Brand New Yorkie and Yorkie Owner

[wad06]

I just got my first puppy: a six week old black and tan girl. She's been a lot of fun to play with so far, but I do have a couple of questions. I read the faq and have done some internet research, but given that this is a live being that depends on me for everything, I am looking for some reassurance.

First, I am feeding her Science Diet small bites for puppies. The chart on the back says to feed a half cup daily for a two pound dog. My Yorkie is only a little over a pound. How much do you think I should give her (and how many feedings should this amount be split into)?

Second, after reading a lot of posts here, I've gone the way of fencing off a portion of my house and putting down two pee pads. I have done this at night, and I will do this during the day for work. When I put the fence up, if she doesn't sleep, she cries loudly. Should I worry about this, or do all puppies do this at first (it's only been a day)? I put a toy bone, a small ball, and a rope toy in her area, and she doesn't do much with them.

Third, how much outside exercise should I give her (all of this talk about hypoglycemia is somewhat disconcerting)?

Fourth, I can handle and wouldn't mind getting another puppy, but it's not something I want to do right now. However, if having another puppy with make my one feel better, I think I would do it. Do people advice buying these two at a time, or will one alone be okay?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

Wad

[megan_kat22]

Welcome to YT Wad!!! It's great to have you here, and congrats on your new puppy. First of all, your baby is very VERY young to be away from it's mother. Yorkies and other small breeds need to stay with their mothers for about 12 weeks. But since it's a little late to worry about that I think you should go get some Nutrical. This will keep your baby from getting hypoglycemia, which is a really big threat for little puppies. And all puppies will cry when put in a crate at first. But since yours is so young I would try to keep her with you at all times to keep an eye on her until she is bigger. I'm not sure about your other questions, but I'm sure someone here can help. Good luck and keep us updated!!! Once again, welcome! Oh, and you should probably soften her food since she is so young and it is probably hard for her to eat.

[yorkiepip]

Hello and welcome

[puppylove123]

to yt! im sure you will learn a lot here. i ithink you should wait to get another puppy for now. when your new baby is 100% potty trained, older, and you feel you know her really well, then maybe then you should get another baby. training 2 pups at the same time is really hard. congrats on your new furbaby!

[wad06]

Wow, very fast replies. Thank you all for your input.

Thus far, I have been putting some warm water in her food to help soften it. I was also considering using chicken broth.

As for the crying, I guess I was just looking for some one to tell me it is okay. I do have a related question though: when I am home for extended times (like today) should I keep her with me as much as I can, or should I put her in her area to try to get her used to it?

Also, how often should I give her Nutrical?

Wad

[hunniebunnie]

first off, 6 weeks is way too young to be taken away from its mother and littermates. here in calif, it's actually illegal to let a puppy go before it's 8 weeks old. so, you're going to have to make up for a lot of work the puppy would have learned from its mother and littermates. be patient with the little one.

so regarding your questions...

first, go ahead and split the 1/2 cup of kibbles to 3 feeding times. wet it a little to make it soft for your puppy. she'll eat what she needs and stop when she's had her fill. puppies need food for the growing they need to do. don't worry about overfeeding and just give her what she needs. keep nutrical onhand to supplement.

second, being taken away from her mother and littermates is very traumatic for the little one. she'll cry when she's left alone because she think she's being abandoned. keep her close to you as much as possible and leave her alone a little at a time. at night, it's best to keep her in a crate near your bed. it'll help to keep her at ease and sleep better.

third, she shouldn't go outside until she's had her shots. i would limit her outside exposure to outside potty training if you're outside training her.

fourth, first see how well you're doing with one puppy before you get a second. having a second is a great companion to your first but it's also twice the work, twice the cost.

congrats and good luck.

[mustangbee]

WELCOME TO YT!!!!!!!

[Lorraine]

Mine are six weeks and not weaned yet, mom still feeds them as well as me feeding them. NO puppy that age should be left without food, leave it down all the time. Make sure she is eating, they will sometimes go through some anorexia when they are that young as sometimes they don't know to eat. Mine eat with their mom in the beginnning stages, yours didn't have that opportunity.
You are now its mother and I hope you are not planning on being away from home any longer than maybe 4 hours for the next month.
Hypoglycemia can lead to death very quickly. So Nutrical as was suggested is good to have on hand. Especially give some before you go to bed to make sure there is enough reserve energy throughout the night. Be up early ready to feed her.

