Getting my Morkie boy tomorrow!

[GabyM]

Hey everyone! I am new to the site and will be asking lots of questions once I bring my baby home tomorrow! He will be 8 weeks Sunday! I took a few days off of work to spend with him but am a little concerned with leaving him alone for 8 hours at home, especially being so small. We have a pet cam and all already
I'm sure my mom will be willing to keep an eye on him too (she already watches my 2 kids, one more is not alot to ask....)
A little about my baby, his name is Chase (my 2 year old daughter named him after her fav pup character on her fav cartoon, Paw Patrol)
He was born March 14, 2015 daddy is full yorkie and mommy is full maltese. I always wanted a morkie, best of both worlds! I love yorkies and malteses! So he is a great addition to my family! Meet my new baby boy! (I've attached a pic)

[teasell]

Chase is adorable. Wishing you great luck with your new Furbaby

[JadeD]

How cute! I hope your mom is prepared. It might be more work than your kids are! I am bringing home my Yorkie mixes on May 18th. I have an exercise pen set up already for them and they will have pee pads in case I don't get to them quickly enough.

Good luck!

What a cutie.

[Nancy1999]

I'm a little worried about taken a small breed dogs home so early. One of the reason Maltese breeders and Yorkie breeders say 12 weeks is that the mother teaches the pup important things even after it weaned. For example, she will teach inhibition of the biting reflex, this is an important thing for a puppy to learn. All dogs bite at one time or another, but a puppy well socialized by it's mama will earn not to bite with all of it's force. It might nip at your child sometime and you don't want it to use all of it's force. Also, the mama can help start teaching the pups good pee pad training and will push to pup over to a pee pad when she smell it has the urge to urinate. House breaking difficulties and biting are one of the main reasons people give up their dogs. Good breeders understand this and want to place a dog in it's forever home, not just a home that will keep him for a while. I'm also not convinced Yorkies or Maltese make great dogs with children, and mixing the breeds does nothing to enhance the health and stability. Maltese and Yorkies have many of the same health problems. I'm sure it's will be a cutie, but that should be your smallest consideration. How does you mom feel about this? Training a puppy is hard work. Small children have to be trained how to handle the puppy. For example, Britney Spears toddlers threw her Yorkie and it wound up with a broken leg. Seriously, you have to change your whole lifestyle with a puppy.

[Zeus is Loved]

He is so cute -- I just want to hug him! Okay, I'm new here as well and my baby is 7 months old. We got him when he was a little over 10 weeks old. We did not/do not crate him. Both me and my husband work and our 14 year old is at school all day. We gated him in our laundry room which was big enough for a bed, pads, and food with room to move. My husband is close enough to home that he could go check on him some days. He did okay (just really lonely, I'm sure), and when he was using the pads properly, we moved the gate where he was in the kitchen and laundry room. He was happier, and when that went well, we now gate him where he has the den, kitchen, and laundry room. My husband built him a ramp, and he lives on the couch most of the day! It does get better. Of course, my son's last week of school is next week and then he'll be home for the summer.

[ColesMommy01]

Welcome to YT! I know you're super excited for your new puppy . I'm a SAHM so I don't have any input on whether or not it's difficult to leave an 8 week old puppy alone. I would suggest that if someone can check in on him during lunch or breaks it would make things easier on him. Also, since you have small children please keep a very close eye on the puppy. Kids are a bit off balance/excitable at times and don't look where they're going(my 6 year old is so full of ENERGY so my yorks are never out when he's downstairs playing).

[Lovetodream88]

In my opinion 8 weeks is to young to be left alone for 8 hours because what happens if the pup gets hypoglycemic? No one will be there to help and that can end in death. Reputable breeders generally don't let puppies go home until 12 weeks.

[MissSunni]

Congratulations. I would be a little worried to leave such a young puppy alone for so long too. My rescue was 9/10 weeks old when I got her and she definitely needed to be coaxed to eat regularly and help with learning what the wee wee pad was for and when to use it. I was able to be home with her and after several months she did have an episode that caused severe letharia, sweating, and some other symptoms. She had to go to the er vet. We had a few such situations, and if I hadn't been there to see how bad she was, she wouldn't have lasted 8 hrs. I still can't believe how incredibly fragile these little ones are. Best wishes. Why is the breeder allowing her home so young? My little girl was headed to a kill shelter because she required some expensive surgery. I have had puppies before but they were always over 12 weeks old, huge difference. I took her sight unseen and got the surgery for her, but I had to keep my eye on her like a hawk. And thats only the basics, like eating, peeing and pooping, lol. The nipping, jumping running, that all takes lots of time, patience and training. If there is mischief to be found, Sunni will find it, lol Its only now at 6 months that I feel less worried about leaving her for a few hours at a time. The longest has been 4 hours when my son would get home. I am fortunate to be able to work from home and set my own schedule.

