:thumbup: I 100% agree. Also it needs to be kept in mind that if allergies or breathing issues with things outside, dogs will get it on them and bring it inside and it will stay on their hair and paws and so on. Some one with breathing issues and allergies should hang out with the dog they are looking at before getting them.

I hope you find the perfect dog for your family.

The fact that you and your wife are willing to take on the responsibility is a plus.

I took in a 9 year Yorkie (he is now 11 1/2) and he is wonderful! he still plays and follows me around and is a great companion. If you say the word "treat" he will come running, literally running. I also have a 2 1/2 year old Yorkie mix who is excellent, my trick dog even as I have taught him many tricks and he is a show dog for me who gets to go many places and show off his tricks. I am getting a 6 year old rescue tomorrow (Parti Yorkie) who has seizures and is on medication. I already have the vet lined up for her and I am just to call them Monday and set up her first appointment.

As far as a Yorkie and your child, I think as long as you teach your child how to handle a dog it will be okay.

She should not chase the dog, unless they learn a game together that involves that. My 11 1/2 year old will chase me and then I will run off and hide and he will come find me and then I can chase him and then I run off and hid and he has done this since I brought him home, it is a game we learned together.

She should not carry the dog around, unless they form a bond that allows that after several months and the dog actually enjoys it. I can carry my 2 1/2 year old all over the house (I am an adult of course). She needs to be responsible and not drop the dog of course.

She should not bother the dog while it is eating. A lot of bites happen because a child is pestering the dog while it is eating and it gets snappy. Watch and make sure the dog doesn't growl while it is eating if you pet it. All of mine are trained by myself to not growl when they eat and I can pet mine, but I do this so that if someone else gets near them I won't worry about them biting them. I work with my dogs.

If you get a dog and it sounds like you have enough money to care for a dog then I would highly suggest you contact your local petsmart and sign up for obedience classes immediately (some offer a discount for a rescue dog) and go to the classes as a family. A trained dog is one of the best things you can spend your money on. I have been to several levels of training classes so I can usually teach the basic obedience to my dogs myself from years of owning dogs. I also do trick training with any of mine that can learn tricks.

Approach the new dog as the "family" dog and not your daughters dog. It can love all of you. It will have a favorite, and as most said, the one who feeds and walks it usually. I am that favorite at my house because I do the most with the dogs.

Good luck and I hope you find what you are looking for.

Oh, one more thing. As people said they are not necessarily good for everyone's allergies but my husband and son have Asthma and are not bothered by my Yorkies at all. Two of them currently sleep in our bed at night (soon to be a 3rd when she arrives).

You can private message me if you have any questions or anything.

Thanks JadeD for your time and the detailed reply. Went to the shelter again last week and wanted to check out a year old Yorkie, but was late since he got adopted 5 mins before I went in. The wait and search continues:).

Just wanted to comment as someone who LOVES dogs but is allergic to dogs. I have had a Maltese (considered hypoallergenic) in the past and knew from experience that I would still have allergy symptoms even with a hypoallergenic breed.

When I got my first Yorkie, I had the expectations of the runny nose and itchy eyes again because I had been without a dog for three years after my Maltese passed away. Low and behold, my allergies were pretty bad. I had to take antihistamines for several weeks before my body adjusted to having a dog at home again.

I've since adjusted and the allergy symptoms have calmed down. But I have to be careful and not let them lick my hands and say touch my face or rub my eyes. I also have to keep them relatively clean. They aren't allowed on my bed or in my bedroom. But we cuddle on the couch.

So...don't be alarmed if your wife may seem to be allergic to your newly adopted hypoallergenic dog at first. For me, I would keep my dogs regardless of taking antihistamines for life, purely because of my love of dogs.

Oh and another thing you may need to be patient with in an adult dog is re-potty training him/her. Even if the foster home says the dog is potty trained, in any new environment, they'll need to be re-potty trained.

Good luck with your search! I'm excited for you to find your new dog!

Have you thought about going to an allergist and getting allergy shots to boost your immune system and make it not reactive to the things you are allergic too? I'm doing them and it has helped a lot with my other allergies. My biggest issue is the stuff from outside that the dogs bring in.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Oh, that everyone would be as committed as you are.

:thumbup: Very detailed and thoughtful post.

I am just going to be rather blunt and to the point about it.

In my personal opinion-- I feel like small dogs and young children do not tend to mix. A young child is far too young to know how to handle a dog and what not to do. Young children can rough house-- and a dog that small with a rather fragile constitution/build would easily get injured by the small human....

No matter how well you think a child is with animals-- there's always a possibility. So it's really up to you, but do consider if you do end up getting a small physically brittle dog with a small child is something to be extremely careful.

