Hello and few Q's from a newbie :)
 

Hello,

We just adopted a 16-week old boy, Choco, last week, and he's a little gem. :)
Although I grew up with small breed dogs, this is the first time having a male dog, and I have few questions.

1. He is 16 weeks old and weighs around 2lbs. He squats when he pees, and I am wondering when male Yorkies typically start spraying or peeing with a leg up. I have heard that many people wait to neuter/spay their Yorkies until reaching 6 months so that the milk teeth can be removed at the same time, if needed. For my male cats, I got them neutered before they started spraying, so that they don't get into a bad habit.

2. I am currently on vacation for about a month, and once the break is over, I will be away for about 4-5 hrs per day. I'm spending most of the time with Choco, and I am a bit concerned that he may get separation anxiety if I have to leave him alone after spending most of the time with him for a month. Any advice on how I should get him adjusted?

3. Do you let your Yorkies sleep in your bed? I have heard that dogs get confused about hierarchy when you let them sleep in the same bed with you. Currently, Choco sleeps in his crate at night, since he's still being potty-trained. He whine for 2-3 sec when I put him in his playpen, but shortly goes off to his bed without much begging. Would it be best to let him sleep in his crate?

Thank you in advance and happy holidays!

PS - I tried to upload some of his photos, but they exceeded the size limit. I will do so after adjusting the size.

First off Congratulations! On both new Yokie Mommy-hood and becoming a member to YT!:)

1. Gizmo (my little male) was 6 months when he was neutered. He never (and still hasn't) lifted his leg on anything. He attempted once, and I looked and him and said in a firm voice, "No!" And he has never attempted since. He also doesn't "spray" like a cat does. Just get your little man neutered at 6 months and try to prevent any leg lifting. Some males do it, some don't. But I've never had a problem with Gizmo marking because he addressed it as a "no no" early on.
2. With regards to seperation anxiety, every pup wants to be with their Momma, however 4-5 hours isn't too bad. Gizmo has really, really bad seperation anxiety (he was a puppymill/BYB pup) so we bought him a thundershirt and when he was a puppy we got him a stuffed dog that had a heart beat (so it was like he was sleeping with his litter mates) and bought him a dog that I could warm up in the microwave for comfort.
3. It's your own personal opinion, but Gizmo sleeps in the bed with us at night. I was one of those people that said absolutely not, but 2 weeks later when I only had 2 hours of sleep because he whinned and pottied in his crate (this was a combination of seperation anxiety and a whole ton of other social problems that came with him being a puppymill/byb dog) that I picked him up, he laid down at the foot of my bed, and it's been that way ever since. I don't really believe in the whole hierarchy mentality. I think a dog thinks you're apart of his pack and you have certain duties that he establishes with you, but we've never had any problems with it. But if he's doing fine in the crate now, why change things up?

If you have any other questions, let us know, I hope I've answered everything for you!:)

Just wanted to say welcome. I don't have my puppy yet so I don't have any tips for you but you will find a lot of useful info on this site. I'm trying to prepare early. Can't wait to see pic of your baby!!!

Welcome to YorkieTalk and congratulations on your new baby!

I have read some articles by people who think that letting a dog sleep with you gives them a bad attitude. I have had my dogs sleep with me all my life and have never had an issue. I guess the people who think it is an issue compare the domestic dog to a wolf and in wolf land the dog who sleeps on top of the pack is the alpha dog. My little Maltese always slept at the bottom of the bed. No issues. My Shih Tzu only slep near me on the bed if it got a little chilly inside. Gracie is one who likes to cuddle, probably because she gets cold easily. Gracie is a so called "alpha" personality but it has nothing to do with sleeping with me. She was born a bossy little thing but I have learned how to deal with it and have no issues with her except that she thinks she is boss of all the cats in the house! She has slept with me from day one. I am a light sleeper and Gracie slept all through the night from the day I got her so potty training was never an issue. The few times she did wake up at night I just put he on the pee pad and then we went back to bed. She has pet steps to get up and down off the bed now.
It's a personal decision. We have always raised our dogs to have free run of the house. I know crate training has become quite the rage but I prefer to have a dog that knows the house rules and can be trusted to keep them. Obviously that takes some training and when you are not home several hours out of the day it takes more time to accomplish that training.
Maybe you could start leaving your dog for an hour or so a day before you have to leave for longer lengths of time so he gets used to you not being there all the time. I am home much of the time and when I leave for more than an hour Gracie gets very upset and shivers and shakes for a while after I get home. She does not bark or cry when I'm gone. Her reaction seems to be more when I get home.
As for marking.....we used to have a male Yellow Lab that had certain places in the yard where he went. He never did it inside just on the trees in the yard. I'm not sure how people deal with it with their little indoor trained dogs. I'm sure someone will have ideas.

