I think getting a 2nd dog was a mistake!

[Kizzys Mom]

I, for one, totally understand. I only have one. She is my first yorkie. She is 4 months and wants to chew on lots of things. I've been very patient and tried to keep things where she cant get to them. But she is not allowed in our bedrooms or bathrooms. Only lr/dr/kit and util room. But she is making me crazy mostly about the potty training. Some days she does good as long as I see her go down my hall to the util room where the back door is and I go with her or all along I ask if she wants outside to tee tee. she will bark and go to the back door and I go and she barks at the door. But she does not come to me on her own and let me know or even bark at the door so i know she is back there. she has bells now, she will beat the crap out of them to get outside if we're on the deck and leave her in the house for a while, but not to go outside to potty. But yall are really scaring me about your pups chewing up walls and carpet and stuff because my husband likes to have nice things and keep them nice and didnt want me to get a puppy in the first place. If Kizzy starts that I KNOW he will make me get rid of her or I'll hear hell out of him. Tho he is a normal easy going guy until something starts destroying things he's worked hard for over the years and yes he does love her now. But he will never put a dog over our house to that point. So pray for me that Kizzy dont start that, because I really love her and him and we have a good relationship and nice home and I would give her up to keep our home happy if it came right down to it. There is no way he will tear out carpet and put in tile just to keep a dog, no matter what. He isnt a clean freak but he likes things clean, nice and took care of. And so do I. but i really dont think my nerves would take that much abuse from a puppy.

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by tbradley

To tell you the truth I was not sure how the posts would reply back to my situation but thank you all for not judging me. Another problem that I have not mentioned was that we are having a pool put in so our dogs no longer have a doggie door, so I'm very understanding to the fact that all our lives have been temporally changed. I do not get angry at the dogs in fact...I have been concerned b/c I usually just clean it up b/c I know that they have no other place to go. Its really not the potty training that has me up set it is the fact that I had tile installed (for the dogs) and Lili just put a hole in the one place we installed new carpet, our room. You spend a lot of money on something and it gets destroyed...I dont care who you are..your going to get mad. we have maybe 300-400sq.ft of carpet in our house and she decided to tear it up.... Look im still not over it...but I do love her and will keep her..she is our baby...I was just upset when i wrote this post...

I'm so glad it was just a moment of temporary insanity. LOL.

I know what you mean about the expense, it can get frustrating, but it's only money. I don't know if you have children but they can do the same thing. They cut things, break things, spill things, lose things, but we keep them.

I guess we all decide which is more important to us, having a nice carpet or having a dog. I prefer the dogs. If my carpet gets destroyed, I will gladly change to hard surface floors before I would give up my dogs.

[Tashasmom]

I know exactly how you feel. In our old house we had to buy all new carpet only for it to get ruint again. I totally understand your frustration. But I can assure you for the majority of the dogs (not all) they do grow out of it. I had a pit bull that the first year of her life I swear I wanted to boot her heiny out at least 3 times a week lol..but all at once she just quit tearing up things and was totally dif. And that all happened when she turned a year. She was still playful but not as rambunctious and quit destroying everything. She died of cancer and I'd give anything to have her back but that first year was SOOOO hard.
And no we may not be able to give our kids away but it helps on those bad days knowing they someday move out lol..just kidding...On a serious note. I'd do what you think is best. If you just need to vent we are here though. Good luck..

[peanut]

Glad your feeling better now...I meant to tell you earlier it could be worse, it could be cat pee... Trust me I would rather clean up everyday of my life with my two than have a cat pee on carpet...

[Tashasmom]

Originally Posted by peanut

Glad your feeling better now...I meant to tell you earlier it could be worse, it could be cat pee... Trust me I would rather clean up everyday of my life with my two than have a cat pee on carpet...

i have to agree that is alot worse lol

[shwbabygirl]

Originally Posted by JeanieK

I'm so glad it was just a moment of temporary insanity. LOL.

I know what you mean about the expense, it can get frustrating, but it's only money. I don't know if you have children but they can do the same thing. They cut things, break things, spill things, lose things, but we keep them.

