A few puppy questions for a first time owner. :)

[nutkitty]

Hey guys,

I'm trying to learn everything I can before I get my yorkie, so I have a few questions.

1. I live in a townhouse, so I have stairs in my home. Should I keep my puppy in a playpen most of the time to avoid it getting hurt on the stairs? I'm guessing it may be a good idea to keep it in the pen in general for a while. Any certain age when I could stop?

2. I have three cats. Would the puppy do ok with them for the most part? The cats like to tackle each other, but none are overly aggressive. None have ever been around a dog before.

3. I'll get my puppy around the first of November. Would it be safe to take it visiting when I do the family holiday stuff? I'll have had it a month by that point, but I don't want to expose it to anything bad. I would like the chance to socialize it though. I do know I'll have to be extra careful if children are present.

4. Are there any types of toys that would be dangerous to a puppy? I have an absolute TON of cat toys that end up laying around, so I'd most likely need to do a puppy-check on all of them. I'll need to puppy-proof my entire home, actually. O_O

5. Is it safe to let the puppy sleep in the bed with me? Should I avoid letting it until a certain age? I usually have two cats asleep there already...

6. Is there a certain brand of harness that anyone can recommend? I know that I'll need a harness for walking.

7. Same for food - any recommended brands? Right now I'm leaning towards Innova, since I feed Innova EVO to my cats and they're all incredibly healthy and have wonderful coats.

8. Some friends have golden retrievers. Would it be dangerous to bring the yorkie to visit?

9. Are there any questions I didn't ask, that I should be asking?

[joshdoodle]

1. I live in a townhouse, so I have stairs in my home. Should I keep my puppy in a most of the time to avoid it getting hurt on the stairs? I'm guessing it may be a good idea to keep it in the pen in general for a while. Any certain age when I could stop?

In my experience- pups dont bother trying to get upstairs untill they are confident- they look daunting to dogs.
I think a stairgate might be the best option- or leave it to roam free in a room that doesnt have access to the stairs whilst you are up there

2. I have three cats. Would the puppy do ok with them for the most part? The cats like to tackle each other, but none are overly aggressive. None have ever been around a dog before.

Having only ever socialised dogs with my tortoises, I would say, have a small meeting, and dont force the cats and dog to be in the same room, and dont make a big fuss of either- just act as if its an everyday thing and nothing for the dog to worry about, if he growls or barks at them, a stern NO, and reward with a treat when hes quiet is how i did it with the torts.

3. I'll get my puppy around the first of November. Would it be safe to take it visiting when I do the family holiday stuff? I'll have had it a month by that point, but I don't want to expose it to anything bad. I would like the chance to socialize it though. I do know I'll have to be extra careful if children are present.
If hes had all inoculations and has been toilet trained- i dont see why not. Just keep a good eye on him- or maybe take his crate/playpen ?

4. Are there any types of toys that would be dangerous to a puppy? I have an absolute TON of that end up laying around, so I'd most likely need to do a puppy-check on all of them. I'll need to puppy-proof my entire home, actually. O_O

There are some- generally dog toys will have a note on packaging if unsuitabe.
Sorry I can't offer advice over the cat toys- i have no experience

5. Is it safe to let the puppy sleep in the bed with me? Should I avoid letting it until a certain age? I usually have two cats asleep there already...

If you dont mind it sleeping there for the rest of its life- it wouldnt harm the puppy, as long as its house broken already and you keep him at the foot of the bed- so you dont squash him in your sleep

6. Is there a certain brand of harness that anyone can recommend? I know that I'll need a harness for walking.

People seem to think Ebay is the best place- i never used a small harness for my last doggies as they where big enough for normal ones.

7. Same for food - any recommended brands? Right now I'm leaning towards Innova, since I feed Innova EVO to my cats and they're all incredibly healthy and have wonderful coats.

