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Old 11-02-2009, 01:08 PM   #1
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Default Tips for Apartment Dwellers

My husband and I live in an apartment-style condo. We recently adopted our 3-month old yorkie puppy from an animal rescue and are looking for tips specifically for apartment yorkies. We hope we have not committed an inhumane act by adopting a dog while working full time .

Our plan is to confine him to the kitchen during the day while we are at work and have him use the litter box. Our concerns are the usual: barking, crate/confinement training, doggy daycare, etc. One major concern is whether to crate him AND confine him to the kitchen or to choose one and go with that. Any tips are greatly appreciated.Thank you!
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:19 PM   #2
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I will tell you that both of my dogs chewed kitchen cabinets when confined to the kitchen area. lol Maybe a little x-pen to keep him in the kitchen, and also keep him away from cabinets, baseboards, and other things that might be tempting to chew on when they get bored.
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:25 PM   #3
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I will tell you that both of my dogs chewed kitchen cabinets when confined to the kitchen area. lol Maybe a little x-pen to keep him in the kitchen, and also keep him away from cabinets, baseboards, and other things that might be tempting to chew on when they get bored.
That is what I thought! I noticed he has already been drawn to the broiler drawer of the stove (probably b/c it is cold), so I am afraid that he will tear it to shreds when he starts teething!

Would you recommend moving the ex-pen to the living room of the apartment when we are at home? Will that confuse him when it comes to the litter box training? Thanks so much!
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:35 PM   #4
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I like the idea of confining him to the kitchen, you could keep his crate in the kitchen, with the door open, and have pee pad, and food outside the crate, or if crate doesn't fit, just another type of bed, but the idea is that the crate is a safe haven, not a punishment. I think it's easier to housebreak if you crate overnight, and place the puppy on the spot you want them to go in the morning. A young puppy might need to get up during the night once though, and the crate can't be too big or they will pee on one end and sleep on the other. They can hold it 1 hour for every month of age, and a little longer at night. I like "Pennies in a can" to reduce barking, and you must be consistent, and never show anger at barking as this agitates the dog more. I used a Christmas tin filled half way with coins and it made a louder noise than the aluminum cans. Say no and shake the can, repeat every time they bark. Never let them have the last bark. The coins in a can is good because they don't associate the noise aversion with you, like they would a water spray bottle. So barking is reduced even when you are not there. There are also various devices you can buy, they make an aversive sound only a dog can hear and are said to stop the barking, and are "bark" activated to go off when they hear a bark; I'm not sure how well they work, they seem to have mixed reviews.


I should add it's very difficult to litter box train dogs, many don't like to use the box, a pad is much easier. Also there are sprays that eliminate chewing on things, bitter apple spray works very well, and some people suggest clear deodorant.
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:38 PM   #5
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I am a professional apartment dweller/yorkie owner, haha. Been living in apartment condos with dogs for years.

If you are not able to come home during the day or have somebody to come home and let him out while he's a puppy, you CANNOT crate him during the day. He can hold it in for no more that 3-4 hours at this age, and by confining him in the crate for longer than that you basically force him to go against his instincts and get used to peeing/pooing where he sleeps. That will make housetraining much much harder later.

I would go with a puppy pen. It'll keep him (and your cabinets and baseboards)safe, and you can put a bed, water/food, and his litterbox in it. You don't want it to be too big though. It shouldn't have much more room after you put the bed and the litterbox in it, so he would have no choice but to go IN the litterbox.

Daycare is also a good option, ONLY if you are 100% sure of the quality of the supervision/training that he will be getting over there. Whatever he experiences, good or bad, during those critical months of puppyhood will have lifetime effects on him, sometimes irreversible. You have to be VERY careful with who you trust your puppy with.

Good luck, and keep us posted on his progres. And don't forget cute puppy pictures
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:38 PM   #6
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Thanks! Do you hide when you shake the can or do you let them see you shake it?
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:42 PM   #7
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I just love the pennies in the can.
Since I got Pixie, Daisy has been barking for everything and I was at my wits end with her. I am going to try pennies in a can!! Thanks for that I think you just helped my problem!!!
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:44 PM   #8
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[quote=Nancy1999;2864274] I like "Pennies in a can" to reduce barking, and you must be consistent, and never show anger at barking as this agitates the dog more. I used a Christmas tin filled half way with coins and it made a louder noise than the aluminum cans. Say no and shake the can, repeat every time they bark. Never let them have the last bark. The coins in a can is good because they don't associate the noise aversion with you, like they would a water spray bottle. So barking is reduced even when you are not there. [quote]

Thanks! So, having the run of the entire kitchen is too much space? That might explain some of the accidents. I have also noticed that if I confine him to the kitchen and he starts barking, when I come back, there will be a puddle. Is this because he is frightened? Can I do anything about this?
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:45 PM   #9
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Thanks! Do you hide when you shake the can or do you let them see you shake it?
Lol, no you don't hide, but occasionally dogs hear loud noises when you aren't around, so they don't associate loud noises with you. However, if you run after them with a spray bottle, they associate getting sprayed with you.
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:46 PM   #10
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That is what I thought! I noticed he has already been drawn to the broiler drawer of the stove (probably b/c it is cold), so I am afraid that he will tear it to shreds when he starts teething!

Would you recommend moving the ex-pen to the living room of the apartment when we are at home? Will that confuse him when it comes to the litter box training? Thanks so much!
It would probably be better to keep him in the kitchen if you can. I leave the TV on for mine when I have to be away. Some use a radio. I think that might eliminate some of the outside sounds they may hear and want to bark at.
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:49 PM   #11
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It would probably be better to keep him in the kitchen if you can. I leave the TV on for mine when I have to be away. Some use a radio. I think that might eliminate some of the outside sounds they may hear and want to bark at.
Should I also confine him when I am home until he gets older? In that case should I move the pen to the living room with us?
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:57 PM   #12
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Thanks! So, having the run of the entire kitchen is too much space? That might explain some of the accidents. I have also noticed that if I confine him to the kitchen and he starts barking, when I come back, there will be a puddle. Is this because he is frightened? Can I do anything about this?
I don't know if it's too much space, we had a large x-pen for Joey, and at first we used several pee pads, and the floor was mostly covered, we just eliminated some of the pee pads, and he really learned fairly fast. They pee a lot when there are young, so it's hard to say if he was frightened or just had to go, they will not go far to seek out a pad. I think washable pads work the best. Yorkies don't like to be left alone, so the barking is them telling you, that they want you. It's important to only let him out, after he's quiet, never reward the barking, but that's easier said then done. Joey's breeder told us to ignore the mistakes and praise the success, and I believe that works the best with no long term unwanted symptoms, such as submissive peeing or poop eating.
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Old 11-02-2009, 01:58 PM   #13
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It would probably be better to keep him in the kitchen if you can. I leave the TV on for mine when I have to be away. Some use a radio. I think that might eliminate some of the outside sounds they may hear and want to bark at.
Yes, I think this helps too.
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Old 11-02-2009, 02:01 PM   #14
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Should I also confine him when I am home until he gets older? In that case should I move the pen to the living room with us?
I will let someone else answer that one as I handled my dogs differently. You will have more responses once people get home from work and sign in to see new posts. There is always someone here to help, what one does not know, usually someone else will have the answer. You can also look at the Training section on YT, lot's of good info there.
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Old 11-02-2009, 02:02 PM   #15
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About how long did it take to paper train your pups?
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