Help! I'm a soon-to-be Yorkie owner!

[julesybabe]

Hey all,

I read the general discussion for new yorkie owners--it was really helpful, but I'm looking for some additional tips. I was wondering if it's possible to train a yorkie to void in a litter box? I know that sounds ridiculous for a dog, but my husband and I both work during the day and I don't want to keep it kennelled all day. Also, I was wondering if yorkie pups chew on things. For example, can I leave a new pup by itself and not worry about it chewing on leather couches, cords, etc. If they do chew, how do you train them not to?

Any other helpful tips, advice, and training tips would be much appreciated. We are getting an 11 week old male for Christmas in our new home. I would appreciate some help. Also, what is the "maintainence" level of a yorkie? Are they high or low mantainence? Also, do they require shots every year? I just don't know what to expect! Thanks so much!

[YorkieLover9]

Originally Posted by julesybabe

Hey all,

I read the general discussion for new yorkie owners--it was really helpful, but I'm looking for some additional tips. I was wondering if it's possible to train a yorkie to void in a litter box? I know that sounds ridiculous for a dog, but my husband and I both work during the day and I don't want to keep it kennelled all day. Also, I was wondering if yorkie pups chew on things. For example, can I leave a new pup by itself and not worry about it chewing on leather couches, cords, etc. If they do chew, how do you train them not to?

Any other helpful tips, advice, and training tips would be much appreciated. We are getting an 11 week old male for Christmas in our new home. I would appreciate some help. Also, what is the "maintainence" level of a yorkie? Are they high or low mantainence? Also, do they require shots every year? I just don't know what to expect! Thanks so much!

It is possible to litter box train a yorkie, I had thought of doing that myself but then decided on using the washable potty pads just placed directly on the floor in a designated area. All puppys chew on things because they are teething so you should provide appropriate toys for him or her to chew on. A new puppy should be confined when you can't watch them at all times and especially while you are working. If they are left to roam your home while you are gone, you will come home to chewed up carpet, furniture and even worse, possibly electrical cords which could electrocute your baby. Please crate your yorkie or put him/her in an x-pen when you are unable to watch them for their safety and the safety of your belongings. All puppies are high maintenance and a yorkie probably more than others as they are such "people loving dogs" and due to their size most the time, require your undivided attention. All dogs and cats require puppy and or kitten shots with an annual rabies shot (depending on the laws in your state - could possibly be a rabies shot every 3 years instead of every year) as well as booster shots.

Good luck and congrats on your new addition - please read as much as you can in the training section and the general section of this forum and as much information as you can get on yorkies prior to bringing the little one home.

[Caramel24]

I got my yorkie already pee pad trainned. I got mine from a Kennel in Texas. He knew what to do with those, and news paper, so the potty trainning was not a pain at all, a few times if not brought out fast enough he'd go on the floor though.

[kingston_james]

Jules, this is what my fiance and I are going to be doing to Kingston within the next month! I've heard it is possible and that some actually do quite well with it. I asked a Q on this earlier this week so you may want to check the archives to see what people answered there (I asked it in general and in training).

Here was another helpful article I found:
HowStuffWorks "Paper and Litter Box Training"
How To Litter Box Train Your Dog

Good luck

[kingston_james]

Also... (ran out of time to edit apparently! lol)


As far as chewing, your little guy WILL definitely be wanting something to chew on. I got Kingston a little furry "buddy" from Petsmart (think the long weiner dog looking things lol) and he loves it. I think he actually likes it so much that he doesn't want to chew it though lol. We get him the "Freshies" little dog bones (help with his breath) and this flexible chew bone that helps puppies teethe (it'll say it right on the package :P).

Kingston was my first pup I got on my own, and he's been actually fairly easy! They're not really high maintenance since they eat so little (they do love water though!), don't need a whole lot of exercise (though we do talk him on a walk once/day), and if you stay with the "puppy cut" they don't need a whole lot of grooming. It's muddy where we're at now so we do bathe him once every few days, but he really likes his baths and he just sits there patiently till we're done

As far as the shots go, most vets require two sets of puppy shots, then rabies and neutering/spaying if you want. Plus if you want flea/tick guard, that's usually it's own separate thing... it does get kind of pricey, but once they get it done then they don't need their next shots for another year, so it's not really so bad. When you first take him to the vet he'll lay everything out for you, no worries

Kingston's previous owner wasn't home throughout the day so she put up a baby-caged area and set him up a potty area (pee-pads), a food/water area and a play area. He did quite well. In Jan my BF and I are going back to school/working full time so Kingston will have some free time again. We're going to attempt to litterbox train him, so I will definitely let you know how that goes! Potty training yorkies can be difficult because the breed is just so darn stubborn! But what I found was if you kept him tied to his leash and then tied the leash to you, it really helped. You not only trained him to be your little shadow but you also learn to pick up his cues on when he needs to go outside.

