Potential Yorkie owner - grateful for any advice
 

Hello all - I know I am brand new to the forum, but if anyone has time to share their experiences with me, I would be very grateful. A family friend has a littler of yorkie puppies and has offered me a very sweet, very calm male who is about 9 weeks old. I really want him, but as I am a single person who has never raised a puppy by herself before, I am very intimidated. I have two weeks off right now to start him off on the right foot, but judging from the posts I have read on this site (yes, I've been stalking :), it sounds like peepads are going to be part of my life for the next few years? As I already clean out my two cats' litter boxes, I'm not sure how I feel about that. That brings me to my other concern - one of my cats has lived with dogs before, but one hasn't, and of course they have to be my first priority when considering a new puppy. How are yorkies in general with cats?
Anyway, I need to come to a real decision quickly, and if anyone has any personal experiences that could help me one way or the other, I would really appreciate it!

Hello and welcome to YT!
If you use disposable pee pads, you just throw them away and put out a clean one every day. Easier to do than cleaning out a litter box. And you would definitely have to use them because you would not be able to let your puppy out to relieve himself as you will be working all day.
A friend of mine had two cats and got a Yorkie puppy and the two cats chased the puppy all the time, it was a real problem. In my personal opinion, if you say your cats have to be your main priority over a new puppy, I think it would be best not to get the puppy right now. A nine week old puppy will need a lot of attention and training, unlike cats.

I personally would be very weary of buying a Yorkie from an inexperienced breeder. Good breeders do health testing, so you limit the chances of you dog inheriting a serious and expensive illness. For example, one common thing with Yorkies is luxating patella, the knees slips out the joint and doesn't always go back in. Surgery to fix one knee is a minimum of $1000 and they have to be confined for a long time while the knee heals.
You are correct about pee pads, but that’s for the human’s convenience, so that you don’t have to worry about coming home from work and letting you dog out, but Yorkies can be trained to go outside like any other dog. Do you work? Personally, it might be better to get an older dog, has passed a health check and is already house broken. You’d also have to protect your Yorkie from the cats, they could do major harm. One last thing, 9 weeks is too young to separate a toy breed from it’s mother, the mother may have weaned the dog, but she’s teaching the beginnings of potty training, (she drags the dog to the paper when it needs to relieve itself) and also inhibition of the biting reflex. Pet owners who buy dogs before the age of 12 weeks, often having more trouble with potty training and biting. I personally don’t think you should buy a Yorkies unless you have a burning desire to have a baby and nobody can talk you out of it. Yorkies are almost as much work as a baby.

If you do get the puppy with cats be very careful as puppies are extremely playful. Depending on the age of your cats, they will more than likely will not want to be bother and see the puppy as an intruder. If the cats are as playful as he is, then you may have a match made in heaven.

One of the things you have to keep an eye on is the cats will take swipes at your puppy. If their claws are out, they could scratch an eye out and cause some serious damage.

I've had cats before I got my yorkies and my cat hated my first yorkie. Although they never became best friends, they did manage a peaceful co existence. I fostered a kitten with my second yorkie and they freaking loved each other but that was probably because they were both very playful. In fact, I had to separate them at night because they would spend the entire night chasing each across the bed while I was sleeping.

It could be hit or miss but I will say that as long as the cats have a place to escape from the puppy, they should be okay. Make sure to the cats have plenty of hiding places from the puppy. Puppies are extremely high energy and will look to your cats as playmates. He will probably want to chase them. However after a few carefully place swipes, usually puppies learn to leave cats alone. It's those swates that you have to be worried about as they could easily scratch your puppy.

Hopefully your cat is like mine. Whenever she took a swipe at Duchess her claws were never out. It was sort of a leave me alone could of swat. Hope this helps.

First, welcome :)!

Second, read a lot in this thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...ent-guide.html

I'd want to know more about the Dam/Sire's health status...their knees etcetera before buying this puppy.

As far as pee pads...I use the pee pad method and I wish I never, ever would've gone down that road as I think it really confuses the dogs. I'd recommend training for outside potty only if I were you.

I agree that if you are going to get a puppy, a good time to get one is when you have some time off to spend caring for the little kiddo.

As far as the cats, you will be able to train the puppy to treat the cats appropriately, over time.

