Just Rescued a Senior, so I Joined for Advice I've been rescuing dogs since I could walk. My mother said I was about five when I dragged home my first rescue. I've had so many dogs come through my house, both to stay and to be adopted out, that I long ago lost track of the numbers. But until last night I never ever had a dog who weighs only 5 pounds! Yikes!! :eek: My little Widget is a Yorkie/Tzu and was born here from a Tzu I rescued from a puppy mill. She's 14 pounds and is the smallest dog I've ever had. Most of my guys were in the 50 - 100 pound range, with my "little one" a 35 pound pit bull. In the last year and a half I've lost my three big dogs to various illnesses and Widget was so sad as she's never been alone. I thought maybe I'd get her a kitten as she always begs for one at adoption events. Then I saw at Annie and Toto at the shelter - two bonded seniors, terrified with little chance of adoption. My heart melted. I took Widget down and she adored them and they thought she was okay, so we did the paper work and I picked them up from the vet last night. Toto is the Yorkie, 5 pounds of adorable fluff who likes to be near me but is afraid if I reach for him. Annie is a Chi who will take treats but keeps her distance. They were abandoned at the shelter by a homeless couple and, while not starved, were very neglected and fearful. Widget was delighted to see them and not so delighted that they ignored her. I told her to give them time. So I'm looking at the two tiniest dogs I've ever had and wondering how to best manage them. I posted over in Health & Diet about what to feed them and how much. I can't get them near the pee pads or outdoors because they don't walk on a leash and are afraid of being picked up. Thank heavens their puddles are tiny! :D |
Bless your heart!! This site is a wealth of knowledge...read, read, read! Enjoy those little ones...I cannot imagine my home without the love of a little dog!! |
TIME, they need plenty of time...and tender loving care. Bless you for taking them. You are an angel:thumbup: |
Thank you for taking care of these little ones in need, I'm sure they will come on in leaps and bounds in your care. |
Your pups are very lucky to have you. For the potty training I'd soak up a pee puddle with the pee to get the scent on it. Also if they're consistently peeing in one spot, put the pad there and slowly move it where you want it or towards the door to go outside. That's basically how I potty trained my dog because she refused to pee infront of anyone. |
wonderful! I always feel bad for the older dogs that are up for adoption bc they are set in their ways and remind me of my old boy who is 13 and I laugh sometimes at the thought of who would ever adopt him of something happened to me :( luckily I don't have to worry about that! Just be persistent with the pee pads in the spot that they seem to be spotting and praise them if you see them go! They are smart at this age and I'm sure eager to please you once you gain their trust. Also if you make one short trip outside a day they will eventually pick up on a scent and look forward to going out and maybe venturing a little further. For now just outside the door. Instinct will kick in eventually and they will love it. Good luck! |
Awwww I am so excited for them, and so happy that you took them in. Time time time...they will come around in there own little ways. I have found this site to be a HUGE resource. With my Maggie - she was so timid when she first came home. She still is but not like she was...she just needed to feel safe - I would suggest working on one task at a time. I chose potty training, as I am sure you will ;) I sort of let her dictate everything except that. Once we had potty down, we moved on to the next thing (which is using the ramp on and off the couch). Patience and love :) |
Thank you for the responses. Maggiemay's Mommy, I just lost my Maggie Mae this past spring from a stroke. She was a big ole hound dog from Georgia, but she just loved little dogs. :D I wish there was a spot they were peeing in. Toto, the Yorkie, I swear is going to dehydrate. He pees ALL the time and all over the place. I swear I didn't know a tiny dog could hold that much liquid. He made huge progress today and wanted to sit in my lap and nap, had a little game with me and has been following me around. I put him on the pad when I knew he had to go. He sniffed, gave me one of "those" looks and went over and peed on the floor. LOL I may have to drag a crate up from the basement. It's been raining off an on all day and I don't have proper harnesses for them both yet (come on Amazon!) Annie is eating her Wellness kibble with liver chunks but Toto who ate so well last night refused everything except a fried egg for breakfast and dinner. It was much drama. He had to try to bury it first and then circle the plate, drag some off to the floor, carry some to the nearest bed and finally eat the bloody thing. It was like he had to perform a ritual first and he did it for both breakfast and dinner. I swear it was like watching an episode of Supernatural. I guess as long as he doesn't summon Crowley we have it made. ;) It's funny, if these guys were hounds or shepherds it would be easy for me, but they are so tiny they're intimidating. I can't move them because they are afraid of leashes and I can't pick them up because they are afraid of that too. At least big dogs don't get carried around and snatched off the floor like these bitsies have. |
what an angel you are for rescuing them |
You will want to get harnesses for the little guys. They can have problems with their throats if you use a leash. I just added a little guy a month ago (also a rescue) and he is just now starting to let me approach him if I call his name and open my arms, walking very slowly towards him. They are very afraid of being stepped on or kicked by accident, so it makes them feet shy :) |