Id see what the breeder feeds them on, and make sure its something you can get in a local pet store.
If you cant- you need to get a weeks worth from your breeder so you can gently fase it out over a week
Mix his current food about 6 parts to 1 part new food, then the next day switch to 5 parts old food, 2 parts new food, day after that 4 parts old food, 3 parts new food, so on and so forth until you have fased out the old food completely.
This change will need to be done gradually as to not upset your pups stomach.

8. Some friends have . Would it be dangerous to bring the yorkie to visit?

When he is big enough I dont see why not- as long as they are all well socialised and good with each other.
Dont leave them alone though- and make sure its highly supervised.

9. Are there any questions I didn't ask, that I should be asking?
It depends what you already know Remember- ask as many questions as the only stupid one is one left un-asked.

Good luck with your new furbaby and I hope he is happy and healthy when you get him

[marcerella02]

joshdoodle.. GREAT post!

[yorkiesmiles]

1. I live in a townhouse, so I have stairs in my home. Should I keep my puppy in a playpen most of the time to avoid it getting hurt on the stairs? I'm guessing it may be a good idea to keep it in the pen in general for a while. Any certain age when I could stop?

Don't worry to much about this. The puppy may have already learned to do steps at the breeders house. When I used to breed Bichons and I was housebreaking the pups, I had 3 little steps off my porch & sooner or later the pups learned on their own or tried on their own!

2. I have three cats. Would the puppy do ok with them for the most part? The cats like to tackle each other, but none are overly aggressive. None have ever been around a dog before.

Give the cats time. Don't force the pup on them. They will want to check him out and may do so than hiss at the pup. Don't scold the cats, they may at 1st be scared & maybe even mad at you for bringing something like that into their house

Give them time. My Siamese are famous for acting like dogs are a problem, but the first time you find them all cuddled together will be the best (be sure to take pictures!) My female cat will still on occassion try to attack one of the yorkies - usually out of jealousy. The dogs know just beware.

3. I'll get my puppy around the first of November. Would it be safe to take it visiting when I do the family holiday stuff? I'll have had it a month by that point, but I don't want to expose it to anything bad. I would like the chance to socialize it though. I do know I'll have to be extra careful if children are present.

You'll be able to answer this question better yourself after you have him in your home. They all have different temperments. I would just make sure that if the pup needs some down time/away from everyone, he gets it.

4. Are there any types of toys that would be dangerous to a puppy? I have an absolute TON of cat toys that end up laying around, so I'd most likely need to do a puppy-check on all of them. I'll need to puppy-proof my entire home, actually. O_O

My female yorkie on occasion goes and picks up one of those furry cat toys you can fill with catnip - she thinks anything furry belongs to her! lol

Not knowing what you have for toys, its hard to advise, but I would definitely be careful if you have those little plastic balls for the cats that have the little bell inside. I would be afraid of the pup chewing on the plastic and swallowing or choking on the little bell. Once the dog is older you shouldn't have to be to concerned.

5. Is it safe to let the puppy sleep in the bed with me? Should I avoid letting it until a certain age? I usually have two cats asleep there already...

Spoiling?? Nothing wrong there, but a puppy may not sleep thru the night with you right away. And housebreaking is so important - might want to conquer that 1st. Also, if the cats are sleeping with you, you might at least intially want to keep this time for them, so they know there is one point in the day they can have you all to themselves - because they will likely be jealous of how much time & attention the pup takes at 1st

6. Is there a certain brand of harness that anyone can recommend? I know that I'll need a harness for walking.

I'll opt out on this - I just bought something at the local pet store that came in the tinist size & I have it almost as small as it can go.

7. Same for food - any recommended brands? Right now I'm leaning towards Innova, since I feed Innova EVO to my cats and they're all incredibly healthy and have wonderful coats.

I feed Flint River Ranch - I am so impressed with this product. My cats & dogs are both on this

8. Some friends have golden retrievers. Would it be dangerous to bring the yorkie to visit?

Has the golden been around small dogs? He/she will probably be really excited about a new friend. I would probably do a lot of holding the yorkie at 1st and letting the golden smell the pup & see how things go from there. I might be fearful of an excited big dog stepping on a pup. Also, in your lap the yorkie will be more on eye level with a golden - it would be overwhelming I would think for the pup at 1st

9. Are there any questions I didn't ask, that I should be asking?

How do I cure a YT addiction??