I am like Jennyms319 I don't have my puppy yet. I don't know much about male dogs. I thought that males would still lift after they were neutered but I guess not. Congratulations on your puppy. I am also looking forward to seeing your pictures. I sleep with my bichon. She started sleeping with me after she got potty trained. Sometimes she sleeps with my daughter but its her choice.

Thank you! :)
 

Thank you for the kind messages! :)
I'm thinking about asking my brother to come over for a week by the time when I have to go back to work so that he can get adjusted to having me away for some parts of the day.

Here are his photos :)

He is SUCH a cutie!!!

And its great that his ears are already standing

Welcome and congrats on your new puppy. I don't know anything about male puppies really. I am a fan of using the crate until they are potty trained but still having there own bed. I am terrified I would roll over Callie so I feel much better with her sleeping in her own bed unless she is sick.

Welcome and your new baby is just so cute :animal36

Jake
:)

He is adorable!

Congrats, he is a such a cute little boy

Welcome and I am loving your new baby...

He is such a cutie!

Precious baby!

Oh my goodness... he is THE most adorable thing!!!!

Congratulations! I have a male. He originally pottied squatting, even after he was neutered, now he'll lift his leg abut 85% of the time and squat the other 15% of the time. LOL I think he feels more manly if he hikes his leg... I also have him pad trained and he will use those if we can't get him outside in time but he squats inside and doesn't lift his leg.

Jack sleeps with us and he knows where his food comes from, so he has never given us any problems.

My husband is a two-time Iraqi war veteran (1991 and 2004) so he is home all day with Jack. Although there are times when we go out and leave Jack home. He does have some separation anxiety (though I think the anxiety is worse on us...LOL) but he isn't destructive or anything when we leave, so that is a good thing.

Good luck and welcome!

Oh my, he is way too cute! Makes me want a puppy. I better refrain. Enjoy!

Good morning! :) Your little Choco is absolutely gorgeous!!

I have a boy (14 months) - I suppose he lifts his leg about 90% of the time (it depends where we are - if there's a handy blade of grass to pee on!! :D)

I agree with gracielove - before you have that big long separation time when you have to go back to work - start leaving him for short periods now - gradually increasing them so that it's not so much of a shock to his little system :)

Good luck! Sally + Harry :aimeeyork x

he is so cute/ Morgan sleeps in his crate right next to my bed so he can see me

1) We got our little man Patrick late. He was around 7 months old and had already developed a marking habit. We got him neutered the 1st week we had him, but it was evident the marking had become a habit because he kept doing it. We ended up having to get him a belly band while we're gone so if he tries to mark, it doesn't get all over the house. So I also recommend correction when they try to mark, but also the later you wait to neuter the more chance their is of it becoming a habit if he does have a tendency to mark.
2) Like all training, I think the best thing to do is practice and start slow. When we got each new Yorkie after our 1st, we set up a webcam and went outside and sat in a vehicle and watched them to make sure they didn't have any destructive ideas that might put them at risk. We started with small intervals, and then increased it. With our 3rd one, that really helped. When we go to leave, she looks at us like "whatever." I think there will always be some level of separation anxiety, but the idea is to minimize it so they're comfortable when you leave.
3) We have always let our Yorkies sleep with us and it hasn't caused any problems. We wouldn't have it any other way!

Good luck with your new little one!

Welcome! Choco is a little doll. I am new here also and find that everyone is very helpful.

Jersey is almost 7 months and has never marked in the house. He has lifted his leg to pee from the time I got him. Sometimes he lifts his leg when he poops! I don't expect that to change after he is neutered, which I have not done yet because I am waiting for, and really hoping that his other testicle will drop.

I probably will never let Jersey sleep with me. I just don't get a really good sleep when a pet is in the bed with me. I am always worried that I will roll over on them, hurting them or even worse. My friend has been a veterinarian for a lot of years. She told me of a yorkie that had it's leg broken after being rolled on it bed and a chahuahua that was killed when the husband rolled over on it and did not realize it. Jersey is good in his crate and that is the way I want to keep it. I think if you let them sleep in your bed and then change your mind, you might have some sleepless hours when you try to make them sleep in the crate again.

Again, welcome!