i work too far away to go home for lunch. we have hectic schedules. i was forced to hire a dog walker. ($20 @ walk) we are not wealthy people , but i felt it wasn't fair to leave him alone for more than 4-5 hrs. he has a small bladder.

me too! :)
 

your situation actually seems a little better than mine, but i'll give my two cents anyway. :)

i work too far away from home to come back for lunch every day (gas is too expensive!). so, i bought a play pen (the north state superyard xt). it's in the shape of a rectangle and is about 2.5' wide by 4' long by 2' high. it's in my kitchen. he has his crate, toys, food/water, and pee pad. he always goes #1 on the pad, and holds his #2 until i get home. he's home alone (unfortunately) for about 8-9 hours a day (Mon-Fri), but at least he is able to use the bathroom and eat/drink and play.

also, i've read that many yorkies can jump over gates/pens, but Kash has yet to learn how to do that. i hope he never does, but if he does, then i'll buy a cover for the top.

hope you figure something out for your pup!

good luck!

A Little Long
 

I've been lurking on this board for a couple weeks now and this is my first post because your situation is similar to mine. I got my little girl 3 weeks ago from a previous owner who had her for a week and decided he didn't want her.

I work a ways away from my home and due to time and gas, I do not come home during lunch. I keep her in my bathroom during the day with a baby gate and I leave animal planet on the tv. She has pee pads which she is pretty good about using, but I still clean the floor every night just in case some of it dried up. She doesn't chew on the cabinets under the sink.

I leave her all her toys and a full bowl of water. She has her crate which she sleeps in during the day (I've found toys pulled into it). Although I eventually want to limit her feeding to twice a day, right now I always leave her plenty of food for the day since she is so young.

One thing I have noticed (and I don't know if its her personality or because she's alone during the day) is that when I come home at night, if I have work to do and can't play with her the whole time, she is content entertaining herself with her toys so long as she can play at my feet.

Cooper is almost 2 years old now, but I have a crate for him that is large enough to put his bed some toys a puppy pad (Just in case) And a water bottle and dry feed. I am away from home almost 9 hours some days. I got him this past December so I did not raise him from a baby. Any he is 7 pounds now. He doesnt do anything in his crate unless he really has to . At first I thought this was to long a day for him ,but when I get home he fine and waits patiently for me to take him outside.

I work full time and Lucy does just fine :) Welcome to YT!

Pookiebear's first day at home alone
 

Well, today is a test run. I have the kitchen blocked off and his little furbutt can't get out. I've been putting him in the kitchen in the mornings while I am getting dressed for work. After 4 or 5 days he started getting used to being in there. This morning, I fed him, had playtime outside put MY BINKEY in the kitchen for him so he could smell me, gave him a treat and left him. He seemed fine when I left. He really liked having MY BINKEY in there with him. I love the web cam idea. I think I have that option on my laptop. I really appreciate that advice. Maybe I can find someone to tell me how to set it up. Wish me luck!

Thanks for the wonderful thread...
 

I'm also a new mom, and love all the advice I am getting on this and other threads!

I currently have 4 furbabies and work full time as well...our two yorkies are completely house trained and are allowed in the living room and kitchen during the day while we are gone, we have been doing this since they were both about a year old and it works great...sometimes I come home to messes, like an accident in the house or a shredded toy or newspaper, but we just clean it up and move on. Our two Silkies stay in X Pens during the day, we have two XPens that are set up in our kitchen so that they can see our other two yorkies. They have their crates and beds in their and a couple of toys. They do great with this set up...

Like someone else said...once the work day is down, they are my top priority. I don't go out with friends in the evenings, and I try not to have to stay late at work, b/c 8 hours is long enough to be away from them...I spend my evenings playing with them and giving them the time they need and want. I would much rather spend my free time with them than anyone else...LOL

You can defintely work and still have yorkies...many people do and many will continue b/c there is no other way around it. Just make the most out of the time you have with them and enjoy it!!

Thanks once again to y'all! So very helfpul, so glad I found this site! Can't wait until Barnaby comes home! :-)

I was lucky enough to bring her to work with me for the first month. After that she was in the x pen in my kitchen and is doing well.

My office buidling JUST banned all pets of ANY kind last month. So annoying, as I always used to see people with their dogs coming into the building.

I have no problems leaving my 3 yorkies home alone while my husband and I are at work, since they have each other to keep company. But when I only had 1, all he did was sleep all day. I let them roam free around the house (I have a small house), all they do is sleep all day with the exception of coming home about 3 times finding toilet paper or napkins or paper ripped apart and scattered everywhere in the living room. Or for security reasons such as burglary.

That's why I think that a PetCam is a great idea! I've always wanted to set up a pet cam to monitor my 3 furbutts during the day. I've been researching types of cameras and this is the only one I've found so far; a Panasonic BL-C30A Color Network Pet Camera or this website http://www.mypetcams.com/tutorial.php

If anyone else knows of any brand of cameras, please share!

Thanks!

Petcam is a great idea. I may look into that - would certainly make me feel better!

Barnaby comes home tomorrow - finally! :-)

I took a week off when I got Ittybit and stayed home with her. She was 6 weeks old. Then I started back to work and I blocked off my kitchen until ittybit was pad trained...now I just leave her out and she uses the pad. I do leave the tv on for her lol. Shes never bothered anything as far a chewing (well after the teething thing lol).

Congratulations!! I can't wait to see a picture of him. I know you will enjoy him immensely!

I just went through that L O N G waiting period with Abby. She's 13 weeks old today and has been with me for 4 weeks now. I couldn't be happier with her.

I have to second what one poster said, maybe a second dog at some point would be nice so Barnaby will have company while you're gone ;)

Enjoy!