Sorry, I can't answer that one - I'm too sick with the same disease

[For My Coby]

You've gotten good answers already. Just to add my 2 cents...

1. I live in a townhouse, so I have stairs in my home. Should I keep my puppy in a playpen most of the time to avoid it getting hurt on the stairs? I'm guessing it may be a good idea to keep it in the pen in general for a while. Any certain age when I could stop?

A pen is a good way to keep them safe when not giving 100% of your attention. I would block off the stairs for a while. While puppies shy away from them until their ready, they're also goofballs who don't have total control of their bodies. One misstep near the steps will send one tumbling.

2. I have three cats. Would the puppy do ok with them for the most part? The cats like to tackle each other, but none are overly aggressive. None have ever been around a dog before.

You'll be able to tell us in a couple of months.

3. I'll get my puppy around the first of November. Would it be safe to take it visiting when I do the family holiday stuff? I'll have had it a month by that point, but I don't want to expose it to anything bad. I would like the chance to socialize it though. I do know I'll have to be extra careful if children are present.

Make sure that he has all of his shots. And I agree that you should take your kennel with you. There is going to be a lot of stimulation around as well as careless feet! If nothing else, the puppy will need a nap.

4. Are there any types of toys that would be dangerous to a puppy? I have an absolute TON of cat toys that end up laying around, so I'd most likely need to do a puppy-check on all of them. I'll need to puppy-proof my entire home, actually. O_O

Puppies can make toys of everything. While you're checking your toys, be sure to puppy proof your house.... wires, shoes, jewelry, sharp corners.

5. Is it safe to let the puppy sleep in the bed with me? Should I avoid letting it until a certain age? I usually have two cats asleep there already...

Sure, but like mentioned before, be sure to housebreak him first and then work on training him to STAY on the bed through the night.

6. Is there a certain brand of harness that anyone can recommend? I know that I'll need a harness for walking.

I don't have a favorite brand, but kudos to you for knowing you need a harness!

7. Same for food - any recommended brands? Right now I'm leaning towards Innova, since I feed Innova EVO to my cats and they're all incredibly healthy and have wonderful coats.

There's a great recent thread elsewhere on food. It gives a lot of YT'ers opinions!

8. Some friends have golden retrievers. Would it be dangerous to bring the yorkie to visit?

Just make sure that the retrievers are well behaved and well socialized with small animals/dogs.

9. Are there any questions I didn't ask, that I should be asking? [/QUOTE]

You're obviously going to be a GREAT Yorkie family!!

[143munchkin]

Looks like everyone answered you ?'s. Here's some more detailed info on caring for your puppy.

You can also read this here on Puppy Care and Dog Food Analysis:

http://www.swankpets.com/what-the-be...r-dog-a-5.html

http://www.swankpets.com/toy-breed-p...e-101-a-4.html

[Dianezz]

Definately the puppy must be trained to stay on your bed all night..not only because you cannot supervise pup , but alos if you dont have step soff the bed ,that is a bad fall.

definate stairgate is in order I believe....I am only new at this , but we bought one and it didnt fit so we had to go without for a while...we used a pen....but let him out when we were watching...he gto more and more used to the steps and finally tried them and wasnt ready..we put the new gate up that day.

As for cat toys, many expecially the ones that look like furry rodents...Yorkies love...they will tear them apart and may choke onthe pieces. Look for any loose pieces or pieces that can come loose onthe toys.

Have fun....our new baby is a joy!

[MyFairLacy]

A little background for me as I answer your questions I have a yorkie named Lacy that will be three this September. She is about 7lbs. I got her at 11 weeks and she was about 3lbs at that time.