[sashajade]

aww congrats on your new baby ive got 4 yorkies but i started off with a boy then got a girl who then decided they wanted a family (without asking me first lol) and along came 2 boy puppys which i kept as i couldnt part with them,so i know what it is like to have 2 puppys at the same time. first of all having 2 will make it a lot harder to train them as you dont know which one has left you the little wet patch somewhere a little wet patch shouldnt be but i did find it a lot better for the puppys to have each other for company and as you say you work at least they would have each other, maybe the best thing you could do would be to get a older yorkie so its already trained and would keep the young pup company while you are at work not only that but the pup would learn things a lot quicker from the older dog, and as the pups so young a female would take care of it and replace its mother. there are so many dogs needing homes and if you rehomed one of them it would be better for the pup,the rescue yorkie and you. so win win all round.

[Dawn125]

Congrats on your new baby. I also got mine at 6 weeks. At the time I didn't know anything about hypoglycemia or nutrical and we got along fine. Mine was 1.5 lbs at 6 weeks so a little bigger than yours. I'm sure you will be fine as long as your baby eats well. I would make sure you have food and water available for it all the time until it gets quite a bit bigger.

[elegntorchid]

I have never had to use nutrical, lucky for me and my puppy. But I do always free feed. My yorkies eat so little at a time that I want to make sure they can eat whenever they are hungry. They only poo twice a day with the food available at all times.

When I brought Tonee home as a puppy the breeder sent home a blanket with the scent of mom(if your breeder is close by maybe you could get one). I also had little bears and things she could snuggle with to make her more comfortable. She slept in a small kennel next to our bed every night. She still sleeps in our room and at night we say go to bed and in she goes. In the day we alternated time in her pen and time with us so that she would not think she was being left each time she went into her pen. But then she went with us a lot too. In the car taking the children to school and things like that. She spent a lot of time curled up on someone, and she still does that. She will jump up and curl herself around your neck or lay on your chest with her head on your shoulder. If you give your puppy a lot of comfort she will adjust.

Do you have someone that can check on her a few times a day for the next few weeks if you have to go to work??

[elegntorchid]

Oh, sorry. Welcome!!!!!!!

[simonandhallie]

Welcome to YT and Congratulations on your new baby

[wad06]

Well, I had already decided that I will leave work to check on her twice. I figure I'll see her before I leave (around 8:00), I'll check in around 11:15, then again at 3:15, then again after work (around 6:30). I plan on only spending twenty minutes with her during the day visits.

So, I guess the general concensus is to leave food out all day until she is older. I will do that. I will also buy some stuffed animals type toys for snuggling.

Thanks again for the replies. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon. Keep the advice coming if you guys have any more.

Wad

[Princessyorkies]

Originally Posted by hunniebunnie

first off, 6 weeks is way too young to be taken away from its mother and littermates. here in calif, it's actually illegal to let a puppy go before it's 8 weeks old. so, you're going to have to make up for a lot of work the puppy would have learned from its mother and littermates. be patient with the little one.

so regarding your questions...

first, go ahead and split the 1/2 cup of kibbles to 3 feeding times. wet it a little to make it soft for your puppy. she'll eat what she needs and stop when she's had her fill. puppies need food for the growing they need to do. don't worry about overfeeding and just give her what she needs. keep nutrical onhand to supplement.

second, being taken away from her mother and littermates is very traumatic for the little one. she'll cry when she's left alone because she think she's being abandoned. keep her close to you as much as possible and leave her alone a little at a time. at night, it's best to keep her in a crate near your bed. it'll help to keep her at ease and sleep better.

third, she shouldn't go outside until she's had her shots. i would limit her outside exposure to outside potty training if you're outside training her.

fourth, first see how well you're doing with one puppy before you get a second. having a second is a great companion to your first but it's also twice the work, twice the cost.

congrats and good luck.

I agree with the above but still wanted to say hi and welcome to YT.