[nycyorkieowner]

Hello All!

Just joined YT and went through some of the threads, and found some of the info to be very useful!

Ok, so I recently bought Oscar (Saturday July 5th), and he just turned 10wks old! The pet store suggested that we buy him a crate where he should stay for most of the day. They said we should only take him out 3x a day for about 10-15min each time.

So, since we brought him home I've kept him in the cage with his bed, plush toys, water bottle, bowl of dry puppy food, and a weewee pad. Because I was home, I was also taking him out of the cage periodically to pee/poop in a designated area in the house (the pet store people said we couldn't take him outside since he wasn't fully vaccinated).

I've noticed that Oscar doesn't eat a lot, and that bothers me. The store suggested that I take the Mighty Dog wet food and puree it with water and pancake syrup. Still, Oscar licks at the liquid but doesn't eat the meaty pieces. Supposedly he's still adjusting his new home and so he may not have a big appetite for food.

Anyway, the reason why I'm stressing is that I have to go back to work for the rest of the week, and I'm nervous about leaving him home alone. My plan was to leave him in his crate with his food for the day, and when I get back, and I can take him out, feed/play with him, change his weewee pad, etc etc.

Is this ok? I know he'll prob have to adjust to being home alone since it will be his first time. Is there anything else I can do to make it more comfortable for him?

Also, at night when he barks and weeps, I feel bad. I go to check on him to find that he already peed in his weewee pad... does he still need to be taken out? should i acknowledge his cries? i've been reading some websites, and most say that i should ignore this unless his barks sound really urgent. is this right?

I'm going to take him to the vet this saturday (july 12th) to have him checked out, but I can't wait until then. Any advice or pointers will be helpful!

Thanks,
Vanessa