I don't know of anyone I'm related to that doesn't take care of their dogs as I do, so I've never been in that situation. I wouldn't care what anyone thought either as long as they kept their rude opinions to themselves and if they didn't, then a good tongue lashing would be in order. What you do is YOUR business, and if your not hurting anyone then they don't have the right to be so heartless. If your happy and your fur-babies are happy, then that's everything!!

I have decided that everyone in life needs their "something". For you its your dogs, for others it might be sitting at the beach, 4-wheeling , scrap booking or what ever. No one has the right to tell you that your "something" is bad or wrong. Its what makes us different.

I have a philosphy that the people who do not have the "something" only have work and when it comes time to retire, die, because all they had was work. So I applaud you, because you found your "something". Don't let anyone tell you that its wrong.

Both Tim and I treat Avery the same way-she is our lil girl and goes wherever she can with us.(we dont leave her home alone, unless we need to) But we WANT to be with her and miss her so so much when she's not!!

Some family tease us and say 'i can't wait to see how you guys are going to be when you have kids'.(First of all-how are we going to be?? Give them TOO much love??-haha.
Its not like i wont let anyone hold her or play with her-PUHLEASE.. i am the first to let family and friends(people we trust) enjoy her as much as we do!!-because after all Avie enjoys them too!!

Second-these people are DOG LOVERS themselves.. they have dogs!! My MIL treats her own dogs like her kids as well, they are bigger dogs though(so it is COMPLETELY different when they arent really small, like our little ones.)Im sure if they could fit their dogs in a carrier, or even in there arms for that matter, they WOULD!! :D

I dont think anyone can really understand why we treat our yorkies the way we do.. they cant love them like we can!! But for the most part we dont really get any negative attitudes toward our baby girl..Her Grandparents, and ALL our family(bros, sis, etc.) LOVE HER and spoil her everytime they see her. AND they always ask for us to "Bring Her!!", or "How's Avery?!". haha. (BUT TRUST ME.. it is VERY nice to come on YT and KNOW im not crazy for treating Avery like i do -or- just to know there are people who could love my baby just like i love her and vice versa!!):love:

yes mine do sometimes.

Maybe your niece is feeling a tad neglected by you lately. You said you guys were previously very close?? Maybe IT is time to pull out some baby gates, kiss your babies goodbye for a couple hours and go out with your niece! Im sure she'll be so happy you did that! Go see a movie, or go shop, anything just to get out for a couple hours. Your dogs REALLY will be fine!! :) :)

I think crates are so over used and I think it is great that you don't crate your yorkie more than 3 hrs at a time.

Someone gave me some wonderful advise once, ' what ever you do, do not let your dogs come before your human relationships' and that was from a dog trainer. Really you can have both and benefit the dog while doing it. Just my opinion.

I TOTALLY AGREE with you!! And let me start off by saying I LOVE my job and wouldn't want to be doing anything else(it doesn't feel like work to me, and that is SOOO important, i think!!) BUT i think its all about BALANCE-and finding what makes you happy) LIFE is TOO SHORT-so tell all the people you care about, how much they mean to you(including ur lil yorkie babies!!)-and ENJOY yourself!! :)

mine do
they tell me hes a mutt kick him out and why do you baby him and why do you this and that and i said because he doesnt talk back, he obeys me, he never leaves my side, he agress with everything i say, he cleans my tears (licks :D ) and he tries to always help me and make things 3right

do any of you guys do that? and they say nothing and then i say by the way he isnt a mutt hes a 1200 dollar dog thanks you

hes worth more than you are to me

and hey they shut up quick

everyone in life needs their "something". For you its your dogs, for others it might be sitting at the beach, 4-wheeling , scrap booking or what ever. No one has the right to tell you that your "something" is bad or wrong. Its what makes us different.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Thats totally normal. My sister knows a family who refuses to let their dog stay homealone at all! They made the youngest (15) miss his hockey game so he could stay with the dog!

Well, I can play devil's advocate here. Dont get me wrong, I love my dog, but he is a dog. I leave him in his crate for up to four hours, yes I do make sure it is no more than that. But there have been occasions when I culdn't get back in time and it was out of my control. I did not have any kind of guilt trip and luckily there was no mess or trauma to deal with.

