I need advice please!
 

Here's my issue..... I was supposed to go to a relatives house over thanksgiving weekend where I would see one of my cousin's that I haven't seen in years and meet her two young kids for the first time. I was going to take Cricket with me. I didn't wind up going, but my mom and dad went and they told me that it was a good thing I hadn't come because my cousin's two, (almost three year) old daughter is scared of dogs. My parents came back telling me that they had talked about getting together again on New Year's Day. My other cousin, (the sister) will be there that day with her two kids and I would be meeting those kids for the first time as well.
Here's my dellima:
Do I go along for the day, take Cricket with me and just leave her in a crate in the car? I would be checking on her every 15 min. She would be in a crate all day if she stayed home. We would be about 3 hours away from home, it would be a day trip, and we would probably be gone all day. Do I just stay home with her? I need advice from fellow Yorkie owners :)
Thanks,
Megan

Leaving in the car is never a good idea yorkies are highly stolen dogs and if someone doesn't even know you have a dog in there and steals it your still with out your dog. It also is just cruel in my opinion. Either leave him at home or take him and put him in a pop up playpen.

My nieces are both scared of dogs. ( I have 6 furbutts) when they come over to my house I have the dogs in their cages and let them calm down and get used to the dogs being in the house and I give them both some treats to feed the dogs through the cages. That way they can pet them through the doors and everything and get used to them. Then about an hour later I let one out at time so they can play with them and after a while theyre so used to the dogs theyre inseparable. I see my nieces twice maybe three times a year. Now when I Skype with them they don't want to talk to me.. they want to see the "puppies" lol

:thumbup: I agree. Even though you may be checking on cricket every 15 min, its still cold around that time and you can never predict what could happen to your yorkie in the car.

Bring his crate into the house as chaot1c says . Atleast u can keep an eye on him and u never know ,the kids might fall I love with him ,;)

I Would LOVE to be able to do that! but I don't know if the little girl screams and cries and runs the other way. Her mother said that when she goes to see her other grandmother, she has to put her dogs up. I don't have any human kids so Cricket is like my little girl, (I know everyone here understands that ;) ). Honestly, my number one fear if she stayed in the car was that she would be stolen... :( I'm going to have to give this some more thought.

If you have her in the crate the little girl will realize she couldn't get out and is safe. I am terrified of big dogs but little dogs don't phase me. Growing up in random military housing dogs over 20lbs were raised to attack small animals and always went after kids. I watched a husky eat my poodle. As well as I can't count how many times I've been chased or attacked by bigger dogs. I keep a small Carry along cage with me that I can put one yorkie in comfortably. It has windows on all sides and they actually feel safe inside. I use it to go to the vet. Bring treats with you and let the little girl give some to your cricket . worst case she dosent want to and leaves your furbutt alone. But cricket will be inside with you and not outside by herself terrified of the fireworks and loud noises. Good luck :)

Being cooped up in a crate in a car all day is not good for your pup. Even with the windows cracked and the weather perfect, the air gets stale. You might traumatize your pup.

Bring the crate into the house and be sure to give her plenty of breaks. Have someone distract the child out of sight while you are taking care of your pup.

New dog to house
 

We have a 3 yr old yorkie we bought yesterday and once in a while she will snip at me when I try to pet her.. I have never had a dog do that.. don't want this to get out of hand.. any advice..?

I don't have any advice on that one really. Do you know the background of her? I know my biggest yorkie star will do that to try and show me dominance. Or just to tell me she doesn't want to be petted. Just give her some time to adjust to her new surroundings. I'm sure she will come around. Congrats on your new furbutt!!

I agree with everyone else. As much as I would LOVE to bring my two to family gatherings, I know some members aren't all that fond of dogs. So I leave them at home and I end up coming home after few hours since I don't want to leave them alone for too long.

How about finding a pet sitter near you? Have you tried dogvacay.com? It's a site where you can find people that dog sits your furbie in their home. As far as I've seen, they have their own dogs too.

Was she ever hit? When you pet her, is it a sudden movement where she wasn't expecting? Perhaps if you could provide more background, others can give suggestions. One I can think of is giving her a treat while you pet her so she can relate that to something good.

as far as her background I don't know.. bought from a family and don't know anymore than that.. just anything would be helpful..

Just take it one day at a time with her. You have to earn her trust and her yours. New surroundings new everything to her. Just spoil her and give her treats and let her know she can trust you.

Did the family have young kids? If so, maybe they didn't properly handle her? Would you be able to contact that family to see if you get some background on her? Not trying to say that family was abusive to her so don't get me wrong.

Since you said she does it once in a while, maybe you could monitor to see what triggers her nipping when you pet her. For example, both of you are facing forward and you decide to pet her where she didn't see your hand coming. Or if it's a sudden movement. It could be that she just doesn't want to be petted sometimes like Cha0t1c says.

Also, if you brought her recently, it'll take time for her to get used to things (again, like Cha0t1c mentioned) so just be patient with her and she'll come around. In the meantime, I suggest you give her a treat every time you pet her. If she nips, firm NO or yelp really loud and no treat.

Please post a picture of her! Would love to see her cute face!