1. I live in a townhouse, so I have stairs in my home. Should I keep my puppy in a playpen most of the time to avoid it getting hurt on the stairs? I'm guessing it may be a good idea to keep it in the pen in general for a while. Any certain age when I could stop? I too live in a townhouse (two stories). I can't remember when Lacy first used the stairs but I think I remember her going up and down them pretty soon after I got her. She never had any trouble going up and down the stairs. I think your puppy will go upstairs easier at first than downstairs. Puppies usually learn to go up stairs pretty quickly but may be scared to go downstairs. I would supervise a puppy all the time at first and crate or put the puppy in a pen when not supervised. This way the puppy doesn't get hurt and this will very much help with potty training. When you can stop crating or using the pen will depend on the puppy and how fast you are able to potty train it. When your puppy is doing well at potty training and you think you can trust it, give it more time out. Work slowly up to eliminating the crate or pen. Lacy still uses her crate sometimes.

2. I have three cats. Would the puppy do ok with them for the most part? The cats like to tackle each other, but none are overly aggressive. None have ever been around a dog before. I have two cats currently. I had one 5 year old cat when I got Lacy. My cat, Kira, didn't like her at all but honestly, Kira doesn't really like anyone and is a pretty antisocial cat that wants to be left alone for the most part. I tried to teach Lacy to leave Kira alone but now that she is older she will chase Kira around pretty regularly. Yorkies have a pretty high prey drive and enjoy chasing things. When Lacy decides she wants to chase Kira there's really nothing I can do to stop her - no matter how much I yell No! I got a new cat about 4 months ago - Sophie, who was five months when I brought her home and almost 9 months now. She and Lacy get along great! They've gotten along great since day 1. Sophie is a very social cat and will rub all over Lacy and they even play some. Sometimes Lacy will chase Sophie some too but Sophie tolerates it a lot better than Kira. I recommend trying to train the puppy to leave the cats alone and be nice to them as best you can. If your cats have their claws, keep them trimmed regularly so they don't swat at and scratch your puppy - could scratch an eye or something. The cats will probably not be happy at a new puppy in the house and I wouldn't get onto them for displaying unhappiness - they will eventually get used to the puppy but may resent you if you get onto them. If your cats are very social they may get used to the puppy and get along with it well.

3. I'll get my puppy around the first of November. Would it be safe to take it visiting when I do the family holiday stuff? I'll have had it a month by that point, but I don't want to expose it to anything bad. I would like the chance to socialize it though. I do know I'll have to be extra careful if children are present. I also got Lacy in November right after Thanksgiving and she traveled with me to my parents in December for the Christmas holidays. We have all our family over to my parents on Christmas Day so there were a lot of people there and she did great. I think it's really good for them to be socialized around different people. Be very careful with your puppy around others though as they may not realize how fragile a yorkie puppy can be - make sure it doesn't get underfoot with a lot of people around and get stepped on. Other than that with good supervision, your puppy should be fine around others.

4. Are there any types of toys that would be dangerous to a puppy? I have an absolute TON of cat toys that end up laying around, so I'd most likely need to do a puppy-check on all of them. I'll need to puppy-proof my entire home, actually. O_O Lacy loves to tear up the cat toys - the little furry balls and mice - she loves to tear off the fur and chew on them. Plastic balls with bells on them could be chewed and the bell swallowed. Any toy with feathers will probably be chewed on - Lacy always pulls the feathers out of cat toys. Be careful of a puppy swallowing a lot of feathers and fur from toys as it could cause a blockage in the intestines. A lot of cat toys should be fine for puppies as well but I really reccommend supervising your puppy playing with any toys.

5. Is it safe to let the puppy sleep in the bed with me? Should I avoid letting it until a certain age? I usually have two cats asleep there already... I wouldn't let the puppy sleep with you until potty trained. It may wake up and potty in the bed at the middle of the night or may try to jump off the bed. Lacy slept in her crate until she was about a year old. She could have slept with me earlier than that but I was so afraid she'd jump off the bed and pee somewhere. I didn't sleep well the first couple nights she did sleep with me - I kept waking up to see if she was still on the bed. But she did just fine and has slept great with me since then. I just recommend waiting until the puppy is potty trained and old enough that you aren't worried about it falling off or jumping off the bed and hurting itself.

