New Rescue Yorkie Mom Needs All Kinds of Info (Question 1)

[tjwarder]

Please advise. My husband and I just adopted a rescue Yorkie (possibly a yorkie poo or schnauzer mix ). This sweet, 6.7 lb pup has no verifiable history but at least one decent owner in the chain who was unable to keep her when she found her new baby daughter was highly allergic to all pets. She took her back from an irresponsible home and asked us to care for her.

2-years old, not spayed, may have had one litter, and but no documentation.

We picked her up this week and took her to the vet for a check-up. She has an ear infection, inflamed tonsils, and did have fleas but is doing much better now.

We know nothing about Yorkies, Yorkie-Poos, or small dogs in general. All of our pets have been adopted strays - usually medium-sized, short-haired, independent, self-sufficient indoor/outdoor dogs. This little one would have become a coyote snack if left in her last home, because they let her run free and clearly did not take care of her. She will at least have loving and responsible parents now -- but we have a huge learning curve.

We need to purchase a gate/barrier to keep her in the kitchen at night, as only one side has a door that can be closed. The entry to the dining room is 50" wide. I've found one or two baby gates with sufficient width and height, but am concerned about the distance between the 'bars'. It's important she not be able to get out, but even more important that she not get her little head or body stuck trying to escape. A search here only turned up a few 'gate' related posts, and none included a brand name or link.

What specific brands/styles/etc work with such tiny pups? I've created a list on Amazon with some of the items we have been considering. Would very much appreciated any specific suggestions or comments on what items would be best for our newest baby. Thank you!

Amazon.com

[Sweet Girls]

Congratulations! Your new family member will bring you years of joy and happiness I'm sure. And if your Yorkie mix is anything like my Yorkie, she'll keep you smiling too! They are too smart for their own good, and can often out think us mere humans.

As for your questions around gates...I personally have not ever used a gate...I crate trained both my dogs...however, I did do a quick search for you and found this site that might have a solution that works. Pet Gates, FAST SHIPPING Wide Dog Gates, Tall Dog Gates, Free Standing Pet Gate

Others with more experience might have better advice. Best of luck...and Welcome to YT.

[zekie's mom]

One thing to keep in mind is that these little ones can climb, at least mine does.
He thinks he is part cat.

[Bellasmom30]

I use a regular baby gate bought from WalMart for our stairs. Not sure what you would use for 50' wide though. Yes they do climb! My mom's toy Poodle climbs so she has to stack the gates. There are plenty of people on here with more experience in this area I'm sure they will help you shortly.

Congrats on your baby and welcome to YT!

[concretegurl]

Have you considered going to the hardware or local lumber sore and purchasing some wooden dowels and rip tack boards two hinges and one gate latch and making our own custom gate?

We had the same issue here with an oversized entrance way and unless we purchased four gates together or paid a ridiculous amount for a custom made one we had to get crafty....you could use screen-but I think it would get chewed but here's the directions we just modified them to use wooden dowels in the trip board instead of attaching string...you could router it but wood glue and finish nails do the same job.
How to Make Your Own Baby Gate | eHow.com

[Gatord]

I have tried several different types. I use mainly the free standing one caue I needed a fence for a wide area, The link sweet girls posted has some great prices and different styles.

Like Zekie's mom said watch out for some fences, these little kitty kats I mean yorkies do like to climb. The ones that are bar like seems to work better on climbers.

Josie is our kitty kat (escape artist). Had to switch to bars for her escaping. Except for the free standing style gate. It is like a hard metal mesh. Or thinner bar.

[Gatord]

Originally Posted by Bellasmom30

I use a regular baby gate bought from WalMart for our stairs. Not sure what you would use for 50' wide though. Yes they do climb! My mom's toy Poodle climbs so she has to stack the gates. There are plenty of people on here with more experience in this area I'm sure they will help you shortly.

Congrats on your baby and welcome to YT!

