Your Yorkie.....& Children
 

Okay...this is my question.

How do you all feel about your Yorkie being around children? Particularly when you first adopt a Yorkie. My Lou'e is about 1lb a couple ounces...and I live in my boyfriend's Mom's basement apartment...she goes down to check on him from time to time...but her grandkids do come over often and I don't want her to get the idea of allowing them down there to "play" with them. One is aged 4, the other 2. They can be pretty rough as I have seen them with her own dog (who is a Jack Russel, a bit chunky too).
I am just incredibly afraid as I have heard stories of children squeezing them a bit much or just dropping them...thinking they are "stuffed animals".
How do I go about this? Should I just tell her I don't want them around? Am I being a bit too paranoid?
I am turning into a crazy dog lady!! Hahaha. But I am cool with it. :)

Tell them no, don't touch.

She's too young right now to be exposed first off, second her size even with gentle children is a concern.

Later you hold they can pet.

I have kids 13, 8, and almost 2.

Given my yorkies are oversized and my kids (baby is learning still) are very well behaved...I still set definate rules and always monitor.

My kids' friends and the stranger who tries to impose their child in my dog are quickly lied to I say they bite back off.

A good phrase, look with your eyes not your hands.

My usually rule of thumb is no young children around yorkies. We get a lot of surrenders bc of the children are too rough with the yorkies and then the yorkies end up getting aggressive to try to get the children to back off. If they are YOUR children, it's different. You can teach and discipline your own kids. you can't really discipline other people's children (esp if they themselves don't do it) without stepping on some toes. i say avoid the situation all together and just say both the yorkie and the kids are all too young to undertand how to enteract with each other.

How long is your yorkie being left by himself in your apt anyway? How old is he? Does your bf's mom go down there to check on him? or what is the reason?

Thanks Concretegurl, I agree with you.

Capt_noonie ~ I agree with you as well. I usually get the look like "are you crazy? it's a dog"...not that I care. It's my dog. I will just reiterate that I don't want the children down there without my supervision.
What do you mean, "what is the reason"?
Lou'e is 3 months...he isn't left for more than a couple hours at a time. I go home at lunch to check on him and boyfriend's Mom goes once in the morning and afternoon before I get home from work and spends some time with him (at least, she says she does, lol).
When he is fully vaccinated I will be bringing him to work with me a couple times a week to break it up a bit for him.
Why do you ask?

Hi Sandra!!

Def talk to her and tell her right now without your supervision you do not want her to take the kids down there. I'm sure she will understand..

Maybe you (if you want) can bring the kids around Lou'e so you can show them how to behave...2 is my neices age, and around Peanut she doesnt listen to me, so I have to watch her like a hawk when they are around eachother, but the 4 year old you can def teach how to act around a 1 lb Yorkie.

Of course I would wait a little till he gets more shots in him. :D

Some questions were asked that have nothing to do with your orignal question.. so feel free to ignore those!

:thumbup:

PS I am totally a crazy dog lady and cool with it too:)

With small children I use the one hand rule. Breaking the rule gets a time out. The children can touch the Yorkie but only with one hand at a time. They can not pick up the Yorkie with one hand or squeeze the puppy too tight. It is an easy rule for them to remember.

Tibbe has never been around children on a routine basis so if they ask, I tell them he bites. I would hate for a little child to get hurt and am not 100% positive how he might react 100% of the time. If I tell them it is okay, and they pet, the child hurts or scares them & he bites reflexively, I would feel awful. He's a little nervous around them and I do my very best to take him up into my arms when they are approaching, etc., if I hear of see them in time. I'm just not that sure of how he might be if one suddenly grabbed him instead of petting - he might snap and hurt one. He's super friendly with all people and all dogs - but he's a little wide-eyed and cautious around children and I'm not that comfortable with his body language as his tail is down or half-cocked, he crouches a bit. So, not knowing for sure, I warn the little ones off just to keep everybody safe.

I think that if I was a little doggie and a couple of running kids came at me I would be scared. A dog that is scared will bite despite that fact that some people think there is no excuse for a dog biting a person. Since these kids have not been taught how to treat a dog respectfully they are a danger to your puppy.

Maybe talk to your boyfriend's mom and tell her that you feel the puppy is to small to be around young children. If you don't feel that she would supervise the children or make sure they handled him right then you must do what you can to protect your puppy. One bad experience with children could cause a problem for you and your dog for years to come.

If the mother does not agree with you then just tell her you would rather she did not visit the puppy when you are not there. I know you are walking on dangerous ground here but she needs to respect your wishes for the puppy since he is your dog.