Thanks so much for all the advice - let me clarify - I meant that since the cats were here first, I'm not going to jeopardize their happiness and health for a new puppy. Of course, if I decide that a puppy will not pose a serious risk to them, I understand that he will need more than they will. In fact, the fact that my cats need so little will make it very easy for me to care for him :)
As to where I get my puppy from, if getting a puppy from a dear friend - a puppy whose parents I have both met and whom I have literally gotten to watch grow up from the day he was born - if the source of my puppy is going to be an issue with being in the forum, I guess that's ok. I will have to look for advice elsewhere.
Thanks again for all the advice! Happy Holidays!

Stick with the cats at this time of your life. Yorkies are very child like, dependent, crave/demand attention, and I personally believe that when making a commitment to a yorkie, you must be made aware how inclusive they expect to be in your life....they are more like a child, than a pet....I have had dogs all my life and Yorkies are not ever away from your side/lap/eyesight for any length of time...they expect to be treated like your next of kin....they are not the "pets" in the house...no yorkie I have ever had, will play and interact with me, and then happily go off and enjoy amusing themselves, spending alone time, etc., more cat like or like other dog breeds are content to do. Yorkies are part of you and they attach themselves to you and expect you to treat them as you would your first born human child.......it is you and them against the rest of the house and world!!!!!

In your household, you have already established top spot is already taken by your cats....a yorkie will not be happy or do well, being second fiddle behind cats, in the pack! As far as where you get your puppy or the age you get it, we have seen many, many hearts broken.....please excuse us if some have simply tried to educate anyone that wants to listen, when and why yorkies are best when left with mommas until 12-14 weeks old....just an attempt to share common knowledge with someone completely new to our breed.

When I read this a couple days ago, I thought the family friend was giving you a yorkie.

Cat's, dogs, they're all individuals, can't say for sure what will happen but here goes. Pups are active, they will want to play with the cats near any time they are awake. I'm sure the cats won't like it, be sure they ALWAYS have places to hide, up high out of reach of the pup. He's going to bark, a LOT, trying to entice the cats to play with him.

I think what others are touching on a bit is, you'll have to have a spot open for the pup to be your "number 1". He needs to have that. If that spot is open, it could still work out real well with the understanding that the cats will have to adjust to the change in the pecking order. It won't work well if the cats are given priority over the yorkie.

In addition to other reading materials offered above, maybe google something like "abscesses caused by cat claws on dogs".... just be prepared, it'll probably happen. I also second the 12 week old recommendation...

Members have given good advise as to breeding and breeders, just all concerned you are aware of genetic issues that can and may arise from improper breeding, not checking several generations back for health issues. Just giving you "food for thought". Who you get your puppy from is up to you.
I will tell you this, this forum is filled with members that has had yorkies for years.
This forum has excellent breeders that check 10+ generations back to ensure no genetic defects are in their breeding pair.
This forum has members that are filled with medical knowledge and all willing to share their knowledge and experience, all in the name of LOVE for the breed.
You LOSE by leaving this forum, and your puppy can suffer the consequences for your decision.
Yes, there are other DOG / Yorkie forums, that will agree with bad breeding being ok , will tell you what you want to hear. If that is what you are looking for then YT is not for you.
If you are looking for honest sound advise, suggestions, solutions then YT is the place to be.
I saw no negative comments against who you are getting your puppy from, just concern over where and who the puppy was being gotten from, and good advise, suggestions and solutions regarding the puppy and your cat priority.
Stay or leave is your choice or your loss. Good luck with your puppy and cats and happy holidays to you and your family.

Those look like the two main points to me... plus, yes, you'll have some pee pads in there somewhere.

I just re-read what she originally wrote again and now I see.... she writes she must consider the cats as part of the decision making process, not that the cats get the priority, but that it is a priority to consider the cats.

I think she has the right approach there. :D

Yes, looks like she did get offended about the breeding comments. :eek:

LOL Who hasn't been offended here about something? LOL ;)

She'll either get over it or she won't. :rolleyes:

Merry Christmas! :)

Cats are much easier to take care of and so for me, my yorkie always got more attention because she was so much more needy. My cat was quite content with her own company. As long as she had food in her bowl, a clean litter box and the occasional cuddle time, she was okay. I was always mindful of my cat's needs. For example when I first brought Duchess home, she would go straight for the cat. My cat obviously didn't like it so I had to train Duchess to stop chasing the cat and to leave her alone. That's what you will have to do to maintain a peaceful coexistence.

Just keep in mind that your yorkie is going to require a lot more attention. Also dogs are pack animals and are much more social so while you think the cats will come first, the yorkie will quickly take over that spot. It's not to say that the cats value is diminished, it's more that the squeaky wheel get's the grease.