I wipe his butt, make sure he is eating, and drinking right, once a month give him his meds, he gets groomed daily and I brush his teeth at least twice a week. He goes for walks and is considered a PART of the family, my life, however, does not revolve around him

I can't say I put my dog ahead of me or anyone in my family, that would be a bit insane. I love yorkies, I love my Louis but I refuse to let him, his size, his adorable face and mannerisms to rule, govern or reign my life. It just isn't right. I hope that doesnt offend anyone.

I think the person who said BALANCE is pretty much what I was trying to say in my first post. You can love your dog all you want but keep a balance with family and friends. My breeder told me in her next life lol she want to come back as Crystal because she knows how much love and care I have given her through all these years.

Everyday...I have someone comment or somethign every day. I am and I admit obsessive about mine but I frankly dont care. Yes his picture is on my desk here at work and I cant wait to go home to him and also I hate doing things without him. I cook his food and take care of him just as I would a baby or child. I love him totally. And if someone doesnt get it or understand..I dont care. I just smile..cause I know Im not missing out on a thing. Matter of fact, Im so excited to be taking Bob camping this weekend!! My husband wanted to go on the bikes but I wont do it...If Bob nots going..Im not going..

I really dont care what people think anyway...

Just wondering what is neccessaty to keep a dog in a crate? If he is troublemaker, it is understandble, if not - sorry, it is hard to understand.
Some dogs like their crate as private small place where they feel comfortable, but crate shouldn't be locked and dog should be free.

Some people LOVE to be around their pet. It is their choice. What's wrong with that? :rolleyes: For instance, I travel a lot, but my Jess with me. I, my husband, my son, we ALL feel COMFORTABLE with our small girl. It doesn't mean we cannot be comfortable without her, BUT we always think about her and don't think she is "just pet" who we can easily given away for a weekend (we would prefer go to the places we can take with us if we have a choice)). She IS REAL member of my family, although I don't clean her teeth twice in a week;) .

Some people take a great care of their dogs, but their dogs are
"just pets" who are not able to play with another dogs, have luck of socialation. For instance, I come to a park with my dog ONLY because SHE like to be there. Many very good owners come for their dogs to play together, etc. Dogs are free to play and have fun.

Not all of them super clean:rolleyes: , but they are happy. I saw other owners, who run and have their dogs with them. They don't even let their dogs to say "hi" to another dog, always dragging their pet on leash... :thumbdown

My point is nothing wrong with being with dog all the time if it doesn't butter anybody. Wrong is when other people try to mind another people business, try to judge them because they think it is wrong.

Personally, IF I had a choice to give my pet/puppies to another home, I would definitely prefer owner, who will revolve around him :D :)

Wow, I just came on and saw all of your wonderful comments.....Thank you all so much! You have made me feel so much better. You all had so many good things to say, and now I know what I am going to say to my neice or anyone else who gives me a hard time about how I care for my dogs. Thanks again all...I love my YT family :) I would just like to ask though....I noticed that some of you mentioned that it is not really that good to leave them in a crate....their crates are really big...like 4ft by 3ft......but the only reason I put them in there when Im not home is because Im afraid they will get hurt or something....like Bella can climb up on the couch and I am afraid that while looking out the window she will slip in between the little space between the couch and the wall...and Im also afraid that they might fall down the stairs (neither of them do stairs, and Louie did fall once when I was downstairs and he tried to come down) .I live in a split level home... .I know, I know, I DO worry too much.....but they are both very well behaved so maybe I SHOULD try to leave them a little at a time without being in the crates if you think that they would be happier that way. Hmmmm what do you all think....

I don't think there's anything wrong with crating within reason, like up to 3-4 hours. I prefer to know my dogs are safe in their crate, sleeping than running around the house getting into things :).

I will admit, I'm guilty of leaving them for 5-6 hours at times when I HAVE to run errands. I feel horrible and always try to get them a "sitter" but it isn't always possible.

If the crate is really big or an x-pen then there's no problem with doing that. I live in an apt. however so when i am out i leave the girls in my bedroom running free. And i leave their crate door open always so they can go in and out as they like. I also safe proof everything.

