First things first, you’ll want to take your new puppy to the vet for a quick checkup. You’ll make a number of visits to the vet over the next year for checkups and puppy vaccinations, but this first visit is very important.
Now might also be a good time to check out a pet insurance policy that offers coverage for the routine care puppies require like vaccines and neutering, such as Trupanion, Fido, AKC Pet Insurance.
Even if the rescue or breeder that you picked up your puppy from stated that they had a recent checkup, take them anyway. This will help catch any serious health conditions very early on and helps your little pup get off on the right path. Once you’ve got your puppy’s basic health squared away, you’ll need to get them settled into your home.
Gear to puppy-proof your home
Yorkie puppies come with cute, irresistible faces and not much else. On day one, you’ll want to have a few important items on hand:
Dog crate or playpen, small gated area
It is very tempting to have a new puppy sleep in your room and maybe even in your bed, but to kick off puppy training the right way, your new puppy will need a place to call their own. It is a good idea to have a spacious, sturdy dog crate available from day one, so put that at the top of your puppy gear list.
A specific puppy area will be a valuable asset for house training and for keeping your pup safe from small children and other pets. Make sure to select an area that is going to be big enough for your Yorkie when they are full-grown and ideally one that’s large enough to make space for both a dog bed and a pee pad. This will make potty training easier (more on that later).
Dog bed
That puppy's area won’t be very comfortable without a dog bed inside, so look for a comfy stuffed or foam-based dog bed that will give them a good place to sleep or nap. We know your tiny Yorkie puppy will fit into a cereal bowl right now, but they will grow fast, so make sure you buy a dog bed that will accommodate them when they are fully grown.
Puppy playpen
Puppy pens give a little more space to roam and play while still keeping your puppy in a safe enclosed area. They are perfect for times that you are working nearby but can’t keep a close enough eye on your puppy.
Wire pens are sturdy and tend to be bigger, but if you want a travel-friendly option, consider a collapsible nylon pen with mesh windows.
Dog gate
Eventually, your intrepid little explorer is going to want to roam the house, and chances are you’ll want them to stay out of certain rooms (especially before they’re fully potty trained). A dog gate helps keep certain places off-limits, protects your new puppy from stairs they can’t navigate yet, and can help keep them from being stepped on when you have multiple guests. Make sure to buy a dog gate that has non-marking feet, or consider installing a permanent one if you know you’ll want your pup to stay out of certain places all of the time.
Chew toys and bitter chew spray
It won’t be long before your puppy is exploring the house and getting into things they shouldn’t be, so puppy-proofing your home is an important part of Yorkie care.
Pay special attention to anything toxic, like cleaners, certain human foods, and even plants that might be accessible to your pup. Also, be sure to put small objects out of reach that might be swallowed. Legos, decorative stones or marbles, and any other small knick-knacks can be a choking hazard.
Providing an alternative outlet for chewing is important, so make sure you have a collection of chew toys available. Try to gather a small basket of toys that vary in type and texture. Your pup will appreciate the variety and it will help you narrow down which are the best distractions for your dog.
For things you don’t want your puppy to chew on, a bitter dog chew spray can help. This can be a good training tool if your pup has decided they prefer shoes to toys, and can also be used on potentially dangerous materials like toxic plants and electric lamp cords.
Puzzle toys
Part of being a good dog parent is not allowing your dog to languish in boredom all day. Aside from exercise and playtime, another great tool for this is puzzle toys. These toys usually have a compartment for a treat and provide a stimulating challenge as your pup tries to get to the prize on the inside. For more suggestions, check out our guide to the best dog toys for Yorkies.
Dog bell
One of the most common causes of injury among Yorkshire Terriers is being stepped on. A great way to reduce the likelihood of this happening is a dog bell. These little bells tinkle gently (but not obnoxiously) as your pup moves about and also help you keep track of them in the early potty-training days.
Dog dishes
You pup will need fresh water available as well as a dish to eat from. We recommended (and use) this ceramic set of dog dishes that won’t easily tip over and that is dishwasher safe. Stainless steel also works, but avoid plastic because scratches on the surface can harbor bacteria and lead to infection.
Training your pup to look for food in their dish from day one will help get them into a regular eating schedule and will help discourage begging at the table.
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” said Hippocrates, and in many respects, the same holds true for healthy dogs. Good quality food is particularly important for a growing puppy, and starting out on the right paw, so to speak, is absolutely crucial. A balanced diet is a building block for good health, but so many of the dog foods in today’s market are not providing what your dog needs.
Take some time to research a quality puppy food and always feed a new puppy food with a balanced ratio of protein and fat to support rapid growth, such as Healthy Extensions Little Bites Chicken and Brown Rice. Avoid food full of meat meal blends, preservatives, and fillers. Or if you really want to take nutrition seriously, consider joining a fresh dog food subscription, such as Nom Nom Now or The Farmer’s Dog.
When your pup first arrives, transition to new foods carefully, blending the old brand they were being fed previously and the new brand gradually for a few weeks until you have phased out the old food entirely. This will help your dog acclimate to the new taste and will prevent major digestive issues that could come from switching to a new food.
