuffed cat that is a draft stopper so the thing is 3ft long and she actually drags it around. It is sooooooo funny. She had a little rubber/plastic toy but actually chewed part of it off so I took it away from her.
Topic #3:
I find having a puppy is like having a baby. When Mya cries I go through the check list:
Is she just tired?
Is she Hungry?
Is she Thirsty?
Does she need to go pee or poop?
Is she just bored?
It could of been that the puppy was crying for one of those reasons.
A schedule is good to try and stick to. I keep Mya awake on purpose so that she will sleep when *I* want her to. It seems to work except when the cat wakes us up at 5am like this morning.....lol I did manage to get Mya to go back to sleep after a piddle and a snuggle.Also from past dogs I found that the carriers don't work as well as a cage. Maybe others can comment on this. Mya was brought home in a carrier and kept in one her first night, she did cry. She seems to love her cage with her padded bed in it and she loves her travel bag. She runs away from the carrier if she sees it.
Topic #4:
Just try to keep your eye on her, know where she is. You probably have already gotten on your hands and knees to check out your home. We did this and Vaccumme often just yesterday Mya dropped an AA battery at my feet. Remember no one is perfect! Also try to socialize her by taking her out to meet people and experience noises.
Enjoy your puppy !!!!!! I am so excited for you !!!!!
Cyn
Driving the grammatically correct insane, one posting at a time

[luzangela428]

Well...when I first got Maximus at 10 weeks...I bathed him...the vet said big no-no, when they are puppies it is not good to bethe them befor ea certain age...or more then once a week...I was told not to bathe him till at least 4 months becauser they have protective oils...I still bathed him 1x since then and I think 1x a week is reasonable...but I'm not a vet. I would take her to the vet and see what they say..they know better then me probaly...also Maximus was little so I bought him floppy toys (stuffed dog toys) and there are 2 that are his favorite and he brings over to his bed everynight when he gets ready to sleep. Also my vet told me I'm a pushover....but the 1st year is important....show who is the boss...let her cry in the crate for a little while and she will stop...don't take her out when she cries or else she will learn she can get her way by crying...Take it from a victim..lol, oh and ENJOY...and Good Luck any questions I will try to help you the best I can and the people here are great and insightful as well so you wil have lots of friends..oh by the way I use the Chris Christensen Systems shampooo and conditoner at 5the advice from fellow yorkie talk members...GREAT stuff but you have to order online...get it in about 3 days

[yorkiegirl2]

1.I wouldn't give her a bath unless she really needs it. I use no more tears for baby and a small amount of people conditioner if needed.Wrap in warm towel and blow dry on low but not to close.
2.Be sure to clean ear with Q-tip but not to deeply.
3.The sooner you get her use to a small blush the better, Mine still fights me when I try to brush her (about 1 or 2 times a week) and she 14 weeks. would not worry about trimming the hair for awhile.
4. She won't need flea and heartworm meds until she 12 weeks old.I have mine on interceptor and advanage. A tip buy the lg size in the advanage and have the vet to tell you how much to use ..I get several months out of a large size.
5. Give her a sock, dog toy with no botton eyes, a safe chew bone.
6. I slept my pup in bed with me, her in the crate. I put my finger through the bars..she would snuggle up against my fingers and go to sleep. I then put a tee shirt with my scent on it,in the crate. After a few nites I'd try to put the crate in the floor by my bed.
I'm sure other have ideals ..these are just mine ..good luck to you and your new baby.

[luzangela428]

Also...see if you get some nutrical...because a. they are puppies and b. see is really tiny the nutrical will help prevent hypoglacimia...think I screwed that speeling up..but when there blood sugar gets to low they could have seizures, not want to move etc., and if they don't eat all there food a little nutrical is a good idea

[bettyeanne]

I certainly recognize your excitement!! It doesn't get any better!! I don't think you are ever, ever prepared but you can certainly learn answers to your questions here! I believe that most of us "learn by doing" ... what works for one of us doesn't necessarily work for others and you will find a lot of trial & error! Like Jeni said, your breeder should be able to answer all your questions and if you follow her instructions as much as possible, you will be doing what little Daisy is accustomed to and it will be an easier transition for her. Actually, ours provided instructions, food, shampoo, etc. that she was already using. This is how we did it when our Toto was a baby, she is 22 months old now and we haven't killed her yet!!!

