6-7 week old YorkiePoo - Help!
 

Hello all,

I will be adopting a YorkiePoo this Saturday, He is 7 weeks old (I understand that that is young but the breeder has certain circumstances)

I just had a few questions since this will be my first puppy!

1. Being that the puppy is between 6-7 weeks old are there any specific things I should do so that the puppy does not lose skills that it would gain from their mother for those additional 2 weeks? (I read a lot about this online and honestly it's scaring me that by getting the puppy so early I may be a determinate to his health)

2. I work from 9-4 PM everyday and occasionally I'll either work later in the am (10 am) or work from home - Is it okay to leave the puppy in a crate which is connected to a xpen for them to play in? Any advice on this?

3. What type of foods should I be feeding it?

4. Any tips for potty training?

Honestly anything would help! I've been on the internet and reading puppy books for the past week, I just want to make sure that I am ready for this puppy.


Thank you!

I would first like to welcome you YT.
Before you buy this little 6 or 7 week old baby I would like for you to read 3 recent's threads on buying puppies under the age of 12 weeks old, or from unethical perhaps even BYB (back yard breeders).
You do not yet have this baby and you are worrying about the "what if's"
Why would even want to get this puppy.

Please read these 3 threads then decide if it's really worth getting this puppy.

Prayers needed for Xena


Emergency Anemic 9 wo puppy

Parvo. :(


Please, read these threads BEFORE you buy this puppy.

hello, agree with above post please reconsider. "special" circumstances of a breeder = trouble..there are a lot of experienced toy breed owners on here..please listen to them!!

Why would you want to leave such a tiny puppy alone for so many hours by itself??????
I'm glad you are searching what is best for the puppy but a reality check is these tiny creatures need 24/7 care especially at this age.
Loneliness in a human is extremely difficult and taking a baby from its mom and siblings is tramatic. They are pack animals and you would only be that pack leader on a part time basis.
Please reconsider this decision to get a baby so young. . .

Hi! I sent you a private message with some advice that I hope will help you! :)

Hi and welcome to YT :).

To be totally honest, I would not take this puppy under any circumstances that the breeder may claim to have. It's irresponsible on the breeder's part, and it'd the same on your part as well, to be frank.

If you do end up taking it regardless that it's not the right thing to do for this little puppy, then I guess it's a life or death risk you're willing to take. Personally, I would not put a living creature in this sort of vulnerable situation.

You need to read this thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...ent-guide.html

As far as feeding, feed whatever the breeder is feeding and do NOT change the food until this pup makes it until about 14-16 weeks old. Have Nutrical on hand and give it before bedtime, and right when they wake in the morning...and perhaps a couple times btwn meals. Free feed the kibble.

What is the LAW for taking puppies from mothers in Virginia????????? In most States, it is against the law to remove puppies from their mothers before they are 8 weeks old....that is for a reason. Survival rates drop off substantially when a immature baby is torn from its mother before 8 weeks of age. There is NO excuse that validates removing a puppy earlier than 8 weeks from momma......it is acceptable behavior for back yard breeders to pull this stunt, dumping immature babies with NO vaccinations (if this pup does have vaccinations, they are ZERO good because they have been given WAY tooo early)because of an "emergency".....that is just an excuse to get rid of a puppy before it costs the person that irresponsibly bred the dogs, any money....they breed the dog, they have the puppies, then before they have to cover expenses for shots, worming, etc, they "have an emergency out of town" and dump sick, weak, unvaccinated immature babies on who ever they can hood wink into buying them.

What you SHOULD do is report the person selling immature puppies before the legal age to do so in your State, if that is the case.

Virginia Law:
"Since July 1, 1995 there has been a law in effect in the Commonwealth of Virginia that requires all puppies and kittens to stay with their mothers until at least seven weeks of age. The law also requires all breeders to get the puppies and kittens their first vaccine at least five days before they are adopted to a new home.