You should feed your Yorkie puppy three to four times a day on a consistent schedule. Many young puppies are light eaters and are prone to hypoglycemia, so they do best with free-feeding at this stage of their life. Our guide to how much to feed a Yorkie puppy and the included feeding schedule outline appropriate amounts in more detail.
Be careful about treats
Not showering your new puppy with loads of treats might be one of the hardest things you do this year. And that includes taxes and sticking to that 6 AM running schedule.
The reality is that dog obesity has become an epidemic in our country, and bad habits often start in puppyhood. Establishing good habits early is going to help your puppy live their best life and avoid a host of health issues down the road.
For Yorkies in particular, giving appropriate amounts of healthy treats is important. Yorkies tend to suffer from hypoglycemia, pancreatitis, collapsed trachea, and several other health problems, all of which occur more frequently in overweight Yorkies.
Half the battle is simply limiting your puppy to a healthy number of treats. Yorkie puppies require only 175 to 200 calories per day, and adult Yorkies need even less. The calories in treats add up fast, so overfeeding your Yorkie is extremely easy to do, especially since treats are a critical tool for training your dog.
The other half of the battle is finding healthy Yorkie treats with real nutrition. Many of the big-name brands are full of fillers and junk, which won’t help your pup stay healthy. Feed them treats with high-quality, whole food ingredients that are as nutrient-rich and low-calorie as possible.
Try dividing full-size treats into bite-size chunks to help them stretch further during repetitive training sessions. Also, consider a healthy homemade treat like diced, dried sweet potatoes, which are low in calories and high in nutrition.
Regular checkups will help you keep an eye on your puppy’s weight, so be sure to consult with your vet if you have concerns about your puppy’s weight and calorie needs.
Training your puppy starts on day one, and that can feel a little overwhelming for new puppy parents. It’s important to have a plan in place for the different stages and types of training your dog will need. We’ve broken down the most critical parts of training for you, but for a more hands-on guide, consider signing up for the free workshop from K9 Training Institute or Brandon McMillan’s MasterClass on Dog Training. We went through both courses ourselves and found them super practical and helpful during the fir Housebreaking
Puppies typically have enough bladder control to begin housebreaking at around 12 weeks of age. However, we recommend beginning as soon as the puppy enters your home, as long as you keep realistic expectations.
There are many strong opinions around housebreaking, with some suggesting crate training a Yorkie and others insisting that the practice is cruel, advocating for pen training or giving the puppy free range of your home. You’ll also need to decide if you want to train your dog to go outside, on pee pads, or both.
We recommend something in between these approaches. The most important points of housebreaking your puppy are: frequent potty breaks, constant supervision, and lots of positive reinforcement for good behavior. You can read our step-by-step guide to potty training Yorkies here.
Along with this approach, a few tools will come in handy. A good crate is a must, especially for naps and sleeping at night. A playpen or dog yard is also a handy tool, providing some play area without giving your pup too much space to wander out of sight, and pee pads are advised even if you plan to train your dog outdoors, since they’ll have to eliminate at night. Healthy training treats should also be kept close at hand to reward good behavior every chance you get.
Lastly, there are a few things you should never do when house training your pup. You’ve heard it recommended a thousand times from old-timers, but never rub your puppy’s face in urine or feces after an accident.
Dog behaviorists and trainers universally agree: this practice doesn’t help your dog learn, and actually inhibits the housebreaking process. A pup disciplined this way will simply associate fear with elimination, and the only behavior this encourages will be hiding when a potty break is needed.
Never yell at or hit your puppy for an indoor accident. Like the previous point, this behavior will only confuse your dog and cause them to associate negative consequences with using the bathroom, regardless of where that occurs. Positive reinforcement for good behavior will be vastly more effective than negative consequences for unwanted behavior.
Finally, be consistent. If you take a start-stop approach to housebreaking your dog, it simply won’t work. Inconsistent expectations will result in inconsistent results. Find a pattern and arrangement that works for your pup and your schedule and stick to it.
Consistency and patience are key. Housebreaking rarely happens quickly, and some Yorkies can be particularly slow in this area; expect this process to take time. Your patience will be rewarded and your pup will be happy and well-trained in the end.
Behavioral training
In your new Yorkie puppy’s eyes, you are more than just a source of food and cuddle time. You are your puppy’s new pack, and as pack leader, you have some big responsibilities.
It’s a big scary world out there, and your puppy will look to you for guidance on all sorts of behaviors. The bar you set now will influence the rest of their life, so it is important to start training your Yorkie puppy early and often with modeling, feedback, and habit setting where your puppy’s behavior is concerned. In this area, we strongly recommend trying the K9 Training Institute’s techniques, since they are based on the same methods used by service dog trainers to train extremely well-behaved dogs.
Socialization
One of the most important steps you can take in shaping your puppy’s future behavior is proper socialization. Time spent around humans (other than those living in your household) and other dogs is critical to helping your puppy grow up to be a healthy, well-adjusted citizen of the canine world.
Early socialization is a balancing act between your puppy’s immunization schedule and exposure to other dogs and people, and you don’t want to miss this window of opportunity to teach and shape your Yorkie’s social skills. Too much too soon can expose your pup to dangerous diseases against which they have not yet been immunized. But lack of proper socialization may lead to very aggressive and territorial behaviors later on in life.