You should never leave the two together until the child is old enough to know better. I would be more comfortable leaving a responsible, calm, teen with a small dog...

If again you do opt for a small dog, try to go for one is on the larger side. I.e. I would advise a 5-6 pound dog with a really young child. If you could find one that's more around 12pounds or so you might be better off.

I think I recall someone even mentioning that the smaller dog(the "runts") that were about 4pounds falling off a couch and it getting hurt. Think this was a few months back.



As for what to be alert of when picking a dog... I would say a skittish dog that hides in the corner, one that bears their teeth often(sign of defense), one that is object possesive(i.e. if you get near its toys, or dishes and it growls or acts differently), etc.

chester is good with kids he was around them when he was a puppy and he is about 10 lbs IM always there to observe to make sure the kids are good with dogs

Hi, Welcome to yt!!

All of the ladies (and gents) here have been super helpful, but I'd like to give my point of view as a mother of a daughter with ADHD, and the problems this has caused. I brought my little gal home at 15 weeks, and it's been a challenge. Her tummy issues would pale in comparison to what we've had to do because of thoughtless behavior on my daughter's end. Although she isn't six even emotionally, she does things that a six year old can do. I will answer this in your last question.




Every website that talks about breed temperament and characteristics says Yorkies are not good for houses with children. Should that sway us away from adopting a Yokie? Absolutely not. My little lady LOVES "yina" and will actively seek her out after greeting both of us (hubby and myself) in the morning. She is currently huffing away because she can't get into daughter's room.

2.) Kiddo and wifey will be away for a month on vacation starting July 2nd, would it be OK (for the dog and kiddo) to go ahead with the adoption? I will be with him since I work from home. Would the 1 month break away from kiddo make the yorkie forget her and the dog's kid friendliness behavior? Sorry if this ? sounds silly, but being first time pet owners, we are new to all these. I won't lie and say it won't be an adjustment, and it might cause the yorkie to bond closer to you,but this can be fixed by actively having your (hopefully) new family member spend a lot of time with each lady of the house.

3.) Again being first time pet owners, what should we expect and behavior that would raise red flags when we see and interact with him on Tuesday? Growling, snarling, or biting. When he comes home, pay close attention to him " correcting" your daughter, and nip it in the bud FAST.

4.) What red flags to look for during his interaction with kiddo? What are the things my kiddo should NOT DO during the interaction as well? the red flags I answered in your 3rd question. Now on to the reason why I've posted. ALWAYS be aware of where your yorkie is. They absolutely adore snuggling. There have been incidents that I've seen on some boards I've lurk (Q&A types) where a child has been making the bed and the dog flies, breaking it's leg or worse. You can sit, on or step on yorkie at any point. Always be aware of where he is. This is very important.
Never, EVER, EVER let your daughter eat anything that is poisonous to your little guy without supervision, until you are certain he is trained to listen to "Drop it!!" particularly Chocolate (the darker the deadlier)Grapes/raisins and anything with Xylitol. a half of a teaspoon of anything with liquid Xylitol can make them go into liver failure. There are so many things we have at home with that in it, it would blow your mind. Poison control told me to be aware of the rule of three. The first three ingredients listed, the stronger the additive is. Be aware that I know you aren't getting a puppy, but any dog not trained will go after things on the ground. Again, until you are sure he knows the drop command, be careful with anything tiny on the ground. My gal ate a pencil once, and a strip of body wax another time. One time mouthed on a med that was left on the ground, even though it should have tasted hideous. She was fine, but that 100 dollar vet bill was a blow for something, again, that could have been avoided. Each time this was from my daughter simply not thinking. I know this is long, but these things in particular would have REALLY helped me in the beginning.

Yeaaaahhhh, I forgot to mention this. This is a problem, and a big part of the reason why I say pay attention to any "correcting" you see. My gal loves my daughter. I've mentioned this. Daughter will love on her, especially on her special pillow in my little loft, or in my arms. She'll "smother" her, by backing her into a corner. In my arms the reaction is now instantaneous. On my pillow she's quite angry at being bothered to Mommy/Chewie time as it is, but coming at her and backing her into a wall is a problem. She'll now bite her for it, and I know I should put a stop to it, but daughter was warned time and time and time again. This was the correcting that I was talking about. Chewie tried warning her by growling so many times that I honestly can't count any more. Chewie is small, and skittish, so it makes sense she'd take exception to feeling like she was trapped. This is a BIG issue, and has caused problems. So, Yes, Ladyjane as usual brought up a fantastic point. I'd hate to have you at the point where you'd have to wrap your hands around your daughter's hands just to stop him from biting her when you pass him to her. This all stems from her quote about smothering.

