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SamanthaKim · 09-06-2010, 01:41 PM

Hey

I was in a similar situation, but judging for other stories, I think I got completely lucky with my little one.

I'm 20, going to a 4-year university 7 hours away from home. I live in an apartment with my boyfriend and 2 other roomies that are never home. When I brought home Biggie, he only cried for 2 nights, and after that he's been sleeping through the night and gets up when I get up. His potty training took no time at all.. maybe 3 weeks and he's been good since on a pee pad. Now he wants to go OUTSIDE to pee..I've never even taught him that! He's great. He did have a hypoglycemic seizure, which scared the s**t out of me..but I was prepared to keep him on medication for the rest of his life if need be..I am extremely fortunate to say that money has never been an issue for my family, so I never thought twice about how expensive it is to have a yorkie...but I can tell you that vet visits are about $60 just to see the vet, and then you have to pay for anything on top of the 60 bucks. Then in California, you need to register your dog every year..and if he's not neutered it's like 100$! SO you have you get him neutered and that'll be another $160 unless you're lucky enough to find a REPUTABLE spay and neuter clinic. Then their shots are over 100$ total, unless you go to a clinic. However, I would never take Biggie to someplace that's cheap, but run by people who aren't even vets. His toys are ripped apart pretty quickly, so I'm always buying him toys, and those aren't really cheap either. He eats like a cat, so buying him food doesn't happen too often. He does need to get groomed pretty frequently, I have a really good groomer that loves Biggie, and it's $30 each visit with a teeth brushing, and anal gland expression, nails cut, all that good stuff. Biggie gets this almost monthly. These costs can really add up if you're on a budget.

Being pre-med, I study nearly all day and all night. I'm an over-time student (20 units!!) with class EVERYDAY, sometimes up to 6 hours a day (not a consecutive 6 hours). The downside to having Biggie with me is that I can't bear to leave him in my apt all alone all day while I'm at the library studying, so I usually have to come home and be with him and study at home, which can be distracting at times. Since I don't commute to school, I can go to school and come back home within 10 minutes (waiting for the bus), which means Biggie is never alone for really more than 3 hours. During that time, my roomies have told me that he doesn't even make a peep. I'm home with him a lot, and I also take him to the doggie park everyday for at least 2 hours.

I always put Biggie first. I will not give up Biggie's play time for my fun time, and I've said "no" to going to out plenty of times because I felt like Biggie needed some fun too. I can still go to parties though because Biggie usually hits the sack at around 11pm and I'm usually back by 2am (:

I'm going to med school in a couple of years and I never thought of leaving Biggie behind. I'm always home since I'm always studying my nuts off. I'm even doing research right now and working on publishing a paper on melanoma and bone density, and he's still the happiest, friendliest, cutest (LOL) yorkie at the dog park. He's so spoiled, but he's a happy boy (:

SO ULTIMATELY, I think you should get a dog if you really think that you can put enough time into his/her life. I have a busy schedule, but Biggie fits right in because I make sacrifices for him, AND because I was lucky to get an "easy" pup. From reading a lot of other stories, yorkies are usually very stubborn to train. Not so with my little one, so that plays a huge factor to how easy it is to have him with me. Some people who aren't even busy with school/work don't even have enough time to potty train their dogs. Why get a dog if you can't even be there to watch him grow/learn? If you don't even have enough time to potty train your doggy, don't bother getting one.

Good luck!

09-06-2010, 01:41 PM	#40
SamanthaKim Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2010 Location: United States Posts: 125	Hey I was in a similar situation, but judging for other stories, I think I got completely lucky with my little one. I'm 20, going to a 4-year university 7 hours away from home. I live in an apartment with my boyfriend and 2 other roomies that are never home. When I brought home Biggie, he only cried for 2 nights, and after that he's been sleeping through the night and gets up when I get up. His potty training took no time at all.. maybe 3 weeks and he's been good since on a pee pad. Now he wants to go OUTSIDE to pee..I've never even taught him that! He's great. He did have a hypoglycemic seizure, which scared the s**t out of me..but I was prepared to keep him on medication for the rest of his life if need be..I am extremely fortunate to say that money has never been an issue for my family, so I never thought twice about how expensive it is to have a yorkie...but I can tell you that vet visits are about $60 just to see the vet, and then you have to pay for anything on top of the 60 bucks. Then in California, you need to register your dog every year..and if he's not neutered it's like 100$! SO you have you get him neutered and that'll be another $160 unless you're lucky enough to find a REPUTABLE spay and neuter clinic. Then their shots are over 100$ total, unless you go to a clinic. However, I would never take Biggie to someplace that's cheap, but run by people who aren't even vets. His toys are ripped apart pretty quickly, so I'm always buying him toys, and those aren't really cheap either. He eats like a cat, so buying him food doesn't happen too often. He does need to get groomed pretty frequently, I have a really good groomer that loves Biggie, and it's $30 each visit with a teeth brushing, and anal gland expression, nails cut, all that good stuff. Biggie gets this almost monthly. These costs can really add up if you're on a budget. Being pre-med, I study nearly all day and all night. I'm an over-time student (20 units!!) with class EVERYDAY, sometimes up to 6 hours a day (not a consecutive 6 hours). The downside to having Biggie with me is that I can't bear to leave him in my apt all alone all day while I'm at the library studying, so I usually have to come home and be with him and study at home, which can be distracting at times. Since I don't commute to school, I can go to school and come back home within 10 minutes (waiting for the bus), which means Biggie is never alone for really more than 3 hours. During that time, my roomies have told me that he doesn't even make a peep. I'm home with him a lot, and I also take him to the doggie park everyday for at least 2 hours. I always put Biggie first. I will not give up Biggie's play time for my fun time, and I've said "no" to going to out plenty of times because I felt like Biggie needed some fun too. I can still go to parties though because Biggie usually hits the sack at around 11pm and I'm usually back by 2am (: I'm going to med school in a couple of years and I never thought of leaving Biggie behind. I'm always home since I'm always studying my nuts off. I'm even doing research right now and working on publishing a paper on melanoma and bone density, and he's still the happiest, friendliest, cutest (LOL) yorkie at the dog park. He's so spoiled, but he's a happy boy (: SO ULTIMATELY, I think you should get a dog if you really think that you can put enough time into his/her life. I have a busy schedule, but Biggie fits right in because I make sacrifices for him, AND because I was lucky to get an "easy" pup. From reading a lot of other stories, yorkies are usually very stubborn to train. Not so with my little one, so that plays a huge factor to how easy it is to have him with me. Some people who aren't even busy with school/work don't even have enough time to potty train their dogs. Why get a dog if you can't even be there to watch him grow/learn? If you don't even have enough time to potty train your doggy, don't bother getting one. Good luck!