Baby Yorkie, need help!!

[Prince321]

Hello everyone!

I am a brand new mom to a gorgeous little Yorkie boy! Prince will be 8 weeks old on Sunday. I've had him for 5 days now and it's been quite a rollercoaster! I love this little guy more than anything and he's completely changed all of our lives. Prince was born on 3-21-10 and on 5-11-10 he weighed in at 2.2lbs!! He is a very active puppy and loves to get himself in trouble! I am so blessed to have him!

I've read many threads on this site, but I still need lots of help from experienced Yorkie parents!!! I would like to thank anyone who responds in advance... Thank you for taking your time to stop by and offer any advice!

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Food:

Prince will NOT eat dog food if his life depended on it! The first 24 hours he wouldn't eat or drink anything and I took him to a horrible vet who told me he would die if I didn't leave him overnight. Naturally, I didn't leave him and lots of dog owners told me it's perfectly normal.

Since then, Prince will ONLY eat human food. So, I've boiled chicken breast and mixed it with rice, he LOVES it! If I try to mix in a canned dog food, he won't touch it. Same goes for the kibble. Since he's so young I'm letting him get away with eating anything (as long as he eats). I added some organic baby food yesterday and he LOVES it! I mixed kibble into the baby food, he eats around the kibble... what can I say, he really is a Prince!! He is also teething and biting everything he can get his little teeth on!

My questions:
1) Is chicken, rice and baby food enough for a growing puppy?
2) Is Greek yogurt on occasion a beneficial way of getting calcium?
3) What else should I be giving him to make sure he has proper nutrition?
4) Should I give him supplements or vitamins?
5) Should I give him milk or baby formula?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Skin:

I've noticed that Prince has a bit of a dandruff problem and constantly itches. I bought him "Mahica's Finest" Oatmeal shampoo, and gave him a bath a few days ago. I found after that puppies this young are not supposed to be washed?! I clean him off using bath wipes and spray him down with EarthBath between shampoo to make sure he smells yummy!

My questions:
1) How often can I bathe him?
2) What shampoo and conditioner should I get that is specifically made for Yorkies?
3) Should I give him supplements to make sure he has a shiny coat later?

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Jumping/Climbing:

I'm not sure if it is part of the Yorkie attitude, but Prince is a JUMPER and a CLIMBER. I joke around and tell everyone that the girl I got him from lied to me and sold me a cat, not a dog! He climbs on everything, doesn't matter how high! I'm just worried that he is going to hurt himself. I know that these dogs are not as fragile as I make him out to be. Just concerned!

My questions:
1) How high is high?
2) Is it normal behavior?

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Temperament:

I need help getting this pup to listen. He is starting to be pretty good with going on the wee-wee pads, but still has some accidents. I'm afraid to take him outside because people have told me he's too young and needs all his vaccines before he goes to doggie parks. He already had his first round of shots. He doesn't like to wear his harness. I've ordered a few books on how to train Yorkies, and awaiting their arrival. For now I need to teach him to be a little more independent and stop crying. He's a real mama's boy.

Any advice on training would be very appreciated!!

[jadabug]

Welcome to YT, and congrats on your new little boy. I am sure others will chime in soon with advice. My two are rehomes so they were already over the puppy stage when we adopted them, so I don't really know what to tell you about the puppy stuff. I do know no milk as Yorkies have very sensitive tummys. I wouldn't let him climb and jump very much, there little bones are very tiny and fragile and it is very easy for them to break a leg when jumping down from furniture,etc. Potty training is a tough one, these little guys are so stubborn and it takes a lot of patience and consistency to potty train. My two still have accidents sometimes and they are 3 and 19 months. Good luck with your little guy and there will be others to post soon with more advice for you.

