More Questions

[Kate]

Hi Everyone:

I am still trying to make a decision rather or not to purchase an adorable Yorkie.

I have more questions:

1. Are they easy to bathe, and where do you bathe them?
Do you use blowdryers?

2. Are you constantly on the "lookout" so you don't step on them, or do
the pretty much keep out of the way.

3. What size crate is recommended? Can a pee pee pad (or whatever
they are called), be put in the crate while training them, say for
six hours, if I have to be away from home? The may be cruel, but
then again, it is cruel to make them hold their little bladders. Curious
on how you handle this.

4. At appx. what age can you completely do away with the crate?

5. My parents live right next door, and are anxious to care for this pup
when I am gone. Do you think it will urinate in their house, and be
completely confused, or are they smart enough to use a pee pee pad?

Thanks everyone.

Kate

[aimee]

1. Are they easy to bathe, and where do you bathe them? Do you use blowdryers?

I find them very easy to bathe, but some seem to hate the water. I started bathing my puppy the week I brought her home and she has had a bath almost weekly since. She now seems to really enjoy it and relaxes while being bathed. You do need to make sure you have a good hold on them, Yorkies are famous for being quite fearless and may try to fly off your kitchen counter.

I bath my dogs in the kitchen sink. I have a towel on the counter beside it, with shampoo, conditioner, brush, washcloth, cup, and flea comb. I use towels right from the dryer to get her cleared up, and also have a space heater set up beside the area I groom her in. That was I can brush her while she is still wet and get out any tangles she has.

With that being said, if you plan to keep your Yorkie's coat long, daily brushing is usually a must to keep away matts and tangles.

2. Are you constantly on the "lookout" so you don't step on them, or do the pretty much keep out of the way.

In a word, yes. Someone on here coined the phrase "Yorkie Shuffle" and it applies in my house. We always have to watch for the dogs, especially the puppy. She likes to be right where the action is, and usually that means right at my heals. The good news is, we've never had an accident with feet yet. It's always good to be aware of where the Yorkie is in relation to a person's feet

3. What size crate is recommended? Can a pee pee pad (or whatever they are called), be put in the crate while training them, say for
six hours, if I have to be away from home? The may be cruel, but then again, it is cruel to make them hold their little bladders. Curious on how you handle this.

I use the smallest size crate and my dog only sleeps in it. Many people prefer the wire crates. I'm not an expert on crate training, so I'll leave this one to someone who is. I'm home all the time so I am able to supervise their activities.

4. At appx. what age can you completely do away with the crate?

Again, I'll leave this for someone else.

5. My parents live right next door, and are anxious to care for this pup when I am gone. Do you think it will urinate in their house, and be completely confused, or are they smart enough to use a pee pee pad?

Your parents will probably have to train the puppy on where to go when s/he is in their house. If you train it to go on pee pads, it will be more likely to go there, but may have accidents in a strange place. I would have your parents work with you in their home on potty training if they plan on keeping the puppy often.

Hope that helps a little.

[Kate]

Yes, this helps alot, and I thank you.

Kate

[orinskye]

1. Toby actually likes to play in the bathtub when im not looking, he tells ME when he wants a bath (which is all the time), but plenty of the people on here do have a problem with their yorkies not liking baths
2. After we got toby'/s collar, it sort of "clinked" so we knew where he was from that even if it was dark. My boy does like to be right underneath my feet though adn i have steppped on him quite a few times. But hes learned his lesson and now doesnt do it as often. I would never get one of th
e really teeny ones, i would be afraid that i would crush the poor thing. I got a larger yorkie specifically for that reason, he is about 9 lbs now..
3.I would not advise putting a pee pad in the crate unless you intend to keep it in there permanantly through your dogs life. The reason i say this, is because the whole point of crate training is to ensure that they learn where NOT to go potty, (one place being their crate, they are supposed to learn not to potty where they sleep.... and this is the base of the training idea). When toby was little, i left his crate open and blocked off a certain section of the apartment and put the pad OUTSIDE the crate.
4. I am not doing away with the crate at all. Another reason for crate training is to get them used to being inside and having a place of their own where they can chill out and relax. The crate will become much like a "den" of sorts. This comfortable feeling with their crate can make traveling a breeze. The purpose of a crate is not only for potty training, it is for confinement and comfort and safety as well.
5. glad you brought this one up. We are currently having this same problem. Toby will NOT go on the pee pad in a strange place. I suggest if you dont want any embarrasing accidents getting a belly band for male dogs.


