Just brought home a 5 week old puppy! - YorkieTalk.com Forums

theyorkterror · 08-22-2011, 07:16 PM

Hi everyone! I am new on here but thought I'd post to get your opinions. I recentley adopted a yorkie male at 12 weeks old and he is adorable. I liked him so much that I decided to look for another puppy so he could have a play mate. I realized the huge responsibility before purchasing a second pup and knew what it would take to raise two pups. I really wanted Bentley to have someone to play with and am at home most of the day.

After looking around for awhile I purchased a female at only 5 weeks of age!!

, she is the cutest little thing I have ever seen.

I wanted to get yalls opinions on why it is so bad to take a pup at this age. The guy selling them said the mom had stopped producing milk and was going to be rehoming them regardless. She was the only female and only pup left from a litter of 4. I feel horrible that he was selling them at only 5 weeks but I figured at least I have another puppy for her to socialize with and know I can do my best to take care of her. I am ready to get blasted and criticized for taking her at such an early age and knew what I was getting into but honestly knew that she would be sold within the next day or two regardless. There was no sense trying to convince him to keep her because he had already sold the other three.

Flame away but I love my new baby, and would do the same thing in a heartbeat if given a chance. The sad thing is back yard breeders like this go on all the time.

Feel free to tell me how im an irresponsible pet owner

Chance

Donnainohio63 · 08-22-2011, 07:35 PM

The sad thing is back yard [COLOR=green !important][COLOR=green ! important]breeders[/COLOR][/COLOR] like this go on all the time.

Yes they do and by purchasing this dog you are keeping them in business. 5 weeks is way to young. I do not believe the Mother stopped producing milk. I believe the owner needed money and did not care that he took those babies away from their mother way to early. Good luck with your baby

DvlshAngel985 · 08-22-2011, 07:41 PM

Good luck with your pup. She's lucky you are home all the time. Make sure she is eating, as she is much too young to have been fully weened. Also, young pups are prone to hypoglycemia. Please don't take her outside, as her immune system is very susceptible to anything she is exposed to. Don't tolerate any biting since mom and her litter mates would have taught her bite inhibition, as well as breeder and mom starting the potty training process, and teaching her doggy manners. Also, just like an infant, she needs lots of sleep. Don't let her play too hard as she can over exert herself. Check the YT health section for the proper vaccine protocol for her. There is no point in killing what little immunity mom passed on to her with the milk. It's in your favor to follow the proper protocol which includes at how many weeks she should get which vaccines. Don't leave your pups alone together, at least not yet. Make sure neither is aggressive towards the other. I'm assuming at this point, your male is twice as big as your new female. Make sure she is warm enough, and her space doesn't get drafts.

You don't really need grief from us. What you need is to be smart, for the sake of your new pup. And you'll also need lots of luck and prayers. I hope you don't go through some of the issues others have had with extra young pups.

DvlshAngel985 · 08-22-2011, 07:48 PM

Don't leave your pups alone together, at least not yet. Make sure neither is aggressive towards the other. I'm assuming at this point, your male is twice as big as your new female. Make sure she is warm enough, and her space doesn't get drafts. One of those pups with a heating pad and a heartbeat have been very useful for puppies that were separated from their mom and litter mates way too early. Don't give either free roam yet. You'll set them up for potty failure instead of success. If I were you, I'd invest in a really good expen. Give her a potty area, and eating area, and a sleeping area. Same for the male. Both are way too young to hold it for very long.

AbbyMax · 08-22-2011, 07:48 PM

Welcome to YT!

I am sure you will get a lot of feedback as there are a lot of very knowledgable folks on YT. Hopefully any issue you encounter someone will have a helpful suggestion or recommendation for you. We are all here because we love our furbabies and want to see them happy and healthy.

Your vet will be a great source of info regarding needs of your new little baby. Between you being home most of the day and having another puppy to help her learn some puppy behaviors, I think she is better off with you than with anyone else that would have stopped by to look at her.

