This summer I brought home my Yorkie baby, Blazer. My other dog, my first and only ever up until then, a German Shorthair Pointer named Buddy, was 7 1/2 at the time. Blazer wanted to play with Buddy, Buddy acted scared of Blazer. He was very stand-offish and barky around Blazer for the first week or two but now they are the best of friends and usually where one goes the other follows. So just be aware, even if they aren't the best of friends at first, give them time, they will learn, at the very least, to tolerate each other.
When I brought Blazer home I free fed him- meaning I put his entire daily allowance of food in his bowl in the morning and let him decide when to eat (though I would bring him to his bowl often enough that I knew he WAS eating!) It helped me figure out how much he actually ate during the day and when to watch for bowel movements (obiviously a great help in potty training, if you can figure out when he needs to poop!) Eventually I was able to space out his feedings to 3 times a day and now he is down to only 2.
As soon as I brought Blazer home I started crate training him. I have a small plastic carry crate for him and starting his first day I would put him in it for about 5 minutes at a time. He would cry at first but around the 5 minute mark I would go in and look at him in his crate. When he was quiet I would praise him and let him out, give him lots of love then take him potty (I gradually lengthened his crate times.) He started sleeping in his crate that first night and only woke up 1 time a night to potty for the first 3 nights, after that he slept through with no issues. I feel that it is SUPER important for your dog to be comfortable in a crate just in case something bad should ever happen and it NEEDS to be crated. I'm a SAHM so Blazer rarely needs crating other than bedtime or when I run errands in town (though now that he is 7 months old and potty trained I am learning to trust him more and I leave him out, with Buddy, in our lower level. No full run of the house yet while I am gone.)
Make sure that you have a harness for your baby and a leash and start putting them on just so he gets used to it. Play with the baby's feet and ears CONSTANTLY. Comb baby daily, multiple times, to bond and again, so baby gets comfortable with the process. Make training FUN for baby. Play with baby's teeth, practice brushing them! Get baby used to loud noises. Have a large cuddle buddy for baby that can be put in the crate. Wear a shirt every day from now until you bring baby home (sleep in it) so that it smells like you and use that in the crate. Make sure that you have a vet appointment set up for within the first 48 hours of bringing baby home.
Spend time with your other dog, one on one, no baby included and other times try to play with both together. Give one treats while you play with the other.
Have any names picked out yet?
Hey, by the way, welcome to Yorkie Talk! =D
__________________ Amanda  |