Need Advice - Possible Yorkie Adoption from a Rescue
 

Hello Fellow Yorkietalkers

I need some advice, the link below is for a little male Yorkie I may be adopting.

Adopt a Yorkshire Terrier Yorkie: Garron: Petfinder

As some of you may remember I have an 8 month old Yorkie named SophieKate (my first Yorkie ever). SophieKate needs a companion and I have looking through the rescue sites. I happened to find Garron yesterday, filled out the application and passed the screening (I think).

SophieKate and I are going to meet Garron at the local PetSmart Adoption on Sunday. Now with that said I have some questions.

1. He was from a Puppy Mill, the screener verified this for me. I am worried if he was used as a stud will I have a problem with marking? If yes can they be trained not to mark?

2. How active is a 4 year old Yorkie? The reason I ask is SophieKate can be a spaz at times and I do not want to stress out poor Garron.

3. Besides the initial meeting how do I go about socializing Garron? It states in his profile he will need some socialization.

I am excited to meet him, he sure is cute.

Also, anyone is North Metro Atlanta they have 3 more Yorkies from Garrons home/puppy mill they are trying to place.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing your advice/response.

Cheryl

He is adorable!! He sure doesnt look like he came from a puppy mill though...was it more like a breeder? Puppy mills are horrible places...A four year old is still very young and spry! Fixing him will help, but if he was used as a stud I am sure he will still mark. Just get belly bands :)

Thank you, I have my doubts about the term "Puppy Mill" also. The screener said it was a small puppy mill and they had Maltese and Yorkies (4 Maltese and 4 Yorkies).

They have kept the Yorkies for a few months while they waited to see if owner recovered enough for them to give the dogs back (the owner didn't:mad:) <---- another reason I have doubts about the term Puppy Mill, why would they return the dogs?

Thank you for the information, I am very excited to meet him.

I hope they find homes for the other three Yorkies also. The Maltese have all been placed. I keep reminding myself I am not taking all four Yorkies.

Handsome little boy, he sure looks very good for a puppy mill baby, good luck to you.They usually don't, but do you know if they take applications from out of the state?

No they don't take out of state applications, I am sorry. They are very specific to North Atlanta Metro on their website.

Well, it does state that he's a "typically lively yorkie", so I would think that's a plus.

What a major cutie! I hope everything works out for you. :)

What a shame, but I do understand they have their rules. :(

My sister adopted a 7 yo rescue from a breeder & he is a doll. She has a 7yo girl also. Chloe is a total spaz 89% of the time. She will NOT let Sully not love her & now they are buddies. As for marking, I'm not sure but I don't believe that Sully does that. They spent 5 days with us last month & he didn't mark at all.

He's adorable and bless you for choosing a rescue! I'm sorry I don't have any advice for you because I'm a very, very new yorkie owner, but I wanted to commend you for rescuing the beautiful little guy. Good luck to all three of you, I'm excited for you to meet him! :D

He is gorgeous, looks a lot like my Winnie!

I hope you can adopt him and give him a wonderful home.

I want him for myself!:aimeeyork It's a good thing I live in Delaware or we would be fighting over this little guy!

OMG he's so cute. Good luck and I hope you get him.
If he was living in a home environment, as the add stated,
he should adjust nicely. Finger's crossed for you.
What a face! His coloring is beautiful as well.

He really does look well cared for. I'm sure he will be happy to socialize with your baby, and be in a loving home. I really hope you get him. Let us know.

What a handsome little guy. Here's hoping that he will have his forever home with you. All our "kids" have been rescues. See that he is "fixed". Don't know if that will stop/reduce his trying to mark. Perhaps the more experienced YTers will have better answers than I.

What a face!! He's adorable. I hope it works out for you!

First, I would like to thank you for deciding to rescue! It is very rewarding and I can assure you that you will not be sorry. :) I would say to ask a lot of questions when you get to meet his foster mom at Petco this weekend. Don't expect much in the way of interaction because of the setting but just let the 2 kind of feel each other out and see how it goes. There is no one answer for every dog. It is entirely possible that after nuetering he will no longer mark but it is no gurantee.

My suggestion would be to make a nice long list of questions to take along with you when you meet him. Take a friend or family member along as well so that you can spend time alone with him as well and consentrate on your opportunity to speak one on one with his foster mom. Here are a few that I can think of off the top of my head:

1. How does he interact with his other foster brother and sisters now?
2. How long has he been in foster?
3. How long has he been in this foster home?
4. Does he mark?
5. Will he wear a belly band?

Hope this was helpful. :)

Good luck!!!

He is adorable - I don't know why you think he came from a puppy mill - it says on petfinder that he came from the home of a former show breeder :confused:

I think he will adjust fine. He is used to being with other dogs. I adopted my 2 when they were 2 and they had no trouble adjusting

He is adorable! Just remember to be very patient and that you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Congrats on deciding to go the adoption/rescue route.

Garron is precious and good for you that you want to rescue!

As others have suggested, ask lots of questions - the more that you can find out from his foster home, the better. Also, ask if he has never bitten a person or dog. If he has, that doesn't mean you shouldn't adopt him but just that you should be aware of it.

When you meet Garron, see if there is an enclosed/secure area where you can allow him to be with SophieKate. This way, you can make sure that the two of them will at least be polite with one another. You will not get a true sense of their relationship during this meeting but you will at least know that her young energy won't make him mad! If you take him home, things will be so very different a year from now so as long as there is no fighting during the meeting, you should be just fine. He is still young so they have years to bond to one another and watching him blossom will be the ultimate reward!

You are right that he may mark. This could be a temporary thing or it could be a forever thing. Either way, a belly band will help and if you expect the worst (forever marking), you won't be disappointed. Since SophieKate is a female, chances are that he won't mark forever but as others have said, there are no guarantees.

Socialization can come in many ways. Always take Garron where you take SophieKate. If you take her to the store, take him too - never leave him and only take her. Check meetup.com to see if there are any Yorkie or Small Dog Meet Up groups near you. Those are always great for socializing your dogs and are fun for you too!

Even though he has a sketchy background, treat him like you would SophieKate. A big mistake that people make when rescuing a dog is that they feel so sorry for the dog that they forget to treat them like a dog and that can result in other, undesirable behaviors. They live in the now and while their past has molded them into what they are today, they don't hold onto it like humans do.

Best of luck to you with your meeting and thanks for thinking rescue!

Hi there - I just wanted to say good for you for adopting a rescue... I just adopted a yorkie from a rescue exactly 4 weeks ago today! His name is Trooper and he was fixed, but had a problem with marking... I've been trying to be very consistent about him being with me at all times so that he doesn't do it. Sometimes he goes to give a squirt and I just raise my voice a bit and say "no, go outside", and then bring him outside to pee. I've never had a male dog that did this before, but I think I've made pretty good progress in the month that I've had him. I still might find the odd teeny tiny puddle in the house, but it's alot better from the first week. Just consistency will help him learn. Good luck, I hope all goes well for you both.

He is adorabe. I think given time to adjust they will get along fine. I hope you get him!