[Patti]

Welcome and congratulations. My Cali was a terrible eater when I first got her. I tried everything to get her to eat. The only thing she would eat was Cesars canned food. I had to get her to eat because she had hypoglycemia a couple of times already. Slowly I switched her to a better food and after a few months she was eating anything I gave her. Once he is a little older you can try putting the food down for 15 minutes, and if he dosen't eat it right away pick it up. He is still very young and as he adjusts to your schedule he should settle down some!!! I wouldn't give him milk as far as the other foods, I would check with your vet or we have some experts on feeding puppies on here. Hopefully they will see this.
I would not let him jump on and off furniture as they can easily break their legs. I use ramps and stools to help them get up and down off of furniture.
The main thing with potty training is consistency. Also when he is not confined you have to watch them like a hawk to notice signs he has to go.
You will get a lot of great help here!

[megansmomma]

Originally Posted by Prince321

Hello everyone!

I am a brand new mom to a gorgeous little Yorkie boy! Prince will be 8 weeks old on Sunday. I've had him for 5 days now and it's been quite a rollercoaster! I love this little guy more than anything and he's completely changed all of our lives. Prince was born on 3-21-10 and on 5-11-10 he weighed in at 2.2lbs!! He is a very active puppy and loves to get himself in trouble! I am so blessed to have him!

I've read many threads on this site, but I still need lots of help from experienced Yorkie parents!!! I would like to thank anyone who responds in advance... Thank you for taking your time to stop by and offer any advice!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Food:

Prince will NOT eat dog food if his life depended on it! The first 24 hours he wouldn't eat or drink anything and I took him to a horrible vet who told me he would die if I didn't leave him overnight. Naturally, I didn't leave him and lots of dog owners told me it's perfectly normal.

Since then, Prince will ONLY eat human food. So, I've boiled chicken breast and mixed it with rice, he LOVES it! If I try to mix in a canned dog food, he won't touch it. Same goes for the kibble. Since he's so young I'm letting him get away with eating anything (as long as he eats). I added some organic baby food yesterday and he LOVES it! I mixed kibble into the baby food, he eats around the kibble... what can I say, he really is a Prince!! He is also teething and biting everything he can get his little teeth on!

My questions:
1) Is chicken, rice and baby food enough for a growing puppy?
2) Is Greek yogurt on occasion a beneficial way of getting calcium?
3) What else should I be giving him to make sure he has proper nutrition?
4) Should I give him supplements or vitamins?
5) Should I give him milk or baby formula?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Skin:

I've noticed that Prince has a bit of a dandruff problem and constantly itches. I bought him "Mahica's Finest" Oatmeal shampoo, and gave him a bath a few days ago. I found after that puppies this young are not supposed to be washed?! I clean him off using bath wipes and spray him down with EarthBath between shampoo to make sure he smells yummy!

My questions:
1) How often can I bathe him?
2) What shampoo and conditioner should I get that is specifically made for Yorkies?
3) Should I give him supplements to make sure he has a shiny coat later?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jumping/Climbing:

I'm not sure if it is part of the Yorkie attitude, but Prince is a JUMPER and a CLIMBER. I joke around and tell everyone that the girl I got him from lied to me and sold me a cat, not a dog! He climbs on everything, doesn't matter how high! I'm just worried that he is going to hurt himself. I know that these dogs are not as fragile as I make him out to be. Just concerned!

My questions:
1) How high is high?
2) Is it normal behavior?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Temperament:

I need help getting this pup to listen. He is starting to be pretty good with going on the wee-wee pads, but still has some accidents. I'm afraid to take him outside because people have told me he's too young and needs all his vaccines before he goes to doggie parks. He already had his first round of shots. He doesn't like to wear his harness. I've ordered a few books on how to train Yorkies, and awaiting their arrival. For now I need to teach him to be a little more independent and stop crying. He's a real mama's boy.

Any advice on training would be very appreciated!!

Welcome to YT! Your little one is just a doll Let me see if I can answer some of your questions about Prince.

Food:
What type of food are you feeding him? Since he is so young he might be having difficulty with the size of the piece of kibble too. You might try to add a little warm water to soften. Everyone has an opinion about which food to feed, kibble, wet, raw, homecooking, etc. I feed mine Natural Balance and have feed them since they were puppies. It is a All Age food and they have always done well with it.

