Alot of people ask me when buying a toy breed pup...........................what if i have a cat????

In my opinion as long as the cat is declawed...................and not vicious...................as some can be. (they say puppies have owners, cats have servants.) The cat will learn to tolerate. The puppy will love the cat and the cat will be upset with you for a time but in the end they will probably end up being good friends. 

Noone knows the cat better than the owner. If you are comfortable taking your puppy around the cat it will be fine.

And remember, puppies are very smart. It never hurts to teach them to say "meow" really quick on the way home :)

Depending on whether you work all day, how old the pup is, and whether you have time to come home during the day........................is how you should decide on how you are going to potty train your pup.

If you can let the pup out often and are adamant about it learning to go outside you can crate train it.

But if you can't let the pup out often and you are gone all day, alot of times if you have a small room with linoleum or hard floor ( in case the pup has a few accidents) you can get a wooden gate from walmart for around $10.00. put the gate up and puppy pads down, then a bed and food and water. Our pups are trained to drink from water bottles ( the big ones like for a rabbit ) if you want to mount one to the gate while you are gone. Show the pup where it is. That way they aren't swimming in the water dish while you are gone. Then when you are home give them a water dish as pups naturally like to lap water with their tounge. The water bottle is also nice if you are traveling.

Once you have the pups' area setup, their feet should not touch the floor ,unless you are directly playing with them,in the rest of the house until they are consistently going on their puppy pads.They will get the visual layout of your house as you carry them around or play with them.

Once they are consistently going on the puppy pads lift the gate.

If they go through the rest of the house and have an accident put the gate back and start over. The puppies' age will have alot to do with how fast they catch on.

Once you have them puppy pad trained , if you are home and see them going into their area to use the pad, scoop them up and take them outside.................you can teach them to do both. Once outside sing, dance, give them a kiss. Let them know what a huge deal it is they went while out there. Have one special treat for just outside. Pups do MUCH BETTER being praised for what they do right then scolded for what they do wrong.

And remember always make their area a place where it can stay their area. Once you lift the gate they will go back there because the puppy pads are there, but so is their bed, food and water. They are den animals. They like to have their own space. Later as they grow, if you have alot of company, or they've been playing with the kids, and you don't see them, it's likely you will find them in their area lying in their bed or chewing on their favorite toy. They will likely store those there also.

Housetraining a puppy is the hardest part. It's just about like the kids, but once you get it done it's done. Then they become just another little family member that has their own routine and do what they do.

The most important thing, however you decide to train your puppy, according to you and your family's needs, is to be kind, patient, and give them time.

THEY WILL GET IT!

For anyone who owns a pup or a dog........................there is a mat comb at petco or pet smart. It is the best comb i have ever had for grooming. They should cost around $14.00.

The insignia on the handle is Four Paws.

Kari, a girl i sold a pup to, also wrote and said Petco's groomer showed her a comb that is red/white and says bamboo on it. She likes using it with detangler spray.

I guess the main thing here is that whether you have a yorkie, teddy bear pup, maltipoo, shorkie, or bichon, whatever the breed, the old time brushes have really been replaced with some nice combs that get through puppy hair very well. Asking the groomer when you walk into the pet establishment, if there is a groomer on staff, is a good idea to help find the right comb for your particular pup.

When it comes to dealing with hypoglycemia, any toy breed puppy at an early age is at risk, yorkies being more prone to it, and other tinies as well. Hypoglycemia is when a puppy's blood sugar drops. They may have a seizure, their eyes may roll back in their head, they may just become very lethargic, they may be stiff........................whatever the symptom it is very scary for the family that has the pup and much more scarier for the pup itself. Alot of times people assume a pup is eating if it has food and water in front of it. This may be the furthest thing from the truth. When you first buy a puppy and take it home you HAVE TO KNOW that the pup is eating. You have to physically SEE IT EAT. They eat little bits of food all throughout the day. Alot of times this is why if you try to put them on a feeding schedule right away a problem may arise. Let the puppy acclamate first and get to know you. Let him or her get used to the routine of the family and totally learn to trust. Then if you want to place them on a feeding schedule later you can. Sometimes I have people give the puppy some vanilla ice cream morning and night for the first couple weeks. This way they physically see the puppy eat and therefore know they are getting sugar in their system. There is a product called nutracal and many others like it that you can administer to the pup daily to help with this also. Never take the puppy places with you for long periods of time and then bring him or her home and place in their area and assume they will eat. They may be too worn out..........................go to sleep, wake up and still haven't eaten and then you can run into a problem. The key to hypoglycemia prevention is to pay attention to your puppy and what it has eaten. It's just like when parents bring a newborn baby home from the hospital. They make sure certain needs are attended to and eating is definitely one of them. So pay special attention to your pup when you first get it and make sure it eats something many times throughout the day and you keep the metabolism burning and the hypoglycemia at bay. This makes for a much more easy transition for family and puppy!