I had to do that temp. till I got another one for Josie the escape artist.

I called it her prison bars. LOL

[AllDogBoots]

Congrats on your new family member and kudos to you for preparing so efficiently! I have a couple of comments about your Amazon Wish List. The Hide-A-Squirrel toy is a great idea. My pup, Max has Hide-A-Bee toy and it keeps him busy. He loves playing with it. While I don't have familiarity with the Puppia harness I've heard wonderful things about it.

I'm not sure about the Heated Console Seat and the heating component worries me a little. I'm not sure how necessary that is. I'm a huge fan of the Lookout car seats. I have 2 size medium in the back seat of my car for my boys. They do also have console seats if you prefer that. Here's the medium: Amazon.com: Pet Car Seat - Lookout I Medium...

I can't help so much with the gate, but are you just needing this for nighttime sleeping? What about a playpen? This is the one I have (size large) and I'm thrilled with it. There's plenty of room for comfort: Amazon.com: Orange Pet Dog Tent Puppy Playpen...

And if you have any money left, I'd add one of these to your shopping cart: Amazon.com: Skinneeez Stuffing Free Dog Toy Fox:...

[My lil friend]

I had a poodle that was a true escape artist at 5lbs. We stacked two gates and he climbed both and jumped to the carpet on the other side. He had the run of the house from then on but he was 3yrs old and house trained. Our other fix was to make a half door from 1/4" plywood. Its to smooth to be climbed over. You can try an EXpen infront of the doorway but it can also be climbed over.
Congrats and good luck!

[tjwarder]

Sugar is so tiny but soooo clever and determined. She probably was from a BYB but has a sweet temperament and I think we will be able to train her as long as her humans are trainable .

My husband and I both work and have to be gone for several hours each day, so there are two times that she has to stay in the kitchen: overnight, and when we are gone during the day. Fortunately, my husband has a somewhat flexible schedule so she is not alone from 8-5, and my office is not far from our house so I can come home to take her out for a bit if there ever is a long day. I've actually taken her to work twice but can't do that every day.

We have a crate/carrier but don't think she should be confined in such a small area during the day, and hate to put her in it overnight. Having never crate trained before, we asked and were told that the 'crate' should be just big enough for her to stand up and turn around in, but NOT big enough for her to pee or poop in. She does alright (no accidents) during the night and it would just seem selfish to lock her up in such a tiny cage during the day.

Our previous dog (another who also 'found' us ) had free reign of the house (and rural neighborhood) thanks to her independence and a handy doggy door. Perhaps when we know Sugar better, we might decide it would be safe to let her roam through the house, but for now, it's better to keep her in a room she cannot damage during the night or when we are away. We would like to redo the doggy door (now closed since Daisy passed away last year), but it will take some substantial planning and probably substantial $$ to make it happen for such a tiny pup. She is SO fragile, unlike our sleek, muscular 50lb sweetie. We have talked about redoing the doggy door and building up the yard on that side of the house (low area gets very wet/muddy when it rains), fencing the area . . . then realized that we have to cover or screen it as well because of hawks and owls . . . and reinforce the bottom of the fence in some way so she cannot squeeze or dig her way out (and snakes cannot get in - although we don't really have snakes here). A lot to think about.

I saw pics of a nice 'yorkie yard' and now I've told DH that perhaps we should upscale the doggy-door/fence idea up to a screened in garden room. Of course, then he wants to know where exactly she would be able to pee/poo outside if we added an entire ROOM to the house instead of just a nice fenced area. I don't have any answers (yet!) but at least we have a good source of information and experts to ask with YT.

For now, we are propping a 48" x 50" painting against the kitchen entry and bracing it with either (a) two 5 gallon water bottles or (b) 3 dining room chairs, 2 laid flat on the floor and the third upright in the middle. We also have to move all 4 kitchen chairs to the center of the room because our little Einstein quickly figured out that she could jump into a chair, onto the table, and onto and then over the bar separating her 14' x 27' "playpen" from the rest of the house. I am diligent about securing all points of entry (or rather, exits!) but DH came home to take her for a walk earlier today and merely placed the chairs loosely against the barrier.