Any other questions???? feel free to ask, this is a wonderful forum

[PinkMartini]

Originally Posted by aimee

I find them very easy to bathe, but some seem to hate the water. I started bathing my puppy the week I brought her home and she has had a bath almost weekly since. I bath my dogs in the kitchen sink.

Ditto to that. Bailey doesn't like being bathed, but he deals with it. I blow dry him while brushing him (you're not supposed to brush yorkies with a dry coat).

Originally Posted by aimee

In a word, yes. Someone on here coined the phrase "Yorkie Shuffle" and it applies in my house. We always have to watch for the dogs, especially the puppy. She likes to be right where the action is, and usually that means right at my heals. The good news is, we've never had an accident with feet yet. It's always good to be aware of where the Yorkie is in relation to a person's feet

Yup, same here. Bailey is ALWAYS under foot. I've had toy breeds before in the past and NONE of them have been on my heels as much as he is.

3. I use a wire crate with Bailey. He's in there at night when he sleeps and during the day when I'm not home. I don't have a pee pad in there, because he's doing well going potty outside and he's not in his crate for 6 hours at a time. I'm under the firm belief that if you work/have school/ect that leaves you away from home for 6-8 hours at a time, you shouldn't have a puppy. I don't mean this at all to offend, but I know of several breeders who won't even sell a puppy to someone who's going to be gone for that long daily. I for sure wouldn't want Bailey to be confined to his crate for that long. Have you thought about buying an adult yorkie? One who's already crate trained? And would be able to hold their bladders for 6 hours?

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Wow! You've already gotten all of the answers I would have given so I don't have much to add, but here goes...

I think they are easy to bathe because they are so small and mine loves the blow dryer because he likes being "warm"!

I worried a lot in the beginning about stepping on them, but we have also never had an accident of any serious nature. It seems they do learn to get out of the way as they get older. We've steeped on toes a couple of times, but no injuries. You also have to watch for things that can fall over on them or doors that close automatically, etc. I heard that recliners area hazard too. They are just like having a toddler in the house and you have to puppy proof like you would child proof if you had a child. Supervision is the key. It gets easier as they get older.

I also don't use a crate so I cannot advise in that area and I would think your puppy would use wee wee pads in your parent's house once he/she knows where they are.

Good luck!

[orinskye]

[QUOTE=PinkMartini] I'm under the firm belief that if you work/have school/ect that leaves you away from home for 6-8 hours at a time, you shouldn't have a puppy. I don't mean this at all to offend, but I know of several breeders who won't even sell a puppy to someone who's going to be gone for that long daily. [QUOTE]

I can understand the reasoning and I respect your opinion, BUT everyone has to work, and preety much everyone has to work full time to pay bills and stuff, which leaves them out of the house for about 6-8 hours a day. If the qualifications for having a dog are to not work full time then i would have to say that MOST people would be out of luck and very depressed because of lack of canine companions. I am working and going to school, and my fiance has TWO fulltime jobs... which leaves us out of the house for at least 6-8 hours a day (five days a week, i am home on the weekends) . . . There are plenty of people taht work full time on this board, and if people who work like that arent allowed to own dogs geez.... what would we save up to buy then if not another yorkie
Again i do understand where you are coming from, but IMO it is just unrealistic

[PinkMartini]

Like I said, that's my belief. I think it is cruel to leave a 8 week old puppy who goes to the bathroom ever 45 min or so in a crate for 6-8 hours at a time. Believe me, I completly understand having to work. I work & go to school! But Bailey is never in his crate for more than 2 hours at a time. I just don't think it's fair for a tiny puppy to be shut up in his crate for that long at a time. Get an adult dog that's already potty trained & can hold it's bladder for that long if you MUST be out of the house and MUST have a dog. Just my 2 cents.

