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01-05-2014, 10:42 AM | #1 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Virgina, USA
Posts: 4
| Lots of Questions, any advice would be abundantly appreciated! *wall of text warning* First, here's some background on my little baby which may be helpful in any assessments or advice you guys may have. Zora was found abandoned, outside in a bag of dog food, two days before Christmas. From what I've been told, she was living in the garage of a rental home. The family left the house with half of their possessions, two months behind on rent, and the dog outside. We think she was outside for 3 to 5 days prior to being discovered. She must have been exposed to children because there were 3 children's bikes left behind. The whole situation was very strange. The Christmas tree was still left up, some food in the pantry, and a 5 gallon pitcher of what seemed to be urine was in the kitchen. The point I'm trying to make is that we have no idea what sort of lifestyle or training my girl has had thus far. Upon rescuing her, I took her to the vet. The vet told me she was about 6 or 7 months, judging by her teeth. She's in better health than to be expected, and was slightly overweight (likely from gorging herself when abandoned). The food she was eating was adult small-breed food but the vet recommended switching her to puppy small-breed, which I have. She's quite hyper and the vet said this could be because she has anxiety over being abandoned. The vet recommended putting her on puppy prozac but I told her I want to wait until her next appointment (13 Jan) to see how she's doing then. Since getting Zora, she's calmed down a little bit. She responds to her name usually, and always when I call her. I'm crate training her and she never ever cries in her crate. In fact, it makes me think she may have possibly been crated before. Her crate is right beside my bed and she sleeps all night without crying or whining. Currently, I work for my dad and am allowed to bring her to work with me. We own a small, local hardware store that's close to home. Currently, this is what a regular day at work for her is like: 5:30 - wake up, take her out of crate go potty (just pee) 5:35 - eat breakfast and back in crate while I shower / get dressed 6:00 - walk for 20 ish minutes (she goes potty again - #1 & #2), come back inside & finish getting ready ( i let her run around w me here bc she's always at my feet) 6:30 - leave for work 6:40 - get to work she'll usually play around with me and the other employees until around 745 (we open at 7 but don't get busy til 8ish) 7:45 - potty 7:45 - 9:45 - crate time in the office (sometimes the secretary is up there and lets her run around and play but not always) I practice "sit" and "down" with her here 9:45 (it could be as late as 1030 depending on how busy we are but no later) potty and play break with me for 10 minutes) 12 - 1230 walk her for 30 minutes on my lunch break (again, approximate time, could be 1230 - 1) 1230 - 245 (ish) crate time again 245 - potty and play for 10 minutes 3:00 - 5: 00 - crate 5:00 - potty, and she gets to come out of the crate and hang out with me because once the sun goes down, we don't really have many customers 6: 00 we go home 6:15 dinner, 30 minute walk then she just kinda plays with me around the house until I go to bed which is between 10 and 11 usually so that's what our life is like, typically, and here are the questions I have. 1. Zora is pretty well potty trained ( in that I take her outside and say "go potty" and she'll pee. We always go to the same spot first, then we will walk around and play. She'll hold her pee throughout the night, but .... when we're downstairs just watching TV, she'll suddenly pee on the carpet down there, even if I just took her out an hour before. At her age, she should be able to hold it. Why is she doing this? 2. Should I be using a separate phrase for when I want her to poop? She takes forever (and I mean like 30 minutes at times) to calm down enough to poop. and it's been averaging about 13 degrees outside. I put a jacket on her but I worry she's freezing and that's really why I want her to go faster! I don't care how long she takes, but she's so cold! we have about 4 cleared acres that I walk her around on (on a leash) as well as a small, dirt road to walk on. I don't like walking her on the road at night though because it's treacherous and not state maintained. 3. She's forever biting her leash, no matter what I spray on it. I've ordered the Bitter Apple to try next but I've tried other products so far and no success. I've heard to try a metal leash, but my vet told me Yorkies have bad teeth and I'm concerned this may harm her. 4. She really likes to bite me, even during play. Usually I act like I'm hurt and ignore her, but I'm afraid to ignore her for too long because then she may pee somewhere out of spite. 5. What else am I doing wrong? I worry that I'm going to be hurting her long term because she gets to see me so often at work, but I just graduated college with my bachelor's a few weeks prior to getting her, and will be moving towards a career, and moving out soon. Am I setting her up for separation anxiety? 6. She doesn't really like to be held or cuddled with for more than a minute or two, and only with me will she tolerate it at all. Is this because she's a female or will this change in time? I love her so much but I've never had a dog on my own before and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right! Any advice will be appreciated. I'm sure I've left a lot of details out so feel free to ask away!! |
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