New Yorkie Training Questions
 

Hello, I have recently become a yorkie parent. My yorkie Koda will be 10 weeks old within the week, and I have had him for about a week myself. He was a Valentines Present from my significant other, and was living with her a couple weeks before she brought him to me.


I know potty training and training in general takes time, but I feel as if I'm doing everything wrong and I don't see any improvements at all. I live in an apartment and am at work for a good 10 hours a day, fortunately I only work 4 days a week so I do have time to spend with my dog. Like I mentioned earlier, I have only had him for a week and I know none of this is going to happen over night. I set up a play area that is only his with a play pen that covers about a 4ftx7ft area in my apartment. It has water, toys, bedding, and puppy pads. I keep him here during work, but he cries non stop when I leave and for a good time after I'm out the door (I have stayed to listen to see when he stops). I try to confine him to this area when I'm home and cannot watch him like a hawk, but he will whine and cry and howl. He also seems to pee right at the door of the pen or anywhere but his puppy pads when left in there. Is he doing this to act out??


I have tried the umbilical cord training with the leash so he can walk around my apartment with me, but he fights and pulls so much he starts to choke himself. I do not ever pull back or tug him on the leash to avoid hurting him, and he's too small to fit into and harnesses (he's 2.3lbs). Should I keep trying with the leash, or just resort to leaving him in his pen all day until he learns to stop crying?


I'm just looking for a little advise or maybe some tips to help my puppy have a good and happy life. Thanks in advance. :aimeeyork

Your puppy is only 10 weeks old. You probably won't see improvements until he's months old. They can only hold in their potty an hour for every month they are (i.e. one hour per month old, up to 8 hours).

He's crying because he's so young, away from his moma and feeling alone. I would keep him in the pen for now, especially if he is choking himself on a leash. Actually at 10 weeks, maybe you shouldn't be putting him on a collar/leash at all. His little small throat is so fragile - I'm not sure you can even find a harness that small! Definitely don't use a collar though.

I'm not sure if you becoming a pet parent was planned, but being away for 10 hours is definitely not good for your puppy. Hopefully you have arrangements for someone to tend to him while you're away at work, even if you're only working 4 days a week. He's literally a baby... :(

Again at such a young age, I'm not sure if he knows how to 'act out'. Hopefully you can invest in some time to do training sessions with your puppy, especially on separation anxiety. Just do a quick search on that, I'm sure there's been many posts on training for that to solve the crying while you're away issue.

He is a baby, but has learned very quickly. He's 12 weeks now and has made leaps and bounds in improvement. He's very smart and has been enrolled in puppy training.


He wasn't a planned dog, but I have made every effort to give him the best. I do come home for lunch for about an hour so he's only really alone anywhere from 4-5 hours at a time.

That's great news! Happy for you guys! Isn't it awesome how smart Yorkies are? Some say Yorkies are hard to train, but I think they're highly intelligent dogs and that with a lot of committed love, attention and correct training from us, they will certainly surprise you.

Just be aware that sometimes, during their adolescence, they may relapse and you'll feel like you're training them all over again. If that happens, not to worry, it passes :D
Consistency and patience is key!!