First time owner needs help...

[amyann]

Sorry that I posted so many replies here and only answer one question at at time. It's just I need to get the PM I sent out to that other person here and post it first. It was long enough by itself as you can see. And then I reply as I read. Seems to me your puppy is lucky to have you. If you do build him a dog house, you could line the bottom with some heavy plastic sheet (clear ones maybe) to protect your floor in case his water got spilled or something.

[yorkieusa]

I dont give them the run of the house until they are really around a year or more in age. Mine has been housebroken for months. This with someone home with her all day. She had a couple of accidents when she came home from being spayed and that is all. I forgot to say that I do keep a couple of pads down for her in case we can't go to the door when she needs out or we aren't home. She will continue to be gated and have only half of the house to run around in. When I feel I can trust her not to "hide" any messes in the rest of the house or to chew on things, only then will she be allowed to experience real freedom. I got her in May, so we had the whole summer to housetrain her. Getting them in the spring has always been the best time for us. I don't think I could ever have a housebroken puppy in our climate otherwise. I had to set the alarm for awhile at 3 a.m. to take her out. I didn't want any accidents. Have fun with your puppy.

[yorkieusa]

Perhaps if he likes a particular spot in his pen I could replace it with a small pan filled with litter?

I was thinking about this. I don't have any experience with litter box training, BUT I do know that puppies will eat anything. They don't care what it is, so you will want to be careful he doesn't consume the litter as well.

[Bimmer]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. When I found this forum I just KNEW everything would be alright. There's nothing more comforting than knowing you aren't going at it alone.

I have drafted the plans for this indoor dog house and will begin building it tommorrow in the garage. Bimmer is going to absolutely LOVE this thing. I'm doing a plywood base 4ft. X 4ft. with 1 ft. high walls. The walls will be drywalled and painted to look like normal walls in my house. The area will be divided down the middle with one entire half carpeted with the plushest carpet and pad I can find. The other half will be divided in half again with a 1 ft. X 1 ft. doghouse, carpeted and drywalled with a hinged roof so I can get him out when he's relaxing. His porch will be a linoleum surface like the bathroom. My thinking is that he can have all the same textures he's used to in his little area. I'll cover the carpet and linoleum in newspaper at first, then when we get a pee spot figured out, he'll have his own "house" and "yard" to play in while we're at work, yet he'll still have a potty place.

I don't know jack about what a dog wants, but it's apparent to me that he likes my house, so I'm going to give him his own smaller version of my pad and we'll go from there.

I'll post pics tommorrow for everyone to see!

[yorkieusa]

That sounds quite nice and I think any little doggie would love it. Yorkies like to burrow, so I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that your lil one will like a private place to hide in when he pleases.

[amyann]

Originally Posted by Bimmer

Thanks to everyone for the advice. When I found this forum I just KNEW everything would be alright. There's nothing more comforting than knowing you aren't going at it alone.

I have drafted the plans for this indoor dog house and will begin building it tommorrow in the garage. Bimmer is going to absolutely LOVE this thing. I'm doing a plywood base 4ft. X 4ft. with 1 ft. high walls. The walls will be drywalled and painted to look like normal walls in my house. The area will be divided down the middle with one entire half carpeted with the plushest carpet and pad I can find. The other half will be divided in half again with a 1 ft. X 1 ft. doghouse, carpeted and drywalled with a hinged roof so I can get him out when he's relaxing. His porch will be a linoleum surface like the bathroom. My thinking is that he can have all the same textures he's used to in his little area. I'll cover the carpet and linoleum in newspaper at first, then when we get a pee spot figured out, he'll have his own "house" and "yard" to play in while we're at work, yet he'll still have a potty place.

I don't know jack about what a dog wants, but it's apparent to me that he likes my house, so I'm going to give him his own smaller version of my pad and we'll go from there.

I'll post pics tommorrow for everyone to see!

Sounds wonderful!