I guess we all decide which is more important to us, having a nice carpet or having a dog. I prefer the dogs. If my carpet gets destroyed, I will gladly change to hard surface floors before I would give up my dogs.

i second that...i would change or give up anything for my Bo Bo man, he is my baby and to me he is like a child so there isnt anything i wouldnt do or give up or change for him....and hubby feels the same (thank God because most men dont).....but he really feels the same way i do for Bo when we go into a store i go one way and he goes the other and i can promise you we will both come back with something for Bo EVERYTIME.....i think the Dog has more toys and bones than we do clothes lol....and btw i would try putting down lots of safe toys for them because Bo has problay 20 or more toys down and he has NEVER (knock on wood) chewed up or tore up anything in our house or the semi (he rides in the truck with us) and we have to leave him to go into the truckstops to showe and when we are home we leave him loose in our house and still he has never done anything like that and he is only 5 months.....but i think the reason is because he has so many toys and bones to chew that he dont care about anything else lol.....they have to teeth so they will find something to chew on so put stuff he can chew on and LOTS of it so he dont get board and see if that helps i can about promise you it will.....Good Luck

[tbradley]

Originally Posted by red98vett

She's a baby still - this is normal and she should grow out of the chewing stage...and yorkies really don't eat that much - Are you just wondering if you are bonding or are you really getting upset ? I'm only asking because sometimes people can really lose their tempers and end up taking it out on the puppy - and it's really not the puppy's fault. It sounds like you may want to keep telling yourself - she will grow up ....

I love the puppy stage but it's not for everyone.

I had to respond to the "yorkies don't eat that much".... Lili eats so much!Even the breeder mentioned it to me after she was born and talked to the vet about it. He just said she is hungry and weight is okay so don't worry about it. But she is the exception to the yorkie rule as far as food goes.lol

[ldenise]

I have to admit, I have not taken the time to read all of your resonses on this thread but I do want to tell you... I felt the same way when we got
Ahia. I didn't think I could make it throught the puppy stage. I did and doing it again times 2. Hang in there.

[SnowWa]

All you guys who think your puppies are your children and would give up anything in the world for them and would replace your walls, your doors, your carpets, your furniture, your marriage, etc., for them are wonderful wonderful wonderful!!!

But - please remember that it isn't always easy to find "two people" in the same house that feel exactly that way .... I really believe that the people who feel that there is a "reasonable amount of damage and then maybe a little more" that they will allow pets to do to their homes and relationships - are probably the more sensible people among us. So, we really can't fault them too much for being a little "more normal" than some of us are...myself included.

And - even more importantly - we are really talking about a lot of money when we start replacing some things.....carpets, doors, walls, furniture, etc., ........ enough money - that a lot of people, or should we say "most people" can't afford to do it. A lot of pet owners have responsibilities other than just their pets....... children and their needs would be one good example.

I have personally put up with my fair share of damage and expense with my pets --- (quite a bit!) ... much more than any other members of my family would do. But still - there has to be a limit!

I think that there is hope and having to give up our pets isn't always the only solution. I believe that effective training, patience, and allowing our puppies to become a little older, plus our working to create and provide a more correct environment for our little guys can solve most of the problems that we encounter. Addressing these issues is more sensible than having the attitude that "we'll replace everything before we give up our little darlings."

We want our pets to be loveable, enjoyable additions to our families - that's why we get a pet in the first place......I hope! They should be a pleasure and a joy and a headache only now and then.

I just don't want those of you who aren't willing to go into bankruptcy, have your homes ruined, and your families torn apart, think that you are monsters. You aren't! Really, you are "rather normal." I do know that time, patience, and effective training have solved most of the serious problems that I have had with my pets - and hopefully, these same things can work for you too.

Carol Jean

[winnismom]

I have had some damage to a wall and a chair and of course carpets with my two dogs. I think if we didn't let our dogs have run of the house many of these things wouldn't happen. These incidents happen when we let our furbabies have the run of the house and we aren't paying attention. It is hard granted...because we feel bad crating them or confining them to x-pens, but I feel the majority of damage wouldn't happen if we could just come to terms that crating and putting them in x-pens isn't a bad thing and has to be done sometimes. Just my 2 cents...

[bren]

Originally Posted by tbradley

I had to respond to the "yorkies don't eat that much".... Lili eats so much!Even the breeder mentioned it to me after she was born and talked to the vet about it. He just said she is hungry and weight is okay so don't worry about it. But she is the exception to the yorkie rule as far as food goes.lol

I'm not a vet or anything but that may be something that she'll grow out of. When I first got Abbie, she INHALED her food and water within 30 seconds. Any food, treat, water, etc she would inhale. Her nose would go down into her bowl and she would not come up for air until all of the food or water was gone. Then she'd look for more. Max, on the other hand, used to pick at his food all day and still not finish. During feeding time, we had to keep Max and Abbie separated to give Max the opportunity to eat his food, otherwise she would try to inhale his food as well. We had her about 10 months before she realized that she will always have access to food and she does not have to inhale it so she gets her daily intake. Now I can put a bowl of food out and they both pick at it all day.

