Licketysplit Yorkies
Raising Happy Healthy Yorkies!
To Crate or Not to Crate
It would be a wonderful world if I could just allow my dogs to run free and wild. But alas I cannot tell a lie. I do crate my dogs. Are you disappointed? Well consider this. Not everyone gets along. If any breeder tells you they don't at some point in time separate their dogs or crate them, then more than likely they are telling you little white lies. I have very well behaved dogs, but they can often times challenge one another. Ziva and Freya are always deciding who is the Alpha female. When I am home, my yorkies have the run of the house, they are allowed to go just about anywhere they please. In the summer my back door is wide open and they are free to roam anywhere in or out of doors as they please because I have a fully fenced back yard. They love to take advantage of the summer days and frolic in the backyard. In actual fact that is where the name "Licketysplit" came from.
They run and race around "licketysplit" freely in my backyard. I wanted a name the embodied their lifestyle. I may have beautiful yorkies that are eligible for the showring, but they live a life of fun, love and freedom, in my house and oh, about a half acre of backyard. We have a saying around here. "It's all about the yorkies". But I also have to be realistic. I have an old Yorkie named Jasper. As I mentioned before, he is where it all began. He is pushing past 11 year old right now, and he can get cranky. And sometimes the girls can pester him. As I mentioned Ziva and Freya for the most part get along, but sometimes they can challenge one another. And other times someone comes into heat, and I don't want a breeding from them this time round, cause it either doesn't work with my schedule, or they are due for a break. So Murphy has to be contained, so nothing unplanned accidentally happens. So I have to somethimes crate or pen my yorkies.
We have a "Yorkie room" in our house. This is also their safe place that they can go, if the grandkids or company come over, or there is a lot of commotion going on, and they don't want to be involved, they just head down to the hall to their room and away they go, find a nice soft bed to snuggle up and sleep.
There are lots of beds, toys, water, oh, and they also have a separate little area in there, they can potty if the outdoors are unavailable. This potty area gets used quite often in the winter, because it gets so cold up here throughout the winter months, sometimes it's just not feasable to put the yorkies outside to go do their business in -25c weather, their legs and feet tend to freeze quickly. There is also an area that a litter may be kept during certain times throughout the puppy stages.
This area also has different pens that when I go out, I put my yorkies in. They know if I am going out, this is the area they go to. I put old Jasper in his own pen, so the girls don't bother and annoy him. Could you imagine how miserable he would be if he got stuck in a room with them. No I couldn't do that to him. He's an old guy, deserves his own space, peace and quiet. Then I divide them up depending, Ziva and Nina always get along, I'll either pen them together , or let them have the run of the room. Murphy of course being the only stud in my household gets along with any of the girls, so I can put him with Freya. I alternate them giving them either the run of the room, if they were penned the last time I went grocery shopping, or I'll let them have the run of the room the next time, when I'm going out to see a play. They have a routine, and soft snuggly beds, and toys to play and gnaw on, they are not hard done by. Cause it' all about the Yorkies.
People sometimes think this is a cruel thing to do. They think it's discusting that breeders pen their dogs. I shake my head and say get realistic, and don't be rediculous! My furbabies are spoilt rotten, and loved beyond comprehension. I am an open book, and will not lie to people and say I don't pen my yorkies casue I do. And when a prospective buyer comes to my house to see some puppies that may be for sale, i willing show them the "Yorkie room".