Guess who was prancing up and down the picture windowsill in the living room when we got home tonight? We may have met our match --- all suggestions are most welcome! We may end up with an upside down or enclosed playpen or try the DIY instructions offered earlier, as most gates seem to have bars that are much wider spaced than a Yorkie.

Next question(s) [in a new thread]: Dallas-area trainers & vets who specialize in Yorkies or small breeds and how do I tell if Sugar is a Yorkie-Poo, Schnoodle, or Schnorkie?

Finally, her stuffing-free skinnee fox and hide-a-squirrel should arrive this week. The car seat and Bob-a-Lot will have to wait for another paycheck to arrive. Thanks for all the help!

[concretegurl]

Careful with screen only, maybe plywood bottom totally screened in on top?
Potty patch, potty pad, or walks supervised to that yard.
You seem very handy in the DIY area, some sod from the local garden center in a box you make is a DIY potty patch of natural grass!

Dog DNA test. Breed identification, my vet did ours in their office, you can do at home ones too I used the dog-dna.com company in the vets office but I've heard Mars Corporation makes a better one be sure all possible breeds are identified in the test companies identifiable breeds and that you not only get the breed ID but the percentages and heritage one.

[Sweet Girls]

Originally Posted by tjwarder

Sugar is so tiny but soooo clever and determined. She probably was from a BYB but has a sweet temperament and I think we will be able to train her as long as her humans are trainable .

We would like to redo the doggy door (now closed since Daisy passed away last year), but it will take some substantial planning and probably substantial $$ to make it happen for such a tiny pup. She is SO fragile, unlike our sleek, muscular 50lb sweetie. We have talked about redoing the doggy door and building up the yard on that side of the house (low area gets very wet/muddy when it rains), fencing the area . . . then realized that we have to cover or screen it as well because of hawks and owls . . . and reinforce the bottom of the fence in some way so she cannot squeeze or dig her way out (and snakes cannot get in - although we don't really have snakes here). A lot to think about.

Next question(s) [in a new thread]: Dallas-area trainers & vets who specialize in Yorkies or small breeds and how do I tell if Sugar is a Yorkie-Poo, Schnoodle, or Schnorkie?

Finally, her stuffing-free skinnee fox and hide-a-squirrel should arrive this week. The car seat and Bob-a-Lot will have to wait for another paycheck to arrive. Thanks for all the help!

Man, Sugar sure is lucky to have landed in such a caring lap!! You could certainly do a doggy DNA test to find out what mixes she might be...but on the other hand...in the big scheme of life, Will it matter? It sounds like she is plenty smart!! And all those mixes are quite intelligent. (although I know sometimes curiosity is a good enough reason) Making sure she has enough to "do" in her enclosure, might also help her stay "in place". For example, if she is as bright as it appears, a "puzzle" type toy where she has to work her brain to get the treat, might help tire her out, and make her want to stay put to nap instead of explore the house. (One example is actually a cat toy that my Yorkie likes, it is basically a box with a number of small round holes on the top and side. You put a treat or small ball in the hole and the dog (or cat) needs to work out how to get it out of the box...we also have Kong wobbler, or Treat dispensing ball that I put some puffed rice into, and she needs to work to get it out. If you feed kibble, you could use a portion of her meal.) This type of activity toy left when you are gone, will give her a "job" and tire her out, so she can rest until you return.

Have fun...sounds like she is a real character...will be looking for pictures!

[megantheswimmer]

Congratulations on the new family member!!!

Also, yorkies can jump, or small dogs in general can.

Mango can jump a good 3 and a half feet off the ground to try to get over our Kitchen gate. His feet about clear it, and it's a normal sized gate!