This law is designed to help us have happier and healthier pets. The need for the first vaccine is obvious. The immune system of such young puppies and kittens is immature and needs the benefit of vaccines to build immunity. In dogs, Distemper and Parvo to name just two, are life threatening viruses that are preventable through vaccination, risking infection with these viruses by not vaccinating at the right time is irresponsible. Kittens need to be vaccinated for the common upper respirator viruses. One of these viruses is a herpes-type virus that if the cat is exposed to it without prior immunity, the virus can be a lifelong problem.

The need to stay with their mothers and littermates is based on their social education and development. Puppies' personal-ities are at least partially shaped by their interaction with their brothers, sisters, and their mothers. The mother will teach them how to behave and when they have gone too far. The mother dog will hold a disobedient puppy down to let them know that a particular behavior is not allowable. Puppies need to play and wrestle with their littermates. They learn from this how to adjust to who is in charge and where they fit in the hierarchy. This play behavior helps these pups when they come into your home to understand how they can play and how they fit into your family. Puppies that have aggressive tendencies need to have their inappropriate behaviors suppressed early to help their personalities develop in the more socially acceptable direction. "

The person I am adopting the dog from is a family friend and well trusted. She is going through losing someone in her family and is sending the puppies to shelters....So please get past the fact that the puppy is too young, it happens. At least I will be able to provide a loving home to the puppy. Now...if you can help that would be great..you can do so by answering my original questions. If not, then please don't waste my time reading something I already know. Thanks.

The puppy is 7 weeks......So there's that.

The puppy is 7 weeks.

I will do better than that......I will also get past the possibility this unfortunate puppy will experience critical issues that it may not even survive........I wont waste MY time trying to get past attitude and trying to cram several years to a lifetime of knowledge and education into someone that can just as easily as anyone else did, pick up a valid book and get educated by professionals rather than relying on possible inaccurate on line information, garnered from unknown sources.....dont want to waste MY time, which is every bit as important as yours.

".....you can do so by answering my original questions. If not, then please don't waste my time reading something I already know". Certainly dont want to waste YOUR valuable time......

Wishing that puppy/"puppies" in an xpen left at least 7 hours a day, at 7 weeks old for the very best outcome in an unfortunate situation. You have been reading books for a "whole week" and you still do not know what to even feed this little soul? Praying for that puppy/puppies as it enters an unfortunately precarious situation.

Since this person is a friend and unless you are getting this pup for free I would let her send all the puppies to the shelter so they can at least have 24 hr care. Once they are a month or so older, they will get adopted. Puppies always do.

If something happens to this pup I'm sure it will strain your friendship.

As for leaving a pup that young by itself that long? No I would not do it. You have to make sure they are eating every 3 hours or so and if they haven't eaten or won't eat due to stress from change of environment or illness they can go downhill in a matter of hours. We have had many member here that take their vacation days from work to coincide with getting a new puppy so they can be home with them 24/7 for at least a week.

I agree with capt noonie (above) -- often the little cute ones from the shelter will go to foster care until they are old enough to be adopted. Sorry for the lost of your friend's family member .... difficult times often result in difficult choices. Good luck to all involved.

With all due respect, a lot of people have taken a lot of time to answer your questions and your rudeness in response is rather uncalled for. You asked for advice and you got it. You asked for advice on taking such a young puppy and you got it. Please don't turn on such a wonderful and helpful community because you may have phrased your question incorrectly😟 .

I am rather appalled at the rude/harsh responses to this individual who joined yorkie talk in order to ask some questions about getting a new puppy. Nobody, with an exception of myself (in a private message) have bothered to answer any of the questions that were asked, all of the responses have been quite negative and judgemental. I personally have owned FIVE yorkies during my lifetime. One came to live with me at 6 weeks old, two at seven weeks, one at 9 weeks, and one at 12 weeks. NONE of them were purchased from backyard breeders, but came from homes where they were raised inside with human interaction and well taken care of. Out of all five, the ONLY one that ended up being sick was the one that I purchased at 12 weeks. At around 5 months old, she started having severe, constant seizures, and stayed very sick. The rest of my yorkies all lived to have very long, happy, healthy lives. So, regardless of the age that they come to live with you, you can always end up with a sick puppy, I am living proof of that. My current yorkie came to live with me at 7 weeks of age, and now at 4 1/2 months old, she is a very healthy little ball of energy. While I do understand some of the concerns expressed here, I think there are nicer and more helpful ways to say things. I thought YT was a place where people who love Yorkies can come to share stories and get advice, not be personally attacked. Go back and read the responses, most all of them were not very kind or welcoming to this person.

