New Puppy...need schedule advice!
 

Hi Everyone!

Just last week my lifelong dream of owning a Yorkie came true when Daisy entered my life. HOWEVER...I am having a hard time getting her on a set schedule. She is almost 10 weeks old and it has been a LONG time since Ive had a puppy. I've read a few things online as far as housebreaking schedules go but they all seemed to have her in the crate a long time. I am letting her free feed at this point (the breeder scared me so badly with hypoglycemia) that this may be part of the problem. Right now she wants to sleep during the day and be a CRAZY CRAZY girl at night. So I guess my questions are:

*Should I just give her 3-4 scheduled meals a day instead of free feeding?
*Should I follow a set schedule that includes crate time? Like putting her down for a nap? Usually I only put her in the crate at night.
*Im hoping the nipping and biting is just a phase! Shes driving me and her canine brothers crazy!

I appreciate ANY advice anyone is willing to give. I just want a happy,healthy, well adjusted puppy!

Thanks!:)

Hi:

I can only give advice on what I did with my pup and it has worked for me. I feed mine at set times each day. I do not free feed. Free feeding will create more issues with set schedule/potty training. I crate a few times during the day for his nap time and at night. If my little one nipped I would find a dog toy or a bone and give to him and that would help. Exercise is key to this breed. A brisk 20 minute walk does wonders... Make the crate an enjoyable place for him/her to go. Hope this helps.

Thanks so much! Were still trying to learn the leash but maybe just trying it will wear her out. She is a hyper little thing!!

Maggie nipped when she was a baby and she still nips, she's almost six y/o. It's usually when she's giving kisses, but that bite on the lip hurts. When she does nip I say Ouch, in a loud voice, then she wants to come back and kiss the bobo. Playing with her right before bedtime might help tire her out.

Hello and Welcome to YT.... everyone here does things differently but I myself crate trained all of my pups and have had wonderful success with it. You can find out how I did it on my web site Dawn's Yorkies (training tips). You will also find other training tips that may be useful !!

Thanks so much!! I appreciate it.

How cute!! She wants to kiss the boo-boo!

With Lily I do have a schedule. I feed at certain times of the day (4 times). I use the crate at night only. She knows when I put her in the crate it's night night time. She does wake up in the night, I take her to the potty pad then back to the crate. This has worked well for us. As far as naps, i do not put her in the crate.

I am pad training her so when she goes on the pad she gets a treat. When she has an accident, I put her on the pad to finish. I have read never to punish them for accidents. Praise works better.

Lily bit me when I first got her. She was so excited and chewing on everything. I picked her up and she got me on my nose. I firmly said no and gave her a small time out. Now, I keep all kind of chew toys around. I also bought a kong toy that you can put treats in. This kept her busy for an hour!!

Bentley is at 6 months and, after getting so close with potty training, he regressed so we went back to square 1

- 2 meals a day, one when he gets up, and one around 5pm. When he was younger we fed him 3 times a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- Water with breakfast, around noon, with dinner, and whenever we get back from walks (we walk him 2x a day). This and the food make it a lot easier to control the potty (re)training
- Crate when he sleeps, so naps and overnight, and whenever we leave the kitchen. If my wife or I go in the other room, sometimes we take him on a leash and let him lie down in his day bed. For naps, he usually ends up going in his crate by himself, so we let him nod off and then close the door
- The walk at night really helps with the sleep. His active time is usually between 5pm (when we feed him) and 9pm, with a bit of a lull inbetween. The walk (usually 30min to 1hr) helps with the built up energy and tuckers him out :)
- With biting, Bentley is actually just starting to get worse with it. What we try to do is make a yelping noise whenever he nips, and turn away from him. This way he understands that he loses his playmate when he does this. It's still a work in progress, although I might try the substitution effect with him (toy, not hand)