I got my previous baby, Poppy, when she was 8 weeks old. She was great and grew into a wonderful dog. She was such a good pup and had the best demeanor and personality. She was a little needy for the first few weeks - it was just the two of us, so I slept on the floor with her on a pallet of blankets and she curled up on the pillow by my head. You have another pup for her to snuggle with so she should be okay. Poppy grew up spending lots and lots of time with my friends cocker spaniel (he lived with us for 6 months right after I got her) - she was very well socialized - and they played together for years.

I made sure I had nutrical on hand (as I have with my two new babies). I gave Poppy a little bit several times during the day and night to make sure her blood sugar did not drop too much. I just gave her a tiny bit - she loved it so thought it was a great treat. (none of my pups have liked the GNC brand - must taste odd to them).

Sorry to disappoint you for not being negative or critical of you. I wish you only the best and look forward to seeing lots of pics and posts about your new babies. Good luck in the weeks to come - you may want to have some extra coffee on hand in case you have some long nights

DvlshAngel985 · 08-22-2011, 07:56 PM

A good thing to do for food, grind up a good quality kibble. To that, you can add equal parts goats milk with distilled water. You can add a little Karo syrup to it. It'll be mushy and easy for her to eat. The exact formula can be found somewhere on YT. I've seen this recommended to many people with young pups. For really great recommendations, you should PM, some of the knowledgeable breeders. Mardelin is one that comes to mind.

There is also too much of a good thing. Don't give Nutrical to your pup like a supplement. It really should be on an emergency basis only. If you give it a lot and throughout the day, you'll be raising and dropping her blood sugar unnecessarily. Having food available always (dry ground up kibble) is a much better way to regulate her blood sugar. The mush can be used for actual meal times.

Sorry, I keep forgetting to add more things of things you should look out for, and do since you have a 5 week old. This honestly sucks for the pup more than it does for you. She missed out on a lot of things because the breeder was, well, greedy. All of the effort and time you will be putting in is something the breeder and your pup's furmom should have done. Like another poster said, have coffee on hand. You'll need it.

anevarez · 08-22-2011, 08:07 PM

Best of luck with your puppy. I will not bash you, but I will say that 5 weeks is way too early which you know. Taking a puppy away so young means that the puppy will not be socialized properly with it's mother, she will not have the full benefits of her mothers milk, and being that she is way too young you may not be able to tell the approximate size or the type of features she will have. I once met a man who sold schnauzers at 4-5 weeks of age. He was selling on the side of the road and I went on about how they were too young - the man asked if I was interested in a pup and I said no. He then told me "sweetie, they are ALL tiny, cute and perfect at this stage". While I know that we love our yorkies no matter what size or characteristics they have - I always like to know that my money went towards a yorkie who was bred correctly. Breeding a 20lb female yorkie to a 2lb male with a huge overbite, luxating patella, and liver shunt issues won't matter when the pups are 5 weeks old - but you can bet that will all come out when the pup starts to grow older. Again, not bashing!

kjcmsw · 08-22-2011, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnainohio63

The sad thing is back yard [COLOR=green !important][COLOR=green ! important]breeders[/COLOR][/COLOR] like this go on all the time.

Yes they do and by purchasing this dog you are keeping them in business. 5 weeks is way to young. I do not believe the Mother stopped producing milk. I believe the owner needed money and did not care that he took those babies away from their mother way to early. Good luck with your baby

May not have actually stopped producing milk but our mama quits nursing at 4 weeks. The breeder may have just thought she quit producing milk when in reality the pups teeth were probably coming in and were razor sharp. But just because a pup is no longer nursing and eating food fine doesn't mean they should leave their mother. My pups are now 10 weeks and could certainly leave and do very well at this point.

megansmomma · 08-23-2011, 04:28 AM

No flaming to you but I would report this "breeder"! He has no business breeding dogs if he lacks the knowledge or ability to keep the puppies long enough regardless of what he felt the mom should be doing.

Good luck with your new puppy and welcome to YT

Ellie May · 08-23-2011, 04:47 AM

You knew that getting a Yorkie at 5 weeks was not a good idea and chose to do it anyway. You chose to support a BYB and knew that wasn't a good idea either.

