Wow, I just have to say, thank you so much to all the kind people who've already said hello to me! I've been lurking for a while as I do research into yorkies and figure out how/when we're going to get one.
It took a while to work out what breed I wanted, and for a bit i thought it was going to be a chihuahua, then some sort of "designer mix," (but pretty quickly I realized for all the same reasons you guys advocate against, I didn't want to truck with that).
It seems so obvious in retrospect that a yorkie is the right breed for us, but it took a while to slowly consider our lifestyle as well as what we want in a dog. It didn't hurt at all to see all the adorable picture of little yorkies you guys have posted or youtube videos of yorkies being themselves or doing awesome tricks. A smart dog, overflowing with personality and well-suited to a small home is exactly what we want.
So now we're evaluating how to make it happen. We've looked at apartments, plan to talk to our landlord (maybe, just maybe, he'll say we can get a pup). The advice and stories posted here have been invaluable. We've already agreed that a pet deposit/rent is entirely reasonable, but the idea of coming up with a proposal is a great one. I can't remember who posted their own story about their experience with a landlord, but thank you! We're definitely going to give it a try
Alternately, being the fiscally responsible adults that we are, we'll be saving up for a down payment for a place in the city in the next few years, which isn't a bad thing at all, just delayed satisfaction. I'll have to keep getting my puppy fix here for a while!
This is turning into a russian novel post, but I figured I'd share my new furbaby must have list. Any advice, suggestions or admonishments are welcome
This is not at all in order of importance, just in order of popping into my brain:
1. Pet insurance - I've looked into a couple of different companies and come up with PetPlan as what I think we'll go with. Does anyone have any experience with it?
2. Local vet, checked out, yelped and otherwise "vetted." Set up appointment for a general checkup 1-2 days after receiving pup.
3. Crate/bedding, toys, bowls, food, etc. Does anyone have some good recommendations for toy dog stores? Most of the generalized pet supply stores have a limited selection for the little guys. My favs so far are gwlittle, urbanpup and Glamourdog. That being said, some of the prices are a little crazy. Etsy has some seriously cute and very affordable accessories and clothes. ($50 for a dog sweater?!) And yes, we are absolutely, 100% planning on crate training our pup. In our minds, it is far too dangerous to leave a little one out and bored on the odd occasion when we aren't home to supervise. We've tried the puppy in the bed thing and as my S.O. lay awake unable to shift for fear of squishing the happily snoring dog, he said, "when we get a pup, it's being crate trained." There was a certain finality with which he said that, and so, no puppies in the bed with us.
4. Dog carrier purse - regardless of when/where we get the pup (e.g. at our current apartment or at an openly pet friendly home), I want a comfortable and safe way to carry my little one with me discreetly. This is more for personal style reasons than any effort to be sneaky, but if we are permitted to get a pup at our current residence, the stipulation will be to do so on the down low. We have a no pet policy for the building, but people have gotten exceptions made. Consequently, they try to be very discreet about their pets despite having the landlord's blessing.
5. Micro chip and local license - Pretty self explanatory, but if anyone has any suggestions, tips or cautionary tales, I'm definitely interested.
6. Puppy training classes - while we want to give it the ol' college try ourselves before we enlist the help of professionals (we've had dogs in the past, and many family members own/train/trial dogs, though not yorkies).
7. Flea/tick medication - Absolutely essential. We plan to start the pup on whatever our breeder recommends, presumably frontline, advantage or advantix. I have read too many horror stories about comfortis to even try it.
8. Grooming! There are loads of grooming kits and crazy vaccuum cleaner hair dryer attachments. I'm thinking some styptic powder, itty bitty nail clippers, safety scissors and a comb should do the trick. When she's a little older, I'll invest in a clipper. What are your tips and tricks for keeping their hair manageable? We're city slickers, so the long and gorgeous locks are out, and the puppy cut is in. Between dirty dusty streets and going in and out of a purse, she'd be a tangled mess in no time.
9. Puppy playpen This seems a little silly, but will save me a ton of worry while she's getting adjusted to her new digs. We've got a reclining love seat that has me checking out couches and ottomans discreetly (my man LOVES his recliner). When we get the pup regardless of the recliner, we can have her "out" and with us even when we can't watch her as sharply as we otherwise would.
10. Harness, leash, collar, tags and bells. So many things for one little dog! Obviously the collar would be exclusively decorative and utilitarian only in that it would have tags and bells (so we can find the little squirt when she inevitably does disappear out of our site and give me a heart attack). Do you usually just keep them in a harness around the house, collar, or zip? No worries - collar would always come off before going in the crate. No puppy strangulation while we're sleeping, thanks.
11. Finally, a really good pee/poo stain and smell remover. I have heard terrific things about "Bissell Pawsitively Clean Ewww Enzyme-Powered Pet Stain & Odor Remover" - do you have any recommendations? Even if we wind up moving before we get our little one, accidents are pretty much a given with a new pup. And, being in a city, it's also pretty much a given we'll be at least a few floors up, so getting outside on time, every time? Ha.
Whew. Holy cow, I can't believe I wrote that entire thing. I can't believe anyone's gonna read it, either. Thanks to anyone who attempts it!