New to YT - First Ever Pet & Need Some Advice

[chestermama]

My friend when she got a puppy got a toy or something and left if with the litter mates, so It has their scent on it. Be careful about taking him places until it has had his shots. Yorkies like all dogs need socilization when they are young, interduce him to lots of people, dogs be carful with the bigger ones. When he is biiger and you take him outside, get a harness it is better for the little ones, the collapsing trachea, plus if you have to pick them up in a hurry. Enjoy they are wonderful little things, they will touch your heart very quickly.

[olfnicchris]

Originally Posted by Meeshy144

As far as the sleeping arrangements go, whats best is to stop giving your puppy water and food at a certain time before bed. For example, i was advised by my vet to start feeding the puppy at 7am, 12 pm and 5 pm. They can have water in between. If you go to bed at 10 or so, you should take the water away at about 8:30 giving them time to relieve themselves before bedtime, and they should sleep good through the night without having to go again, for best results for awhile have the puppy in whats called 'crate training' this will allow the puppy to understand to hold it until you are up to take him out again. Its worked great for me, but every puppy is different! Congrats on the dog and best of luck!

Thanks for the feeding info. That schedule sounds like it will work perfect for us. We plan on taking Rocky to the vet the next day or so after we bring him home just to get him checked over so I'm sure the vet will have lots of good advice for us too.

[Charlies Angel]

I've been doing a lot of research lately but still have a few questions and concerns. Since it is very cold where we live in Canada right now, I would prefer to housetrain Rocky instead of having him go potty outside. We have a large deck with lots of stairs and a large inground pool in our backyard so housetraining seems more practical and safer. Our neighbours on both sides have larger dogs who they let out in the backyard quite frequently. Also, a neighbour behind us has a few very large dogs who are outdoor dogs. I think it is best for Rocky to always go potty inside. What do you think?

Yes, I'd housetrain him

I was planning on keeping Rocky in the kitchen in one of those petyard containment pens from Petsmart with his little bed for daytime naps, toys, water, food & pee pad while we are not playing with him. I work from home so I can keep an eye on him most of the time. From all I've read, this seems like a good setup until he is out of the puppy stage. When he's older, I have no problem with him having free run of the house. Now for bedtime, our son really wants Rocky to sleep in his room with him upstairs. Actually, I would prefer this over him being all alone downstairs. I'm just worried about Rocky getting out of his bed and wandering around my son's room while he is sleeping. My son's room is carpeted so I'm afraid about potty accidents at night and also I don't want Rocky to get hurt. So, do you think it would be better to use one of those travel kennels (crates) that can be locked during the night instead of his little bed (just until he learns to stay put and sleep through the night). I don't want to confuse him though with two different beds or confuse him further with using a travel kennel for a nighttime bed and then using it also for car travel.
During the day when Charlie is by himself we put him in his exercise pen. I ordered it online for like $50 for the pet store.com (I think)

Another question. If we have Rocky go potty just before bedtime, do we need to get up in the middle of the night to see if he has to go potty again. If so, for how long do we need to do this? I do know that it is very important to take him downstairs to go potty as soon as he wakes up in the morning.
Charlie has done well sleeping thru the night if he pottys before bed time and his 4mths. He'll wine if hes gotta go

Last question. At 8 weeks, will Rocky need to go for regular walks outside? Like I mentioned, it is so cold where we live. Right now we have tons of snow and there is ice & salt on the sidewalks. I'm sure he will get lots of exercise inside playing with all his toys and with our two children. In the summertime though I'd like to take him on regular short walks.I havent really taken charlie for a walk yet because we're having difficulties with a leash..he doesn't like to step one paw out the day anyway!

[olfnicchris]

Thanks for your answers. I'm a bit relieved to know that Rocky doesn't really need to go out for walks. We live in a survey where everyone seems to have large dogs. Even though they are on leashes when taken for a walk, I've seen them get away from their owners when another dog is around. That is just too scary when you have a small dog.

[olfnicchris]

Originally Posted by chestermama

My friend when she got a puppy got a toy or something and left if with the litter mates, so It has their scent on it. Be careful about taking him places until it has had his shots. Yorkies like all dogs need socilization when they are young, interduce him to lots of people, dogs be carful with the bigger ones. When he is biiger and you take him outside, get a harness it is better for the little ones, the collapsing trachea, plus if you have to pick them up in a hurry. Enjoy they are wonderful little things, they will touch your heart very quickly.

Great idea. We plan on visiting Rocky at the breeders very soon. I'm going to bring one of the toys I bought for him with me and leave it there. I will definitely use a harness if I ever take him out for a walk. I've read about their collapsing trachea problems. Thanks!!!

