First time puppy owner in need of advice
 

To start, here is a picture of my baby boy Sammie who is 2 months old http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...p/IMG_0198.jpg. Below are some questions that I have:

1.) Sammie is really scared of shiny bowls. He won't drink or eat out of them. Instead I had to put his water into non shiny bowl, and thankfully he does drink out of it. However, he will only eat if he is hand fed. Is this normal for a yorkie 2 months old?
2.) When should we start potty training him? The previous owner used wee-wee pads and he will usually pee and poop on the pad, or close by it. But sometimes, he will just go in random spots. When should we start enforcing him to always use the wee-wee pad? Is he still too young?
3.) Is it ok to give him a bath (he's 2 months old)? If so, how often?
4.) Sammie eats dry food. It's the Science Diet small bites. How often and how much should we be feeding him?
5.) What type of pet insurance should I get? Either way since genetic illnesses are not covered, I am looking for a basic insurance to cover annual vet vists, vaccines, and flea medication.

Thank you so much for your help.

-Dan

Welcome to Yorkietalk! Lots of questions, I couldn't get the photo to open, it says it been deleted or moved. Some dogs don't like shinny bowls because they see their refection, and this scares them. If the dog is only eating from your hand, chances are it's not that hungry. My breeder recommended free feeding which means leaving food out all the time, and allowing puppy to eat when hungry. I recommend crate training for potty training. Put him in a small crate to sleep in and usually once or twice during the night and first thing in the morning take him to a pee pad. Give him lots of praise when he does this correctly. Sometimes, I put two pee pads in the bathroom so that he almost had to go on it. Bathing can be done once a week, use a good dog shampoo and conditioner. Remember you are caring for their skin, not just their hair. Rinsing is a very important part of the process, so make sure you spend some time on this. Don't use hot water; it should be warm. Feel the water with the inside of your arm, puppies are very sensitive to water temperature and you should make the bath a pleasant experience. I bath Joey in a plastic dishpan placed inside the sink so that he feels stable. I dry him with a towel and a quiet hair dryer.

You might have more luck finding your answers if you read the different sections such as grooming and training. I spent days just reading different questions and answers. People answered questions, I hadn't even thought about. There is also a search feature. Sometimes threads, such as yours, with so many questions get lost because it's difficult to respond to that many questions without feeling like you're writing a book. So my advise would be to have no more than three questions on a thread, and people will be able to give you more detailed answers to each question.

Insurance is usually for catastrophes and doesn't cover the routine stuff. It would cost more than it would provide.

:thumbup:great advice

Dan, :welcome4: to YT... Would love to see pics of :aimeeyorkSammie... And Nancy did great at responding your questions...


:2hearts2:I Love :aimeeyorkNygee, :aimeeyorkGizmo & :aimeeyorkGypsy!!:2hearts2:

Welcome to YT. You'll got lots of great advice, you've gotten some already!:)

Congratulations on your new pup!! And also welcome to YT! You have already been given some good advice. Two months is not too young to start enforcing pad training. The younger the better.

Thanks Nancy! Here is the photo of Sammy:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...p/IMG_0198.jpg

Thanks Nancy! Here is a picture of Sammy:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...p/IMG_0198.jpg

Sammy is so cute!!! What a handsome little guy! Thanks for sharing his picture.

What a perfectly adorable little guy. How did you manage to get him to sit so still for the picture? He really looks like he's posing!

Sammie is quite calm and naps a lot. I used his little squeaky pig toy to grab his attention.

Sammie is the cutest! Welcome to YT :)

Sammy is too cute!! What a precious little face... Good luck with everything and welcome to YT!!

Thank you all for your kind comments.

wow, i just realized i spelled sammie's name wrong. sorry, its not sammy, its sammie!