One little detail though - do you know Yorkies are very good jumpers? Many people here have had difficulty keeping their pups in a "fenced" area - myself included. When my puppy was 12 weeks old at 2 lbs, she got herself out of a 20" tall fence - twice in a row. We make it higer after that. You might want to do a search here and figure out how tall the walls needs to be if you plan to keep him in his dog house.

[Itspuppyluv]

The dog house you're building sounds wonderful. I have one in an x-pen for Gus and he absolutely loves it.
I have to agree that 1 foot walls will probably be too low as he gets bigger. It won't be much of a challenge if he really wants to get out.

It can be very frustrating but we chose tiny dogs with tiny bladders that are known to be hard to housebreak. He might learn in a few months or it could take a year. That's how long it took for my Gus to be housebroken...and I'm with him all day. I started to think it would never happen. They are worth every bit of frustration though, aren't they?

Good luck - you sound like a great dad.

[fl24019]

Hi:

You sound like you're going to be an amazing Yorkie owner. It sounds like you've already made up your mind about crate training, and I hope you won't mind if I just suggest you read the information here so you'll be fully informed about why many people do crate train:

http://www.shooterdog.com/alexfaq2.htm#PEE

The safest place for them to travel in a car is in a crate secured with a seat belt, and teaching them to nap in a crate makes that a cinch.

[FirstYorkie]

Originally Posted by Bimmer

I don't know jack about what a dog wants, but it's apparent to me that he likes my house, so I'm going to give him his own smaller version of my pad and we'll go from there.

I like your plan! Just a couple of thoughts...
As someone mentioned, it will need to be pretty tall to keep him from jumping out. Second, don't make it so nice that you are going to be upset if he destroys it because chances are good that he will. He's going to pee on it, chew on it, and scratch at it. That's what puppies do. So, just be sure you are building it for HIM and not for you, okay?

[Sugar's Mom]

Originally Posted by Bimmer

Don't get me started on the Nutrical. We had our first "event" last night when we found out we had been feeding him improperly the first week we had him. He would never drink water out of a bowl, so I would dip my finger in water and he'd lick it off. I did this for an entire week thinking he's just slow to take on a bowl of water since he's so small. I called the breeder and she explained to me again to put water in his food. I didn't hear that part when we bought him because I was so entranced with him in my arms. He got a touch dehydrated and a had a diahrrea<sp?> incident and got VERY tired. Our breeder provided us with a tube of Nutrical and we immediately gave him some of that and he perked back up. We then fed him the watered down food and he was back to normal. Cut to today, and he's had four watered down meals and is back to his normal self and no runny poop. Close call!

I've been reading this forum for the last two hours and I've made a decision on the route I'm taking in raising my "son".

1. He won't live in that cage, I refuse.
2. Tommorrow I'm building him a 4 ft. by 4 ft. pen that will have a small doghouse with a linoleum front porch and a carpet side yard.
3. He is no longer being outdoor trained. Litterbox or pee pad from now on, haven't decided yet.
4. He will spend nearly every moment, that I'm home, in my arms and care until he's at LEAST 12 weeks old. At that point, I'll start letting him roam the house.

Here's my thinking on this. Cages aren't humane, plain and simple. I'll build him his own "house" complete with front yard and play area so that I can put him in my guest bedroom and not relegate him to the cold stark bathroom. Here, he can live while my wife and I are at work and still have some freedom and not be confined in a cage. We'll cover the entire pen with newspaper so we can find out where he likes to go potty and then remove that newspaper SLOWLY over time. When I'm at home, he sits in my lap or on my chest, just the way I've always thought it should be. I agree that he's too young to be left alone scared and cold in a cage in a new house.

How does this plan sound? I need to figure out how to ween him on to litterbox training next, so I'm open to suggestions. Perhaps if he likes a particular spot in his pen I could replace it with a small pan filled with litter? Then, once I feel he's picked up on the training, I can cut an exterior door so that he can come "home" whenever he needs to potty?

