YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post

Ladylavender · 07-25-2006, 05:50 AM

I know how you are feeling exactly! When yorkies (or possibly any dog) are puppies they are a lot of work. When we 1st got Millie I became very very very overwhelmed with all the work and attention required to acheive my 3 main goals: 1. effectively potty train Millie; 2. to pay enough attention to her to make sure she was well adjusted and would not end up neurotic; and 3. Have a well-mannered dog.

Almost into a month of having Millie, I too was questioning whether I had made the right decision in bringing Millie into our household and into our "free from ties" kind of lifestyle. Thank God I had the "voice of reason" from my husband and his support. It was quite a transition and I was not sure I was up to it. (almost like having a new baby for the 1st time).

Here was my situation. Both my husband I work. Millie was left at home everyday, mon-fri, from 6:45am - 4:45pm. We too left her in a crate. I had made a committment to Millie and myself that I would come straight home every day. No errands, no stopping to eat dinner, no Nothing! Just straight home. (This was hard but I did it). Even though I was tired from working all day, I would come home, and take her for a walk, make sure she was going potty outside during the evening time and play with her constantly to get her energy out so she would sleep at night, since she was cooped up in her crate all day. I also keep an eagle eye out on her the entire time, so as to make sure she was not getting into trouble and not loooking for a place to potty in the house. this routine was taking it's toll. But I kept it up.

The things I had going for me, that you don't have, is: I live in a one story house and access to the outside was only a few feet away. We have a fenced enclosure in our yard so going potty was safe and we could play with her out there. My husband is a teacher, so when Millie 1st came home, Jim was out for summer break and he was able to transition her in her crate up to the 9-10 hours, by starting her off in small time increments and worked her way up to 6-7 hours before we left her in the crate all day for the 1st time. (Which she did fine for the whole time we used the crate method while gone) However, we did come straight home, no detours and took her out potty immediately!

I can tell you that it does get easier as they grow older. I started noticing a difference around 6-7 months and a bigger difference at 1 year old. But remember I had my 3 goals and I would make sure that every waking hour that I was home, she was our focus. I would make sure on week-ends, when we were off from work, that Millie got full attention and we did not go out willy nilly like we used to. Everything was pre-planned and centered around Millie. I would take her to as many places I could and would make sure our plans included going places dogs were allowed. I also took her to obedience class.

Things around here are much less strict as Millie has grown. She is a little over a year old now and she is fully house broken and can go in and out a doggy door. She is less like a puppy and requires less play time now and less attention. She is well adjusted and spoiled rotten, but my husband and I love her to death! But no matter what, dogs are a still alot of work, and do interfere with life processes no matter how old the are.

So I guess what I am saying is, I so understand your being in a place where you feel that you just cannot take on this kind of committment in your life right now, because if my circumstances had been different in any way (because I had it somewhat easier than you do now) I may not have Millie now. But if you want to tough it out thru this most difficult period in your puppies life and you really can committ to your little one on the attention and time, then it will be so much easier later on. (Just giving you hope for the near future)

Bottom line: Do whats best for you and your puppy. Finding him a new owner now when he still is sweet and has not developed any bad habits is easier than when he is older and mal-adjusted from the lack of attention.

Good luck with your decision, whatever you choose.

07-25-2006, 05:50 AM	#13
Ladylavender YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Soddy Daisy, TN Posts: 733	I know how you are feeling exactly! When yorkies (or possibly any dog) are puppies they are a lot of work. When we 1st got Millie I became very very very overwhelmed with all the work and attention required to acheive my 3 main goals: 1. effectively potty train Millie; 2. to pay enough attention to her to make sure she was well adjusted and would not end up neurotic; and 3. Have a well-mannered dog. Almost into a month of having Millie, I too was questioning whether I had made the right decision in bringing Millie into our household and into our "free from ties" kind of lifestyle. Thank God I had the "voice of reason" from my husband and his support. It was quite a transition and I was not sure I was up to it. (almost like having a new baby for the 1st time). Here was my situation. Both my husband I work. Millie was left at home everyday, mon-fri, from 6:45am - 4:45pm. We too left her in a crate. I had made a committment to Millie and myself that I would come straight home every day. No errands, no stopping to eat dinner, no Nothing! Just straight home. (This was hard but I did it). Even though I was tired from working all day, I would come home, and take her for a walk, make sure she was going potty outside during the evening time and play with her constantly to get her energy out so she would sleep at night, since she was cooped up in her crate all day. I also keep an eagle eye out on her the entire time, so as to make sure she was not getting into trouble and not loooking for a place to potty in the house. this routine was taking it's toll. But I kept it up. The things I had going for me, that you don't have, is: I live in a one story house and access to the outside was only a few feet away. We have a fenced enclosure in our yard so going potty was safe and we could play with her out there. My husband is a teacher, so when Millie 1st came home, Jim was out for summer break and he was able to transition her in her crate up to the 9-10 hours, by starting her off in small time increments and worked her way up to 6-7 hours before we left her in the crate all day for the 1st time. (Which she did fine for the whole time we used the crate method while gone) However, we did come straight home, no detours and took her out potty immediately! I can tell you that it does get easier as they grow older. I started noticing a difference around 6-7 months and a bigger difference at 1 year old. But remember I had my 3 goals and I would make sure that every waking hour that I was home, she was our focus. I would make sure on week-ends, when we were off from work, that Millie got full attention and we did not go out willy nilly like we used to. Everything was pre-planned and centered around Millie. I would take her to as many places I could and would make sure our plans included going places dogs were allowed. I also took her to obedience class. Things around here are much less strict as Millie has grown. She is a little over a year old now and she is fully house broken and can go in and out a doggy door. She is less like a puppy and requires less play time now and less attention. She is well adjusted and spoiled rotten, but my husband and I love her to death! But no matter what, dogs are a still alot of work, and do interfere with life processes no matter how old the are. So I guess what I am saying is, I so understand your being in a place where you feel that you just cannot take on this kind of committment in your life right now, because if my circumstances had been different in any way (because I had it somewhat easier than you do now) I may not have Millie now. But if you want to tough it out thru this most difficult period in your puppies life and you really can committ to your little one on the attention and time, then it will be so much easier later on. (Just giving you hope for the near future) Bottom line: Do whats best for you and your puppy. Finding him a new owner now when he still is sweet and has not developed any bad habits is easier than when he is older and mal-adjusted from the lack of attention. Good luck with your decision, whatever you choose.