Yorkshire Terriers being left alone for 10 hours..

My mum was asked today if she wanted a 8 week old Yorkshire Terrier puppy, and she is very very tempted to say yes.
The only problem is that she works 2 10 hour days each week, I go to school and my brother also works so from around 8.30am to 3-4.30pm the puppy would be left alone. This is however, only twice a week. All other days it would be left a max. of around 2 hours.

I've read up about it, and the internet says that Yorkies don't like being left at all, and love companionship.
However, since it's only twice a week and the puppy would be 8 weeks old, would it be.. I don't want to use the word 'okay' but that's all I can think of.

Thoughts?
Thanks.

Reply 1

kate03

I'm not sure specifically about Yorkshire Terriers being left alone, but we used to have a labrador and once I'd gone away to uni, my dog would be left alone for most of the daytime whilst my mum was at work. She didn't bat an eyelid though, she got two good walks a day and plenty of love and affection. From my limited experience, unless they've had a history of abuse or neglect, dogs don't seem to get to upset being alone for a bit as long as they have a loving owner that spends time with them when they come home/before they leave, and they've got somewhere comfortable to flop during the day :smile:

Listen to people with experience of Yorkshire Terriers though as they will be more clued up with them than me :smile:

I'll be very jealous if you do get a dog though...my dog died last year and I'd LOVE to get another dog!

Reply 2

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kate03

Listen to people with experience of Yorkshire Terriers though as they will be more clued up with them than me :smile:

I'll be very jealous if you do get a dog though...my dog died last year and I'd LOVE to get another dog!

Apparently labradors are very good at being left on their own, whereas Yorkies like companionship.. :frown:

Mum also now isn't sure it was a Yorkie, since the mother & father she saw were too big to be that breed.

I posted the same question on Yahoo! Answers, and someone threatened me with ringing the RSPCA for cruelty! So thankyou for being honest and not jumping to conclusions :smile:

I've always wanted a dog, my mum's always said no but last year changed her mind and we rehomed 2. However, unfortunatly neither of them worked out (one of them hated other dogs which is impossible to deal with where we live, and the other dominated my mum :woo:

).
Can't you get another?

Reply 3

whats it to you?

i have two yorkies, they're fine left alone. Albeit they're both seven and tend to sleep all day. sorry i have been no help!!

Reply 4

hypocriticaljap

I have an 8 year old Yorkie. She hates being on her own.

Reply 5

kate03

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Apparently labradors are very good at being left on their own, whereas Yorkies like companionship.. :frown:

).
Can't you get another?

I just think that a dog that has a loving and nurturing home is fab, and as you can provide that then I think that's fab :smile:

But I do understand that each breed of animal is different, and it's probably more complicated than this. It's ludicrous to report you to the RSPCA, you're doing your research and considering the welfare of the dog :confused:

I would love for my mum to get another one, but I think she still feels bad about our other dog that died, and isn't ready to take on another dog yet. I'm working on it though :p:

Reply 6

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kate03

I just think that a dog that has a loving and nurturing home is fab, and as you can provide that then I think that's fab :smile:

I would love for my mum to get another one, but I think she still feels bad about our other dog that died, and isn't ready to take on another dog yet. I'm working on it though :p:

Yeah, and it is only two days after all. My Nan also lives up the road, but we're not sure how much longer she's gonna be living there so we can't rely on her help. But things are looking good at the moment :smile:

Mum was working out what we're doing next week, and she said that we might have to end up going to get all the stuff we need for a puppy :smile:

hehe.

Aw, that's understandable about your mum. Keep working on it though! It took me from when I was around 7 to 15 for my mum to finally give in haha and that's from a woman who hated the idea of having to walk a dog and the mass hair they leave about :eek3:

Reply 7

tbm

I have a Yorkie, he is nearly 4 now and he is fine when we leave him when we go to work, although I do ocassionally pop home during my lunch break to let him out.

Reply 8

Zastrugi

The biggest problem for yorkies being left alone is that they have small bladders and are more likely to pee if they get really desperate.

If you train him/her properly you should be fine to leave it alone that long twice a week. Separation anxiety is easy to knock on the head when they're young.

Reply 9

Pawsies

At 8 weeks old it really isn't ideal to leave them alone for that long- it will need to pee about 4 times during this period.

However if you can get a neighbour or hire a dog sitter for these days then there should be no problem. Leave some Dog Appeasing Pheromone [DAP] on a blanket where the dog will stay as this contains the scent of a lactating bitch so reminds it of mum. This means it won't feel alone as such.

Reply 10

fire2burn

My Yorkie used to be fine when I was at school and parents were at work, he'd spend all day snoozing under the tv cabinet and then have a mad burst of energy to greet everyone when they got in.

Reply 11

babythestarsshinebright

It's probably not a good idea to leave a puppy alone for 10 hours, a lot of dogs would be fine but a new puppy will probably go to the toilet in the house! My friend has a cat flap and has trained his jack russell to use it and go to the toilet outside whenever it wants!

Reply 12

Ashley.W.

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If the yorkies find it difficult, leaving them with a worn garment of clothing is meant to do wonders, something to do with the smell of the owners i think, im a dog lover, and the fact your looking this up, being responsible about it for the dogs feelings. i wouldnt be worried for there well being at all with you, id worry more if you didnt have them who they could end up going to

Reply 13

Barz

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I posted the same question on Yahoo! Answers, and someone threatened me with ringing the RSPCA for cruelty! S

LOL @ some people

Reply 14

Stasha-Pistachio

I leave my border terrier alone for most of the day? (I know it's not a yorkie). And he's fine. But he's been used to it since he was a puppy.
And sleeps all morning when I'm at home anyway.
Same with the collies we used to have.

We looked after a friends terrier thing for a few days, and it went mad and chewed the door because it just wasn't used to being alone.
My boyfriend had a yorkie when he was little, and he says that was fine with being left alone for 5ish hours.

So if it's a puppy, I guess I don't really see a problem with it. As long as you take it for long walks, and keep it away from edible or valuable things...
And it'll need some newspaper to begin with for any accidents.
Ten hours is along time though, so you might want to go home at lunch and let it out to pee, or convince a neighbour to.

Reply 15

trixster

NOT unless you could find someone to look after the pup during he day. One of my dogs is a Yorkie and they are very much people dogs. Even contemplating leaving them alone all day IS cruel. Not only that, but as a toy breed, they need to go out to pee at least ever hour as pups. More then every hour if they are up and moving around.

So, please don't even contemplate getting a toy companion breed and leaving it home alone all day. An older, more sedate adult dog such as a rescue Greyhound is a far more suitable choice for that type of situation.