Hi from MJ and Bella

[MJsBella]

I have been referring to the site since I brought Bella home last week.

I have not had a puppy in over 30 years, so this has been an experience.

Bella is Morkie. Her Daddy (named Baby Face Oliver ~ doesn't that sound like a fighter!) He Mommy a Maltese (name Fancy Pants Maggie)

Bella is beautiful and has such a GREAT personality. She was also very sick when I bought her and thankfully have a friend that is a vet and she is doing fantastic!

I have some questions ~ I hope you don't mind. (I am having new mommy anxiety!) I apologize for the long post. I am just unsure of so many things!

1. Bella always goes potty when I take her outside and sits by the door when she is done (and is done running around like crazy) ~ but she will give no indication when she has to go. So I am just taking her out every couple hours or so. If I don't take her out...she will pee/poop on the floor. How should I get her to let me know she needs to go out or will that just come with time. So far we have only had 3 accidents since I got her so I am happy about that, but I know we would have a lot more if I did not watch her like a hawk!

2. Bella eats normally 2x a day (sometimes she eats 3x) I don't pick up her bowls I leave her food sit out. She seems to eat when we get to my office, sometimes at noon and she eats when we get back home. Should I remove her food between or does it matter? I would say she eats a total of 1/3 cup of RC food/day.

3. How often can she have a bath? My husband thinks she needs one once a week?

4. Bella has a penned area she sleeps in at night. The first few nights she was so good...no crying. (probably too sick to make a fuss) Then she went a couple of nights and cried and cried. I ignored her. Now seems to have settled in a little last night and goes out about 3:30 am when my husband gets up and then I let her sleep with me. I don't want her to pee in my bed or I would let her sleep with me all the time. My 2 little Grandson's are staying over and I know they will want her to sleep with them. Do I let her and just run the risk of her peeing on the floor at night or do I make her sleep in her penned area?

Thanks again for any advice...I just want Bella to have the best life she can have (and I keep my sanity )

[sbgooljar]

Hi, I am not an expert or can't offer any advice but I wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I will share my story of my little Romeo. Fortunately it took just one day to house train him to use a wee pad. Since I brought him home (2 1/2 years ago) I keep a wee pad in the spot and do not rearrange anything in that area of the house for fear of disturbing his routine. Granted it is very expensive to use wee pads only (I bulk order disposables) but it's more convenient for me because I work from home plus I can toss a pad after two uses and put down a fresh one. I order his wee pads in bulk from freshpets.com.

When he was a pup Romeo was fed several small meals a day. After two weeks on RC he stopped eating and using trial and error I found that he prefers "home made" meals. Some days he will eat 3 small meals and other days just dinner. If he shows no interest in his food after 30 mins I remove it and try again in a couple hours.

As for sleeping in the bed -- because he's wee pad trained and will sleep a solid 12 hours at night I don't have any fear of bed wetting. He's only slept in his crate the first night I brought him home. Romeo sleeps on my bed but I am a light sleeper and will wake up at the slightest sound.

Sorry for my long post but wanted to share my experiences in the event any of this may work for you.

[MJsBella]

I think I will let her sleep with the boys tonight! She loves them and this way I will know if she makes it. I can sleep on the couch, if she wake up I can take her outside. (also, if she has an accident...it is not in my bed!!! )

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by MJsBella

I have been referring to the site since I brought Bella home last week.

I have not had a puppy in over 30 years, so this has been an experience.

Bella is Morkie. Her Daddy (named Baby Face Oliver ~ doesn't that sound like a fighter!) He Mommy a Maltese (name Fancy Pants Maggie)

Bella is beautiful and has such a GREAT personality. She was also very sick when I bought her and thankfully have a friend that is a vet and she is doing fantastic!

I have some questions ~ I hope you don't mind. (I am having new mommy anxiety!) I apologize for the long post. I am just unsure of so many things!