I say that it should be up to the person that is hosting the get together and what they say, not everyone wants someone to bring a dog and crate and so forth into their house, also how is your dog when left in a crate, I know Lola would not be still if she was in a room with others and had to be crated away, so barking could be disruptive. On the other hand perhaps the mom of the little girl might see this as a way of helping the girl overcome a fear that IMHO is not healthy. While it is wise for children to know that all dogs are not friendly and they should always be cautious it's not healthy to go through life extremely fearful of dogs, especially small ones. This means if she has a playmate that has a dog, or visits a relative that has a dog the owners will always be trying to accommodate her need to keep the dog out of site, that is not always practical. Perhaps if you spoke to the mom and asked her what she thought of letting her daughter have limited contact through the cage with you pup. The mom could also build up excitement by getting her a stuffed toy that looks like a yorkie and talk about how if she liked she could pet it through the cage and maybe even give it a treat. W

I was at my aunts house and one of our elderly cousins was so afraid of my sisters yorkie that she actually kicked it when it ran under the table near her, the dog was not even trying to get near the lady just passing by. Maybe it is just me but I think to grow up that fearful of a dog is not good, you don't have to love them, but to kick a 5lb dog out of fear is ridiculous.

is there a friend or vet you could leave your pup with for the day? When we go somewhere our groomer takes Jess. She actually stays in the house with their own dogs like one of the family. She loves the interaction with the other dogs. You may want to look into something like that. I found him through neighbor referrals..

another option is to put the crate in the garage if they have one or backyard. But the question is how is your dog in a crate and is it ok with the homeowner

Also IMHO every pet owner needs to have a plan for when they can not be home all day with their dog, I think missing a family gathering because you have to stay home with a healthy pet is kind of sad. Think how you would feel if someone refused to visit you because they had to stay home to babysit their dog. I have several neighbors that I trust to let Lola out if I need to be out for a full day. I have a fabulous pet sitter that takes care of yorkies in her home for when I go on vacation. Try to find someone that you trust to pinch hit for you on occasion.

I just cohosted a surprise birthday party at a friends house. A gal that most of us did not know showed up carrying her 3lb yorkie. She never asked if this was OK but to her it was OK because she carried it the whole time. She said the dog had separation anxiety. So LOL here I am a yorkie lover, but I was still pissed because I thought she had a lot of nerve, plus in my heart I know to be joined at the hip 24/7 is just not normal or healthy for pet and owner. OP LOL I am not saying your are not normal, but try not to miss important family events because you have to stay home with your pup.

I have family in town that could come look in if abosoulutely needed. I really have NO idea whatsoever of how the little girl will act. Before we even found out this cousin was going to be there, my uncle had told my dad that it would be fine if we brought the dog for Thanksgiving. However, plans changed and I wound up staying home with our pets. Cricket actually does really good when left in a crate. She doesn't really make a sound, with the exception if we've been gone and we come home, she just gets excited someone's finally home. I'm still giving this some thought and I have really appreciated everyone's advice. :) thanks a lot.

sounds like Cricket is a pretty calm dog, she just might be the type of pup that the little girl would like, would you ever consider asking her mom if she wants her child to get over being so afraid.

I would, except for the fact that this is family that we haven't seen in a while. I've thought about sending my cousin a Facebook message, just asking her how her daughter reacts, but I don't know if I will do that or not. As far as treats go, I can't give Cricket regular dog treats because she had a liver shunt, she had surgery and is doing great! She does have MVD though,and eats hills l/d dry food. She now weighs 7 lbs. I give her dry regular Cheerios, (not a whole bunch, but I hate that she can't have anything). Idk, maybe the little kids could eat Cheerios with her ! LOL! :)
I know it's not a good idea to always be home with a pet, and usually on weekends I'm not. I go to the mall, go to church on Sunday, so she can be left by herself and I don't usually worry about her. :)

I think the face book message is a good idea, and cheerios would be the perfect treat for a child to give, sorry to hear about the liver shunt issue but glad she is doing well, that has to be so scary.

I would send her a message and make sure she knows you're OK with her saying no. I can't really see why it would be a huge deal, though. If she does say no, I'd have her stay home in a confined area (play pen or small room with safe toys, food, water, and a pee pad).

A dog in a crate out side is a sitting duck for humans and other animals. Callie is 6 and a half and has never ever been alone. When I go some where my Grandpa watches her when he needs to go some where I am with her. We have taken her with us to family events in other states and me and one of my parents always stayed with her during the actual graduation which are always to crowded for me any way because of my anxiety. Most of my family has pets and is fine with Callie coming over and the one who does not absolutely loves Callie and has no problem with it. Maybe when she was younger I could have left her alone but my anxiety is far to bad for that now and even if it wasn't it would be unfair for her to all of a sudden after 6 years be left alone and she does have separation anxiety. Callie is also extremely well behaved rarely ever barks, never bites and knows her manors. Maybe in your opinion it's unhealthy but there are reasons, stories and exceptions to everything.

most dogs are products of their environment and pick up signals from their owners, so if you have a dog since they are small and never leave them alone if you start doing it when they are over a few years of age they will probably have separation problems. Your right not every situation is the same, but the majority of pet owners don't live with parents or grandparents, plus they have to go out of the house to work, shop or to visit friends and unless they are physically handicapped can not always bring their dog along. So it would be wise to get them used to it at an early age. Maybe it's just me but even though I love Lola there is no way that I could work it or want to work it that someone was home with her 24/7 in most situations this is just not emotionally healthy.

I agree!! :thumbup:

I am disabled not physically but still considered disabled. But to each there own I am sure there are things you and others do with there dogs I would think are unhealthy too :p

I think you should go but I wouldn't suggest taking her and leaving her in the car...no no so not a good idea. Plus unless you have permission from the home owners you wouldn't be able to take her either. Maybe a pup sitter someone trust worthy to take her for the day.


If you do take her I agree that a crate (not her portable carrier) would be the best thing for her. Take plenty of toy to occupy her time. She probably will not tolerate being left alone in another room by herself so it wont be an easy situation for anyone including you.


Normally when we leave I have a neighbor come let our dogs out and feed them while we are gone.