Proud New Owner Of Yorkie Puppy

[Northwoods Mary]

When I joined this group, I was encouraged to post an introductory thread, so here goes:

Two weeks ago we were lucky enough to be the first to respond to an ad for a five month old male Yorkie puppy. Ever since we lost our older female Yorkie to cancer five years ago, we have been casually talking about getting another one, but since being quarantined at home, we’ve thought now would be a great time to spend time training and incorporating a new puppy into our family (2 adults and 3 kids, 10, 12 & 14).

I wasn’t planning on Or hoping for one so small, but our little guy is only 2.2 pounds at 5 months. A breeder sold him to a lady who thought she’d be off work for the summer, then was called back to 12 hour shifts so she had to find another home for him. Both parents were in the 4 & 5 pound range, but a grandpa was 2.5 as an adult.

I already love this puppy as much or more than any other dog I’ve owned in my 62 years. He is playful, confident, very spoiled (on purpose), and the cutest, sweetest little dog ever. My concern is that he isn’t always a good judge of danger, and has had one spill off a retaining wall when he saw me go inside the house to refill my coffee. My husband was right with him, but couldn’t stop him in time from diving off the wall to chase me. He has decided that I am his person, and doesn’t want me out of his sight. My girls are desperate to hold him, but he only allows me to cuddle him. He will play with them, as long as I am near by.

I have lots of questions.... He has had his puppy shots, but the breeder advises against rabies shots (required by law in our state). He also has not had kennel cough shots which I would need to bring him to a groomer, or I can learn to groom him myself. Which shots do you advise?

He is not neutered yet. I have thought of buying one female and raising a liter a year, no more than that, since he is such a good looking puppy, and no one in our area is raising them (we live in a rural area with lots of room inside and out), but I am wondering what are the up sides and downsides of doing this? (He already treats my hand like a female when he gets excited😕.). When he does this, I hold him on his back for a moment until he quits wiggling. I actually don’t care, but I know I shouldn’t let him do this behavior.

I would welcome any suggestions, tips, advice of any kind. Our family loves this puppy and wants him to have a happy, healthy home with us.

[Ken_AC4RD]

I don't know why the breeder would advise against rabies shots when they are both required by law, and a good idea besides. But where Iive, if a dog is exposed to rabies (raccoon, coyote) and isn't vaccinated, the dog is euthanized. We have made sure all of our dogs stay vaccinated for rabies as required. Just MHO, of course.

[Bonbons Jean]

My little guy was neutered at 5.5 months. As an adult, he's just under 5 pounds. I recommend kennel cough and rabies shots. Be aware, at that size, you want to space out shots. My little guy aches after some of his shots, and I give him painkillers for a day, possibly two.

You will want your own pill cutter! The heartworm medication, while right for his body weight, doesn't fit in his mouth. I have to cut the pill into four pieces for him. Fortunately, he thinks it is a treat and chomps them down easily each month.

There are a limited number of harnesses that will work for yorkies this small. I even had to do a little adjustment on the one I finally did find to make it just right.

I'm sure you already know that you need to keep a doggie first aid kit handy. I also make sure that I keep a few cans of chicken breast, packed in water with no salt added, so I can whip up chicken and rice without messing with trying to quickly cook chicken. I also freeze little bone shaped cubes of beef broth, to entice my picky guy to consume a little more water when I think he's been out chasing squirrels for too long. (He's CAUGHT squirrels, twice!) That way, I don't throw out most of the broth before he has a chance to enjoy it.

I find my guy looks best in athletic wear and doesn't get embarrassed at looking too floofy. He has several football jerseys, a few baseball shirts and two denim jackets. One has a polarfleece lining and the other one has both polarfleece and thermolam lining for our very cold Wisconsin winters. He will not tolerate socks or boots, I've tried...

Take a peek at Sleepypod carriers. They've been crash tested and are wonderful for traveling with your dog.

[Bluebells]

Originally Posted by Northwoods Mary

When I joined this group, I was encouraged to post an introductory thread, so here goes:

Two weeks ago we were lucky enough to be the first to respond to an ad for a five month old male Yorkie puppy. Ever since we lost our older female Yorkie to cancer five years ago, we have been casually talking about getting another one, but since being quarantined at home, we’ve thought now would be a great time to spend time training and incorporating a new puppy into our family (2 adults and 3 kids, 10, 12 & 14).

