working full-time and potty training a puppy

[byke32]

Hi, I am new to yorkietalk and I am thinking of getting a yorkie in several months. Before I take on such a huge responsibility of raising a yorkie puppy, I'd like to know if it's possible giving my work schedule.

I work 8-6 from Monday to Friday, sometimes even longer. From all the reading that I have done, I understand that it's too early to potty traing puppies because they don't have enough muscle to control their bladder/bowel functions. From what I read on How to Housebreak your dog in 7 days by Shirlee Kalstone, it's best not to formally paper-train him but to confine him to a papered "nursey" area in the kitchen until he's old enough to go outdoor.

I'll definitely hire someone to feed/ watch the puppy several times a day when I am at work. There are several options that I am currently contemplating:

1. Hire a dog sitter/ that stop by my place at least twice to three times a day while I am away to feed my puppy.
2. Hire a college kid or someone full time (it's cheaper than hire a trainer/ sitter) to watch my puppy, while I am at work.
3. Bring my puppy to a professional facility once he'/she's old enough and receive all the shots while I am at work, so that my puppy can be monitored continuously and be trained at the same time.

I live in Long Beach, CA. Any referrals/ suggestions/ recommendations would be most appreciated. Thanks.

[YorkieGuru]

I would ask someone to come and let the pup out. but I would also crate train. But def. dont leave the pup in the crate all day without going potty. Some people do train there dog to go on a pee pad. I dont think it's all that bad, but i prefer them to go outside. We travel and wanted my dogs to know to go on grass and nothing else. I give treats as an award for going potty. And they all have been great training this way. As soon as they are done they run for the steps to go back inside and then sit in the kitchen waiting for their treat.. it's soooo cute!
I just buy those bacon strips and tear off a lil bit and give it to them. (so they dont gain a bunch of weight.)
I bet you'll get tons of advice but I shared mine. But if you're not going to be home much, I would wait to get a dog, til you are able to spend more time with it. ( you said sometimes you work late) They want attention more than anything. Good luck to ya.

[byke32]

I think crate training is a great method as well. Of course it would be cruel to leave the puppy locked up in crate all day, and it would have the opposite effect of house training the puppy if the puppy poop and pee in the crate.

I think you are right that it may be the best time for me to get a puppy now since I have crazy work schedule. There is no short cut to house train puppy. I will wait until I have more time later to get a puppy.

Thank you very much for your kind advice.

[Brijan]

Goodmorning................First of all let me tell you, IT IS NOT AS EASY AS IT SEEMS !!!!!! Just look at the the other posts and see the people that say I am selling this dog, or they are just so tired they cannot do it. When I trained my puppy last June, I was at my wits end. As a matter of fact, if it was not for my girls loving this little beauty (I hate to say this....but she would of been gone). I am sooooo glad now that I hung in....but it is an ALL day thing. Yes, you need a crate for the times she cannot be watched, or the times you go out. But no it is not right to leave her in a crate all day. I do not think you will house train her if you do it that way. We stayed w/ Cuddles every minute unless she was crated. And she went pee every 1/2 hour. We took her out almost every 1/2 hour, maybe even every 15 minutes. First of all they do not know how to hold it, and they are so small they cannot hold much. She was only 1.7 pds when we brought her home at 8 weeks so I would say her bladder was probably not even the size of a grape.
I would wait till you can do it right, or you will have problems for a long time.
Hope this helps.......

ALL I CAN SAY IS.........lots of work !!!!!!!!

God Bless

[LucyNTuckersMom]

I am not familiar with the book you mention, but the breeder we got our Yorkies from also gives out a guidebook with each puppy, that they wrote, and they suggest in the book that it takes 3 mos. to train a Yorkie. I don't know; all I have ever had are Yorkies, but I have heard that they are one of the more difficult breeds to potty train.

Lucy is really smart, and I'd say it took her about 3 months to be fully potty trained. Tucker is not the brightest bulb, and I'd say after 5 months now, he's probably 85% trustworthy... I watch him like a hawk on the carpeting. Still, when we go anywhere else, all bets are off. Just last weekend, Tucker pooped on my mom's floor right in front of us all! We went outside in her yard like 10x that day, and nothing, til he's inside, on the rug! Argh!

This was a huge undertaking for us, as we had only had cats before these 2... and cats are practically self taught! This took firm commitment to crate training, and willingness to get up outta bed, often multiple times in the night when they were really little. There were times I thought of that 3 month mark, and really wished I had known that before... it seemed to last on and on. They are so worth it now. But again, there are 2 of us, both working full time, but both adjusting our schedules so the dogs are alone for a maximum of 7 hours 2 days a week and 6 hours 3 days a week. When they were real little, I came home at lunch.

Teresa

[JeanieK]

Have you considered getting an older yorkie that is already trained?

[Lorraine]

In my humble opinion, I think it is not a good time to get a dog with the number of hours you work. Of course it is up to you, but unfortunately I see many ads in the newspapers rehoming a dog or puppy because the owners realized they are leaving it home alone far too much.
A Yorkie is a companion animal and any dog needs the companionship of an owner to be around. Behaviour problems, barking and howling can become a problem.
A dog sitter might be an answer but I think there is a possibility the puppy will bond to the sitter much more than you because it will be spending a lot of time with the sitter.
I would not recommend crating any dog of any age for number of hours you are gone each day.