by Audriana
(New Jersey)
Question
I’m considering buying a yorkie but i have done some research and many sites say that they cannot be left alone. Is this true?
They will probably be left alone from 9 am till 6pm during fall and winter but during the spring they will be left from 9 am till 3pm.
Do you think the dog will get upset from this? If I buy the dog in the summer can i train it to stay home alone for fall/winter/spring?
Answer
You will not be the first yorkie owner who has to work, it is done all the time. I do not think it is any reason for you not to buy a yorkie.
It is very important for your yorkie to be properly trained. As you can imagine, being left alone for that long will cause your dog to get bored and you do not know what they will get up to whilst you are away. You do not want to get back home to chewed up furniture or carpets etc.
I would suggest reading through the housebreaking advice and pay particular attention to the litter training advice as your yorkie will need a place to relieve themselves whilst you are away.
If you do start this process during the summer, I would advise starting to break your yorkie in to being left alone for shorter periods. You don’t want to go from being at home all day, to then being away for the whole day. So maybe start with 1 hour then slowly go increasing the length of time until it is time for you to go back to work.
Another option is also to look for a trustworthy dog walker in your area. Someone who can maybe go at lunch time to pick up your yorkie to take them out for half an hour or so.
You should also leave many dog toys out so that your dog is entertained.
I have also heard that some people leave the tv on so that their yorkie can hear voices during the day and possibly not feel so lonely.
I’m lucky in the fact that I work from home creating this website and I have never had to leave Harry by himself for such long periods.
Please read further information on leaving your yorkie alone.
Return to Yorkshire Terrier FAQs.
Your website
Hi, I know this hasn’t got much to do with the question at hand, however I am just wondering how you built this website.
Could you give me any other information on the process?
Yeh sure 🙂
Hi Mary,
If you take a look at the link above when I mention working from home creating this website that will take you to the program which I use.
I originally just started this website as a hobby and wanted to share my experiences with harry. However, it just grew and grew and now I have so many visitors that it has become my full-time job 🙂 Not that I’m complaining, I love it 🙂
If you want any further information please send me an email and I would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Should i leave my yorkie at home all day?
hi. im 12 years old and me and my mum are intrested in getting a yorkie puppy this year. my mum works and i am at school between 8am til 6pm. my mum dosent work evrey weekday but she does work long hours. i dont know what to do. please comment any advice will be useful. i would take my yorkie in the morning for a long walk before school and as soon as i get back from school. i know about leaving the puppy in a crate and all with plently of water,toys, peepee pads and food. i would also be leaving the radio on so that he could hear some background noise. the question is would he be ok by himself? please comment any answers you have. i will put all of them in consideration. i dont want to be doing the wrong thing.
I go to work and school all day
I own a 3 lb morkie and i leave her home all day long. I hate doing it but i have to pay the bills…. What i do is leave plenty of toys (a kong with peanut butter is her favorite) and turn on a small radio so she doesnt get lonely. I feed her twice a day, once before i leave and once when i get home from work, so all she has is her peanut butter, toys and water. As for the potty and pooping…. i trained her to a litter box and potty pads. Both of these techniques work really well with her. By the way… yorkies are jumpers and climbers. Make sure that they are in a secluded room or there is a top on their play pen because they will jump out or crawl over a doggy gate… hope this helps!!!
Leaving my yorkie alone
Well, when my boyfriend and I first got a yorkie, I was working full time and he worked from home except on the on weekends. So, during the week he was with Jimmy (our yorkie) and then on the weekends I was with Jimmy when my boyfriend was away. So, Jimmy was rarely left alone. But when you do leave your yorkie alone, do make sure that you clear the area of anything that you wouldn’t want your pup to get into and close doors to rooms that you don’t want him exploring! Yorkies are very resourceful and can jump onto chairs to climb onto tables to “investigate”.
When we leave your pup alone if we go out, we leave plenty of food and water, toys, wee wee pad and we leave the tv on and a light (if we’re leaving at night). We joke that our pup is the most up to date pup out there…we leave CNN on when we leave Jimmy home alone.