Oh, heh, please get pet insurance.

I didn't see this!!!! okay, well, if you get a yorkie in the future, please keep this in mind!!! Good luck with your search!!!!

Yes you are a good mom. being a dog lover & owner all of my life my children were raised up with them and they all are good dog owners now lol i call theirs my grandpups

Hi All:
Thanks for everyone's reply. I will be fostering this 5 year old Terrier mix till my family comes back from vacation, see how he does with them and go for adoption if all goes well. The rescue said he was awesome with kids during their kids summer camp, house and crate trained and no resource guarding. Hoping for the best. I will be picking him up this Saturday. To my novice eyes, he looks more like a Chihuahua...What do you think and any pointers for the first few days I get him home?
https://ibb.co/dSwFRa
https://ibb.co/nA0Wzv
https://ibb.co/gJE26a

Congratulations (I think). the first few days this pup will be adjusting to a new human (you), home, smells, schedule. Is he house broken meaning does he pee and poop out doors or is he pad trained, if he makes out doors see if where ever he is has a schedule for him, if they do you will have to stick to that schedule, if he's not you will have to take him out every few hours to make. If he is pad trained make sure he knows where the pad is, you may have an accident or two until he gets settled in. Make sure you keep him on the same food he's been eating. Do not give him free roam to your home until you know if he does his business inside or out side, so block off all rooms and keep him in one room only. Do you have toys for him, a ball or two, soft rubber squeaky toys, a tug of war toy, an old sock knotted in the middle would work well.

He "could" have some Chihuahua in him, he has that kind of face. He looks like a tiny lil guy. When your family comes home, make sure your daughter does not grab him, let her sit on the floor and have this boy go to her, let him sniff her, then have your "gently" pet him. This boy is going to be used to just you and him, so introducing him to your 6 year old daughter has to be a gentle introduction.

I will pray everything goes well and this little boy has finely found his forever home. I hate to see these dogs go from one foster home to another. Good luck and please keep us updated when you get him.

Thank you, Matese! I have set up a play pen with day bed and food and water bowls in my home office and planning to keep him there for the first couple of days. He will be sleeping in a crate in the bedroom during the nights. The rescue said he is house and crate trained, but still planning on taking him out every hour until I get a feel of his schedule. Once he and I are comfortable then I will introduce him to rest of the house. Hoping it works out for the best as well :). Excited and nervous about Saturday. I will definitely keep you updated.

Oh, the rescue said he is not too keen on squeaky toy so have a nyla bone, ball, kong and a couple of other toys.

Fantastic that you got a play pen for confinement and crating him in the bedroom with you at night, also knowing what toys he is not too fond of. Sounds like you're off to a good start and committed to this dog.

Lol, I bet you are nervous being a first time pet owner, and being on your own while family is on holiday. Every thing will be just fine, he's 5 yo, not a puppy that will be chewing at furniture. You guys are gonna bond fast I just feel it in my bones. Just speak in gentle tones to him, he has to get use to you, your home, the smells, he will be just fine. Now I am excited for Saturday to come lol.

He is adorable! I think he is more terrier than anything. Hope it goes well for all.

Thanks again Matese and Lady Jane, I will keep you updated!!

Any update on the little fur butt?

Hi Matese:
Thanks for asking and sorry for the delayed reply. Chaka has been good so far, laid back, well behaved and not much barking. Hoping he will like wifey and kiddo as well once they come back on Monday.
He barks loudly when he sees someone walking or running on the road and if they say hi to him, his tail starts going crazy and he wants to be petted by them.
He whines a bit when I put him in his crate in the night but settles in and sleeps through the night. I take him for a mile walk once in the morning after his breakfast/lunch and again in the evening right after his dinner. The way he says he wants to go out for potty is come to my left side and see me with his puppy eyes, during other times he comes o be petted on the right hand side :D! Right now, he is laying on his back with his legs up and snoring away!
One things I am not sure, being a first time pet owner, maybe you could let me know-
1.) He does not have any interest in any of the toys. If I try to play with him, say with a ball attached to a rope he just takes it and keeps it near the bed. He lets me get the toy back and takes it right back once I place it on the ground to play. Is this normal behavior OR starting stages of resource guarding? How do I safely check for resource guarding before the kiddo comes home and I know she will be safe?

