Soon to be firsat time yorkie owner, would like a few pointers.
 

Hello everyone I'm new to this site and soon to be a first time Yorkie owner. My girlfriend and I have already found our little girl and are going to pick her up the 17th of this month. We have read a lot of threads from this site and have found many to be very helpful but just a few questions. our breeder has our pup on Eukanuba small breed puppy food, which from reading the ingredients and what I've read here is not a good food to feed them. After reading many threads we have decided on Wellness small breed just for puppies, but I'm open to any suggestions. Also I have a 4 year old son that I get every weekend. His mother has poodles so he is used to being around small dogs but any pointers on how to introduce and not scare our new little girl would be great. Also any other pointers for a new Yokie owner would be great. Thank yall very much and we are excited to meet our little girl.

Welcome to YorkieTalk. Thank you for joining our growing family of Yorkie lovers. Congratulations to the new addition to your family - can't wait to see pics.

My first suggestion about introducing the pup to your son is to not stress out. Pups are generally curious about humans and if your son has been taught how to behave around dogs then it should be a natural process. I'd have him sit down on the floor and allow the pup to introduce herself to him. I would expect that the pup will be all over him giving kisses, etc.

That said, I wouldn't leave them alone together and I wouldn't allow him to pick the pup up.

Great thank you so much for the reply:thumbup:

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. We will all be looking forward to seeing your new baby. How old will your puppy be when you get her? Do you know her projected weight?

Before you bring your puppy home find out from the breeder what kind of feeding routine the puppy is on. Just the stress from going to a new home often causes puppies to not eat much at first. I recommend keeping the puppy on the same food it is used to for at least a week and then you will want to switch the puppy over to the new food slowly. The breeder should provide you with a little bit of food when you get your puppy.

You will need a safe area for the puppy for the times you or your gf are busy and not able to watch the puppy. I recommend either gating off an area like the kitchen or get a exercise pen for the pup so you can place his bed, food and water in the pen

Make sure you get his vaccination record. Until he has had all his vaccinations you will not want to take him outside in areas where other dogs have been.

Best of luck with the new pup.

Paris will be 8 weeks old when we pick her up. Her mother is 5 pounds and father is around 3 1/2. Thank you for the advice on switching foods and having the safe area. Whats your thoughts on the Wellness brand small breed for puppies?

Paris will be 8 weeks old when we pick her up on the 17th. Her mother is 5 pounds and father is 3 1/2. Thank you for the tips on feeding. What are your feelings on the Wellness small breed for puppies?

Your puppy will still be awfully young. It would be better if the breeder could keep her a little longer. You might consider asking her. It takes a lot of special care for a puppy that young. Be sure to have some Nutri-cal on hand in case she does not eat well at first.

I have never used Wellness so I am not any help there. I think Natural Balance puppy is also a good choice. Be sure to ask the breeder how she prepares the puppies food. Some breeders soak it before giving it to them and some just feed dry. I like to do a combination of both. I leave out some dry food but a couple times a day I feed them some dry mixed with canned puppy food.

She was born Aug. 25 so she would be almost 9 weeks old. I've only had large breed dogs to this point so what would be a good age to pick her up from the breeder and If I do get her at 8 weeks what should I look out for?

Yeah, Nutrical is an absolute must-have, especially with a pup that young. Yorkies just love that stuff, and it really does jump-start their appetites. I'd be really attentive to your pup's eating. The best case would be to have the breeder keep the pup with his mother for another month though. I know 8 weeks is the standard time to get your pup with most breeds, but yorkies are so small at that age and I think that's the earliest age you can even start feeding them dog food (think my bag of Royal Canin 29 yorkie puppy said it was for 8 weeks to 10 months).

Thank yall so much for your advice and answers and feel free to give as much as you like Im a sponge for knowledge.

Heres a couple pictures of Paris. She is beautiful.

Hello and Welcome to YorkieTalk. I would make sure the pup stays with its mom until it is 12 weeks old. Most puppies who leave there mom to young have socialization problems, potty training problems, behavior and biting problems because they left there mom to early to learn this stuff from her. A good breeder who breeds to better the breed will follow the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America which one of there things is keeping the pup with there mom until 12 weeks. Normally if a pup is not kept with there mom until 12 weeks it is because it would cost the breeder a little more money to do that and a little more time so they generally want to get them out and sold as soon as they can to make the money. Normally if the breeder is willing to skip one step to save money they will skip others like any available genetic and health testing to make sure the puppies will be as healthy as possible and wont be born with or have genetic illness show up later in life. They also probably don't know the lines of there dog to know if there are any genetic issues in the lines. The parents can look and seem perfectly healthy but still be the carrier of a genetic illness that doesn't show up until the dog is 2 years old and then it can cost you lots of money to help the dog and it might be an illness that takes there life so that also is a big heart break. Breeders who aren't doing what is best for the breed and doing everything they can to make healthy pups are just hurting the breed we love so much. You need to make sure you know the symptoms of hypoglycemia and have some nutrical on hand. If the pup does have a hypoglycemic episodes it is very important after you get there sugar up with the nutrical that you get some food in them. Its best to keep the pup on the food the breeder is feeding for at least a month or two until the pup is adjusted to there new surroundings otherwise it is just to much change and can cause a lot of stress. Make sure that when you can not watch the puppy and your son that the puppy goes into a safe place where your son can not get to the pup. Also it's very important if your son is holding him that he be sitting on the floor so if the pup wiggles away it can't fall and hurt themselves. The puppy also needs to have a place to go when he wants to get away from your son and be alone.

Alot of great info gosh thank yall so much.

Paris is a cutie. She seems to like having her picture taken. I hope she does well for you.

Where can I find Nautical ?