1. There are hundreds of skills the mom would have taught the puppy had the puppy been allowed to stay with the mother for the appropriate length of time. Your puppy could suffer from a number of issues including, but not restricted to, separation anxiety. Be prepared - this is not an easy condition to deal with and I speak from experience.


2. In no way is it okay to leave a YT puppy @ 7 weeks old all alone for this long. There are too many things which could happen, including hypoglycaemia, which is life threatening.


3. Is the puppy even weaned yet? My YT was not fully weaned until over 10 weeks of age. I think you should seek vet advice re: this.


4. 7 weeks is way too early to consider potty training.


For the record, I disagree that the responses here have been harsh. They have been realistic. I think that, whatever the circumstances are which led to the breeder releasing the puppy this early, you would be better to not replicate the rashness of taking this puppy from its mother without understanding the repercussions of what you are doing.


Is there no way to take the mom and the pups to a shelter or at least take the pups and the mom to a home together?


If you are determined to take this on, which is wholly unfair to the puppy despite your noble intentions, then I would suggest that you visit with a vet BEFORE taking this puppy home so that you can be armed with all of the necessary information and equipment.


I, for one, am appalled at the sheer volume of people who 'breed' and find themselves in 'circumstances' which result in puppies abandoned to shelters or inexperienced owners.


Nonetheless, I hope that you make the right decision for you and the puppy and wish you best of luck.

Thank God for you and your help offered to this poor unfortunate soul, since
".............nobody, with an exception of myself (in a private message) have bothered to answer any of the questions that were asked, all of the responses have been quite negative and judgementa[/B]l." All those questions she asked are basic, elementary information that can be elaborately addressed in helpful books that she should be reading BEFORE getting the puppy. Thank God for the "posting police" who turn on members and chastise THEM for help they offered....no one was cruel or rude or incorrect in anything they said, including me. I always try to address individual people, right out front, not in private messages, for all to see and read and learn from....and I NEVER assault another member for the way THEY address another poster...that is NOT what is in the best interest of the forum....it tends to make the member doing it, look like they are trying to be some kind of "holier than thou" crusader....

Hopefully, you are an experienced breeder that can offer this person VALUABLE, USEFUL help that will assist her with this puppy, rather than assaulting fellow members that do NOT post like you do. Hopefully, you also gave her titles of valuable resources/books that will accurately help her with this puppy. Cudos to you and your valuable "off site" help...hopefully, she will utilize the help you, as an experienced breeder, have given her.

My initial post to her, did nothing but educate her about the person she was getting this unfortunate puppy from. I wish I had a dollar for every time over the last 35 years, I have had someone tell me, "the lady is having an emergency and has to leave town and I rescued the tiny little immature puppy"....and then the puppy gets ill and dies because it has had NO vaccinations, and the new, inexperienced owner is heart broken..... We are all adults here....we really do not have to pussy-foot around the cold hard truth of bad breeders off loading unvaccinated puppies on clueless people that have not picked up a book or invested any of their valuable time into research on the breed they are interested in, or the pitfalls of doing business with unscrupulous breeders. Thank God you have picked up the slack and been the only person to offer this person any educated, valuable information. I went back and read all the "horrific posts" sent to this person...sorry, didnt see anything a 5 year old could not have handled....nothing but informative, accurate, helpful, direct information from people that took their time to try to help. Thank goodness you were there to make everyone else look horrible and uncaring and uninformative.....

