Working and Yorkies
 

Hi y'all! I am new to this site - it's great, lots of wonderful information!

Thought I would post a question - I'll be taking my new Yorkie home in a couple of weeks, can't wait! I am a first time dog owner, and have been doing lots of research prior to bringing him home regarding training, etc. so am pretty prepared for everything! But....

One of my big concerns is that I really can't afford a dog sitter and my home and work are way far away, and I don't really have any friends or family nearby to visit consistently. Of course I'll be with him the first few 3-7 days (still working that out) all day, but then, since I have to pay to keep him in dog food, I gotta go back to work!

Luckily, my work is flexible in the summer time, so I am arranging to be in my office for 1/2 days in the morning, and then at home with my dog during the whole afternoon & evening for at least the first month or so after I get him, so that would mean only about 3 -4 hours alone. I will be fencing off one of my smaller rooms with pads and toys and his crate, etc. so he's comfortable but doesn't have free reign of the aparment.

After that, I have to go full time, but I will indeed be taking very long lunches to get home to see him in the next couple of months after that plus I have tons of vacation time that I'll be taking as well, so there will be at least a few weeks to be home with him 24/7 during the first three months.

I wonder if any other Yorkie-loving working stiffs have any comments or suggestions? I plan to be a great papa, but there just the realities of having to work!

Thanks all! :)

Hid him in your office. No one will know!

Haha, wish I could, but no dogs in the office! Dang it!

Hi!
I work full-time and its too far to come home. My boys are fine! I think it took them a bit longer than others to get housebroken and also the chewing thing lasted longer, but they are almost 3 years old now and they are gated into my kitchen during the day. I put a radio on for them and when I get home they are happy to see me. All is well in their world. However if you do this I highly recommend one CRUCIAL thing that I didnt know at the time. Set up an indoor PEN, do not just gate them into a room. My boys put holes in my walls and chewed the bottom of my cabinets. If they were in an indoor pen they would not have been able to reach this stuff. At least do that until they outgrow the chewing phase (about a year old).

Good Luck with your new boy! You'll be so happy with him Im sure! :)
Oh and welcome to YT!!! :)

This is really helpful.

I was thinking of putting him the bathroom, where there's nothing he can chew but toys, but maybe a pen in the living room would be better.

Also, I planned to pad train him, so was going to put a pad in there with him, so hopefully he would "go" on that.

I work full time. Sometimes I can be home part of the day but more often than not I can't. My girls do just fine in their Ex Pen. They have their crates, food, water, toys and pee pads. When I only had Gracie, I figured out early on that she slept most of the day as very few toys had been moved while I was gone. It is pretty much the same thing with both girls now. You could set up a pet cam and peek in on them during the day if you can access the internet from work. :D

Small Pet Playpen with Mat/Cover

This is an awesome pen... the top also doubles as a bottom... so if you use it inside it will keep your floors safe!!! :D

An X-pen is the best way to keep your pup. I used this in my kitchen, but also trained the pup to stay in a crate a little at a time. This is very helpful, especially when you work or travel. In addition, Remi is also "stroller trained" and this works out when I have company with small children.

Thanks so much, all! This is very helpful!

I say get 2! that way he won't be alone!!

Looks like you are getting great information, So!! I will just say Welcome to YT!!:D

Hi and Welcome to YT,

I was in the same position as you! I worked far away and sometimes had some long days. However I spend every evening and the entire weekend home with my boys. (no social life, but they are worth it)

The most important thing is to make sure the pup always has food down, especially if its very young. Also, make sure there is no way he can hurt himself in his little area. Another thought is...if things work out well with your first baby, maybe get him/her a brother or sister. I added a brother for Otis after having him for about a year.

It shows what a great papa you are gonna be just by you reaching out for information!! Good for you and Good Luck.

:wavey: welcome to yt!

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!