I wasn’t planning on Or hoping for one so small, but our little guy is only 2.2 pounds at 5 months. A breeder sold him to a lady who thought she’d be off work for the summer, then was called back to 12 hour shifts so she had to find another home for him. Both parents were in the 4 & 5 pound range, but a grandpa was 2.5 as an adult.

I already love this puppy as much or more than any other dog I’ve owned in my 62 years. He is playful, confident, very spoiled (on purpose), and the cutest, sweetest little dog ever. My concern is that he isn’t always a good judge of danger, and has had one spill off a retaining wall when he saw me go inside the house to refill my coffee. My husband was right with him, but couldn’t stop him in time from diving off the wall to chase me. He has decided that I am his person, and doesn’t want me out of his sight. My girls are desperate to hold him, but he only allows me to cuddle him. He will play with them, as long as I am near by.

I have lots of questions.... He has had his puppy shots, but the breeder advises against rabies shots (required by law in our state). He also has not had kennel cough shots which I would need to bring him to a groomer, or I can learn to groom him myself. Which shots do you advise?

He is not neutered yet. I have thought of buying one female and raising a liter a year, no more than that, since he is such a good looking puppy, and no one in our area is raising them (we live in a rural area with lots of room inside and out), but I am wondering what are the up sides and downsides of doing this? (He already treats my hand like a female when he gets excited😕.). When he does this, I hold him on his back for a moment until he quits wiggling. I actually don’t care, but I know I shouldn’t let him do this behavior.

I would welcome any suggestions, tips, advice of any kind. Our family loves this puppy and wants him to have a happy, healthy home with us.

I don’t mean to be unkind, but please don’t become what is commonly referred to as a “backyard breeder” or amateur breeder. You may have the very best of intentions in wanting to breed your cute little guy, but breeding is best left to knowledgeable people who are well-informed about both the standards of their chosen breed and the various costs (tangible and intangible) of breeding, raising and selling animals. As just one example of why you shouldn’t do it: do you know anything about the genetic background of your pup and what congenital defects he might pass on to any offspring? Even if he’s perfectly healthy himself, he could carry recessive genes for congenital issues that, if combined with the genes of the wrong female, could lead to puppies with severe issues.

I’m sorry if this sounds harsh. However, I’ve volunteered in animal rescue for many years, and I’ve seen far too many serious medical and behavioral issues that come from the habits of backyard breeders. In fact, my small yorkie, Jax, was a reject from a backyard breeder who continues to breed a pair of dogs whose offspring — statistically — have a one in four chance of having the same congenital vision loss that Jax has, and most of whose normal appearing offspring (sold for big $ to the unsuspecting public) carry the recessive gene for that condition.

And do, please, have your pup vaccinated for rabies. The risks from not doing so are far greater than any risks from vaccination.

[Bonbons Jean]

Whoops! Thermolam is the home sewer's version of Thinsulate.

[nanajoy]

Welcome to YT, and congratulations on your new little one. I have had more than one baby weigh in at the smaller size, although they all eventually reached 5 pounds. I always gave them rabies vaccines, as mandated, but my vet recommended a baby benedryl before. More than one of my puppies were sore, and cried out when moving, for the first day after their shots, but they were back to their wriggly selves by day two. For the smaller ones I always split their shots up, and do not have them administered on the same day. I groom my own, and do not board, so I have never given them kennel cough vaccine.

Yes the really small pups can be a real challenge when it comes to keeping them safe! Gus came home at just over/under one pound (depending what time he had last eaten). He is a very spirited little soul, and would even attempt to leap from the arm of one sofa to the next when he was younger. Nothing would stop him when he was a puppy., but he has developed luxtating patellas as he has aged, and is not quite so difficult to control now...we are getting him used to being lifted onto the sofa, etc. now.

I have loved all of my little ones dearly, and even had one boy who had champions in his lineage, but have resisted the urge to ever breed. Unfortunately, the responsibility to improve the breed, and be aware of all of the "unknowns" that could be involved which would result in babies with health concerns just seemed too overwhelming to me. My advice would be to have him neutered, for his future health and longevity. I would suggest that you wait until he is grown enough to know that he will not be too small to be safe with another dog before making the decision, but you can always consider bringing in a "pack mate" into the family in the future.