Key word here is "chose". None of us can decide for you and there is no reason to spent time "flaming you" when you already knew this wasn't the best decision.

Welcome to YT.

slthoeny · 08-23-2011, 04:49 AM

Any of you knowledgable people out there, I have a question? Does a puppy that young need to still be cleaned. I know for newborn puppies and kittens, there mama cleans them to start the potty function. (How exactly do you say that tastefully) I am not sure at what age it stop, if I remember correctly aroung 4/5 weeks. But even if the puppy does not need to be stimulated to go the bathroom, doesn't she still need to be cleaned. Selfgrooming is something a five week old has not learned yet.

Micah my love · 08-23-2011, 05:04 AM

Good luck with your baby and watch her very very close at 5 weeks it can go either way and once they go down it is hard to get them up and going again

wishing only the best for this little one..keep her warm and goat milk & water 50/50 along with other food

Micah my love · 08-23-2011, 08:22 AM

Keep her but clean same as you would your 12 week old

concretegurl · 08-23-2011, 08:26 AM

Welcome! So glad you found YT! 12 weeks of age is the minimum appropriate age of pups to leave most of the breeders here some 14, a few even 16!

I think you are going to get a wealth of information here, please read, learn, post, ask any questions you have (note the specific forums) and of course we all want to see pics!

trin7 · 08-23-2011, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slthoeny

Any of you knowledgable people out there, I have a question? Does a puppy that young need to still be cleaned. I know for newborn puppies and kittens, there mama cleans them to start the potty function. (How exactly do you say that tastefully) I am not sure at what age it stop, if I remember correctly aroung 4/5 weeks. But even if the puppy does not need to be stimulated to go the bathroom, doesn't she still need to be cleaned. Selfgrooming is something a five week old has not learned yet.

I agree with you about the cleaning. I used to raise Bengal kittens and if I remember right, some were still being cleaned to stimulate at that age. Please make sure your little pup is able to do her pooping & peeing okay. Good luck!

08-22-2011, 07:16 PM	#1
theyorkterror YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 1	Just brought home a 5 week old puppy! Hi everyone! I am new on here but thought I'd post to get your opinions. I recentley adopted a yorkie male at 12 weeks old and he is adorable. I liked him so much that I decided to look for another puppy so he could have a play mate. I realized the huge responsibility before purchasing a second pup and knew what it would take to raise two pups. I really wanted Bentley to have someone to play with and am at home most of the day. After looking around for awhile I purchased a female at only 5 weeks of age!!, she is the cutest little thing I have ever seen. I wanted to get yalls opinions on why it is so bad to take a pup at this age. The guy selling them said the mom had stopped producing milk and was going to be rehoming them regardless. She was the only female and only pup left from a litter of 4. I feel horrible that he was selling them at only 5 weeks but I figured at least I have another puppy for her to socialize with and know I can do my best to take care of her. I am ready to get blasted and criticized for taking her at such an early age and knew what I was getting into but honestly knew that she would be sold within the next day or two regardless. There was no sense trying to convince him to keep her because he had already sold the other three. Flame away but I love my new baby, and would do the same thing in a heartbeat if given a chance. The sad thing is back yard breeders like this go on all the time. Feel free to tell me how im an irresponsible pet owner Chance

08-22-2011, 07:35 PM	#2
Donnainohio63 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Lorain Ohio Posts: 1,882	The sad thing is back yard [COLOR=green !important][COLOR=green ! important]breeders[/COLOR][/COLOR] like this go on all the time. Yes they do and by purchasing this dog you are keeping them in business. 5 weeks is way to young. I do not believe the Mother stopped producing milk. I believe the owner needed money and did not care that he took those babies away from their mother way to early. Good luck with your baby __________________ http://thelittleyorkierescue.weebly.com/

