| Lady of Yorkies | 05-27-2005 09:57 PM | YorkieLover: I know all this seems like everyone is coming down on you. It's not meant to be mean. Everyone wants the best for you and this sad little dog. As you can see, no one believes Yorkies should be outside and I didn't read anywhere that you said you would be leaving him outside.
I do think that a trial period would be the very best thing for you to try. If he was kept outside, I imagine his hair is short so it was less work for the lady who owns him, if not then it is probably so matted you'll have to have him cut real short. So I don't think the grooming part would be very hard for you. Feeding him wouldn't be hard either.
If he's lived outside for 2 years he's going to be real hard to house train. I do know the determination of young girls, you just might be able to house train him in 3 months, but this means spending all of your time with him, and being alert to his needs. You will have to watch him closely because he can't say "I have to go to the bathroom" and he won't understand when you try to teach him not to go in the house. Also if he's been outside for all of his 2 years of life, he isn't going to know how to act in a house. He may get into everything, how many times can he dump the trash in the kitchen before your parents really get mad at you? Or chew up underwear and socks? Remember he's an outside dog, he's never seen underwear and socks. Anything that has an odd smell he's going to be interested in, and really, you can't be with him every minute he's awake. These little dogs can get into mischief faster than a little kid.
I would think the lady who owns him has talked to him while she gets his food and water, but pay attention to what she says to him. Does it sound like someone you meet on the street saying "Hi, how are you?" and then they don't really listening to your answer, maybe they keep on walking like they didn't even see you? Is this the way you would talk to him? You will want to hold conversations with him, he won't want to be held while you talk to him. This is what you want isn't it? Some little dog to cuddle in your arms? He won't allow it, he wasn't raised to be held. If you go over to the pen where she keeps him and he lets you pick him up and hold him, it won't be like that at your house. You want to love him, cuddle him, talk to him and have him lay near you on your bed. He won't do these things because he was raised outside.
I think a trial period of a weekend is too short of a time for you to experience this, you should set it up for a week. For a weekend you could stay at home, go nowhere. But in real life you would have to go places with your parents, maybe visit your aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents or maybe even go to doctor appointments or out to dinner. There will be times you will have to leave him at home alone, what will you do with him while you are gone? He's used to being penned up, not crated. If you try to put him in a crate while you are gone, he'll go crazy.
I'm not saying you shouldn't get him, you obviously want him so badly. I don't know how old you are and your parents are the best judge of whether or not you will take care of him or if he will land in their laps. I do think you'd be much, much happier with a puppy that you could train and who would fit into your life easier. An adult dog of 2 years old is set in his ways, a puppy of 12 weeks can be trained to fit into your lifestyle. A puppy can be taught to cuddle if he/she doesn't know how, a 2 year old dog will or won't, he can't be taught to like something he never learned was meant to show love. To a 2 year old dog, trying to cuddle with him would feel like you are tie-ing him up. He will fight to get loose and maybe scratch and bite.
Everyone here has tried to offer their best advice and I suppose you are going to take the dog no matter what anyone says, so I'll just say this: give it a try but make sure the lady knows you will need to bring him back if things don't work out. Also, think on this, what if the perfect puppy at an amazing price, comes along in 4, 5, or 6 months and you already have this dog, if you have spent what money you have saved on this dog when you could have had more saved for a puppy? What if your parents won't let you have 2? What if you are wearing down your parents and someone in your family is thinking of buying you a puppy for your next birthday or Christmas? |