[maxdog]

Ann, I love your response but…..

Sometimes I wish I could just keep my mouth shut but that is a trait that I have never been able to conquer. So here I go again about to piss some people off.

Let me start with the OP. You come here and ask for advice but tell everyone if they don’t have happy things to say to you the please shut up. I know you did not use those words but the implication is there. Well it does not work that way. If you want advice then you better put your big boy pants on be prepared to listen to what comes your way. The VAST majority of people on this site, myself included, think that allowing a yorkie unsupervised access to a yard, fenced in or not, is careless and very dangerous to the yorkie. I did not think that way when I first started on this site but after reading the horror stories of people watching their little loved one die in their arms because it was attacked by a larger dog, hawk or some other wild animal I have done a 180. True your dog was able to get out of harm’s way because of the door but it would have not been in harm’s way if the door was not there. Yours is not the only yorkie that loves freedom. They ALL do. But it is our responsibility to make sure that we allow them that freedom in a SAFE environment. IMO, it is not a matter IF your dog might be harmed, it is a matter of WHEN your baby is hurt. You will not find a more caring, knowledgeable and experienced group of people that you have access to on this site and if everyone is telling you that you are doing something that could be dangerous to your dog you had better listen. Some folks are very polite about how they will give you their opinion while others will take a more direct approach.

Which leads to my 2nd rant. The response of go get a cat was, IMO, completely uncalled for. Tell this person they are being careless. Tell them their actions could lead to the death of their baby. I agree with you 100%. But to tell someone who loves their dog that they are not capable or do not deserve to have a dog (again not the words used but the implication is there) is just downright mean. I have so much respect for the people who have replied to this thread but when I see responses like that it makes me cringe. I understand (because I have done it many times myself) that things are said (or typed) in the heat of the moment. I was glad to see that the person who said to get a cat was then able to reply with good advice and a good suggestion on how to deal with the problem.

Kudos to the all the replies that give the OP advice on how to handle this. Hopefully she will be able to see that everyone on this site is passionate about not only the well being of their own but the well being of ALL yorkies. The compassion and giving that I have not only seen but experienced from all the people here is special.