Sounds like a fantastic start. I have a rescue yorkie, he was 2 1/2 yo when I got him. He wasn't an abused dog he was a surrender, he didn't know how to pay with toys. I bought a huge selection of various toys because I didn't know what he had or what he liked. He didn't play with anything not even a ball and all dogs love balls. Every day, throughout the day I would take a different toy and tease, entice him into play, nothing. I had him about 2 1/2, 3 months when one morning he just grabbed a toy and started flinging it around the room lol, same with the ball, now he loves all his toys. With some dogs that have never known toy playing it just takes some time and encouragement from their humans. As far as resource guarding, if he lets you take the toy and doesn't growl or show teeth I don't think that's what he's doing. Do you take the toy and entice him to play with it or do you just take the toy and lay it on the floor? How is he with food, when his food is in his bowl and he is eating, can you pet him, touch him, go near him while he is eating?

I had my boy about 6 months or so before I bought him a bully stick, at first he didn't know what to do with it, when he realized he could chew it, he went at it lol, I would tell him good booooyyyy. I noticed if I went within 3 feet of him he would stop chewing, his body would tense up, I realized then he had never had anything like that so I just let him be and kept telling him "Cody's bully stick what a good boy" . When I wanted to take his chew away I would go in another room, call him in to give him a treat, then I would sneak in the other room and remove the chew. I never took it away from him while he was chewing it. Over a period of a month when he had his chew I could tell by his body languish he was comfortable and knew I was not going to take it from him, then I started to pet him a little while he was chewing always telling him what a good boy he was. It took time for him to know I wouldn't take that chew away. We are a team for a bit over 3 years now, I can ask him to drop it and he will, he knows he will get it back.

With these rescues every thing is done in "baby steps". We don't know what their past was like, what they went threw, how they were treated, how many homes they lived in. The greatest thing we have to do is to have them trust us, gain confidence in us and bond with us. This may take some time depending on the dogs past experience with humans. Every thing is done in baby steps, slow and gradual.

Chaka sounds like a smart lil pup, and has started to bond with you, and that's a good sign. I would start some basic commands before the family returns home, sit, come, down, stay, most important command is "drop it" and "leave it". Short training sessions 5 to 7 minutes 3 or 4 times throughout the day. High value treat rewards, praise like crazy when he gets his command right. Teach only one command at a time, when he knows that, then teach a 2nd command, always give treat and happy praise when he gets it right. When he knows 2 command teach a 3rd, then you can incorporate all 3 commands.

When the family comes home, please, make sure your daughter does not lunge, grab, runs at the dog. Young children move very fast and this may / can scare some dogs. Please keep us updated on Chaka's progress.

Good luck with the new pup!!!! He does look like a terrier and a lot of terriers are very intelligent. Some of my best trick dogs were terriers. I have always wanted a therapy dog and I always end up with a trick dog instead. LOL. It is okay though, I love to teach my dogs how to do things.

Does he know sit? Lay down (down command). Off command (not to jump on people). A lot of people use down for both, I use down for lay down and off for not jumping on people so they are different. Also, teach him a come type command but most trainers recommend you use a word like "touch" or "recall" I personally hate recall because I am not going out on the street and yelling "Recall" to my dog. LOL. I will tell them to "touch" with 2 fingers pointed straight down at my side and my dog needs to come up to me (taller dogs need to touch your finger tips) and I get down on the ground and grab their collar slowly and give them a treat. This is an important command because if he runs off he will know to come back and you will grab his collar. Then praise praise and praise him for coming back, never yell at him for running out the door in the first place. Give him a treat even if it means going inside to get one and just keep telling him what a good boy he is. If you reward the dog for coming back you will get a lot farther than if you punish them because they ran out the door or whatever they did to get loose. I usually just yell the word "treat" and mine come running back inside the house. LOL

I also teach mine not to cross the door thresh hold without permission. A good skill to teach a dog. My new rescue got out 3 times the first week, but we have a gate on our porch so he couldn't go far (although given a chance she would fit through the gate) and so I worked with her and now she knows not to run out the door. I just say "inside" and they all know to stay in the house. It just take time though. I don't know what his behaviors are like or what you need to work on, but those are some ideas.

I highly recommend a training class either with a personal trainer or going to a class at Petsmart. A trained dog will make your life so much better. I am able to do basics with my dogs and teach tricks only because I have taken so many different dogs to training classes that I have a pretty good idea how to teach the basics. I have never not had a dog in my life, usually 2 of them (having 4 right now is crazy, but fun).

Good luck and I really hope he works out for your family! I have 3 rescues at my house. Almost every dog I get is a dog that someone else wanted to get rid of. The exception to that is my Yorkie puppy (he is 2 1/2 years old) whom I got at 10 weeks old from a friend. He know over 20 tricks and is very well trained. My other 2 yorkies were rescues I took in at 9 years old (he is almost 12) and 7 years old (I have had her a month) and then we have an almost 7 year old English Setter who we got when he was 15 months old off Craigslist. He is the dog we have currently had the longest even though he not the oldest. He is also very well trained, by me of course.

Keep us updated :)