Sugar is so tiny but soooo clever and determined. She probably was from a BYB but has a sweet temperament and I think we will be able to train her as long as her humans are trainable
.
My husband and I both work and have to be gone for several hours each day, so there are two times that she has to stay in the kitchen: overnight, and when we are gone during the day. Fortunately, my husband has a somewhat flexible schedule so she is not alone from 8-5, and my office is not far from our house so I can come home to take her out for a bit if there ever is a long day. I've actually taken her to work twice but can't do that every day.
We have a crate/carrier but don't think she should be confined in such a small area during the day, and hate to put her in it overnight. Having never crate trained before, we asked and were told that the 'crate' should be just big enough for her to stand up and turn around in, but NOT big enough for her to pee or poop in. She does alright (no accidents) during the night and it would just seem selfish to lock her up in such a tiny cage during the day.
Our previous dog (another who also 'found' us
) had free reign of the house (and rural neighborhood) thanks to her independence and a handy doggy door. Perhaps when we know Sugar better, we might decide it would be safe to let her roam through the house, but for now, it's better to keep her in a room she cannot damage during the night or when we are away. We would like to redo the doggy door (now closed since Daisy passed away last year), but it will take some substantial planning and probably substantial $$ to make it happen for such a tiny pup. She is SO fragile, unlike our sleek, muscular 50lb sweetie. We have talked about redoing the doggy door and building up the yard on that side of the house (low area gets very wet/muddy when it rains), fencing the area . . . then realized that we have to cover or screen it as well because of hawks and owls . . . and reinforce the bottom of the fence in some way so she cannot squeeze or dig her way out (and snakes cannot get in - although we don't really have snakes here). A lot to think about.
I saw pics of a nice 'yorkie yard' and now I've told DH that perhaps we should upscale the doggy-door/fence idea up to a screened in garden room. Of course, then he wants to know where exactly she would be able to pee/poo outside if we added an entire ROOM to the house instead of just a nice fenced area. I don't have any answers (yet!) but at least we have a good source of information and experts to ask with YT.
For now, we are propping a 48" x 50" painting against the kitchen entry and bracing it with either (a) two 5 gallon water bottles or (b) 3 dining room chairs, 2 laid flat on the floor and the third upright in the middle. We also have to move all 4 kitchen chairs to the center of the room because our little Einstein quickly figured out that she could jump into a chair, onto the table, and onto and then over the bar separating her 14' x 27' "playpen" from the rest of the house. I am diligent about securing all points of entry (or rather, exits!) but DH came home to take her for a walk earlier today and merely placed the chairs loosely against the barrier.
Guess who was prancing up and down the picture windowsill in the living room when we got home tonight? We may have met our match --- all suggestions are most welcome! We may end up with an upside down or enclosed playpen or try the DIY instructions offered earlier, as most gates seem to have bars that are much wider spaced than a Yorkie.
Next question(s) [in a new thread]: Dallas-area trainers & vets who specialize in Yorkies or small breeds and how do I tell if Sugar is a Yorkie-Poo, Schnoodle, or Schnorkie?
Finally, her stuffing-free skinnee fox and hide-a-squirrel should arrive this week. The car seat and Bob-a-Lot will have to wait for another paycheck to arrive. Thanks for all the help!