[Cindy_17]

Congrats on getting your new baby! I know your family is excited to bring Chase home, he is such a cutie!

[Wylie's Mom]

Omg, he is just ADORABLE!! What little peanut...will be so fun to watch him grow and see his coat grow out and change.

Like others have said, this is a very, very young age for a small breed pup to be separated from its Momma. Can you ask the breeder to keep him until 12 weeks maybe? Those extra 4 weeks can make a world of difference in terms of sturdiness. If not, I would most def see if your Mom can be with him while you're gone...that would be really good.

[GabyM]

Thanks everyone for the replys and concerns. He is staying with my mom with my kids so he's being watched all day. I actually had the same concern about separating him at 8 weeks but I spoke to 2 different vets and they said it was okay at 8 weeks but that I had to make sure he was eating and drinking properly and being watched and carefully monitored. I am taking him for his first shots this week.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by GabyM

Thanks everyone for the replys and concerns. He is staying with my mom with my kids so he's being watched all day. I actually had the same concern about separating him at 8 weeks but I spoke to 2 different vets and they said it was okay at 8 weeks but that I had to make sure he was eating and drinking properly and being watched and carefully monitored. I am taking him for his first shots this week.

Just a comment...most/many vets aren't all that familiar w/ small toy breed dogs -- and that smaller breeds *should* stay with their Mom until 12 weeks old, whereas larger breed dogs often leave at 8 weeks. Just an fyi .

If you do get shots - make sure you do not get forced into giving a bunch at once. The only core vaccine needed at this age is distemper/parvo. I would not give any non-core vaccines.

[GabyM]

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

Just a comment...most/many vets aren't all that familiar w/ small toy breed dogs -- and that smaller breeds *should* stay with their Mom until 12 weeks old, whereas larger breed dogs often leave at 8 weeks. Just an fyi .

If you do get shots - make sure you do not get forced into giving a bunch at once. The only core vaccine needed at this age is distemper/parvo. I would not give any non-core vaccines.

Thank you for the info! The vet I am taking him to has a "puppy package" vaccine combo. This is how it is scheduled, let me know what you think:

First Visit (6-9 weeks old)
Complete physical health exam
Distemper combo vaccine
Fecal exam-for intestinal worms
Deworming medication
Pamphlet & brochures on puppy health
Second Visit (3wks. after 1st visit)
Complete physical health exam
Distemper combo vaccine
Kennel cough vaccine
Deworming medication
Third Visit (3wks. after 2nd visit)
Complete physical health exam
Distemper combo vaccine with Lepto
Lyme disease vaccine
Deworming medication
Fourth Visit (3 wks. after 3rd visit)
Complete physical health exam
Rabies vaccine-includes Cook County tag
Final distemper vaccine with Lepto
Lyme disease vaccine

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by GabyM

Thanks everyone for the replys and concerns. He is staying with my mom with my kids so he's being watched all day. I actually had the same concern about separating him at 8 weeks but I spoke to 2 different vets and they said it was okay at 8 weeks but that I had to make sure he was eating and drinking properly and being watched and carefully monitored. I am taking him for his first shots this week.

Actually, I'm not worried that the dog will survive, I'm worried that it will bite your daughter too hard at some point. Also, I'm worried because a two year old doesn't understand that even if the dog bites, they can't throw him down. Of course it's possible, that everything will be fine, but it will take training for the dog and training for your daughter and I just wonder if your mom and you will be up for this? Training involves more than just telling your daughter or dog something a couple times.

[wigglewomyn]

Welcome to YT and congratulations on becoming the mommy of a morkie! Chase is a cutie! You are going to have so much fun with him.

I also work full-time and have two puppies. I always had someone at home with the puppies the first few months we got them. My daughter is still home during the day with them to let them out of their crates to go to the bathroom and to interact with them so they aren't penned up for 8 - 9 hours straight.

I hope your mom knows that it is going to be hard to take care of the new puppy along with your two children. When my grandchildren come over, I have to watch them constantly around the puppies so they don't squeeze them too tightly, don't drop them, don't kick them when running around, etc.

Yes, your vet is right that a puppy can be taken from its mother at 8 weeks of age, but I would have to agree with others that it really isn't the best time to take him from his mother. I also think you should ask your breeder if they could keep your puppy for a few more weeks. Yorkies and morkies are so very small at 8 weeks plus as others have mentioned, they learn bite inhibition and toilet training from their mother around this age. Even at a few weeks older, I had to give my one puppy nutrical on more than one occasion because her blood sugar went low because she wasn't eating and she had been doing too much. If I hadn't have been there to do that, I hate to think what might have happened. Just something for you to think about.

I know you and your family are going to have a wonderful time and make many happy memories with Chase. I am so happy I have my two puppies; I don't know what I did without them