Preparing for my first!
 

Hi all! I'm Erin. I've been lurking around reading for about a week now and I'm in love with this forum! I love that there are breeders and pros everywhere. :D

My little Whitney will be here on April 1st, and I'm trying to make sure I have everything ready for her and have all of my bases covered. My main concerns with her coming home are feeding/hypo and what is the general concensus about the best way to deal with sleep time. I have read a LOT about new yorkies having hypoglycemia issues, and Whitney will be my first tiny baby so I've never actually dealt with it personally. I'm worried! What is a reputable puppy food for little yorkies, and how often should I make sure she eats? I've read lots of different things, but I'm hoping for experienced opinions!

I've also never had a new baby, I've always aquired older ones, so I'm new to the night time issues! Any advice on bed-v-crate and if I should let her cry with a teddy bear/t-shirt or tend to her would be SO greatly appreciated!

I've talked to my breeder about things, but I'm the overly OCD type who likes all the opinions/advice I can get my hands on. Plus, I'm so excited that it's all I wanna talk about and my DH is tired of hearing about it! :D Thank you all for reading!

My daughter: :luvu: Is her white star normal? Her littermates all have it also.

Congrats on your soon to be new addition!! :) You have found the right place for advice. Rosie is 3 1/2 years old and I depend on everyone here for advice. YT members are the best!! :) Is this your first Yorkie?

As far as hypoglycemia, make sure you have some nutra cal on hand. I always try to keep some around here. For food, I feed Rosie Instinct, can and dry. But I only give her a little of the can mixed with her dry. I feed her twice a day. I have found out the hard way that food can be a challenge some times.

Rosie sleeps right in the middle of my husband and me so I am not the best person to give advice regarding crates. However, I know someone here will be able to answer that for you. ;)

Now on to your excitement. All of our husbands get tired of hearing us. Lol. That is why we all get on Yorkie Talk!! That way we can brag and brag to all the wonderful people here!

Good luck with your baby. I know you will be counting the days down until April 1st!! Congrats and welcome!

Hi, new momma-to-be and welcome. I am still pretty new here. What I would do if I were you is "Search" the "threads" that are already out there as to the subject you are interested in and just sit back and read, read, read. Your vet will guide you also but learn all that you can so that you can ask good questions of your vet when something comes up. Best wishes to you and the little girl with the white star on her little chest. Any names yet? Please give us more pictures as you get them and enjoy the rest of your life with your girl Yorkie. (I can't recall if my two other babies had white stars on their chests or not but I think they did. Sure is cute.)

Welcome to YT!

Hubby may be tired of hearing you talk now, but just wait. Men seem to get gushy about these little furbutts. My husband and son (28yrs old!) are always cuddling and kissing my little Shadow.

As far as sleeping....SHadow sleeeps most of the night in her crate. At first I had it on a small table next to my bed so if she woke, I could just put out my hand to calm her. Was afraid to have her in bed being so small. Now she goes to sleep in her crate, but usually in the very early morning either she or I have to go to the bathroom. So I get her out and then put her in bed with us till we get up.

Good luck!

Thank you all!

Is the Nutri-Cal a syrup? I've never seen or heard of it before. Our closest pet store is more than 45mins away, so I'll be looking online for it.

You're Rosie is GORGEOUS! I know my Whitney is supposed to stay a little darker, and I'm definitely envious of that beautiful silver. :)

Thank you!! :) No, it is not a syrup. It is more like a paste type. My vet carries it but I am sure you can get it just about anywhere! Whitney will be beautiful. Can't wait for you to get her and post more pictures. I will warn you, Yorkie Talk is addicting! :p

Oh she already is. :D Haha. She already has so much stuff, and I still have 3 weeks to go! I think hubs might be jealous already. :p I'm expecting a new round of pictures today some time, and I can't wait to show them off!

Nutri-Cal comes in a tube and like thick molasses. You can get this any pet store or most vet office.

Bringing Home: First of all she should be a min. of 12 weeks of age - older if she is a smaller one.

Sleeping: It is best not to sleep with the new ones, since they are small and can either fall off the bed and really hurt themselves bad or you could roll over on them while sleeping and suficate them. Best to wait till they are older to sleep with you, so they can move away from you if needed. Mine sleeps on my pillow and the others sleep toward the end of the bed. We also have stairs for the bed, so they do not jump off.

Food: Best not to change the food at first. You do not want upset their stomachs and stess them out further. The move to your home is stress enough. After they are use to your home in a few months, then you can change the food - a little at a time.

Your breeder should give you a care guide when you go to pick her up.

Best wishes with your new baby! :D

Welcome to YT

Welcome to YT. will be looking forward to pictures of Whitney! Good luck with you new baby girl!

Welcome to YT!!!:)

It is exciting to bring home a new baby. How old will she be? As one member stated 12 weeks old should be the minimum age to bring her home. She still needs some training from her mother and you do not want behavioral issues.

As for the feeding part, keep her on what the breeder is giving her. If you see that after awhile it's not a quality food you then might want to change her over to something else...but gradually. But be prepared...yorkies are a very "picky eater" breed. My Elsa snubs her nose at everything. I will usually add "some things" to her dry so she will eat.

For the sleeping issue...no advice here. My Elsa and her baby(13 weeks old) sleep with me in my bed. I have never crate trained.

For the husband issue...I can't wait until you post pic's of him loving the baby too..LOL. It happens, even to the biggest and toughest of them, that they fall in love:D.

You have found a wonderful place with great people here! I know this will be your home away from home because we LOVE to talk yorkie!!!

She will be 8.5 weeks when I get her. I didn't know that she had to be older than other dogs! I've read a lot about what to expect online and I've never read that.:(

You little one does not have to be older to bring her home but in the long run it is better for her. Between the ages of 6-12weeks she is learning certain socialization behaviors from her mother and littermates...I consider these her Pre-K skills. Mom will teach her what is acceptable and what is not e.g. bite inhibition. Of course, when you get her home you will be her mother and teacher.
A good socialized puppy makes for a happy home. If you can talk to your breeder and see if she can keep her for a couple of weeks longer. It would only be helping your little baby out in the long run.

If the puppy is on the small size too, besides social skills, she could be at risk of getting hypoglycemia. Please read attached brochure (far right side 3rd bullet down) from the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America (YTCA) recommendations: http://www.ytca.org/Breed%20Brochure...20graphics.pdf and http://www.ytca.org/faq.html#E

Here is their main site: http://www.ytca.org/mainview.htm

Best of luck and welcome aboard. Some very smart people here. If not for this site, would never have found our newest little addition or learned so much.