Best of luck, and spend tons of time enjoying the wonderful "puppy stage", which always passes too fast!

[matese]

Originally Posted by Bluebells

I don’t mean to be unkind, but please don’t become what is commonly referred to as a “backyard breeder” or amateur breeder. You may have the very best of intentions in wanting to breed your cute little guy, but breeding is best left to knowledgeable people who are well-informed about both the standards of their chosen breed and the various costs (tangible and intangible) of breeding, raising and selling animals. As just one example of why you shouldn’t do it: do you know anything about the genetic background of your pup and what congenital defects he might pass on to any offspring? Even if he’s perfectly healthy himself, he could carry recessive genes for congenital issues that, if combined with the genes of the wrong female, could lead to puppies with severe issues.

I’m sorry if this sounds harsh. However, I’ve volunteered in animal rescue for many years, and I’ve seen far too many serious medical and behavioral issues that come from the habits of backyard breeders. In fact, my small yorkie, Jax, was a reject from a backyard breeder who continues to breed a pair of dogs whose offspring — statistically — have a one in four chance of having the same congenital vision loss that Jax has, and most of whose normal appearing offspring (sold for big $ to the unsuspecting public) carry the recessive gene for that condition.

And do, please, have your pup vaccinated for rabies. The risks from not doing so are far greater than any risks from vaccination.

Well said
Welcome to YT, and congrats on your new baby boy. Please leave breeding to the professionals. Breeding a small female can end in losing the mamma and the entire litter. In the breeding pair a reputable breeder will check genetic genes in both the male and female up to 10 generations back to ensure there are no medical issue that will be passed down to future puppies, this is a costly procedure that BYB (back yard breeders) fail to do. Breeding tiny dogs is dangerous.
Also never hold a dog down on it's back. They are very vulnerable, defenseless in this position, this can cause your pup to fear you, that's not what you want. Humping is natural in young pups, it's a sign of dominance that you will want to correct, it can also happen when puppy gets over excited. Put him on the floor and give him a ball, nothing he can grab and hump.
In my county of Pennsylvania, core vaccines are Rabbis, distemper and lime, our groomers do not require Bordella vaccine, boarding them that shot would be required. My guy is 8 years old, I space out his shots 2 weeks apart, if there is a reaction to a vaccine I will know which one it was.
At 5.5 months you should start training him basic commands, sit, stay, leave it. If he is food motivated he will learn fast. Teach one command at a time spending no more then 5 to 7 minutes, longer then 7 minutes they are not focusing on you. You can train several times throughout the day, reward and happy praise when he gets it right.
Have fun with your wild child, they grow so fast.

[Lovetodream88]

Congrats and welcome. I wouldn’t breed because you don’t know the lines and such. I don’t want to offend you in anyway but I can tell that he didn’t come from the kind of breeder that the lines should be continued for several reasons. Reputable breeders make you sign and spay and neuter contract so your not messing with their lines that they have worked very hard for and they also require that the dog come back to them if the owner can not keep them. It also sounds like maybe this was a breeder that purposely breed for tiny pups. Also no reputable breeder would ask you to not only break the law but do something dangerous like not give a rabies vaccine. Also once you mate a male no mater what you do they mark everywhere. Breeding is very serious and not just putting dogs together. Humping is not necessarily a sexual thing but a dominant thing. Flipping him on his back is considered and alpha method and it has been significantly debunked and found to be more harmful. When he humps say no and just remove him. I get bordatella because mine get groomed and go to lots of pet events. Your vet is the best person to talk to because they know if things like Lyme or Lepto are a big problem in your area.

[Lisa and Pic]

Hello and Welcome to YorkieTalk. Your little one sounds adorable. I agree with others about not breeding... just enjoy.

My little girl came home at 2 lbs. also. I was also worried about the rabies vaccine so waited a bit until she got somewat bigger and she just got her vaccine last week.

It sounds like you will have years of fun. We will have to compare puppy tales, since my girl is just a few months older.