:rolleyes:
Obviously you are referring to my questions. I would not ask her questions that have nothing to do with her issue. A little more insight into what her situation is would help all of us help her answer the question.

My boys are relatively big -- 8 and 9+ pounds -- and I still supervise closely any interaction with kids, and adults, lol. Even adults can drop dogs when they are squirmy. Morning show anchor Kathy Lee Gifford dropped a puppy on live tv recently.

In all seriousness, I would insist that you want to supervise visits with kids to make sure your pup is being handled safely.

Gosh, I guess my window cut off the bottom of your post or I just got distracted B4 I saw it all. NO, you are NOT being paranoid to not want small children playing with your tiny, young pup when you are not around!!! Please protect your little one against the young one! Kids, even properly supervised, can accidentally drop a little dog on its head(happened to my sister's new Yorkie pup, Magnum, when my brother was showing his daughter how to carefully hold a puppy!) and the little guy had seizures, days of IH care, tests, medication and he was a mean dog later, when he was grown. I would be awfully careful with children around any dog but a little puppy is really asking a lot of a child who acts spontaneously or without the best judgment even in the best of circumstances. They are kids so don't expect them to be overly careful with a living animal. Your dog could become stressed by all this and have behavior problems if the little kids are pretty loud, jumping around a lot, if he's very young and if he feels trapped and can't get away from them. I'd have a long talk about needing to properly protect this little baby Yorkie from possible harm with your MIL. The kids can still enjoy themselves doing many other fun things when visiting.

No way are you being over protective. My sister is young (4) and has been raised with Jackson, and she is very good with him, but the problem is that she is TOO good with him. She constantly wants to be doing something for him, or with him, or giving him treats and doing tricks, etc, so I hate leaving him home alone (I live at home) while I am not there and she is, because my parents aren't really dog people and don't understand. I just wouldn't want something to happen while I am not there so I am very paranoid and do not leave him much when I don't have to. Supervised, I have no problem, but I do not think young children and dogs should ever be left alone.

I think your concerns are very valid. Is your mother in law checking in on your pup because he's alone and you asked her to? Or is she taking her grandkids down there to see the cute puppy? To me their is a difference in how you handle the situation. If you are asking her to do you the favor of checking in on your little guy, and she's also caring for her grandkids (to be read the only adult in the room) I don't think it'd be out of place to ask her to please tell her grandkids to see the puppy with their eyes and not with their hands. She can go, check that Lou'e real quick to make sure he's eating, drinking etc, and then go back upstairs with the kids in tow. I don't think it's fair to ask her to leave a 2 and 4 year old alone upstairs. If there was another adult upstairs, then she can do the quick check on Lou'e alone.

Now, if your MIL is using Lou'e as an activity to do with her grandkids without you asking her to check in, then I'd politely ask her not to. Tell her you truly appreciate her taking the time to check in on Lou'e while you're out, because it shows she understands how much Lou'e means to you, but it might not be the best idea.

My girls are 3, 5, and 7 and they are fine with our Yorkie. However, they are my kids and I am always here to supervise them and teach them how to be with Blazer and to supervise and teach HIM how to be around THEM. Other people's kids, though- unless I am right there I don't want them messing with my pup! Actually, I don't really trust other people's kids around my big dog, either. Unless you are there, I wouldn't trust them. Or if you trust MIL and SHE is there at all times then MAYBE but she has to know the rules that you have set for your dog.

:yeahthat:

The only problem is no one is ever going to follow all your rules. I live with my parents and they know not to give Kaji food. They do it in front of me, I can only imagine what they do while I'm gone at work. :rolleyes:

If you know the kids are rough, they are pretty young and your pup is so small I would ask her to please not let the children around your pup. Being paranoid (although I don't think you are being) is better then being sorry in the end if something bad happens. Puppies wiggle and sometimes nip and those two things could make a child drop them. My yorkie is bigger and as long as I am watching I don't mind little kids saying hi but if they looked like they are going to get rough or are being rough I remove her from the situation and I also don't let anyone pick her up but shes bigger so no one has tried.

Yup, once a few kids were playing with Uni in the shop. I think they were about 7 or 8. Not that young. They were holding Uni in the arms, about 2 to 3 feet above the ground. Their mom called them, and the one holding Uni just dropped her and walked away. Good thing Uni is part cat bc she lands on her feet, but imagine another dog (like if it had been Scrappy) he would have landed on his head or broken his neck for sure.