As for the vet wanting to keep him~was Prince shipped to you? Did the vet feel that he was dehydrated?

1. Chicken and Rice is not a balanced diet and you need to feed appropriate food that he will get all of his nutriants from so that he is health.
2. Greek yogurt? I am assuming that is a goat milk product which you can give if you would like.
3. If you are feeding a high quality dog food this is all that he needs. There is also a sticky about foods here:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ing-chart.html
4. Feed a high quality food and you will not been to give additional supplements. IMO
5. He should not be given milk since most dogs are lactose intolerant and this will cause him to possibly have diarrhea and vomiting which in turn will cause dehydration. In small breed dogs this can become a medical emergency very quickly. He should not be given baby formula.

Skin:
1. My suggestion would be to use a tearless puppy shampoo since he is so small. Make sure he does not get chilled after his bath and he should be just fine.
2. There are all kinds of opinions on shampoo and conditioners just like food I personally use Pet Silk, Yorkie Splash and Shine, Tropiclean for mine. I purchased the last to from members here. When I wash round their faces I use a wet washcloth and a little tearless shampoo.
3. Once again, feed a good quality off and they are not needed~

Jumping:
Purchase stairs and teach him to use the stairs to get onto the furniture or bed. It is extremely dangerous to allow a puppy to jump even a little distance. There are plenty of people that have had to surgically repair breaks from even a small jump. It's just not worth the risk. If you teach him early he you will not have to worry about injury. Also, many Yorkies have issues with LP and jumping is not good for that either.

[Ringo1]

Sometimes I boil some plain chicken breasts - no salt, no seasonings, and Lucy loves it if I put a little broth on her dry food. She really loves it if I mix a little chicken in too, but I don't do that very often.

Sometimes it's trial and error to find a dry food that they like.

I agree with the other poster that size of the kibble matters too. Lucy won't eat it if the kibbles are too big.

If I put a little Wellness canned on top of her food; sometimes I smash her kibbles up into tiny pieces and mix them up with the canned; that way it's impossible for her to just lick off the canned and NOT eat the dry.

She also loves canned carrots; I heat those up a little bit and mix that in with her dry food in the morning . . she eats every bit if I do that.

[Prince321]

Thank you to everyone for your responses.

Prince has refused to eat Pedigree wet and dry, as well as A/D wet. If I mix boiled organic chicken (no salt/spices/etc) in there he eats the chicken and licks the baby food off the dry food.

I've read that I can give him green beans/snow peas, I will try to add that to his "diet"... I've also given him Greek yogurt a few times now because I read that it can help with the calcium intake.

I'm more concerned about his diet right now than anything else. Before I got him, I was adamant about him eating only dog food, clearly he had a different idea!

I think when he's a bit older I can start to "train" him to eat dog food. For now, I'm happy whenever he eats (whatever it might be).

Also, I've read that ice cubes can help soothe his gums? Or, toys that can be put in the freezer? He's biting everything and everyone (including my laptop as I write this). We're trying to teach him to stop, but yesterday he nipped my mom's lip. I've given him toys and a nylabone to chew on. He still prefers my fingers!! As much as I love him, it's beginning to hurt!

Last few days the wee-wee pads have been working. I've learned that he goes every 2 hours and if he was in his crate for an extended period, I make him stay on the pad until he does his business. It's been working!!

Finally, the jumping/climbing... he is a cat! I'm convinced! There is absolutely NO way that he can be a dog! It's primarly him trying to jump on the bed/couch... he doesn't jump down (yet)...

Again, thank you everyone for your help! Check out my photos! I'll post more soon! He really is gorgeous!

Quick question about socialization... I've started taking him around everywhere with me, I want him to get used to the car and other people... So far, he hates the car! Takes him a while to calm down. Does anyone have any suggestions for pretty looking dog carriers? The ones I found at Petco are absolutely hideous!

As you can see I have A LOT of questions!!