New Yorkie Mom - Need advice
 

I recently said "goodbye" to my terrier-chihuahua mix that was my first baby of any sort. He was in my wedding and wonderful in every way. I got him as a puppy and he saw me through getting married and having 3 kids. Watching him slip away was horrible - but at least he's not in pain and just went to sleep in one of his favorite places and never woke up.

Now, a very kind woman who knows us through the nonprofit organization we run, has gifted us a 3 year old male Yorkie. He was being used in a breeding scenario, so he is not fixed (but will be, since I have no intention of breeding). They provided me with medical documentation, so I know there was a base level of good care. He's on Hill's Science Diet for Toy Breeds.

As I don't have experience with purebred dogs / Yorkies, I'd love some advice:

1. He seems skittish. It's only been 2 days with us, so I don't expect him to be fully acclimated, but is this normal?

2. He will BOLT if given the chance outdoors. Can Yorkies be taught to stay without a leash? Or should I always plan on having him on a line?

3. We have 3 kids - we put boundaries on them with the dog so he can get used to us, but they're still a lot of activity. Do you think the dog will ever get used to it?

4. Is there anything particular to training Yorkies? I've got a crate and plan to use that as the basis for housebreaking him. Anything else I need to know?

Thank you in advance!

Victoria

Welcome to YT. Yes it is normal for a dog to be skittish in new surroundings,new parents, new smells. Give him a couple of weeks to adjust. If you have young children that are very active it could take this lil guy longer to get use to the fast, quick movements of children. I NEVER leave my 5 yo rescue off lease. Yorkies are hunters, they will go after anything that moves, even a leaf falling from a tree. My boy is off leash only in my fenced in back yard with ME watching him. He is NEVER outside alone.He is a big boy, 12 pounds, but he gets into much mischief and will eat anything that fly's, crawls, moves. I do not advise leaving a tiny yorkie off leash as they are food for birds of prey, hawks, falcons, owls, they will swoop down, grab that lil dog and carry it off to eat it. Also very dangerous if there are dogs in your area that roam free, they can attcked and kill a tiny dog.
Yorkies are very smart, but as terriers their concentration span is limited. Before you start any training of this dog he will have to be comfortable in the home,not skittish and comfortable around the children. When training commands, sit, down, stay, wait, drop it, leave it, training should be no more the 5 to 7 minutes at a time through out the day with lots of praise and treatsif he is food motivated. One command only until he fully understands then you can teach a 2nd command, when he understands the 2nd one you can use both commands, then move onto a 3rd command. Cody at 3 yo with several 5 / 7 minutes training throughout the day learned one command every day. Adding up those 5 / 7 minutes training I would say totaled one hour of training time. Yorkies are eager to please their owners. Lots of praise, silly happy dance, clap hands to show what a good boy he is. Sorry, no advise on crate training, any pup I ever had was gotten as babies, they were pad trained first then house broken, no crate was ever used. Many members use Iris or E-pens for confining for housebreaking. I am sure they will be adding their experience, advise and suggestions.
I was very lucky with my rescue, he was 2.5 yo when I got him and was partially house broken, first day home he was making outside only, most dogs prefer to potty outdoors, many yummy smells for them to check out lol. I have my boy almost 3 years and I am STILL learning NEW things about him. Good luck to you. Yorkies are an awesome breed, filled with charm, personality and BIG attitudes lol.They will train YOU without you even being aware of it lol.

Congratulations on the new addition to your family!
Perfectly normal. Some dogs can take a long time to fully settle into a new home, sometimes weeks or even months.

Having a daily routine of activity can be reassuring and calming: eating meals at about the same, short play time and training time, walks and outings. Basic obedience and trick training are a great way to bond and build confidence.

Depending on how well he was socialized by the breeder, might be a big job.

When outdoors, I would keep him on a leash or in a fenced area. Some Yorkies can be taught not to bolt, but I prefer not to risk it with my boys.

Indoors, I trained my boys not to bolt out the door, but Teddy decided one day to chase the UPS truck down the street. After that, I put up baby gates to keep the doggies away from the doors.

The answer comes down to the individual dog. Only time will tell. Give him lots of patience and space. Let him come to you on his own terms. Talking to them is reassuring.

Did he have any potty training before? Yorkies are typically difficult to potty train. Make sure you give him adequate opportunity to go in the right place. Praise him profusely and give him a small treat reward when he gets it right. My boys are 7 years old and we still reward for good potty.

Best wishes!

Bolting pup
 

I lost my 1st Yorkie to a car. We lived v. far off the road, in the woods, he was never leashed but one day he darted down our driveway and I arrived at the moment when he dove in front of a car. Leash him!

Same thing here. We've lost a precious little one that way too. I've never taken my male off the lead when walking altho' my girls would trot along on their own with me and never stray. Some just bolt. Mine (the male) took off last night in our garden (fenced in, where we think he is safe) and unearthed a hedgehog in a split second. He had it in his mouth and couldn't get it out. Panic scene as we grabbed him and wrapped a towel around the beastie. As I pulled it out I was thinking "there goes his tongue, teeth and tonsils" It turned out ok, no blood and no quills. Their hunting instinct over rides training and common sense. Fantastic breed!

OMG thankfully he is ok, it could have turned out very tragic. This is the reason Cody is NEVER left in the yard unattended. I am there watching his every move. I adopted Cody Nov. 2013, he was a city boy now living in the country. The day after I adopted him I introduced him to off leash in the yard. OFF LEASH!!!! he took off in a gallop. Cody was 2 1/2 yo when I adopted him, this was the first time he was ever outdoors and off leash, I could hear him singing "Born Free" as he ran and sniffed every blade of grass. Then he stopped and was sniffing intensely, body stiff in prey mode, I started to walk over to see what caught his prey attention, he saw me coming and SNAPPED up what ever it was. I PRIED his mouth open and out fell a yellow jacket bee the size of a killer bee, it was HUGE. Thank goodness he did not get stung in his mouth. From that day forward he has to be carefully watched and NEVER left unattended for even a minute.

I'm quoting myself here as he was out again last night for his last pee and the darn hedgehog was right in the middle of the lawn. He was about to attack when I called him off and he ran home. I'm putting a muzzle on him tonight for his own protection.

Great idea if there is no way to keep these hedge hogs out of your yard. I have 4 foot high rabbit fencing in my back yard I also put chicken wire in front of that to keep little critters out, like raccoons, opossum and skunks, maybe this would word for your hedge hogs.

Please be careful with muzzles dogs can not pant with them on and can overheat because of not being able to pant. It would be better just to put him on a leash.