I don't believe anyone offered any responses that were rude.

The original poster should be well educated prior to even thinking about getting a puppy of any kind and well equipped to know know what is involved in raising a puppy. I'm sure we were all shocked at her lack of any basic knowledge. For the record, I thought the original poster herself was rude in her second response given she had received a number of helpful responses.

Further, what is the need to private email anyone in specific response to a question posted? If responses are public everyone learns.

Anything you label as rudeness in the responses here you are misinterpreting. It is not rudeness - it is simply a shock and an attitude of "looking-out" for any potential puppies. This is a site for the welfare of Yorkshire Terriers and their care - not a site to coddle those who fail to do appropriate research prior to acquiring any young puppy of any breed.

Yorkiemom1 - right on!

What you perceive as rude/harsh I see as informative. I myself have had 4 puppies all gotten at 8 weeks old, that was years ago, I was lucky to have healthy puppies. If you are an avid YT member, you will know in the last 10 days we have lost puppies to Parvo, Pneumonia another one anemia, have you watched a baby die before your very eyes? Have you had your heart torn out when you have done everything medically possible only to loose a tiny baby that never had a chance at life. Once you take that baby from the "breeder" and hold it in your arms, there is a instant bond with that baby, and you vow to give it a happy healthy life, you fall in love with it immediately, to loose it days, weeks a few months later is devastating. The OP opening statement she was told the puppy was 7 weeks old,but she believes it is 6 weeks old. Who lets a baby go before any vaccines are given, now she posts it's a trusted friend, if this friend is so trusted, why come here looking for HELP. Let her read of the last 3 recent under age puppies that just died, let her decide can she handle loosing a wee little soul, that is all I asked of her to do, read before you buy. Free puppy is what ppl see, down the road this "free" puppy can cost you thousands of $, and you still loose them. Money invested in vet bills can be earned back, death of a puppy cannot. Money means nothing to me when it comes to health care for a pup, it's the emotional stress that new owner goes through. No one was judgmental, just caring and concerned for the OP and this puppy. I PRAY this wee little baby makes it and is not ANOTHER sick puppy being pawned off to an expecting new owner. OP states babies are going to a shelter, she is saving one little baby that fate..1-she should have put that in her opening statement, perhaps responses would have been different...2-it is a beautiful thing she is doing by keeping this baby, I just pray it is a healthy baby and her heart does not get ripped out if it is not and she looses a little being that she has fallen totally in love with, it's a painful experience. I know even if she read of the deaths of our most recent puppies she would still go fourth and get this baby because, ppl think it won't happen to them.

If reading accurate and good advice is a waste of your time, then I'm confused as to why you posted here. You asked for advice, and people here *will* give it -- and -- they will base it upon their experience. That's what you're seeing here...and if I were you, I would actually feel pretty grateful that other people have taken their time to share their thoughts with you, not even knowing you one bit. Keep an open mind, look around a bit, and then you'll more likely understand why people are recommending against this. I realize you don't know just how many too-young puppies we've seen DIE, yes DIE, here bc of people putting them in situations that were exactly like what you're thinking. Exactly. Would you rather we lie to you, or tell you the truth? Here at YT, we're known for telling the truth about what can happen...we care about these vulnerable animals.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

This is awesome advice here! If you do truly care for this puppy, you should give it the best chance by letting it go to a shelter, where there is 24 hr care. Pup the puppy's life first, not your own desires...and if you do that, you'll do the right thing here. :)

I'm a bit confused with this situation.. I am a relatively new yorkie owner & Lacey was a sick adult when I got her, but, none the less, an adult. I joined this group to learn..and I have learned a lot!! The one common thing I have read in multiple threads is that yorkies (toy breed) puppies should stay with their mother for at least 12 weeks! OP why is the friend separating them? Why not find a foster (maybe you) that can take them all>? At least the mother could feed and socialize her pups while you work. If the breeder is a friend, she would trust you with her dog for a few weeks?! It might help her crisis too!
Information can seem harsh if its not what we hope to hear...that is our issue not the person providing it.

