Hi, Welcome to YT! Sorry no one had replied sooner! Sometimes, folks don't see things in our Regional forums as quickly as the General Forum, so I'm going to try & address some of what you said & bump this up & hopefully someone else will see it & give you a bit more help.
First let me tell you that I adopted 2 yorkies who were almost 1 1/2 yrs old - basically because the owner had a new baby & was overwhelmed & Roxy was jealous of the baby. But they did have some housebreaking issues - they really didn't say hey, I have to go out. So I did have to work on this some.
A lot of the housebreaking issue, is with the owner, not the dog. You have to pay attn to their signs that they need to go, once you learn those it helps big time. But also you can do a lot to help the situation, take him out frequently. Praise him big time when he goes outside - some people even use rewards like a Cheerio or little training treat.
You could also try crate training - I'm a huge believer in this, but it may be difficult if this guy is not use to a crate. Or you could use an X-pen to give him more room to roam & a safe place to put him when you have other things you need to do.
You can search on here for more info with housebreaking. Some folks have even trained their dogs to ring bells near a door to notify of the need to go out.
One of the YT members is saving a dog's life today from a kill shelter that is nearly a yr old & spent its life in a cage - she's willing to take him on, I'm sure you can work with one that has been a house pet.
I don't know much about curbing barking - search for that here on YT &/or hopefully others will give you some good info about that.
I understand your anxiety about bringing an adult dog into your home. I had a great deal of concern, even though I used to breed Bichons & Siamese cats - I had always brought new pups or kittens into my house. I found with Bubba & Roxy the best thing was they needed love & attention. They were happy with me almost immediately, even though I was afraid to get too attached because I was afraid their original owner would change her mind.
Best wishes in making this decision. There is nothing better than loving a yorkie! Please let us know what you decide. YT is a great place for support & knowlege if you bring this little guy home |