1. Bella always goes potty when I take her outside and sits by the door when she is done (and is done running around like crazy) ~ but she will give no indication when she has to go. So I am just taking her out every couple hours or so. If I don't take her out...she will pee/poop on the floor. How should I get her to let me know she needs to go out or will that just come with time. So far we have only had 3 accidents since I got her so I am happy about that, but I know we would have a lot more if I did not watch her like a hawk!

2. Bella eats normally 2x a day (sometimes she eats 3x) I don't pick up her bowls I leave her food sit out. She seems to eat when we get to my office, sometimes at noon and she eats when we get back home. Should I remove her food between or does it matter? I would say she eats a total of 1/3 cup of RC food/day.

3. How often can she have a bath? My husband thinks she needs one once a week?

4. Bella has a penned area she sleeps in at night. The first few nights she was so good...no crying. (probably too sick to make a fuss) Then she went a couple of nights and cried and cried. I ignored her. Now seems to have settled in a little last night and goes out about 3:30 am when my husband gets up and then I let her sleep with me. I don't want her to pee in my bed or I would let her sleep with me all the time. My 2 little Grandson's are staying over and I know they will want her to sleep with them. Do I let her and just run the risk of her peeing on the floor at night or do I make her sleep in her penned area?

Thanks again for any advice...I just want Bella to have the best life she can have (and I keep my sanity )

I use doorbells. Mine rings bells anytime she wants outside. You can look at a video:

Poochie-Bells Video

You can make your own bells using the same principle with a ribbon and large bells made like what you see in the pictures.

Some people do fine free-feeding them. I do scheduled feeding so I know when she will go potty.

I've always given baths once a week and sometimes more often if she really needed it.

Mine has always slept with me, but she has stairs so she can get up and down as needed. Be very careful that she doesn't try to jump off a bed or even fall out and end up with a broken leg or worse.

[Lovetodream88]

Welcome to YorkieTalk and congrats on your baby.I am glad she is getting better. Also don't worry about having new mommy anxiety mine is 4 and I still have it mommy anxiety a lot lol. Maybe you could try putting these things called potty bells that hang from the door you use to go out and train her to use them. I free feed Callie meaning I leave her food down all the time and I suggest doing that for sure with a puppy but if shes not over eating I would just leave it down all the time. Callie normally gets a bath once a week sometimes every two weeks in the winter. How old are your grandsons? I would say when you cant supervise her with your grandsons then she should be in the pen.

[MJsBella]

I think I will try the bells. She goes potty outside so good...even in the rain/snow - she is so funny.

Bella needed to go at 3:00 am and I knew it so out we went. She went right back to sleep with me.

She was playing like crazy after her bath and had a little accident, I think it was all the excitement since she had went not to long before that.

Off to check out the bells. Thanks for the advice and reassurance. I really appreciate it so much!

[Teresa Ford]

Welcome to YT.
1.Potty Training: I use Umbilical Tethering , and the crate when not tethered to me, and a leash outside. I take pup to the same spot every time and praise like crazy when they go. I also use washable pee pads in the play pen. There are many potty training threads on YT. 2. Free Feeding ? I use the same kibble (RC) and home cooking. I feed my Yorkies in their own safe spot their Crate. I give them 20 min. to eat then pick up. I have 5 dogs of my own and 1 to 3 fosters at a time. Not every one is on the same food. And I need to know who eats what and how much. There are no fights or food stealing. I think potty training is easier too with set feeding and potty times 3.How often to Bathe ? I bathe them every week, and groom and brush teeth every day 4.Where should they Sleep ? Letting your dog sleep with you is up to you. It is a privilege and as long as she is well behaved and potty trained, IMO it is fine. I have 4 Yorkies but only one sleeps with me. The two pups sleep in their crate and my old 8yr old gentleman Rubin sleeps where he wants, usually on top of his cate in his fluffy bed. Gracie came to me as a rescue with separation anxiety, I couldn't let her shake and cry ( I know, I know better !) but I put her in bed with me and she has been there ever since.

[SophieandZiggy]

Bella is adorable! welcome to YT!