Actually, that is my definition of a backyard breeder. Not all byb's do it for financial gain like puppy mills. Byb's are people who do not do the necessary testing (more than just blood work or a once over from the vet), breed to better the breed, show, etc. If I were to have even one litter, I would be a byb. Plus the fact that they let the pups go that early. I mean 6 weeks?! Most states that is illegal.

Your current pup now, only 4 1/2 month old. How do you know she will be healthy? You said yourself your 12 week old got very sick at 5 months. How do you know your 4 1/2 month old won't get sick in the future? I'm sure the one you got at 12 weeks you thought was healthy until she got sick right? Most of these conditions don't come up for years.

Also curious to know what your breeder did about the pup with seizures?

Yes This :thumbup:Perfect Post & Perfect solution as well. This would be the very best thing for all concerned both mother, pups an humans as well:animal-pa PLEASE do not try to leave this puppy at home alone for the hrs you stated as this could very well be this pups death sentence.

:thumbup:

I think if someone doesn't know this type of thing before they purchased a puppy then there is no need to be ashamed or embarrassed or defensive and, really, the best thing to do is move on from the mistake and do not repeat it and certainly do not encourage others to repeat your mistake.

However, coming on here for advice beforehand and then choosing to be defensive about it because it may not be what one wanted to hear...well, that is just irresponsible and selfish. This type of behavior supports BYBs and all the problems which go along with them.

I really hope that people can see that all of these comments were meant to assist this little dog and its mom. Truly, I am not interested in the breeders 'circumstances' as contingency plans for varying circumstances should have been put into place before making the decision to add life to this planet.

That is just my opinion, though.

Agree with the above. You came here to ask for advice and it is being offered. DO NOT take this puppy. If that is not what you came here to hear, sorry. If you want to have an attitude to the people here that are giving you sound advice, then simply go away. Frankly, the schedule that you outlined is not sufficient for a pup that young. They may have blood sugar issues or other time critical emergencies that you simply will not be there to take care of. There are so many issues with taking a pup this young and if you are not there to be in charge of the situation ALL of the time, then you are doing this little soul NO big favor by taking it over a shelter where at least there will be someone for them all of the time.
All of the above is good advice. Swallow your pride or whatever it is that makes you snap back at good intents and advice and realize that the puppy would be better with someone who can give it the attention that it needs at this critical time in its little life.

Not what we are here for. This person asked some pointed questions about a situation that it would be best not to get into. The members here have given some frank advise, yes. But GOOD advice just the same. Your whole 10 posts here establish you obviously as an expert who we all should listen to....
But seriously. If you have taken on all of these pups who should still be with there mothers and litters, then you have already told us everything we need to know about you.

ABSOLUTELY CORRECT!!!!
I cried my eyes out yesterday for Xena, who put up such a fight for her life for MONTHS now. I PROMISED my little girl that I would make her healthy and happy. I spent 10K in just 4 months so far, but I think that I have finally crested that hill, thank God. But if you are not willing to give everything it takes and understand what the risks and possible costs are going to be, then it is best to just not take it on.
There is always that chance that the dog will be the superdog who has no problems associated with leaving mom that soon. But there is a MUCH higher chance that there will be ongoing complications that you will have to deal with. As long as there is a bankroll and a willingness to do whatever has to be done, then go for it. But if not, just say no.

Thank you all for your responses. My intentions were not to be rude. I've bought over 10+ books about Yorkiepoo puppies and how to raise them several weeks beforehand, asking what to feed it was solely to ask for advice on type of brands and types of food to feed the puppy that have worked for you and your puppy seemed to enjoyed. I was a little frustrated because I already knew beforehand what you were posting due to my original post...I was asking on how to yield the puppy from what it would be missing. I appreciate everyone's input. I have hired a pet sitter to fill in for the hours I am not there and have rearranged my schedule.

Thank you for everything - This post has answered all my questions.