08-22-2011, 07:41 PM	#3
DvlshAngel985 Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Los Angeles, California, USA Posts: 12,693	Good luck with your pup. She's lucky you are home all the time. Make sure she is eating, as she is much too young to have been fully weened. Also, young pups are prone to hypoglycemia. Please don't take her outside, as her immune system is very susceptible to anything she is exposed to. Don't tolerate any biting since mom and her litter mates would have taught her bite inhibition, as well as breeder and mom starting the potty training process, and teaching her doggy manners. Also, just like an infant, she needs lots of sleep. Don't let her play too hard as she can over exert herself. Check the YT health section for the proper vaccine protocol for her. There is no point in killing what little immunity mom passed on to her with the milk. It's in your favor to follow the proper protocol which includes at how many weeks she should get which vaccines. Don't leave your pups alone together, at least not yet. Make sure neither is aggressive towards the other. I'm assuming at this point, your male is twice as big as your new female. Make sure she is warm enough, and her space doesn't get drafts. You don't really need grief from us. What you need is to be smart, for the sake of your new pup. And you'll also need lots of luck and prayers. I hope you don't go through some of the issues others have had with extra young pups. __________________ Littlest JakJak We miss you Kaji Last edited by DvlshAngel985; 08-22-2011 at 07:45 PM.

08-22-2011, 07:48 PM	#4
DvlshAngel985 Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Los Angeles, California, USA Posts: 12,693	Don't leave your pups alone together, at least not yet. Make sure neither is aggressive towards the other. I'm assuming at this point, your male is twice as big as your new female. Make sure she is warm enough, and her space doesn't get drafts. One of those pups with a heating pad and a heartbeat have been very useful for puppies that were separated from their mom and litter mates way too early. Don't give either free roam yet. You'll set them up for potty failure instead of success. If I were you, I'd invest in a really good expen. Give her a potty area, and eating area, and a sleeping area. Same for the male. Both are way too young to hold it for very long. __________________ Littlest JakJak We miss you Kaji

08-22-2011, 07:56 PM	#6
DvlshAngel985 Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Los Angeles, California, USA Posts: 12,693	A good thing to do for food, grind up a good quality kibble. To that, you can add equal parts goats milk with distilled water. You can add a little Karo syrup to it. It'll be mushy and easy for her to eat. The exact formula can be found somewhere on YT. I've seen this recommended to many people with young pups. For really great recommendations, you should PM, some of the knowledgeable breeders. Mardelin is one that comes to mind. There is also too much of a good thing. Don't give Nutrical to your pup like a supplement. It really should be on an emergency basis only. If you give it a lot and throughout the day, you'll be raising and dropping her blood sugar unnecessarily. Having food available always (dry ground up kibble) is a much better way to regulate her blood sugar. The mush can be used for actual meal times. Sorry, I keep forgetting to add more things of things you should look out for, and do since you have a 5 week old. This honestly sucks for the pup more than it does for you. She missed out on a lot of things because the breeder was, well, greedy. All of the effort and time you will be putting in is something the breeder and your pup's furmom should have done. Like another poster said, have coffee on hand. You'll need it. __________________ Littlest JakJak We miss you Kaji Last edited by DvlshAngel985; 08-22-2011 at 07:59 PM.

08-22-2011, 07:48 PM	#5
AbbyMax Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Arizona, USA Posts: 481	Welcome to YT! I am sure you will get a lot of feedback as there are a lot of very knowledgable folks on YT. Hopefully any issue you encounter someone will have a helpful suggestion or recommendation for you. We are all here because we love our furbabies and want to see them happy and healthy. Your vet will be a great source of info regarding needs of your new little baby. Between you being home most of the day and having another puppy to help her learn some puppy behaviors, I think she is better off with you than with anyone else that would have stopped by to look at her. I got my previous baby, Poppy, when she was 8 weeks old. She was great and grew into a wonderful dog. She was such a good pup and had the best demeanor and personality. She was a little needy for the first few weeks - it was just the two of us, so I slept on the floor with her on a pallet of blankets and she curled up on the pillow by my head. You have another pup for her to snuggle with so she should be okay. Poppy grew up spending lots and lots of time with my friends cocker spaniel (he lived with us for 6 months right after I got her) - she was very well socialized - and they played together for years. I made sure I had nutrical on hand (as I have with my two new babies). I gave Poppy a little bit several times during the day and night to make sure her blood sugar did not drop too much. I just gave her a tiny bit - she loved it so thought it was a great treat. (none of my pups have liked the GNC brand - must taste odd to them). Sorry to disappoint you for not being negative or critical of you. I wish you only the best and look forward to seeing lots of pics and posts about your new babies. Good luck in the weeks to come - you may want to have some extra coffee on hand in case you have some long nights

