Advise on getting a puppy? getting a toy yorkshire terrier?

Question

I going to get a toy yorkshire terrier can you advise me on
1) how much i need to spend weekly or montly on food,etc
2) how many times a dog need to eat a day (sound dumb but never done this b4)
3) how much i will spend on vet bill weekly or monthly.
4) anything vital i need to know.
5) can they be let alone and how long
6) are they good round young kids
7) how do people working look after their pets if they cant afford pet care
any good website that will ne useful to me
Thank you.

Answer 1

1) food should be around £8 a week (which includes treats)
2) little and often is the key for smaller dogs. Feed him small amounts 3 times a day. It helps with digestion this way.
3) yorkies are usually quite good health-wise. However teacups, which have been bread to be much smaller, no doubt have some health implications as a result. Just depends though.
4) Socialise him/her from day one and don't pick it up when it gets scared, otherwise this will show in a bad way in later life
5) Ideally no dog should be left alone. For short periods of time and plenty of toys / a bone then it should be fine, in a safe environment.
6) As a general rule of thumb, Yorkies and children are not good together.
7) If you can't afford to look after a pet then it's best that you don't get one. I pay insurance with More Th>n which covers me against any nasty surprises

Good luck

Answer 2

There is NO such thing as a toy yorkshire terrier. Yorkies are from 4-7lbs. Females for breeding are on the larger part of that scale because of the danger of breeding smaller dogs. My female spayed yorkie is 6.3lbs. My male is 4.2 lbs which is small for the breed. I just happened that way and i worry

1) how much i need to spend weekly or montly on food,etc
I buy very high quality food - innova evo no grain food. It costs about 5-10 US dollars a week

2) how many times a dog need to eat a day (sound dumb but never done this b4)
I free feed my dogs with the exact amount of food daily, but you should feed them atleast twice a day. My dog has hypoglycemia so I free feed them when they are not crated during the day.

3) how much i will spend on vet bill weekly or monthly.
it really depends. What did I spend on vets last month? 12,000 US dollars. Yep, that's right, 12K. My dog was injured in a dog park and that is what it took to save her life.

Small dogs can have genetic problems. My one yorkie has hypoglycemia, the other dog has a bad back knee that will need surgery. You need to count in neutering/spaying(once at 400US) and annual teeth cleaning(400US).

4) anything vital i need to know.
Get a good breeder. Do the research. As if they will take the dog back if you can't keep it (if they say no, RUN). As if they breed teacup yorkies (RUN if yes), ask to see the lineage of their dogs (can't do that? RUN).

OR, find a rescue and save a sweet dogs life. You will save a ton on all those early puppy vet bills and may come potty trained already!

5) can they be let alone and how long
My dogs are crate trained. Yorkies are notorious for not being potty trained -- mine are far from perfect. They stay in their crates for 8 hours while I work.

6) are they good round young kids
No, they are not. They are small and their bones can break easily. Young kids can really hurt them. If you have kids, why don't you look into other terriers that are a bit bigger?

7) how do people working look after their pets if they cant afford pet care
If you can't afford pet care, then you can't afford a dog. What happens when your dog gets ill? If you can't afford pet care, you definately shouldn't get a dog.

Answer 3

Hi, hi have 2 Yorkies.
Most Yorkies should NOT go to a home with children under age 12 or so. They're too little & kids can be rough or pick them up and drop them. Our breeder wouldn't let any of her Yorkies go to homes with kids.

I free feed mine, so they nibble whenever they want. Neither is overweight.

They don't eat much and a bag of good quality dog food will last a long time.

Grooming is very time consuming. They need to be brushed every day or two. If you keep them in a puppy cut, the grooming bill will be about 40.00 every few months.

Our biggest expense is the vet bill. Last years was around 1000.00 for shots, and dental. Yorkies are prone to bad teeth, so yearly dental cleaning is very important. Even though I get their teeth cleaned they have both had to have teeth pulled.

I've heard from other people that have had a horrible time house training. One of mine was easy, the other not so easy.
Also knee problems are quite common in Yorkies.

One of mine is quite yappy, and she gets the other one going. Another problem with some Yorkies.

As far as leaving them alone, I don't really know, as I'm here most of the day. I do know they're in and out of the house like yo-yo's. Both love to run around in the yard, and they'll spend hours outside. I have to keep an eye on them as they are very aggressive chasing the birds, mice etc. We take them for a good walk everyday & they still have a ton of energy. They're almost 5 and haven't slowed down one bit.

Answer 4

1) Depends entirely on what brand of food you choose. Know that the cheaper the food, the worse quality it is - better to stick with stuff from big chain pet stores like PetsMart - pop in your local or ring for prices. These foods will have feeding guides on them i.e how much to feed your size dog, so you can work out how long a bag/tray of tins will last and therefore how much you'll be spending per week
2) Puppies up to 6 months might eat three times a day - their guideline daily amount split into 3 meals. Adult dogs usually eat twice a day (morning and evening)
3) Routine vet work is monthly fleaing, three monthly worming and yearly vaccinations/checkups - again, just pick up the phone to your vet as prices vary a lot
4) It's vital to get any dog neutered for the sake of their future health - important to get females done before their first season i.e at 5-6 months of age
5) You need to stay with puppy at first and then gradually increase the amount of time you leave the alone, don't just suddenly leave them for hours on end. I would say 6 hours is a reasonable amount of time to leave a nearly-adult puppy alone, but only really if it's a medium dog or smaller.
6) Any breed of dog can be taught to be good around any other living creature, although children should never be left alone with any dog. Smaller dogs like yorkies tend to be more prone to being snappy.
7) Ideally people shouldn't own pets if they can't afford them, that's being selfish. It's a good idea to build up a good relationship with a vet from the start, they're more likely to help you out if you get into trouble. There's also www.carecredit.com

Chalice

Answer 5

If the breeder is advertising "toy" Yorkshire Terriers, buyer beware. There is no such breed. What they are, in fact, is undersized for the breed standard. Backyard breeders are notorious for breeding "teacup" or "mini" puppies because they think that's what John Q Public wants: something cute and palm sized.
The result of breeding small to even smaller is tons of health problems, which means expensive vet bills over and above the routine.
Please do some research on the breed by visiting the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America's website
Good luck!

Answer 6

These dogs like to be around people & no dog truly likes to be left alone all day. Yorkies are quite agressive for their size ,& need grooming every couple of months.They may be unpredictable with kids who frighten them ,with being too rough.The yorkie I looked after ate like a horse,you just couldnt feed it too much.

Answer 7

Yorkshire terriers are known to be nappy not best breed round young kids

Answer 8

just FYI
buyer beware
http://www.petcaretips.net/teacup-yorkies.html