Leaving yorkie at home while at school
I will be getting a yorkie for my birthday in February. I go to school every weekday from 6:30am – 3pm so my puppy will he locked in a kennel from that time every day in my room.
Looking on this website, I have a few ideas. Can you tell me if these are good ideas & also give me a few others? Thanks!
My ideas were:
-to get a bit of a bigger cage, one that is caged on all sides like the grated looking cage, instead of a plastic one with a caged door on one side. I thought I could get a bigger cage so that I could put some newspaper on one side because I still be potty training him but ill still be in school, if you get what I’m saying.
-to put some squeaky toys in his cage along with a small kong with peanut butter in it in his cage so he doesn’t get bored
-some blankets in there for him to lay on
-turn a radio on soft music while I’m gone so he won’t be so lonely & only hear silence all day
do these sound good? Thanks for the help! 🙂
Leaving my Chorkie home alone….
I have a 7 lb Chorkie (Chihuahua/Yorkie). My vet says he more Yorkie than Chihuahua and I agree with him. Rusty is pure black like his Chihuahua mom, but all his features and long black hair are all yorkie. Picture an all black yorkie, he’s a very “designer” pup.
Anyway, what I wanted to share about Rusty is when I first brought him home at 11 weeks old. I’m retired so I’m at home with him all day long. I started litter box training him right away and he picked it up really quickly. As Rusty got older and wanted to jump up on the furniture, I started to teach him not to. He knows he doesn’t belong on any type of furniture, but he is allowed to jump up to sit in my lap or on the ottoman. I allow him to jump onto our ottoman. That’s the only furniture he’s allowed to sit on. I taught him this because when I take him with me on trips or to visit family and friends, he knows not to jump up on their furniture. It’s all about being polite and considerate. I also took him to toy puppy obedience classes when he was 4 months old to teach him to socialize and play with other dogs. I bought a eight panel wired pen from a local pet store. I would corral him in the kitchen and laundry room area when I had to leave him to run errands. His litter box and water is in the laundry room. I also put his bed and all his toys with him and leave the TV on I knew he wouldn’t get into to much trouble if I corralled him while I was gone. He’s never tried to climb out of his corralled area. I started to leave him for longer periods of time so he would get used to it. I’ve taught him a few things like sitting patiently while I fix his dinner, he always sits and gives me a “high 5” before eating his meal or any treats I have for him. I also taught him to sit and wait for my approval before I let him out to play in the backyard. Rusty is now 2 yrs old and I don’t have to corral him anymore when I have to leave him alone. He has the run of the house when he’s alone and I trust him. When he hears me approaching the front door, he’ll be sitting there waiting for me. We sit and watch TV together every evening. Yorkies are very intelligent and quick to learn. With a little patience and lots of praise they will want to please you in every way. I love my Rusty dearly and he’s the best companion I could ever ask for.
DONT WANT TO LOSE HIM
Hi, i have a yorkie, he is now 22 months old. If i have to go out i leave a puppy training pad in the bathroom for him, he goes there faithfully when im not at home. My only worry is that my working hours are going to change and my neighbour does not like if he barks, he only does this at the window cleaner and the postman when post comes through the letterbox or sees the cleaner. Ive heard she definately does not like dogs and im so frightened she might try to get him taken away from me if he barks too much while im away, i love him so much and am terribly worried. He is not a barker while im in but i have been in another neighbours house and if he sees a dog outside then he will bark. Please help as i dont want to lose him as i love him so very much.
I would never shock him for barking. Unless there is a noise ordinance in your area for the hours you are away I don’t see how your neighbor can do anything about it.
Re dont want to lose him
As much as i dont like electric shocks im pretty suree you can get collars that give dogs electric shocks when they bark i don’t like them but surely theyre better than losing your dog im sure there are other options
I just got a Yorkie puppy. I have to work and when I put her in her kennel or her X pen, she whines really loud and tries to get out. I have been told that I am being mean and she give her to someone who is home with her all day. Feeling very sad I don’t want to give her away, please help, what should I do,