I agree here......My hubby thinks I have lost it...Thank Goodness he loves me.....:D He considers himself an enabler...lol My family thinks I am totally off the wall....But that is okay....Other than my mom, no one has any pets....THey totally do not understand. I won't crate any more than 4 hours either except at night time....There is always an exception to the rule....

Lordy, you should have seen it when we lived in the country. I "had" to be home by 5:30pm to feed my horses...(regardless that they had 15 acres of grass and ponds...lol)...So no you are not alone...

I am BIG animal lover but I have to admit, I remember thinking years ago when I saw someone with their little babies in a store or something, I thought, GEESH !!! lol But here I am today totally in love with my Maggie girl and I don't care what anyone thinks !! :) It's their loss, you are the lucky one to have that unconditional love from your babies :)

I am sorry she was being insensitive to your feelings. Most people, just don't get it...:(

I am lucky enough to have a grandma who has two *babies* herself. So, nobody in my "family" says anything about me spoiling my fur-babies. ;)

But my friends and my partner call me the "dog lady". And they mock me all the time...:rolleyes: who cares.

Well all..............I had to leave my house today to go to my sons football game which was like an hour away........as I was getting the pens ready for the furbabies...Louie hid under the bed and I could NOT get him to come out so I saftey proofed the house as much as I could and left Louie and Bella alone with basically the run of the house.....my husband came home in less than 3 hrs and called me right away and told me that they were just fine..Phewwwwwwwwwww I was so nervous.....When I got home I praised them and told them that "my babies are growing up" haha.....I guess I am going to try to do this a little at a time now. Wish me luck! Thanks all.
P.S. Here's a couple pics of my grown up cutie pies....:p

They are adorable!! and cheers:thumbup: :thumbup:

Aww thanks hun....I think that they are all that and a bag of chips...lol

:heart to I'm sorry that she feels that way. You are not alone!
Crystal,Josh, and Peanut Pooh Bear

wont leave home
 

Yeh, most my friends think I am retarded. All of them are going places and having fun and I am sitting at home with the dogs. With all the thievery and break-ins and here in AZ, always worried about the air conditioner going out, I never go anywhere except to work. Plus, I dont trust anyone to take care of them if I am gone.(except my neighbor) I finally went to Hawaii 3 years ago after going on only day trips for 25 years. Whats a Yorkie mom to do???LOL!!! Lynn

I will have to admit that before I got Hannah I thought that people like us was crazy too. I have never had a indoor dog before (I am 35) so I didn't know how attached you can get to them, especially if you don't have kids or if your kids are older (like my daughter is 18 next month) and they don't need you anymore. I have always been a clean freak and I did not want a dog in my house. That all changed about a year ago when I was so lonely that I became depressed. I got Hannah and now I am a crazy too. Before I got her I had gone down to part time at my job and I was working one 12 hour shift a week, after I got her I told my boss that I couldn't work until my daughter got home from school because I didn't want to leave Hannah alone, well as you can imagine they all thought I had lost my mind at work. "Its just a dog"...I heard that all the time. Yorkies are not like regular dogs, they are more like little kids, and you can't leave your little kids home alone....;)

Thats what I tell my family and friends. :D

Yorkies are not like regular dogs, they are more like little kids, and you can't leave your little kids home alone....

.....in crates... as family members :D :D :D
sorry for sarcasm

Would you let a baby crawl around the house unattended, to chew on cords, choke on things he or she finds on the floor, or eat poison?

...or would you put them in a playpen?

my point is not about puppies, they need to be protected for their safety. i mean adult dogs, they shouldn't be in crate as in prison...

A crate is not a prison if used correctly. It should never be used for an extended period of time and should never be used as punishment. It is supposed to be the dog's "safe place". A lot of dog's like their crates because they are den-like and some don't (especially those that don't ever want to be away from their owners). A crate is a very effective tool for potty training (again if don't the CORRECT way), and it is a safe place to put your puppy in while you are away or can't supervise it. Adult dogs will often go into their crates as well. So far as crating adult dogs - that depends if you can trust your dog or not. If you're dog is not 100% potty trained it is best to crate it while you are gone..if you are worried about your dog destroying something, it is best to crate the dog. It's for the dog's safety mostly. A dog should never be left in a crate for too long though. Anyone who thinks a crate is cruel has not done their research - they obviously don't know how to use it correctly and don't know the benifits of it.