Be careful to not socialize your pup with other people or dogs until at least seven days after they have had their first round of immunizations and a deworming. Even then, avoid public outings that involve large gatherings of dogs, such as dog parks. This is a good time to introduce them to friends’ healthy dogs or enroll them in a small puppy behavior class where the environment is clean and dogs’ interactions are more controlled.
Once your puppy has had their full complement of vaccinations—typically between the ages of 4 to 6 months—then you can venture into the dog park for more group socialization.
Asserting your authority
A dog is a pack animal by nature, and every pack has a leader. That leader needs to be you. If your dog senses a vacuum in leadership, they will instinctively step up to fill it. This is especially true of some smaller breeds like the Yorkshire Terrier, which can be particularly assertive and stubborn.
To combat this, make sure you are always gently assertive with your pup. Calmly enforce the house rules, such as no chewing on non-toys and no begging or feeding at the table. Never yell and, most importantly, don’t give in. If your dog senses you will give an inch, they will often take a mile. Once bad puppy habits are in place, they can be difficult to remove.
Chewing
Certain natural behaviors like chewing should be expected to a degree but not allowed to go unchecked.
It is a simple fact: dogs are going to chew. They explore the world around them through taste and scent. Some dogs are more prolific chewers than others, but any pup is capable of destroying just about any household item if they decide it needs a good chewing.
Combat chewing by providing alternative chew toys that are interesting. We recommend accumulating a basket of toys and putting half of them away for a week or two and then rotating the available toys to keep things interesting.
Any time you catch your pup engaging in destructive chewing, give them a stern “No,” remove the tempting item from their space, and immediately provide an alternative chew toy. Once they begin chewing the new item, encourage them with lots of positive praise for the improved behavior.
Expect chewing while teething
If your pup is teething, they will be particularly keen to chew on things to relieve some of the discomfort caused by teething.
Your puppy will experience a first rounding of teething between 3 weeks and 6 weeks of age, as their baby teeth come in. A second round will follow, usually between 12 weeks and 6 months of age, as your Yorkie’s baby teeth fall out and adult teeth grow in.
Provide teething toys during this period, especially those that can be frozen. The cool temperature will provide some relief from teething pain and are a great distraction for a pup intent on chewing everything in sight.
Barking is another natural behavior that can be tricky to control. Your dog communicates through vocalization, and it is often their only means of asking for what they want or need. No barking at all is simply not a realistic goal for most dog parents, so set your expectations accordingly.
Excessive barking should be addressed immediately before it becomes an entrenched habit. This may include barking at a particular household appliance that makes noise (whirring dishwashers and beeping microwaves) or constantly barking at every movement outside of the living room window.
But you do want your pup to warn you of something or someone that they don’t feel is right, so use your judgement and make sure only to discourage barking for inappropriate reasons.
The correction process is similar to chewing. Give a stern “No,” when the behavior is unwanted, divert their attention to another activity, and praise them generously when the positive behavior takes place. This is a great time for some training treats to help reinforce good behavior.
If your pup will regularly be left home alone during the day, it is a good idea to begin introducing the idea of quiet alone time as early as possible to avoid unnecessary separation anxiety later on.
Start by determining where your pup will spend their alone time while you are away. Some pup parents use crates, but unless you have a very large crate with plenty of room to roam, we usually recommend using a doggy gate or fenced play yard to create a safe, contained space for your pup while unsupervised. Start by setting up the space but leaving the gate or door open, so your puppy can explore the area. Place a treat inside each time you do this, to create some positive anticipation regarding the space.
After several sessions of this, begin placing your pup in the space with the gate closed while you are nearby and within line of sight. Continue providing a treat for each of these sessions and be sure to lavish lots of praise anytime your pup is calm within the space.
Slowly lengthen these sessions by a few minutes each time and begin moving in and out of your puppy’s line of sight while you go about your normal day at home. This will reinforce that you are coming back at the end of each session. Continue this pattern until you are able to leave your calm pup in the space for 30 minutes or longer.
Lastly, begin leaving your pup in the safe space for sessions during which you are physically out of the home (some yard work outside, a quick run to the grocery store, etc.). This will acclimate your Yorkie to periods of time in a quiet house and your return each time will reinforce that you are always going to come back for them. During these longer periods away, you may want to play some soft music or leave a quiet television on for some comforting, ambient noise.
This gradual buildup of time in their safe space should help create a sense of security for your dog while you are away for longer periods of time, and will help reduce any anxiety from being left alone.
One of the more common health issues that Yorkies are prone to is tooth decay. Dental issues are prevalent among Yorkies due to their tiny jaws and sometimes-overcrowded gums. This makes daily brushing of your puppy’s teeth an important part of routine care, and the earlier you start your puppy, the better.
A new puppy is a big commitment. Long hours of training, chewed-upon shoes, and 1 AM potty breaks may cause you to question your sanity more than a few times. However, provided you don’t slack off during puppyhood, you will reap the benefits of a happy, well-behaved adult when your pup is all grown up.