08-22-2011, 08:07 PM	#7
anevarez Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Hebbronville, Texas Posts: 243	Best of luck with your puppy. I will not bash you, but I will say that 5 weeks is way too early which you know. Taking a puppy away so young means that the puppy will not be socialized properly with it's mother, she will not have the full benefits of her mothers milk, and being that she is way too young you may not be able to tell the approximate size or the type of features she will have. I once met a man who sold schnauzers at 4-5 weeks of age. He was selling on the side of the road and I went on about how they were too young - the man asked if I was interested in a pup and I said no. He then told me "sweetie, they are ALL tiny, cute and perfect at this stage". While I know that we love our yorkies no matter what size or characteristics they have - I always like to know that my money went towards a yorkie who was bred correctly. Breeding a 20lb female yorkie to a 2lb male with a huge overbite, luxating patella, and liver shunt issues won't matter when the pups are 5 weeks old - but you can bet that will all come out when the pup starts to grow older. Again, not bashing!

08-23-2011, 04:28 AM	#9
megansmomma Donating YT 10K Club Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: S. W. Suburbs of Chicago, IL Posts: 12,235	No flaming to you but I would report this "breeder"! He has no business breeding dogs if he lacks the knowledge or ability to keep the puppies long enough regardless of what he felt the mom should be doing. Good luck with your new puppy and welcome to YT __________________ “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.” Mark Twain

08-23-2011, 04:47 AM	#10
Ellie May And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI Posts: 17,928	You knew that getting a Yorkie at 5 weeks was not a good idea and chose to do it anyway. You chose to support a BYB and knew that wasn't a good idea either. Key word here is "chose". None of us can decide for you and there is no reason to spent time "flaming you" when you already knew this wasn't the best decision. Welcome to YT. __________________ Crystal, Ellie May (RIP), Rylee Finnegan, and Gracie Boo🐶

08-23-2011, 04:49 AM	#11
slthoeny Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: arkadelphia, ar usa Posts: 73 Blog Entries: 2	Any of you knowledgable people out there, I have a question? Does a puppy that young need to still be cleaned. I know for newborn puppies and kittens, there mama cleans them to start the potty function. (How exactly do you say that tastefully) I am not sure at what age it stop, if I remember correctly aroung 4/5 weeks. But even if the puppy does not need to be stimulated to go the bathroom, doesn't she still need to be cleaned. Selfgrooming is something a five week old has not learned yet.

08-23-2011, 05:04 AM	#12
Micah my love Donating YT 100K Club Member & Top YorkieTalk Poster! Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: western KY Posts: 108,935	Good luck with your baby and watch her very very close at 5 weeks it can go either way and once they go down it is hard to get them up and going again wishing only the best for this little one..keep her warm and goat milk & water 50/50 along with other food __________________ Betty & Micah my love + Yogi

08-23-2011, 08:22 AM	#13
Micah my love Donating YT 100K Club Member & Top YorkieTalk Poster! Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: western KY Posts: 108,935	Keep her but clean same as you would your 12 week old __________________ Betty & Micah my love + Yogi

08-23-2011, 08:26 AM	#14
concretegurl Between♥Suspensions Donating Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Vaissades Posts: 7,979	Welcome! So glad you found YT! 12 weeks of age is the minimum appropriate age of pups to leave most of the breeders here some 14, a few even 16! I think you are going to get a wealth of information here, please read, learn, post, ask any questions you have (note the specific forums) and of course we all want to see pics! __________________ Shan & 8 kids now!