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11-02-2009, 01:08 PM | #1 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hyattsville, MD
Posts: 19
| 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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11-02-2009, 01:19 PM | #2 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Texas
Posts: 553
| 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.
__________________ Andy Jillie |
11-02-2009, 01:25 PM | #3 | |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hyattsville, MD
Posts: 19
| Quote:
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! | |
11-02-2009, 01:35 PM | #4 |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | 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.
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals Last edited by Nancy1999; 11-02-2009 at 01:38 PM. |
11-02-2009, 01:38 PM | #5 |
YT Addict Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 298
| 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
__________________ Proud mommy to: Sushi(Yorkie)Mr. Big(Maltese)Missy(ShihTzu)Zero (Chihuahua)KitCat(Himmy)Casper(Tabby) |
11-02-2009, 01:38 PM | #6 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hyattsville, MD
Posts: 19
| Thanks! Do you hide when you shake the can or do you let them see you shake it? |
11-02-2009, 01:42 PM | #7 |
Pixie and Daisy Donating Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: CT USA
Posts: 2,680
| 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!!!
__________________ Proud Mom of Daisy and Pixie |
11-02-2009, 01:44 PM | #8 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hyattsville, MD
Posts: 19
| [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? |
11-02-2009, 01:45 PM | #9 |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | 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.
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals |
11-02-2009, 01:46 PM | #10 | |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Texas
Posts: 553
| Quote:
__________________ Andy Jillie | |
11-02-2009, 01:49 PM | #11 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hyattsville, MD
Posts: 19
| 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? |
11-02-2009, 01:57 PM | #12 | |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | Quote:
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals | |
11-02-2009, 01:58 PM | #13 |
I ♥ Joey & Ralphie! Donating Member | Yes, I think this helps too.
__________________ NancyJoey Proud members of the CrAzYcLuB and YAP! ** Just Say No to Puppymills – Join YAP! Yorkshire Terrier Club of America – Breeder Referrals |
11-02-2009, 02:01 PM | #14 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Texas
Posts: 553
| 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.
__________________ Andy Jillie |
11-02-2009, 02:02 PM | #15 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Hyattsville, MD
Posts: 19
| About how long did it take to paper train your pups? |
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