Well, I have told my boyfriends Mom that I want to be there is ever the kids wanted to see the dog. She doesn't usually babysit them on a regular basis and she has offered to check in on Lou'e.
She had said she didn't plan on it but the kids are gentle and that they can only hold them if they are sitting. I said then that I prefer that they don't hold him at all while he is this young. And they can pet him and only when I am present.
I have seen the way they play with other dogs and they can be a bit rough. Lou'e isn't even 2lbs.
I would just prefer that no one come to my apartment uninvited apart from her. Dog or no dog really.

I just don't want any accidents. I can only imagine if something happened and what some people's responses would be "it's just a dog".
To me, this is my baby. And I am going to be as possessive and crazy as I like.
Thanks to everyone for the advice. If I didn't answer something in particular just let me know.

Lou'e is doing very well btw! Hope to post pics soon!
Can I just link them?

You are being a good, "paranoid" Yorkie mommie! You have to be a little OT when you have a tiny, fragile dog that is easily injured, could cost the little dog its life and you thousands of dollars in vet bills if there is a serious head/spine injury with long-term consequences. So go ahead and be extra careful of that little one - that's really the best way to keep them safe. You can be very nice about it but firm as heck all at the same time when it comes to that little ball of fur.

And anyone who would say "it's just a dog" about losing a dog or a dog plagued with a lifelong disability from a preventable injury hasn't ever really had a close, loving, special relationship with a dog. Dogs are loving, loyal and sentient animals who enrich our lives beyond measure and will always - always - be there for you, no matter what has just happened in your life. Go ahead and be protective of that darling little one!

I totally agree with you Yorkietalkjilly...animals really do enrich our lives. I am going to be one overprotective Mamma from here on in!!
Thanks everyone for the feedback!

We don't have children, but Tatiana has been around children during family visits, and when we attend social events.

I always keep Tatiana in a front-carrying pouch (it's a pet carrier). If children want to pet her, it's naturally supervised by me, as Tatiana is strapped to my front. Oftentimes, I kneel in front of the children, and they pet her. We have nice conversations, too (What's her name? How old is she? I have a yorkie, too, etc.)

During social events, it's not unusual to see me walking around with a glass of wine in one hand, and a tiny yorkie strapped to my front. :) It's laughable, I know. Also, it's a good ice-breaker. :)

Totally OT but ehat carrier are you using?

I have a generic on that's failing.

I live in fear I'll end up puctured on the internet with Elvis in the front pack and the newest skin kid on a (backpack) leash!

I can see the meme tag line, "their you're doing it wrong"

I am definitely okay with holding Lou'e, kneeling down and having kids pet him...the carrier thing is a good idea as well.
I just hear that children "pat" them instead of "petting" them...and I am annoyed when people in general want to hold him all the time (strangers) and then I get pushed with kids holding him. He is too fragile! Geeze. He needs to grow a bit.
I will have him acclimated to children for sure, but won't be going over any time soon to a house that is full of children with him.

This is the one I have:

Amazon.com: Kyjen Outward Hound Front Carrier,...

I have the black one in size small. Tatiana is about 3 lbs, and she fits well in it.

LOL @ your fear. If it happens, it happens. We yorkietalkers know you're doing RIGHT. :)

It's true. Children can pat, instead of pet. I say gently,"Be gentle, sweetie." And when they soften their touch, I say,"Yes, you are very good with Tatiana." :)

Also, same here, I get requests to hold Tatian. I always decline. I simply say,"No, Tatiana would get really scared." With children, I would offer instead that they could pet her ANY TIME (when she's in the pouch). Just let me know (and I will kneel).

Yea, that is a good idea MidnightUnicorn...all of what you said. I am still learning. Especially with my own.
Now....what if someone offers to doggy sit your dog...do you guys usually gear towards people that don't have children??

Truthfully, I've never had a dog-sitter. Tatiana comes with us on all our vacations.

Also, truthfully, I don't plan on having a dog-sitter either. If Tatiana cannot come along, then I'm not going :) This is not for everybody, I know, but it's how I am. :)

Oh. With children, you'll probably receive a lot of "why" questions. When I tell them they cannot hold Tatiana because she gets scared, naturally, they ask,"Why does she get scared?" I reply gently,"She gets scared with people she doesn't know." Children generally accept this.

I have two yorkies. One hates children. I think he was traumatized in his first home where there were several children under the age of 5 that would always hold him. I'm lucky though because our female likes children. She will give them kisses and want to be petted. Whenever anyone asks to pet them, I let them pet Khloe. However, I never let children hold either of them.