We were going to be moving into our first pet friendly apt. so I decided I wanted a dog. I told my dd I wanted something small that I could physically handle, need be. She said ooh, a yorkie! And I didn't even know what they were by name.:eek: I ran to the PC & googled it & read my butt off.

We came across a soon to be identified BYB. We picked her right after birth & brought her home just 11 days after moving at 9.5wks. Up until then I asked the breeder tons of questions, read online & got books from the library. One thing that stuck out to us is how yorkies are confident, sassy, so smart. It sounded so fun! DD was almost discouraged, I remember her asking if we really wanted one, as they sounded kind of bratty.:rolleyes: Princess is sooo smart, she has the best memory ever & she's a sassy little love bug with the softest sweet side.

I told dd my take & she was excited. We bought all of the necessary supplies, made vet appts, everything. Then she came home & stole our hearts! I was not prepared to love her so much & also feel so much love from her. Part of why I'd never had a dog was because I feared something happening & the loss I'd feel. But I soon realized it was so worth it, we knew we'd love her to pieces & we did.

Potty training was beyond a nightmare. She went so many MONTHS & only used a designated area a handful of times. I think it will be sooo much easier now that I know, not just reading something on paper. I was not prepared for her puppy chewing, either. Every time I thought the house was safe she'd find something else, carpet, coffee table, venetian blinds that I'll have to replace for $70! I read about this stuff, a lot, but I was still not prepared. While it may come easy to some I think I really needed to learn (& fail) hands on. There's so much I can do next time around to truly be prepared. In the meantime I plan on spoiling Princess & learning everything she is here to teach me.:love::aimeeyork:luvu::littleang

I was lucky because I got to know Thor before I adopted him. I had already dog-sat for him and trained him before he was officially mine.

I will say that I had (have) a lot of book learnin' that I never fully followed through on for Thor. He's still got a lot of neuroses, and every time I think we've worked one out, something else comes up. Like in the past few weeks, he's started guarding me, even from people he's known for years.

I think you and Jackson are a magic combination. A smart, special dog with a smart special woman, doing amazing things together.

I was totally unprepared for my first dog. I had always wanted one when I was a kid and my parents never let me. When I turned 18, I finally got the dog of my dreams. Josie, my Doberman. She was soooo hyper and chewed everything (truck seats, toilets, carpet....). She NEVER slept in front of us. I even slept on the kitchen floor, knowing she would settle down - nope! I knew that if someone stole her they wouldn't keep her very long - she was really awful in the beginning. I never knew about crates.

It wasn't until she was four years old and all of sudden she became the best dog ever. She never barked or growled at anyone - she was absolutely sweet and she stopped chewing things. Probably not the best breed choice for an inexperienced person - hard on her and on us. I love my Yorkies, but Josie will always have a special spot in my heart. I always think about getting another Doberman but after a car accident (3 years ago today) I'm a bit slower and probably couldn't keep up with her.

:thumbup::thumbup::

Gotta love them, they are cute but not the kind of dog for a lot of people. You have to love terriers.

Absolutely not! I had only had poodles and GSD's, rescues, etc., when I ran into an ad in the Dallas Morning News for a Yorkie puppy. Once I saw that tiny terror I was enthralled and just had to have him. What followed was my initiation into Yorkshire TERRIER ownership. I had not had much dealings on a daily basis until Scotty took over my life and then I found out about the real meaning of stubborn and sassy and what it is like to live perpetually with the fur equivalent of a 2 year old! Scotty would stand up to me, bark back, growl if I spoke in a tone he didn't like and otherwise keep me fascinated with his self-assurance in something hardly bigger than my foot! He would reduce me to roars of laughter as he stood his ground. On the other hand, I had never had a dog that cared so for just me - all about me. Always more interested in me than the other 2 dogs or the rest of the family and he became like an extension of me. He very quickly became the dearest thing in the world to me and grew into a darling well-behaved little best friend once we clarified he did what I asked for only 1 reason - because he loved and tolerated things I wanted him to do as long as I understood it was his world and I just lived in it! I became the biggest Yorkshire Terrier convert in the world and have been ever since. They are the only breed for me - and all because of my first one. He totally mesmerized me. Since then I have had Jilly and now Tibbe and can reaffirm that the Yorkie is the best pet of all for me.

