Yorkies and toddlers
 

Hello everyone,

This is my first post. My family is strongly considering getting a yorkie. I took my family to a respectable puppy breeder in our area. My wife and kids fell in love with him. However, my youngest, which is 2 years old, tried several times to kick or beat him up. We really love this dog, but I'm just so worried that my toddler would do something to really hurt or injury him. Does anyone have any advice on how to introduce a Yorkie into a new home with toddlers? What are some tips for getting them to coexist peacefully?

Hello and Welcome to YT! Most reputable breeders would never consider selling a Yorkie to a family that has children under 12. Yorkies are very fragile. If your child were to kick this puppy it could severly injure him. Picking him up and dropping him could kill him. A Yorkie is not for small children. I would suggest a sturdy breed, maybe a lab. Please rethink this purchase, it could end up costing you a fortune in vet bills or the puppies life.

I am not one that thinks no house with a toddler is acceptable as my son was toddler when we got our first Yorkie however I think it is of utmost importance that the child be taught a serious respect for animals.

When we brought our first Yorkie home he was NEVER ever allowed out and about around the children without adult supervision. The children we never allowed in the kitchen without adult supervision. No exceptions and all family members must be on board.

When the children went in to see him they were seated at all times and asked to leave if they could not obey the rule. They were never allowed to pick the puppy up outside of the puppy crawling onto their laps. If the puppy came out to see them he was harnessed and leashed for his safety. These rules continued almost until he was full grown and the children were well trained on how to respect a small dog. Even to this day my son is now 7 (almost 8) and he has NEVER picked up one of my Yorkies, he knows it is unacceptable and just wouldn't do it.

My suggestion is that if you can follow a very strict routine in teaching your son to respect a small dog and have everyone in the house 100% on board with your rules then it can be done. If not then maybe a small dog is not for your family at this time. Possibly a sturdier breed but even with that no matter what the breed size (for the dog's safety and your son's) he must be taught to respect the animal.

My kids were born and raised around dogs so we never had an issue with young children and the dogs. Our dogs are good with the kids and the kids are good with the dogs. If you get a dog/puppy, you will need to be very careful until your child/children learn the proper way to treat a small dog. They can learn to live together with your help and guidance. If you are really concerned about your youngest one, then you may want to rethink your plans to get a puppy. The child must understand the puppy cannot be kicked, hit, dropped, or abused in any way.

Your 2 year old tried to kick and beat up the dog while at the breeders house? I am of the opinion you don't need to have a puppy this fragile in your home.
Please try and teach the child respect for animals.

I think you need to wait for your youngest to be about 5 before you adopt a small breed pup like yorkies. They are very fragile and acccidents happen even in the most best intentions of families

You nailed it lady, if he acted this way at the breeders house, i hate to think of how he would act at home :rolleyes:

I wonder if this child has even ever been around an animal before. So why start by adopting a tiny small breed pup. I think a better choice would be an adult golden retrever or some other bigger breed like that. You still need to teach your son to respect animals though

I appreciate everyone's responses. The two year old is actually a girl! :)

She just turned 2 and this was her first time being around a dog this close. She was a little excited. Unfortunately, her initial reaction wasn't necessarily the best. My wife and I had a talk with her about respecting animals during that time. She calmed down and simply watched the dog play with the other kids. She didn't attempt to continue doing anything bad to the yorkie. So, we feel it was just a one time thing and with continued education she wont do it again.

Because we have kids, the breeder agreed to allow us weekly time with the dog so we could teach them how to respect and handle the dog. Our plan was once we see that they are able to respect and be around the dog to an acceptable level, then we would consider bringing him home.

I'm open to any advice and responses. But I'm really looking to see on how we make this work. After only a short amount of time, my family has already fell in love with this particular yorkie. It would break everyone's heart if we were able to find a way for this to be successful in our home.

Your child has already tried to hurt the dog while being supervised. There is no way I would bring ANY dog in to the home until your child is older and has been taught how to behave around animals. Normally I would agree with Chachi and recommend a larger dog, but bigger dog=bigger bites when faced with a child who doesn't know how to behave around one. Don't set the dog up for failure.

Yea I didnt think about that but I agree

When we were young we had a little puppy that my brother didn't know how to play with correctly. In just a few short months the pup ended up hating my brother and would attack him constantly and was very agressive. My parents ended up getting rid of our family dog because of this....we should've gotten rid of my brother.....

So between the dogs best interest and that of your child, possibly wait until the toddler is older and then go with a different breed as mentioned above in numerous posts.

If you went to a "reputable breeder" and your child tried to hit and kick her puppies and she is still willing to consider selling you a dog she needs to stop breeding IMMEDIATELY!

As for your child behaving this way you need to consider parenting classes or counseling. I have raise 3 children and they would have never been allowed to raise a hand (or foot) to any living creature. :(

I seriously think that we are once again being played for fools! :thumbdown:thumbdown

I\'m a little insulted that you would infer there is an issue with my parenting. My child was approriately disciplined and talked to regarding this. Once that was done, there were no further incidences.