6. Is there a certain brand of harness that anyone can recommend? I know that I'll need a harness for walking. I use a leather step-in harness for Lacy. The harness and leash are attached as a one-piece set. It's so convienent, has held up well, and is very safe and secure.

7. Same for food - any recommended brands? Right now I'm leaning towards Innova, since I feed Innova EVO to my cats and they're all incredibly healthy and have wonderful coats. Lacy is on a raw diet. She used to eat Wellness Fish & Sweet Potato dry food before I switched her to raw over a year ago. She eats Nature's Variety Raw medallions in Rabbit and Venison. So far as Dry food, there are some good brands out there. Innova is one, Wellness, Canidae, Merrick, Nature's Variety...I tried to feed my cats Innova Evo for a while and they both ended up having severe diarhea after about six weeks so I took them off of it. My favorite canned food is Merrick - one of my cat's eats that.

8. Some friends have golden retrievers. Would it be dangerous to bring the yorkie to visit? I would wait until your puppy has had all of it's vaccinations before interacting with another dog. Lacy has played with big dogs before, including a lab that she plays pretty rough with. I would just make sure the golden retriever isn't too rough with your puppy. But yorkies are really pretty tough and think they are big so it should be okay.

9. Are there any questions I didn't ask, that I should be asking? Be sure to buy your puppy from a reputable breeder and ask the breeder lots of questions Good Luck finding your new puppy!

[Syrus]

Oh wow, as a soon to be new yorkie mom, you asked alot of the same things I was wondering about...

Thanks for the great answers guys!

[nutkitty]

Wow! I woke up to a ton of answers! I very much appreciate them all. Definitely very helpful, and it gives me a lot to think on.

I do want to crate train my pup, at the very least for night time. I liked the suggestion of doing that until housebroken.

During the day, I'm going to get one of those large pens since I work from home. That way I can keep an eye on the pup, but an eye on my work as well. I just hope the pup will be ok with being confined like that.

I think that may also help out regarding the cats. If the pup is in a pen, they can walk up to it on their own terms, and the pup can't chase them. One of my cats is a bengal, so I can totally see him jumping in with the puppy to check him out.

Good to know about the catnip and fur toys. I'll definitely have to keep some of those out of the way so the cats won't have all of their toys destroyed, lol!! I'm not a fan of the balls with bells inside myself (I worry about the cats getting to the tiny bells), so I don't have to watch out for those at least. I also take out the little plastic eyes/noses on those little furry mice for safety's sake. Yes, I'm the overly careful type. For good reason!

Yes, I'll take an absolute TON of photos... I already drive my fiance crazy with taking photos of the cats. Good thing he adores animals as much as me! In fact, he's the one that has wanted a yorkie for so long... it has made me want one too.

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

I tried to feed my cats Innova Evo for a while and they both ended up having severe diarhea after about six weeks so I took them off of it.

Ha! Ironically, I use that brand because bengal cats are known for having intestinal problems, and it cleared them up for my boy. Strange how different cats react in different ways, huh?

And last, when the boy and I were out for our nightly walk, we came across a neighbor walking her four year old yorkie! It was really great being able to see an adult yorkie like that.

What amazed me was that it was 7lbs, and it looked so tiny still! I know I really don't want a "teacup". I'd be so scared of hurting it all the time. :P

The lady really seemed to know what she was talking about too, so I really enjoyed having a nice chat with her.

Off topic a little, but we also saw a really pretty britney spaniel who literally "flipped" and fell trying to run over to say hi to us while on our walk. Poor girl! So pretty though.

I'm turning into a dog person. Who'd have thought...

Oh, and because I mentioned my bengal, I thought I'd include a pic of him. Very spoiled. I'd say the yorkie I'm getting is going to be pretty lucky getting into my household. I really spoil my pets.

In one pic, the kitty is picking her nose... hehe!