I was 9 when I got my first yorkie mickey.
I didnt know i was getting a yorkie until my nanny took me to the breeder's house.
So I guess you could say that i was completely clueless.

Mickey slept on a cardboard box with towels and my toys until the weekend came. My nanny's husband took me to the pet store to buy mickey's neccessities and i think we spent almost 200$(14 yrs ago eeep!) & I remember he bought me a book on yorkies. and every christmas after i recieved a yorkie calendar from him. hehe

because i was young when i got mickey, he became my mom's dog...

with coco, i did research, have been incontact with the breeder for a year & saw 2 other litters, asked questions, bought everything well before her arrival :P

I guess you learn more as you age :P

I guess we enjoy torturing ourselves! :p

Was I prepared for Kaji? Heck no! Even after being a YT member for a long time I didn't know what the heck I was doing. Reading about it, seeing pretty pictures, and even reading all the stuff that goes on that's not so fun doesn't compare to living it. If someone would have told me, "Do you want a dog that's cute as a button, but is so fearful you'd have to work with him for years to come?" I would have said no and passed on Kaji. Ignorance is bliss! Yes he is a lot of work, more work than I thought he would be. Yes, when he gets frantic and starts to hurt me and I get nervous myself. Would I trade him in for a different dog? Never. Aside from his fears, he's such a good dog. The fears we can work on and he's much, much better. Just last night, we went to go visit my cousin at her new house. She was with me the first weekend I had Kaji. She told me Kaji is such a different dog from that first weekend. He has more confidence, and he's so smart. He can sit by me while a bicycle passes by without freaking out! Major progress. :D

Anyway... Even knowing what I know, experiencing not so pleasant things with Kaji, I am looking forward to doing it all over again. I'll do things differently, but I'd definitely add another.

I was not prepared for my first dog. Ten years later, I was not prepared for my second dog. And honestly, I don't think I'll ever be prepared for any dog! That is part of the reason why I got a second one. I figured out that I'm never going to be prepared, so what the heck, just do that. LOL, don't listen to me anyone.

I'll never be prepared to watch my babies be sick, to have countless convos with their vet about their issues, to spend a fortune in vet costs, to always know what to do when behavioral issues come up, to be able to stop said behavioral issues (i.e. barking when we live in a building with others and don't want to get kicked out!), to deal with aggression/possession issues, to drop everything for them, to plan my vacays around them because one is really too medically and behaviorally problematic to be boarded, to always give them the attention they need, to commit to outside exercise (I hate it), etc., etc., etc.

So no I wasn't ready and I'm still not ready! And to get up in the middle of the night to take a puppy potty?? Yeah, right!

I met a handsome grumpy Scottie recently, one of the breeds that I applied to a rescue for, and I thought to myself how much easier life would have been, lol. ;);)

Like so many others, thought I was as prepared I could be... little did I know. We had dogs while I was growing up and my husband and I had 2 dogs prior as well (Pringles who just recently passed and Tony, dachshund, who we actually still have... bless his little heart!). But I wanted a little foo foo dog and always thought Yorkies were adorable. So...

yep, found the first yorkie I could and when it was time to get him drove straight into into a tropical storm to pick him up because I was so excited to get him. puppy mill, BYBs... what's that... I had no idea! Praise the Lord that Monkey is now 3 years old and we have had no major health issues. Recently we started our training too because I just want to spend as much time with the little maniac as I possibly can.

Just about a year after getting Monkey, my husband calls me... yorkie needs home... in bad situation... OOOO oooo... I can save her. I am prepared this time. WRONG! She was terrified and I couldn't get her to trust me. I was devasted for quite awhile not knowing how to reach her to show her that I loved her and would never put her in danger. I had already been to YT with Monkey and had learned a little but after getting Maddie and read and read and read trying to find a way. I finally posted because I was at my wits end. YT members gave me the best advice although it was scary to hear. Stop treating her like she was abused. Give her a new name to start her new life. and many other pieces of information. Maddie is now much better adjusted... we still have things we work on but I think that is the case with any dog.

Anyway, I rambled on but I also believe that you can never be fully prepared for any dog of any breed. The experience is the key. Yorkies are high maintenance which is what really drew me to them. My kids are growing up and I was not ready to stop being a mommy of a little baby! The good news, I am not. I will always have my furbabies.

