A few questions (specifically male dogs)

[AmyZinNC]

1. just found out the male we are thinking of adopting isn't house trained, even at 4 yrs. Am I setting myself up for a headache there?

2. Ok i had wanted a girl originally..but I know they are alot more expensive. Couldn't wait to put bows in her hair, etc...(all boys here, needed another female)
but anyway..what "accessories" do you male doggie owners use?

Umm..darn I had one more and can't think of it now...but I will come back when I do!

Oh- where do your dogs sleep? Pet bed in your room, crate in another room?

Thanks!!

[chachi]

I dont know how easy it would be to potty train a 4 year old. I imagine you would just need to start from scratch as if hes a new puppy. I put bows in my males hair they have real cute boy bows at Lawdogbows. Both of mine sleep with me but since hes not pottytrained you might want to put him in a crate.

[rrosenberry]

Bailey has PLENTY of accesories,, shirts, sweaters, tshirts, coats, bandanas, collars the velcro on.. ( that I make out of old shirts of mine,, they jazz him up, when he needs to look dressy, but too hot for a shirt)

He sleeps in bed with me.

and the housetraining thing....hmmmm that could be hard because of his age, I dont know... but Im sure he can be trained,, takes time and patience.
Good luck, do ya think you will get him?

[toninm]

My dogs names is Dollar...he is not pottie trained either but we deal with it....and do our best. (yorkies are harder to train). ANd he sleeps with me in the bed.

[mustangbee]

1. just found out the male we are thinking of adopting isn't house trained, even at 4 yrs. Am I setting myself up for a headache there?
I think you have a lot of work ahead of you. But they can be trained.

2. Ok i had wanted a girl originally..but I know they are alot more expensive. Couldn't wait to put bows in her hair, etc...(all boys here, needed another female)
but anyway..what "accessories" do you male doggie owners use?

There are lots of things for males. Yes, dresses and bows are cute on the girls, but males dress up to.


Oh- where do your dogs sleep? Pet bed in your room, crate in another room?

We have beds all over the house for nap time, BUT, they love to sleep with you, so your bed soon becomes their bed. But they do share.
Good Luck! Can't wait to hear more about your new baby! Oh yea, lots of pictures too.

[bchgirl]

I saw a few posts down that this dog isn't neutered. Unfortunately at 4 yrs old, he's probably lifting his leg and marking. He will probably NOT stop if he gets neutered now because of his age. I guess you could try those belly band things.

Ours is a male, he doesn't "do" bows, but he owns plenty of clothes

We have a crate, but he usually sleeps in our bed.

Good luck

[AmyZinNC]

Oh cool..never thought of the bandana thing! How cute.

What is a belly band?

[chachi]

I forgot about bandanas. I love bandanas on my male. Joy makes cute vests that come with bandanas. A belly band is ssomething you put on them that keeps them from peeing. Its like a diaaper for a dog. I have never used one but would if I were in your case.

[bchgirl]

Originally Posted by AmyZinNC

Oh cool..never thought of the bandana thing! How cute.

What is a belly band?

It's kinda like a diaper. Some of the people here have used them with their males so they won't mark.

[FirstYorkie]

As I answered in your other thread, I do think that a 4 year old dog is going to, most likely, be a bit difficult to housebreak.

If he'll allow it, many people put bows on their male yorkies, too.

As far as sleeping in your bed... Since he's not housetrained, he may or may not be able to make it through the night without an accident. Is it important to you that he be able to sleep with you? My 5 month old Yorkie sleeps in the laundry room - with newspaper - so that accidents don't matter. Thankfully, though, he's been accident-free for awhile now!

[FirstYorkie]

bchgirl made another good point. He may well be a "marker". Can you deal with that?

[AmyZinNC]

I will definetly ask the woman about the marking thing.

Also- what does it cost now a days, normally, to have a pet fixed? Will having one testicle effect that cost?

How about those SNAP trucks as opposed to a vet?

[bchgirl]

You can ask about the marking, but honestly when you go to see him, it'll be pretty apparent to you. Male dogs love to run around and tinkle on EVERY little thing....ya know..."this is mine, this is mine". It's gonna be very difficult to stop this behavior. I'm not even sure you'll be able to eliminate it. Also be aware it will not be only at your house, but everywhere you take him especially if other dogs have been present. I wish I could be more positive for you, but my BIL had a pom who never, ever stopped marking. I finally told him he...the dog, not BIL wasn't allowed in my house cause he'd lift his leg on my furniture

The marking issue was my one BIG concern when we were considering Trace instead of waiting for a female. I understand not being potty trained and accidents when they are small, but I really did not want a dog urinating on the furniture.

It cost me about $145.00 to have Trace neutered. That was the cost of the surgery plus pre-surgerical blood work. A vet will give you the pricing over the phone and I think it's more for undisended testicle.

[Diego]

With love and attention , potty training him will not be as hard as with a puppy .

Peoples too often think that there is nothing to do with an adult . I have 2 adult Yorkies and they were not potty trained at all . With patience , lots of love and understanding , they are now .

[daisysmom]

Don't be too upset if he won't let you put a bow in his hair...I think the earlier you get them use to it the easier it is.

Pochi hates having bows in his hair and will pout and act like he's dead til you take it off him and the same goes with clothes. He will purposefully try to pee on them so that I take it off him.

Daisy and Choppi both don't mind bows and clothes but I started them early with it so they are use to it.

As far as training goes...are you pee pad or going to take him outdoors?
I think at this point outdoor training is probably easiest for him to learn since he's older and if he does mark he can know that it's ok to mark outside just not inside the house.