Good luck hun, you'll do great! What a great xmas present

[Ashley V]

It is possible to train a yorkie to use a litter box, but you could also train to use a pee pad to. This is what we did:

Chip was crated all night. As soon as he came out of the crate, I sat him on his pad and wouldn't let him move until he went to the bathroom. When he was out, we watched him 100% of the time. If we caught him going somewhere else, we would tell him "no" firmly and take him to his pee pad and tell him "This is where you POTTY" and emphasized POTTY because we wanted him to learn the word. If we could not watch him 100%, he was crated. Thankfully, hubby and I had two different work schedules, so he wasn't crated a whole lot. He was trained in just a couple weeks.

NOW since you have to work, I would block your new baby in a puppy proofed room... a lot of people use bathrooms or laundry rooms. Since he is still a puppy and probably tiny, I would recommend free feeding until he is bigger. Leave him in the choosen room with a pee pad/litter box, food, water, soft place to sleep, and toys. Maybe to make him feel more comfortable, leave a radio on with some quiet music and/or a TV on quietly and maybe put in a shirt that you've worn.

For shots - the vets will tell you to get shots every year, however a lot of times, once a dog is vaccinated, it is good throughout their life or at least a few years. I would recommend getting a titer's test to check the levels and it will tell you whether your baby needs the shots.

[Keely_momma]

All I can say is dont use kitty litter. Especially the clumping stuff, because some dogs love to eat it and it will clump in his stomach and could very well kill the dog. I would use a litter pan with piddle pads at the bottom of it. Dogs dont really need Litter. Cats need it because they like to bury there poop and if they cant bury it they will kick it out of the box and make a big mess. You can also Buy dog litter, that is much much safer, its made out of shredded paper and other natural products that would attract a dog more so then kitty litter.

Good luck!

[Hokule'a]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk! I see you're from Utah - we're in Salt Lake City

Years ago I used dog litter in a litter box but the pellets were such a pain - she would pick them up and try to eat them or scatter them all over the floor So with my current babies I've used potty pads.

Oh yes, puppies do LOVE to chew! I sprayed Bitter Apple on wires and the legs of my furniture but the best thing is to keep them confined when you can't watch their every move. I used an x-pen so they had room to play, go potty and sleep

[SpicyyLovee]

Originally Posted by Hokule'a

Oh yes, puppies do LOVE to chew! I sprayed Bitter Apple on wires and the legs of my furniture but the best thing is to keep them confined when you can't watch their every move.

I'm curious about the Bitter Apple spray. Since i'm in a foreign country, I don't know much about the products for dogs.
So is there a subsitute I could use that works just as well, and isn;t harmful to the furniture/dog??

-Thanks

[Limelitediva]

Originally Posted by julesybabe

Hey all,

I read the general discussion for new yorkie owners--it was really helpful, but I'm looking for some additional tips. I was wondering if it's possible to train a yorkie to void in a litter box? I know that sounds ridiculous for a dog, but my husband and I both work during the day and I don't want to keep it kennelled all day. Also, I was wondering if yorkie pups chew on things. For example, can I leave a new pup by itself and not worry about it chewing on leather couches, cords, etc. If they do chew, how do you train them not to?

Any other helpful tips, advice, and training tips would be much appreciated. We are getting an 11 week old male for Christmas in our new home. I would appreciate some help. Also, what is the "maintainence" level of a yorkie? Are they high or low mantainence? Also, do they require shots every year? I just don't know what to expect! Thanks so much!

It is possible to litter train a yorkie, but it will be one of the hardest things to do! It takes a LOT of time (months) and a LOT of patients. Buy some potty training spray at a local pet store it should help somewhat. Do not expect you to put her in the pan say "pee" and think it will work.

Penny chews on everything. At first I thought it was because she was teething but now I am convinced that she explores almost anything with her mouth. If your new puppy can fit it in its mouth it will most likely chew on it. Get an ick spray at your local pet store. It will be your best friend. Spray it on chords and anywhere else you dont want your puppy to chew. Trust me they chew everything!!

[violet voon]

Originally Posted by YorkieLover9

It is possible to litter box train a yorkie, I had thought of doing that myself but then decided on using the washable potty pads just placed directly on the floor in a designated area. All puppys chew on things because they are teething so you should provide appropriate toys for him or her to chew on. A new puppy should be confined when you can't watch them at all times and especially while you are working. If they are left to roam your home while you are gone, you will come home to chewed up carpet, furniture and even worse, possibly electrical cords which could electrocute your baby. Please crate your yorkie or put him/her in an x-pen when you are unable to watch them for their safety and the safety of your belongings. All puppies are high maintenance and a yorkie probably more than others as they are such "people loving dogs" and due to their size most the time, require your undivided attention. All dogs and cats require puppy and or kitten shots with an annual rabies shot (depending on the laws in your state - could possibly be a rabies shot every 3 years instead of every year) as well as booster shots.

Good luck and congrats on your new addition - please read as much as you can in the training section and the general section of this forum and as much information as you can get on yorkies prior to bringing the little one home.

Yeah! Please put her in crate/ xpen when you're not at home, it's for their safety!
Love when you said it's people loving dogs, heee!