[orinskye]

that makes more sense........lol........ i thought you meant all dogs, adult, puppy and everythign in between....... no i am right with you on that one, i would not leave an 8 week old puppy alone in teh crate like that either...... i got my puppy when i had a 2 months break from college and a 3 week break from work, and my fiance only had one night job at the time so he was with him during the day...... he wasnt really left alone for 6 hours until recently (and now he is 7 months old)

[lily's mom]

I completely, 150% agree with Summer!!! It is horrible to crate a puppy all day. If being confined to a bathroom or any room for that matter was an option, I think that would be much better. I kind of think there is a rule of thumb, may be it is unwritten, that a dog should not be crated for more than two hours at a time. Just my opinion.

lily's mom

[Kate]

What in the world is a belly band, and where would I get one?

Thanks.

Kate

Originally Posted by orinskye

1. Toby actually likes to play in the bathtub when im not looking, he tells ME when he wants a bath (which is all the time), but plenty of the people on here do have a problem with their yorkies not liking baths
2. After we got toby'/s collar, it sort of "clinked" so we knew where he was from that even if it was dark. My boy does like to be right underneath my feet though adn i have steppped on him quite a few times. But hes learned his lesson and now doesnt do it as often. I would never get one of th
e really teeny ones, i would be afraid that i would crush the poor thing. I got a larger yorkie specifically for that reason, he is about 9 lbs now..
3.I would not advise putting a pee pad in the crate unless you intend to keep it in there permanantly through your dogs life. The reason i say this, is because the whole point of crate training is to ensure that they learn where NOT to go potty, (one place being their crate, they are supposed to learn not to potty where they sleep.... and this is the base of the training idea). When toby was little, i left his crate open and blocked off a certain section of the apartment and put the pad OUTSIDE the crate.
4. I am not doing away with the crate at all. Another reason for crate training is to get them used to being inside and having a place of their own where they can chill out and relax. The crate will become much like a "den" of sorts. This comfortable feeling with their crate can make traveling a breeze. The purpose of a crate is not only for potty training, it is for confinement and comfort and safety as well.
5. glad you brought this one up. We are currently having this same problem. Toby will NOT go on the pee pad in a strange place. I suggest if you dont want any embarrasing accidents getting a belly band for male dogs.


Any other questions???? feel free to ask, this is a wonderful forum

[orinskye]

a belly band is a sort of diaper for male dogs, or they have cute little panties if you were planning on getting a female
here is what they look like (they can be made cuter ):
http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...=1113090792964

Or:

http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...=1113090792964

[nemom]

The first couple days we had her I stayed home, then my daughter was home 1/2 days and now Bella is home by herself (well we have cats too) for about 5-6 hrs max. We put her in the kitchen with baby gates. She has a big den we bought at Petco that we keep the door open and she has blankets, pillows and lots of toys. We keep water and dry food out during the day and wee wee pads as well.

She is doing very good. The kitchen floor is a perfect place if she misses the wee wee pad (only a couple times though), but she goes to her den to relax and plays with her toys and chases the cat when they hop the gate.

She is a very happy healthy puppy per the vet and it's working for us. Just give your puppy time to adjust, start with small hours and then get them longer. Maybe give her a bigger space to roam and move and use her pads etc, not confined to the crate.

[orinskye]

we used to pen up toby using baby gates too..... unfortunatly hes an escape artist, so now we have no choice but to use the crate