Bless your big wonderful heart for rescuing so many kiddos in your life - you're wonderful! And WELCOME to YT :). |
They both have harnesses. They are way too small for collars. Fortunately neither is afraid of feet. They appear to have been snatched up and maybe dropped. Toto is now asking to come up and I count to three so he knows when the lift is coming. He's good with that now even if he is still a little hesitant to come toward me when he wants to get in my lap. I think it helps a lot that Widget is here to show them that it's safe. She's always asking to be lifted. Annie, the Chi, is still not really caring if I'm around or not. Thank heavens after tomorrow I don't have to put any more bitter antibiotics into her mouth. Bacon makes it better but I'm still having to reach down and manhandle her a little to get the eyedropper in. It's funny I never really liked Yorkies before...too much barking. But Toto is a quiet little man. He barks when he's being silly and when he's begging at the table. Widget, who is half Yorkie is my screamer. If I didn't see her being born I'd never know her mother is a Shih tzu. |
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Be VERY cautious with the bacon. Small breeds are very susceptible to pancreatitis - they can get very sick, very quickly with very little fat. |
Uh oh and bacon is her only real weakness. She isn't getting much but now she will get less. I won't tell her you're the one who told me not to give it to her. :) Thanks for the tip. |
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She honestly was getting a tiny bit of bacon as a treat after I squirted bitter antibiotic in her mouth -- not as a meal. She's been getting beef liver and chicken breast fried with Pam, so no fat and Wellness Core Toy Breed for food. She didn't eat much this morning and I'm not sure Toto (the Yorkie) ate at all. He kept trying to bury it. Are Yorkies normally really fussy eaters? |
Best Wishes! Thank you for saving the little ones! My husband and I have only ever rescued our babies. Our first Yorkie was in 2009 and she passed away tragically in 2013. She was 9 years old. We adopted our second Yorkie shortly thereafter. We've always had Chihuahuas, so those were our first Yorkies and we immediately fell in love with the breed. They've all varied in size, but our Yorkie is 4.5 lbs. And our newest addition, Pinky (a Chi), is 3.5 lbs. - before we adopted her, her weight was not noted so we had no idea how tiny she was until we met her in person. Anyway, their size is just a number and its amazing how well they fit in and how active they are. It just takes the rescues a little longer to really warm up, but once they do there is nothing like them! :) After going through so many varieties of food, we've finally settled with Castor and Pollux Organix for small breeds. Its fantastic. And our Yorkie (who is the pickiest) loves it! We're very strict with not allowing them table scraps or human food because many years ago our first Chihuahua got deathly ill from eating meats (hotdogs, bacon, steak, hamburger - even though none had seasoning, it was really awful that we fed her that) on a regular basis (we honestly were unaware of the harm it does to their little intestines). So now we try to stick with organic dry kibble, which is much much better for them. Best wishes for you and your new babies! |
Beau is my first fussy eater. Maybe I just say that because he wont eat dry food. Everyone else eats just fine. My husband would not stop giving the dogs treats no matter how I begged and all the arguments I gave. Finally I got him to use dog food as treats, the dogs are so little, they seem like mini treats. I don't like to feed scraps as it makes them beg and stare while I eat. I try to discourage barking as it seems the more they are allowed to bark, the harder it is to get them to stop. I usually use a spray bottle of water. Right now Beau is intrigued by the cats and I have to spray him and put him in time out when he barks or nips at them. Luckily they just ignore him.:animal-pa |
Well, I hope I can answer this without the computer crashing. :) We finally found out last night -- they were raised on human food. We've been painting the living room and got Chinese. This is the first time Annie has show any interest in anything. She wanted that food! They have NO idea what dog food is aside from dry. Poor Annie can't eat dry because she is almost toothless and her mouth is full of stitches. The poor thing is eating when she is so hungry she can't stand it. Since I've always provided food that was delicious to tempt malnourished dogs to eat this breaks my heart. But she won't eat any "real food" human or dog. I don't dare use a squirt bottle since Toto is still afraid he's going to be hurt. His barking is funnier than annoying because he's so little. Widget is a different matter. When she barks it's piercing and really loud. I'm sure she wonders why she gets fussed at and we just laugh at him. I actually don't mind begging. I enjoy watching them get creative and think up ways to get me to fork over treats. Some of the funniest moments have been watching them thinking of something that will work and then carry out their devious plan. My favorites so far have been my Joe, a beagle-doxie who would stare a hole in me until I looked at her and then she'd looked at the ceiling pretending she was never interested at all. And a big collie who would just plant one foot gently on my leg until I noticed her and then snap that leg tight against her chest like a salute. Of course the little one who come up when I read a poem about a blind dog and was in tears. He let me hug him -- and stole my sandwich! LOL So the food follies continue here but they are at least eating something. I really thank everyone for their stories. I'm learning something new every day here. :) |
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