Should I get a Yorkie?
 

I am thinking about getting a yorkie. I need some advice. I'm single, live in an apartment and work from 9 to 5. Could I leave a yorkie puppy alone while I'm at work? If I could, is it advisable to gate him in the kitchen? Putting him in a crate for that long would seem cruel. I don't want to get a puppy if I can't properly take care of him. Any words of advice?

yorkies are great for apartments...my roman and i live in a 1 bedroom apartment and we have plenty of space. the only thing is yorkies require alot of attention. im lucky enough that my dad works from home so i take roman over there during the daytime. some people do leave them alone for that long...i guess it just depends on the person. if you were to get a puppy alot of people do gate them in the kitchen, just make sure they have food, water, toys, somewhere comfy to sleep, and peepads (little ones cant really hold it that long). if i left out anything let me kno...

I would hate to leave mine alone for that long, but I know others do it and it works out. Just make sure that you dedicate time for a long walk, or some play before you leave for work, so that it is ready to sleep.

I definitely would not crate them all day. An Xpen would give them room for playh and potty and sleep.

I would think it might make it harder to train him being gone that long :confused: Not sure, I have heard of people doing it, maybe they will have some better advice.

Two things you need to be aware of: One, it will be very difficult to potty-train a puppy when you are gone all day. Can you put up with "accidents" for months on end? Two, be aware that Yorkies (not all certainly, but many) tend to be barkers. Will barking/whining get you in trouble with the managers of the apartment?

Yorkies are great; I love mine dearly. But, I want you to go in with your eyes open about the potential problems.

I think that it COULD work on your schedule, but I just wouldn't want to leave my puppies alone for that periods of time. They have dog sitters, or places that you could take them during they day, like a day care. Good Luck:)!

My boyfriend got me a Yorkie last year for Christmas and so far he's been the best dog I've had since I was a child. He's very friendly, loves to cuddle up, hogs the bed (lol), he loves children-my boyfriend has a 4 year old and I have a 1 year old niece and Dunks is great with them, he loves playing with other dogs. He's just a very lovable dog!

My boyfriend and I live in a townhouse with a small patio. When I first got Dunks, the breeder said to crate train him - so we did that for a week. I was very lucky that I do not live that far from work, so I would go home during lunch time to let him out and play with him. I did this for about 2 weeks. I then got him a play pen (got it at wal-mart for $65.00 - its a plastic playpen for children actually) and I would leave him in there with his food, water, pee pee pad (which he would tear up evey single day!), and lots and lots of toys and treats. Now we graduated from the playpen to leaving him in the kitchen. He occasionally pees in the kitchen floor - but it's okay coz we have linoleum there so its easy to clean.

Yorkies are the best! I love my Dunks! He's a teapot as well so there is more to love! I want to get another one, but I still have to convince the boyfriend!

I understand your feelings about leaving a yorkie puppy in its crate from 9-5 everyday. I had the same problem when I got Lucy she is now 4 months old and I've had her for about a month now, but I put her in her crate when I leave for work in the morning at around 7:30 and my mom takes her outside again before she leaves for work at 8:45 and then I try and get home at lunch everyday and take her out but somtimes that doesn't happen and she will be in her crate until my boyfriend gets home at 3. But she doesn't have accidents in her crate so it hasn't hindered our potty-training.

However, we do make sure we keep her out of her crate for the rest of the night and take her outside several times. Of course this means that I get no time to relax but I want to make sure that Lucy knows that I love her and I want to make sure she has adequate time out of her crate in the evening since she spends so much time in there during the day.

Of course u should get a Yorkie.:D Maybe find a breeder with an little bit older pup so u wouldnt need to worry so much about feeding schedule and hopefully pup will already have basic housetraining. Or see if a neighbor or friend could stop by to help out while you're at work.
Good luck with your decision!

I've had 4 dogs, 1 Maltese, 2 Yorkies (one of whom passed away) and 1 Chihuahua ... I work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and I was able to successfully potty train all 4 of them with that schedule. In fact, they were all potty trained before they turned 6 months old. I had NO problems in that department at all. :D

I have a yorkie. I work 8-5. Armani did just fine, I put him in an expen for a while and then I just let him have free roam. He never barks. He goes on his pads. And he learned really fast.

Chewy is in his kennel the same amount of time. He is in a smaller kennel alone with my 2 doxies in a kennel together right next to him. I don't put them all together because the doxies are bigger and older and pick on him when Mommy isn't watching. He does really well. After all, the sleep most of the day. PLay for 30 minutes, sleep for 3 hours or so, etc. And when we get home they are all out and being paid attention to until the wee hours of the morning. He only has had an accident a couple times and it was if I was late getting home. (Like when my sister had her baby and I couldn't get away with her in labor). CHewy is my first yorkie, and he is Mr. Personality. I love him so much!

Jenni

I work from 8-5 and Molly is in her crate. I get up for her around 6:00, go potty and then she stays out with me while she eats until I go to work. While she's little, I either come home at lunch or have someone else let her out for while. Then she goes back in the crate until my husband gets home around 4:00. I plan to leave her loose in the laundry room when the chewing stages have passed. I don't want her hurting herself.

With all of that time in the crate, right now my evenings are totally centered around making sure she gets enough play time and exercise, and potty breaks once an hour. There is no more lounging on the couch for me right now!! The amount of attention she HAS to have will surely lessen as she gets older, but while she is out and we are potty training it is definetly like having another baby. There is no time for me until she is in bed. I'm not complaining though, she is a sweetie and I wouldn't trade her for anything! That sweet little stretch in the morning wipes away everything that happened last night...ha!



Carla