[BellaBlue82]

Originally Posted by LilMissy

I think that whether or not your puppy will like the baby will depend on your puppy's personality. Alot of people on here are going to tell you that Yorkies and children don't mix. I have 3 children also (ages 7, 5, and 4), and my experience has been great. There were rules that had to be followed and these were all explained before the first Yorkie was brought home. I am very strict about enforcing the rules. #1 Rule is that they must hold our Yorkies (the full grown and the puppy) sitting down using both hands with the puppy in their lap. My 7 yr old is responsible enough that I would trust him to walk around holding the puppy, but I don't let him because I want the rules to be the same for them all. That way one of my younger 2 children won't attempt to do it when I'm not watching. Rule #2 is NO running in the house. Rule #3 is no food or toys can be left laying around. I also warn them to watch out for Yorkies when they are shutting doors. My children love their Yorkies so much that they follow these rules faithfully.

I do have to warn you about the fragility of toy breed dogs. Their legs are broken VERY easily. I worry about your baby grabbing at the puppies legs and pulling them the wrong way. Please watch out for this. I found out the hard way (when my Yorkiegirl pounced off my hand onto the floor from 5 " above the floor) that broken legs in these little ones are VERY expensive to fix (3,500 Canadian). It would be a good idea for you to get an exercise pen, and set up a private area for your puppy. That way when you can't be watching the puppy closely, it will be safe in its own little space. Plus, it really helps with the potty training if you have it set up with just peepads, bedding, and food/water.

By the way, welcome to YT

Thank you so much for your response, it was most helpful. I have also been talking with my seven and four year olds about how to handle the puppy, and you have some very good rules put in place for your children. I was planning to crate train my baby, do I still need an exercise pen if I have a crate?