[olfnicchris]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

Welcome to YT!! So glad you are asking questions before you get your little one home. I hope the breeder will hang to him for you for a few more weeks. Actually, staying with his momma & littermates longer, should make potty training & a lot of other things much easier on your family. While, I know you're anxious to bring him home, the wait will be worth it.

I would avoid anyone sleeping with your puppy - there are so many dangers involved or potty accidents

When you get your lirrle guy, you'll have to sign him up for our Little Gentleman's Club, you can do so on this thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...ight=gentleman

Thanks. Will definitely sign Rocky up for the Club when I get him.

[olfnicchris]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

Welcome to YT!! So glad you are asking questions before you get your little one home. I hope the breeder will hang to him for you for a few more weeks. Actually, staying with his momma & littermates longer, should make potty training & a lot of other things much easier on your family. While, I know you're anxious to bring him home, the wait will be worth it.

I would avoid anyone sleeping with your puppy - there are so many dangers involved or potty accidents

When you get your lirrle guy, you'll have to sign him up for our Little Gentleman's Club, you can do so on this thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...ight=gentleman

Thanks! Will definitely sign Rocky up for the Club when I get him.

[autumn star]

Just wanted to say Hello and Welcome to you and Rocky!!!

[ItsyBitsy]

Originally Posted by olfnicchris

Great idea. We plan on visiting Rocky at the breeders very soon. I'm going to bring one of the toys I bought for him with me and leave it there. I will definitely use a harness if I ever take him out for a walk. I've read about their collapsing trachea problems. Thanks!!!

Bring a blanket and leave it there too! When I picked up Bitsy, the lady gave me a blanket that had the scent of all her littermates and her mommy. It made it a lot easier for Bitsy's transition. For the first two weeks, she slept with that blanket (then I had to wash it).

[olfnicchris]

Originally Posted by LuvmyYorkies2

Welcome to YT. You will learn lost here. But may I ask you why you are getting the puppy at 8 weeks? They really need to be with their momma for at least 10-12 weeks old. It may take a little longer to train him seeing as though you got him so early...and yes, that may mean getting up throughout the night to check on him, etc. Yorkies can sometimes take longer to potty train than most but training him to use the pp pads is a good start. I have mine trained for both...outside and pp pads just in case they must go inside. Also, I think 8 weeks is too young for walks right now. Best of luck and I'm sure others will reply soon with other suggestions.

I just checked with two local vet offices here where we live. Both said 8 weeks to bring home a yorkie puppy was fine. They said puppies are usually weaned from their mothers around 6 weeks of age so 8 weeks is fine for them to come to their new home.

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by olfnicchris

I just checked with two local vet offices here where we live. Both said 8 weeks to bring home a yorkie puppy was fine. They said puppies are usually weaned from their mothers around 6 weeks of age so 8 weeks is fine for them to come to their new home.

The vet may have said that, but many of us here feel that 12 weeks is the best time. Yorkies are a toy breed and like the others said.. can be especially hard to train. If they are taken away from their littermates and parents early, they may never learn bite inhibition or potty inhibition and that may lead to problems with training.

Also, AKC mandates that puppies are not released from their mothers before 12 weeks... I don't know if your puppy is going to be AKC registered or not.

But it's your puppy so it's your call. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your little one!

[olfnicchris]

Originally Posted by PrincessDiana

The vet may have said that, but many of us here feel that 12 weeks is the best time. Yorkies are a toy breed and like the others said.. can be especially hard to train. If they are taken away from their littermates and parents early, they may never learn bite inhibition or potty inhibition and that may lead to problems with training.

Also, AKC mandates that puppies are not released from their mothers before 12 weeks... I don't know if your puppy is going to be AKC registered or not.

But it's your puppy so it's your call. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures of your little one!

Thanks! I will speak with the breeder and see if she can keep him with his mother a bit longer. Rocky only had one littermate (a brother). I'm not sure when his brother is scheduled to go to his new home. I will check into that too.

Also, what is AKC registered. This is our first pet so I'm not sure what this means.

[PrincessDiana]

Originally Posted by olfnicchris

Thanks! I will speak with the breeder and see if she can keep him with his mother a bit longer. Rocky only had one littermate (a brother). I'm not sure when his brother is scheduled to go to his new home. I will check into that too.

Also, what is AKC registered. This is our first pet so I'm not sure what this means.

AKC stands for American Kennel Club and they are the most prominent dog registry. They just regulate breed standards and also enforce proper breeding practices and things like that.

If you're just looking for a pet, registration is probably not all that important to you. It just guarantees that they are within the standards set by YTCA.