Bella, a Lifechanging Experience
 

We were not prepared for Bella in any way. She was a rehome, our first dog and tiny, tiny, tiny. We didn't know anything about dogs, we had always been CAT people. Luckily, within 24 hours of bringing her home I found YT. I read, asked, listened and have continued to educate myself about the Yorkie breed. Not having another dog to compare to, we had no idea of what owning a dog entailed. What have we learned? Bella has added a quality to our lives that is hard to put into words. We both LOVE her and put her needs above our own. We never knew an animal could add so much love and joy to a home. She has been painless in every way! Potty training took awhile but thanks to YT we were prepared that it probably would and stayed patient and consistent. She is a mellow, loving, loyal, pampered, and well behaved family member. We are so glad that we added her to our family. Making Bella's needs a priority has limited our choices in some ways, but the happiness she adds to our days is well worth some of the limitations we experience. Thank you to everyone that helped us to become educated, responsible and successful Yorkie parents. You made a difference for us and our little Bella. For that, we will be eternally grateful!:thumbup:

I was very confident when I picked Eleanor up that I could take what I learned as a child during puppy training and apply it to the books I purchased a few month before she came home. Almost right after Eleanor came home, I found YT and realized that I have much to learn still.

I had waited for a dog since I was about 8-10 years old, I was always reading about dogs and how to raise them and train since I was a kid :D
I couldnt have a dog cause dogs were banned in our apartment, but instead until I could have a dog I owned few hamsters, birds,a rabbit, a cat, and mice, I always took care of them and then when I was 14 we moved where dogs are allowed, and we started looking for our own dog !
My dad doesnt want big dogs, and not dogs who shed, so yorkies are perfect, also they fit my lifestile perfectly !
I knew everything about BYB's and puppymills so I knew what I should beware and what not.
8 months later (21 December 2008) I saw my wonderful Fido for sale on one website, I called the breeder ASAP and an hour later I was there driving on my way to see the most wonderful puppy I have ever seen !
The breeder told us that some elderly couple where coming to look at him too with a 10 year old kid, so it was choosing about our home for him or theyr, they saw right away that the other people did not know anything about dogs and she saw that I knew very much about them so she choosed us to be his parents !
The day after (22 december) we went to pick him up to try out having him for few hours, he loved being at our house, when I went to put him back to the breeders he sat beneath my feet and whined when we left, he just wanted to be with us :)
The day after 23 december I got a call from the breeder, and then she told us that Fido was ours ! I was sooo happy !! I went right away to the petstore and bought everything we needed and then we picked him up !


That was the happiest moment of my life !!
I still today take great care of him like the day I got him, every evening we go for a walk and often in the day too, I brush him every day, and groom him once a week, he's still the the sunshine in my skys, he's everything to me my little boy :)

I was very much prepared for him as I read myself about dogs for years ! since I was about 10 years, I knew everything I was suppose to know :)

I was prepared for my first yorkie, Milo, as I searched for him for almost a year.

I am prepared/preparing for my new addition and I haven't even found him yet lol

I am a little crazy when it comes to planning

We were not prepared for Carmel and Emma. I was really bad with training them and my bf ended up doing all that training. I was definitely not as responsible as you and I was 19 when I got them. I remember saying I wanted to rehome both of them at some point. My bf said NO and that's what happened. I'm thankful for my bf for stopping my irresponsible act. I love my yorkies to death and can now swear that I will NEVER rehome one of my dogs ever again. I buy them, they are mine for life! :D

I am not prepared for my new little girl...she's somewhere out there! :)

I wonder if we'll be prepared for our NEXT yorkie? We love Oz so much we're already talking about getting another..... :)

wow, i got my first dog (a chihuahua) at 10- granted my parents helped me take care of her so maybe she doesnt count. Then i got two german shepherds. and they were pretty much my responsibility- i was about 14 or so. then at 19 i got my border collie from SPCA. now i have ziggy. Honestly i think the older you get, the less prepard you get, coz you realise exactly how much responsibility it is. I was way less frazzled with Toby (border collie) then now with Ziggy! Im constantly worried and feel completely ill preperared! But i think a person is never really ready, you never really know how the relationship with the dog will develope and what their unique needs will be.. I know one thing tho, i aint getting another any time soon..