Yet another question on potty training....

[kittendes]

I am trying to work on my hubby to maybe get another yorkie. I saw one at a pet store,(I know, don't buy from a pet store, besides, I would love to get a rescue however with our 4 year old nobody would approve us) but they have finally reduced him to a point where we could actually afford him. He is a bigger yorkie which is great for us, because Willy is also a larger yorkie. He started out at a huge $2400.00 and now after about 3-4 months he is down to $599. and he is about 8 months old.

Now my question to you seasoned yorkie owners, after being in the pet store this long, how difficult do you think he will be to house train. I am home 4 days a week so I could work with him then & the days I work I can go home for lunch for potty breaks. I will crate him(at least until he is house trained) when we go out, but since he has been at the pet store so long he is used to pottying in there. How do I break him of that.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Desiree

[Little Bit]

I don't have experience with that, but I have heard that it is very difficult after they have been used to pottying in their crate for so long. But I don't think it would be impossible. It would just take a lot of extra effort.

[Skateboard Man]

Originally Posted by kittendes

I am trying to work on my hubby to maybe get another yorkie. I saw one at a pet store,(I know, don't buy from a pet store, besides, I would love to get a rescue however with our 4 year old nobody would approve us) but they have finally reduced him to a point where we could actually afford him. He is a bigger yorkie which is great for us, because Willy is also a larger yorkie. He started out at a huge $2400.00 and now after about 3-4 months he is down to $599. and he is about 8 months old.

Now my question to you seasoned yorkie owners, after being in the pet store this long, how difficult do you think he will be to house train. I am home 4 days a week so I could work with him then & the days I work I can go home for lunch for potty breaks. I will crate him(at least until he is house trained) when we go out, but since he has been at the pet store so long he is used to pottying in there. How do I break him of that.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Desiree

I wouldn't buy from a pet store.... just an opinion.

I think you will have a hard time training him now just because he's probably use to going where he sleeps.

[Magneticgal]

Hi Desiree

Please don't be offended but I really feel strongly about not buying from a pet store. There are many reasons... first and foremost, the vast majority get their puppies from puppy mills. I am not sure how much you have read on them, but it would break your heart in a million pieces. Another big reason is the puppies health. A lot of them have congenital issues. Potty training would be hard, due to the fact that they are forced to go potty where they sleep.
I do understand about the cost and can appreciate the fact that you do not want to spend a ton of $$$. I got my Lexie from a local breeder and she was only $575.00. She is CKC not AKC, but who the heck cares, unless you are going to start a breeding program. I couldn't love her anymore, CKC/AKC/non registered-makes no difference to me. I live in Ohio and know a few very good breeders that have reasonable prices.Please think very long and hard before buying from a pet store. I want you to know that my post is not meant to judge you and if you ever want to talk about this furthur, you are more than welcome to call me or Email me anytime!! Good luck!

[daylee]

I got my other furbaby[non Yorkie] from a petstore and it has been a positive experience.She is now going on 3 years old. Most Yorkies are a bit challanging to housebreak anyhow.So I would follow your heart, but make sure you have a health guarentee and maybe a good helping of patience.But at 8 months I would say you ARE kinda rescuing the poor thing.

[For My Coby]

It is so hard NOT to think of it as rescuing the pup. But we had a Yorkie that we bought from someone who had bought from a puppy mill breeder. And that is where most pet stores get their puppies. While of course there are great happy endings, many many times, there are a lot of issues that can come from puppy mill puppies. We thought we were "rescuing her", but we learned a lot the hard way. Roxie had issues that were nearly impossible to deal with. I worked with Yorkie Rescue to identify that her problems were puppy mill related. Please beware!! (even tho it breaks my heart to leave them there). Affordable Yorkies from reputable breeders are available. We paid $550 for Coby who is AKC registered.

If you're not in it for the long haul with WHATEVER comes your way, I'd hold out for a reputable breeder. I know that's not the advice you want to hear. It breaks my heart too.......

[kittendes]

Thank-you, everyone for your responses, I really appreciate all of them & I do totally understand where you all are coming from. I too hate the thought of buying a puppy mill puppy & I have heard & read alot from being on this site, that is why I came here for advise, before we made a final decision. I know this puppy will have issues, especially from living the past 4 month in a tiny pet store display, besides those from his breeding. My husband & I have had several discussions about this over the last few days & he really knew nothing about puppymills & where pet stores get their puppies. He remarked that we were very lucky when we bought Willy, he too came from a pet store & before I knew about puppymills, but we happened to get him the same day he came to the store. He was the easiest dog to potty train, and we have been so lucky with him, we haven't had any real medical issues, and he has the best temperment/personality.

What I do find to be very frustrating is that most breeders & rescues would not consider our family to be a good family to adopt their puppies/dogs to. Simply due to the fact we have a 4year old child in the home & we dont have a fenced in yard. Which unfortunatly, leads families to consider pet stores.
If there are any breeders around the Phila/Allentown, PA area that would consider us we would definately be interested in using a breeder, however we would want a larger Yorkie and we really only have around the $500-600. that we could comfortably spend, and still have money to pay for vet care,(vaccines, neuter, etc).

Sorry this is so long and again, Thanks for all your input I really do appreciate it.