I don't have any advice for you since I am a fairly new mommy also. but, my baby lasted in his pen one night. Then he was in my bed for two nights. Then he fell out and i heard a "thump" so now he is gated in my living room and has the whole room to himself and all his goodies. I did, however, want to ask where in kentucky you got your puppy from? I am trying to find a female. Thanks

[artierae]

Originally Posted by FirstYorkie

I like your plan! Just a couple of thoughts...
As someone mentioned, it will need to be pretty tall to keep him from jumping out. Second, don't make it so nice that you are going to be upset if he destroys it because chances are good that he will. He's going to pee on it, chew on it, and scratch at it. That's what puppies do. So, just be sure you are building it for HIM and not for you, okay?

Good advice! (Building it for HIM) We have had puppies who loved to chew on the walls. And we have one who will jump over a 36" baby gate, and climb out of a 48" xpen! She is part monkey, I'm sure! We also have had some that wouldn't get out of a 12" high pen, no matter how much they wanted to. They are all different. Good luck with your building project. Sounds like you really want to do what is best for him. And be patient with the house training....it could take a while.

[Osso]

Welcome to the site Bimmer. I am an engineer and like you and a first time dog owner (but I've had cats since childhood) and I am used to clear instructions.

Your yorkie pup will teach you to lose that pretty quickly. I was a neat freak before I got Simon and Nigel, now their toys are always everywhere and some stuff I read just never worked for these guys. I would highly recommend that you read Yorkies for Dummies.

Also, just get an x-pen for him from Petsmart. Remember the first rule of engineering - keep it simple. It is a good size pen where you can place his crate, food dishes (let him free feed until 12 weeks or at least until he weighs 4 pounds) and pee pad. I would recommend that you line the flooring with laminate or painters cloth to keep your flooring safe from acidents.

I would not recommend a litterbox because unlike cats they dig and spead the litter all over the place and they sometimes like to hide their treats in there and then lick you. Plus the pee pad are treated to encourage pups to go on there.

[SnowWa]

I think you're working with a little guy that is just too little and young to have any control over when or where he goes to the bathroom yet.

I would only suggest that you continue with your training - Give him a lot of opportunities to do the right thing. He may even only accidently pee or poop where and when you want - but this will give you an opportunity to praise him. Over time, this will all begin to make sense to him, and during this time, he will also gain more control over his own potty habits.

It usually takes months and a lot of patience to potty train a puppy.

Be patient and be consistent. Sounds to me like you are giving him a lot of opportunities to learn...and he will.

Carol Jean

[josie girl]

Originally Posted by Bimmer

Thanks to everyone for the advice. When I found this forum I just KNEW everything would be alright. There's nothing more comforting than knowing you aren't going at it alone.

I have drafted the plans for this indoor dog house and will begin building it tommorrow in the garage. Bimmer is going to absolutely LOVE this thing. I'm doing a plywood base 4ft. X 4ft. with 1 ft. high walls. The walls will be drywalled and painted to look like normal walls in my house. The area will be divided down the middle with one entire half carpeted with the plushest carpet and pad I can find. The other half will be divided in half again with a 1 ft. X 1 ft. doghouse, carpeted and drywalled with a hinged roof so I can get him out when he's relaxing. His porch will be a linoleum surface like the bathroom. My thinking is that he can have all the same textures he's used to in his little area. I'll cover the carpet and linoleum in newspaper at first, then when we get a pee spot figured out, he'll have his own "house" and "yard" to play in while we're at work, yet he'll still have a potty place.

I don't know jack about what a dog wants, but it's apparent to me that he likes my house, so I'm going to give him his own smaller version of my pad and we'll go from there.

I'll post pics tommorrow for everyone to see!

This sounds GREAT! I cant wait to see pictures of this palace! It sounds like you love your baby very much! Good luck!

[Brannii]

Just a quick thought....when we brought home our baby he had an area that was simular. But he would use his feet to climb up the holes inthe gate. So make sure that it is solid so he can not get his feet out.... let us know what happens.