Meet Toby

[Adam and toby]

Hi all,

Please meet Toby. He is 8 weeks old today.

I have grew up with dogs but never owned a Yorkie. I did research before hand so know a little bit but though we would join a forum to better our knowledge to help us better look after little Toby.

He is very clingy at the moment, to be expected at 8 weeks. There are a lot of sites / advice that say 8 weeks is fine, and also too young to leave their pack. I've read on here that 12 weeks is the guideline.

A bit about our first 2 days together. The first place he seen upon arival was his crate. So he ventured out into his new home from the crate, i felt this would add extra "security" to the crate for him as his first memory. The door was left open and he was free in the kitchen with toys. He goes in and out his crate already at will, which is great.

His first night alone he cried every 40minutes, the slept again in his crate. At 3am he was really giving it some beans (I had a camera in the kitchen and i could see him from my bedroom) Alarm bells started ringing and i went to get him. He slept the rest of the night with me.

I know some people will say dont go down, as you are teaching him that whining will get a response, which i understand (this is not my first puppy) but when he was giving it his all at 3 is was slightly concering. I think he needed longer with his litter / mom so i won't be leaving him alone for the next month or so.

He slept with us last night and didnt cry a single bit. He was up every few hours wanting to play but again, to be expected at his age. I'm sure he will start to sleep longer as the weeks go on.

Onto toilet training. We are only on day 2 but we have been quite consistant with this. I feed him at set times, then within 20minutes put him in his "toilet" area. He is starting to "get it" with number 2, but still has the randomness to his wee's currently. I think part of it is marking terroritry.

This morning we come down and i put him down in the kitchen, he ran straight to the pad and had a number 2, so what i'm doing is working and he is picking it up quickly.

We have his jabs / worming etc booked in today so will see how he gets on.

Any advice on food / treats / training would be great, and look forward to sharing more pictures / stories of Toby with you

[matese]

OMG, he is just to cute, Welcome to YT and congratulations on your new baby boy, but, let me tell you, I see mischief in those little eyes. I would have done the same as you, go get the crying baby. At 8 weeks it is not safe to have him sleep in the bed with you, he can wake up without you knowing and fall off the bed. Can you put his crate in your bed room next to your bed, put a shirt you have recently worn in the crate with him. If he cries at night he will be in the crate next to you, you can reach down to the crate, he will smell you and know you are near and he is not alone.

[Adam and toby]

Originally Posted by matese

OMG, he is just to cute, Welcome to YT and congratulations on your new baby boy, but, let me tell you, I see mischief in those little eyes. I would have done the same as you, go get the crying baby. At 8 weeks it is not safe to have him sleep in the bed with you, he can wake up without you knowing and fall off the bed. Can you put his crate in your bed room next to your bed, put a shirt you have recently worn in the crate with him. If he cries at night he will be in the crate next to you, you can reach down to the crate, he will smell you and know you are near and he is not alone.

Hi,

Many thanks for your response. We will be trying the crate in our room tonight and see how he gets on. The main reason he slept on our bed last night was so he is a little familiar with the room and us sleeping, and to also see if it solved the crying.

The plan is he will hopfully feel a lot more re-assured about being in that situation tonight now, as it's not so "unknown" to him anymore.

I'll try put the crate onto chairs by our bed so he can see us. I will be putting my shirt in there from today so he has my scent to (poor bugger!)

I went for a shower this morning and he cried all the way through.

I think once he realises he is not being abandoned / left on his own and we are coming back, he will relax the crying a bit.

Hopfully this will all be pushing him in the right direction!

[misswiggles]

Adorable baby congrats

[matese]

Originally Posted by Adam and toby

Hi,

Many thanks for your response. We will be trying the crate in our room tonight and see how he gets on. The main reason he slept on our bed last night was so he is a little familiar with the room and us sleeping, and to also see if it solved the crying.

The plan is he will hopfully feel a lot more re-assured about being in that situation tonight now, as it's not so "unknown" to him anymore.

I'll try put the crate onto chairs by our bed so he can see us. I will be putting my shirt in there from today so he has my scent to (poor bugger!)

I went for a shower this morning and he cried all the way through.

I think once he realises he is not being abandoned / left on his own and we are coming back, he will relax the crying a bit.

Hopfully this will all be pushing him in the right direction!

If you can elevate the crate so he can see and better smell you that would be great. You have had dogs before, as puppies you must know the crying can go on for a week until he gets use to his new home. Yorkies NEED to be near us all the time, to eliminate his crying when you shower, can you let him stay in the bathroom with you while you shower. Me, I can't take the crying, I hate to hear a puppy cry, rips my heart out, they are just little babies, the world is new to them, humans are new to them. The older they get the better they get. For now he just needs to know you are close and he is not alone.....You asked about food, keep him on the same food he was feed by the breeder, switching him now can up set his stomach, he is going through a lot of changes, free feeding is advised, keep his food bowl filled, let him eat when he needs to, they burn a lot of calories, yorkies are a high energy breed so food must be available to them at all times while they are puppies and growing. Hopefully more knowledgeable members will advise / suggest when food can be changed for a new puppy if you're not satisfied with what the breeder was feeding him.....Treats...frozen green cut beans, a few bits of cheerios, Pet Supplies, Pet Smart, PetCo carry a nice selection of puppy treats.....Training can be started now, just the basics, sit, down, drop it, leave it. Yorkies are fast learners, they love to please us, when training start with just one command, sit, train for short periods though out the day, no more then 5 minutes at a time, reward with treat, cheerios is a nice reward treat for training, and praise like crazy when he does it right, once he has mastered the sit command move on to a new one, down or lay down, what ever you prefer, again, no more then 5 minutes at a time and through out the day.

[buddybear]

He is adorable. You are very lucky and so is he. Congratulations.