Abbie also outgrew the chewing stage. Fortunately she was crated when unsupervised so I was able to catch her in the act and spray the area with bitter apple when she began chewing something. It will get better...hang in there

[Oscar's Mom]

This will get better with time. In my opinion the most important thing is to not let it push you past "the point" that you break. We got Oscar when he was 8 weeks old and he was fairly easy to house break. He had the usual accidents but most of the time I took him out before he had to go. We raised him in our 5th wheel camper since we were in Florida working storm claims from 4 Hurricanes in 2004. It was a very stressful time for me but we got thru it. Then in 2005, we had a serious family upset that just about sent me over the edge...sent me right to the edge for sure. Oscar was right at a year old and was a very demanding dog. He demanded my attention all the time in the form of playing with him constantly and barking at me to make sure I payed constant attention to him. I was talking to a friend of mine and said something to the effect of "Oscar has gotten on my last nerve". At that time, she offered to take him...for a week, a month or forever...whatever it took. It broke my heart but I agreed. Oscar loved his time there with her. She has a Bichon named Harley, and Oscar and Harley were just the best pals. She kept Oscar for three months total. I only saw him once in that time period and knew that he would come back home to me someday. In that three months, I got medical help for my panic attacks and felt like a new person. In that three months, Oscar matured a lot as well and was a more rounded dog and learned not to demand as much from me because my friend did not cave into his every whim. It broke her heart to give him back, but she told me over and over that it was her intention to restore us to each other in the end. Harley missed him terribly as well but she brought her Sheltie in the house to keep him company. She got over Oscar with time and still tells me that if anything ever happens and Oscar needs to go somewhere else, he is hers. That will never happen as long as I am alive tho...I just love him so much. I guess what I am trying to say is that if you HAVE to have a break from your pup, don't hesitate...it might just be the best thing that you can do for both of you. Best of luck working this out...and obedience school might really be a good idea for your pup as well. You will see a lot of improvement with a few months of age as well. A few months will make a lot of difference in her behavior. And the crate will be your best friend when you can't watch her. A yorkie pup with unsupervised time on her paws will become destructive for sure. The crate is not to be used as punishment rather a means to protect her from herself. She will come to consider it a safe place to camp out. Oscar loves his crate and will go there to sleep and just hang out when he wants some down time for himself. PM me if you ever need to talk when you are frustrated...I have been there and I know exactly what you are feeling right now. It is heartbreaking to think you need to find a new home for something you love so much.

[Kizzys Mom]

I think I have found something that works for me when Kizzy starts chewing on things she isnt suppose to chew on or it has worked for me so far. I have a stack of different books and also I did put some cardboard boxes at the end of my sofa and tv on each end so she couldnt get behind things because she was so small when we got her. one night we heard her crying and couldnt find her. Well I finally found her. she had gotten behind our tv and the stand it is on is a glass case with the vcr and dvd player all in it and storage for cds and such. she had gotten behind it and got into the glass cabinet. she was so dark, and inside the cabinet was dark and made it too hard to see her. thats why I boxed out the sides of things so she couldnt do that. well now she tries to chew on the boxes and also my stack of books. I took a paper towel soaked with plain vinegar and wiped the boxes and the edges of the books where she chewed. first time she went back to them and sniffed it she left and so far she hasnt bothered any of them again. So i'm not saying its gonna keep her from doing it again ever, but i'm saying she dont like the smell of the pure vinegar enough to go back so far. So try different things and see what you might come up with that works for you, thats what I do and that was a very inexpensive idea if it keeps on working. But for a few days its worked for me. I also wiped around the tops of my artificial plant baskets with it and she hasnt bothered those again and that was several weeks ago. Just a tip I feel like is working. If it soon quits working as the vinegar smell will soon probably leave it , I will just rewipe it all and see if it helps again. as long as it works I'll try it. I just try to keep things put up like I did with my babies that she cant have and give her lots of toys and things to play with. Also I wiped the fringed edges of my throw rug and so far so good. And it doesnt smell up my house. But probably would if I soaked something in it but just wiping it down we dont smell it.