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Originally Posted by withchoco  Hello,
We just adopted a 16-week old boy, Choco, last week, and he's a little gem. 
Although I grew up with small breed dogs, this is the first time having a male dog, and I have few questions.
1. He is 16 weeks old and weighs around 2lbs. He squats when he pees, and I am wondering when male Yorkies typically start spraying or peeing with a leg up. I have heard that many people wait to neuter/spay their Yorkies until reaching 6 months so that the milk teeth can be removed at the same time, if needed. For my male cats, I got them neutered before they started spraying, so that they don't get into a bad habit.
2. I am currently on vacation for about a month, and once the break is over, I will be away for about 4-5 hrs per day. I'm spending most of the time with Choco, and I am a bit concerned that he may get separation anxiety if I have to leave him alone after spending most of the time with him for a month. Any advice on how I should get him adjusted?
3. Do you let your Yorkies sleep in your bed? I have heard that dogs get confused about hierarchy when you let them sleep in the same bed with you. Currently, Choco sleeps in his crate at night, since he's still being potty-trained. He whine for 2-3 sec when I put him in his playpen, but shortly goes off to his bed without much begging. Would it be best to let him sleep in his crate?
Thank you in advance and happy holidays!
PS - I tried to upload some of his photos, but they exceeded the size limit. I will do so after adjusting the size. |
1) We got our little man Patrick late. He was around 7 months old and had already developed a marking habit. We got him neutered the 1st week we had him, but it was evident the marking had become a habit because he kept doing it. We ended up having to get him a belly band while we're gone so if he tries to mark, it doesn't get all over the house. So I also recommend correction when they try to mark, but also the later you wait to neuter the more chance their is of it becoming a habit if he does have a tendency to mark.
2) Like all training, I think the best thing to do is practice and start slow. When we got each new Yorkie after our 1st, we set up a webcam and went outside and sat in a vehicle and watched them to make sure they didn't have any destructive ideas that might put them at risk. We started with small intervals, and then increased it. With our 3rd one, that really helped. When we go to leave, she looks at us like "whatever." I think there will always be some level of separation anxiety, but the idea is to minimize it so they're comfortable when you leave.
3) We have always let our Yorkies sleep with us and it hasn't caused any problems. We wouldn't have it any other way!
Good luck with your new little one!