1. How would you recomend bathing a small puppy for the first time?
I use one of those rubber mats in the kitchen sink ... use the sprayer with lukewarm water. I simply set her in the sink with the water already at bath temp and gently wet her all over [I never turn the water off while I bathe her]. After she is wet, I pour the shampoo in my hand and rub my hands together and just lightly "wipe" it all over her and then just massage her hair. If you rub it hard with your fingertips as you would yours, it will cause the hair to mat. I shampoo Toto twice and rinse, then apply the conditioner the same way and try to let it stay in for a few minutes. Rinse well and wrap her in a warm towel. After towel drying, most everybody uses a hand dryer while brushing ... I don't because Toto doesn't like it. She prefers being wrapped in a couple of towels and snuggling on my lap until she is just damp dry and then I brush her out!

2. What shampoo/conditioner would you recomend?
I use Coat Handlers [my breeder recommended it] but there are other good ones out there. Also, dilute some conditioner and keep it handy in a spray bottle to mist the hair while brushing. It helps get the mats out and decreases breakage of the hair.

3. How often and when should I give her a brushing and trim her hair?
I try to brush Toto every day ... it makes it much easier, especially when they are babies and are getting used to it. If she protests, don't worry, if you are persistent she will begin to look forward to it! Toto will lie on her back and let me brush her belly!! Trimming ... I suppose that will depend on how fast her hair grows.

4. Would I need any special things? Like skin care products?
I have never had a skin problem with Toto, but others who have will advise you, I'm sure.

5. What would you recomed for flee and tick provention?
You should ask your vet about that, again, there are differences. Our vet has us use Advantage [applied between the shoulder blades]. When Toto was tiny, we could use only half a tube. Because Yorkies are small, they need smaller doses in medications, etc. We only use what our vet recommends, she never, ever recommends flea/tick shampoos, collars, etc. because they are just too small and lots of that stuff is toxic to them.

Topic #2:
What should I give her to play with? She's such a small dog I'm worried that all the toys our old dog have will be too big, or have parts that will fall off and choke her!
We simply "puppy proofed" our house because they will get anything that they can get their little mouths on!! And they can indeed choke on tiny things that they can pick up off the floor and chew. We just bought safe little doggie toys at PetSmart, Petco, Wal-Mart, etc. Just make sure that they are safe and they can't get them stuck in their throats. She will need lots of little chew bones ... we used Nylabone and any other small safe bones & rubber chew things that they can't gnaw pieces off of until they have cut their teeth. We found that if we always had one handy, whenever Toto put her mouth on something to chew that we didn't want her to, we just gently took it from her and gave her one of her Nylabones. It wasn't necessarily the object that she wanted to chew ... she just needed to chew on something because her gums hurt because of teething! BTW, Toto has never, ever chewed on anything that wasn't hers! [with the exception of paper!] I don't know if it was her early training or she just doesn't want to! Another thing, never, ever raise your voice & yell ... you will only confuse & scare her.

Topic #3:
Well I thought I'd let her sleep in her carrier for a while until she gets old enough, but the other day while I was visiting her she barked and cried and whined and carried on whenever I put her down! When I picked her up she was fine, and when I put her down the same thing happened. As long as she was near my feet it was okay though, but when I put her in the pen she pitchd a fit! I'm afraid the carrier plan won't work, so the only other choice I can think of is to put her in the bed with me! But I'm afraid I'll roll over her and crush her! What should I do?
If you can train her to sleep in the carrier, that's great. I think it's really a personal choice. Toto is such a "velcro dog" but she was fine sleeping in one of her crates at night ... then she would fall asleep with us watching TV on our bed and my husband just hated "disturbing" her to move her to the crate ... she now sleeps with us every night! We haven't squashed her yet! You are always "aware" that she is there!

Topic #4:
What else should I get do you have any ideas? I have so much planning to do! Just tell me anything else that I need to get or know and I'll be so grateful!
If you have time to go back through some of the older threads ... there's so much great information that it's just impossible to recap it! I think you're doing a great job already and will make a good Yorkie mom for Daisy just by doing your research and asking questions!! Take the advice of your vet [that's most important] and your breeder.

Sorry this is so long ... there is just so much involved with caring for these little furbabies but don't let it overwhelm you ... it's absolutely worth it!!

[Aqua Butterfly]

Thank you so much! I'm making an appointment with my vet tomorrow to give her a check-up and let him give me flee and tick medicine! I'm very very excited, and I thank you so much for your help!

[luv4yorkies]

the products that someone referred to me were by Chris Christenson at www.chrissystems.com. day to day shampoo and conditioner and ice on ice leave in spray and must i say her yorkie has one of the most beautiful coats i have seen never a bad hair day.

[whispersmom2]

Jeni, I agree with your post. If I sold a puppy I would expect the buyer to ask those questions of me.. especially care questions. Toys and stuff can be bought any time afer you see what your little one needs..ENJOY!!!!!!