Desiree

[Erin]

Keep in mind that now that the dog is "on sale" he has been in the crate for over a month. That is NOT good for the temperament of the pup. He missed out on some major socialization.

I have a dog who is afraid of everything. I think part of it is that he was the last littermate sold and was alone for who knows how long. He came from a breeder, but not the best one IMO. Anyway, Loki and I did 2 years of obedience to build his confidence. He is a good dog, but he'll probably always be afraid of things.

[kittendes]

Like my husband said, It's a shame that the petstore had to start out so GREEDY, in their price. I saw this dog when he came in 4 months ago, and I took one look at him & said he was way too big for the price they had on him. I would bet this dog was around 4+ pounds at 12 weeks when he came in, and they had a obscene $2499. price on him. Unfortunately, had they put a reasonable price on a larger yorkie from the start he would probably have been in his forever home 2 months or more ago.

I went down with Willy last evening, Willy was not impressed, but the puppy was a total sweetie, very friendly, but was marking everwhere, which makes me a little nervous on how he would do in our home. We are still on the fence about him, my hubby can find every excuse NOT to get him.I definately want to think this thru and not just jump in with my emotions.

Desiree

[Yelure11]

Originally Posted by kittendes

Like my husband said, It's a shame that the petstore had to start out so GREEDY, in their price. I saw this dog when he came in 4 months ago, and I took one look at him & said he was way too big for the price they had on him. I would bet this dog was around 4+ pounds at 12 weeks when he came in, and they had a obscene $2499. price on him. Unfortunately, had they put a reasonable price on a larger yorkie from the start he would probably have been in his forever home 2 months or more ago.

I went down with Willy last evening, Willy was not impressed, but the puppy was a total sweetie, very friendly, but was marking everwhere, which makes me a little nervous on how he would do in our home. We are still on the fence about him, my hubby can find every excuse NOT to get him.I definately want to think this thru and not just jump in with my emotions.

Desiree

I would say go for it! It is still a puppy and will still need a good home to go to. If you are home 4 days a week, I think that will be great for his potty training. Just make sure to take him out frequently, and keep him in a contained area when you are unable to supervise. I totally agree that you will probably get a better puppy from a breeder than a pet store...My first puppy Lexi was from a pet store, (before I knew about puppymills) and she does have some social issues (just always super super excited and jittery around new people and dogs) and my new little guy Nico is from a wonderful breeder (sugarsmom!) and he is just a great dog all around. But Lexi, is also a great puppy. She has so much personality, and is quite an independent lil diva . All dogs will be different...so who's to say that getting one from a pet store will be "guaranteed" bad? Do what you feel is best for you.

[yorkiegirl83]

I think the best reason to not get the pet store puppy is to remember where it's parents are right now. This little puppy at the petstore will find a home, but it's parents will never get that luxury.

This is what I remind myself each time I go into a pet store. I know we want to rescue every pet store puppy, but by rescuing them we only add to the supply and demand of the industry.


Have you ever seen the website www.prisonersofgreed.org ? That might reinforce your decision to pass on this pet store puppy.

You can definitely find a quality yorkie in your price range with some patience and determination. Or, could you possibly wait until you have more saved?

I have 2 puppy mill puppies and it weighs heavy on my heart daily knowing I supported that industry. But, what comforts me is knowing that I will never do it again. I will never shop in a store that sells puppies for any products and will not give them a cent of my money.

Some rescues will work with you if you have children, it all depends. Even though I know it is hard at times to get approved by them. I don't even have children and it was hard for me to become a foster parent, even.

As far as your question goes, I had a horrible time housebreaking my two puppy mill puppies. They think their crate is the correct place to go, so crate training is super difficult. My lhasa would go to her crate to pee, and it is still taking us work, after 7 months to break her of those habits.

[For My Coby]

Here are just A FEW of the issues that we had with our puppy mill puppy.... sudden outrageous unprovoked outbursts (my daughter had to remove her from the pet store once when she went beserk when a little boy looked at her (she loved people) and then had to stand in line to pay listening to people talk about the psycho dog. She had submission issues and while she did fairly well with housebreaking, if my husband just looked at her, she let her urine go everywhere. It was impossible to even find all the spots when she was tinkling while running. She had a hard time learning her place in the pack. She was insecure so she went between being overly submissive to being very aggressive. She snapped at all of us if it wasn't one of her "good days". She did not sleep - ever. She could only sleep for an hour or two at night and never during the day. You know how a toddler is when they're overly tired? She was horribly agressive to our other dog. I was worried about her biting someone. These are just a handful of the issues we faced. AND the stress that all of this takes on your family is hard to predict. My poor husband just could NOT stand the stress. We fought constantly over his impatience with her and my coddling her. It is not JUST the dog that is affected. In severe cases like Roxie's, it can place a strain on your family. I started imagining how my husband would act if one of our children had a learning disability, etc., etc. We were so good to Roxie and I miss her terrible, but you have to think of your family also. Yorkie Rescue Mission worked with me through a lot of it, but we finally had to find her a forever home with no children, no other animals, no company, and stay at home parents. I still get teary thinking about the pain that she lives her life in because of puppy mills. Sorry to ramble - it's been three years and feels like yesterday.