Bathrooms are not a good idea if you have exposed water lines (like to the toilet) and a puppy who likes to chew...things can get ugly (and expensive!) very quickly. I would recommend the x-pen and something to protect your floor.

OOh good point. It's been so long since they were pups I forgot about the chewing.

Yeah, Hootie & Hobbs chewed up our bathroom wall once.

I hope that is true here is what he said......

Originally Posted by NODAK http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/ima...s/viewpost.gif
Oh...and in case you want further proof the dog doesn't come before me, daisy-mae, all I have to do is tell Heidi I want "Chris and Heidi" time....

...and she puts away the dog immediately and comes upstairs with me. No asking twice. Seriously, putting a dog before your significant other is silly.

(Edit: And I do that sometimes just so I don't have to have the dog around me. Works like a charm.)

sad ... hope its not true also :(

Wow!! My yorkie isn't a chewer at all, so I've never had to worry about that. But good point!! So, Heidi, if your dog chews, the bathroom is a no-no. I was just trying to think of an alternative in case you didn't want to go with the x-pen.

I just can't get the....

20 hours a day out of my head

Look, I know a lot of people like the 'crate training' - but to leave a small pup in a crate for more than 4-5 hours at a time is PLAIN CRUEL!!!!

You and Chris are going to do what you please, that's evident in all the past posts, but please don't try to justify 'crate training' being 10 to 20 hours a day, everyday for 'training purposes' (you say you put paper in there, so you obvious expect him to potty in there, so where's the training???). Please do some serious rethinking. To me that's punishment.

Here is a site for cheap, very good quality pee pads:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...7042&rd=1&rd=1

But crate training is letting your dog out at regular intervals. It's not locking your dog up all day. And you don't put pads in the crate - the crate is so they learn not to eliminate and then you immediately take them outside to the correct place to eliminate. I crate mine when I'm not home, but that's for their safety and usually less than 3 hours a day.

chardjo - You said you want to train him and then let him roam free? That will not happen with your current setup. You need to hire a professional dog walker or take him to doggie daycare or do something. He will not train himself. There are professional dog walkers that are insured and bonded just like a cleaning service Do a little research and I'm sure you'll find a reputable one.

I'm not going to tell you that you shouldn't have a Yorkie. But if you want a reasonably well trained one you need to make sacrifices. When Loki was a puppy we couldn't leave him alone for more than 2 hours. That meant we couldn't even go see a movie for about 6 months. We won't kennel them and don't feel like dumping them on our family so we don't go on vacation unless they come. We leave events early to go home and spend time with them. We *constantly* watch the clock when we are out shopping or whatever to make sure they don't stay in their crates too long. My husband mostly works from home but if he has a meeting or something they go to daycare or I come home from work and let them out at lunch (and give up my lunch to drive 20 mins each way). Yorkies simply cannot be left alone, whether in a crate or a pen or a bathroom, for 10 hours during the day and then all night. (Please clarify - do you work so far away that you can't come home? Why is Chris so opposed to a dog walker?)

Maybe you are willing to make those types of sacrifices, but Chris made it sound like Tanner "it" was in the way of "Chris and Heidi time" and that he could be put away like a doll. He came on a board full of Yorkie lovers - people who spend all day talking about their dogs, posting pictures and videos of their dogs, discussing what their dog's poop should look like (!!!) and he made it very clear that he didn't like your dog, "it". Then he countered every suggestion we had with a reason why that was not possible or why he didn't like that idea. I'm not quite sure what he thought would happen????? :confused:

When I read this post by "Chris" I was just stunned. I see that not only does he treat that precious little puppy like an "it", he treats his fiancee that way too. I suppose there's nothing wrong with it if Heidi doesn't mind, but I certainly couldn't put up with that...

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Even though both my hubby and I work full-time like you and Chris, one difference in our schedules is that I came home (and still come home) EVERYDAY for lunch and let my dogs out for at least 30 minutes.

Yes, good post. :)

**********************
I don't crate train nor would I, but that's just me, everyone is different and that's fine. It just bothers me when I read that this small pup (baby) is left in a crate for 10 to 20 hours a day, everyday, with newspapers to go potty on :confused: - This is not crate training, this is keeping the puppy captive, and then they also expect the pup to be potty trained, etc...

You might as well drop the pup off at you local pet store to baby sit for you. They too keep then in cages 24/7 - But at least they would have some company :rolleyes:

P.S. Poop eating comes with what you are doing to Tanner. He is exploring and he is board. Sorry to say, but he will continue to eat poop b/c he has nothing else to do and it is right in front of him locked up in the cage with him.

P.S.S. Put the cat liter boxes where he can't get too, b/c he will continue to go for that too.

Welcome to YT! I hope you finds tons of information here that you need for Tanner and I agree..getting an xpen or playpen would be a good idea. That way he has more room to play in when you're gone. :thumbup:

And the saga of Tanner continues...
 

Not only do I not understand how you can bear to crate Tanner for up to 20 hours a day, how can you even plan to leave him 20 hours a day?

I am a teacher and my husband is a supervisor in a manufacturing plant. Right now, I am out for the summer, but during the regular school year (here in Mississippi that runs from August to May) we are gone all day. All day for us is like 9-10 hours. When we first got Emmy, in May 2006, I took her to back to breeder's home each morning. She was kind enough to watch her for us each day for a few weeks. Once school was out, I had more time to spend with her. BUT, I have never stayed with her or Oscar 24/7! I don't want them to have separation anxiety when school starts back each fall. What I do, even during the summer, is work around the house (and leave them in another room)...run errands to the store without them, so on and so forth. They are used to be on their own sometimes and they don't cry! They are in a controlled environment that is safe for them. They are excited to see us when we return and get mine and my hubby full attention when we come back in. But we have never left them alone for more than 12 hours and that was due to an EMERGENCY. They are like small children. They need their parents...I feel like the time I spend away during the day is like their "school" time. But I don't dawdle on my way home during the school year. I leave work on time and come straight home!

We do make sure they get plenty of us time and outside time. Evenings are THEIR time--one on one until bedtime. Don't misunderstand, we spend loads of time with them--we love them--but you do not have to spend every waking moment with them (although I would love to be able to do that--they are such funny little creatures--God made them so lovable).

I know I have gone around the world on this post, but I want you to understand you can have a puppy and a life--but him being on his own for that long is AWFUL and DANGEROUS! My daugher and her bf have two yorkies, were both full time students and worked, and have fun "college" lives. They just finished college and are moving to Atlanta. They are already looking for a new vet, puppy daycare, dog walkers, groomers, etc. They are just starting out on their own, but they understand their committment to their pets. Maybe you should rethink your committments...I am sure you would miss Tanner, but maybe now is not the right time in your life to have a puppy!:aimeeyork

All I can say is WOW! I must have miss all this :rolleyes: I think I'm glad I did. I hope all is well with that poor puppy.

How do we know that the person posting is really the girlfriend and not just the original poster trying to rattle more chains? Just a thought....but we just don't know :confused: