Care of the Yorkshire Terrier Tips and Valuable information

Information on how to keep your Yorkie Safe, Healthy and Happy

Famous Words of Wisdom. If in Doubt please consult your Veternarian and or Breeder. They are the best source of information on the health of your yorkshire terrier..

This information is not meant to replace medical advice given by a licensed doctor of veternarian medicine.

Yorkies are a wonderful and loving breed, however they do require some special care.

Here is a list of a few things that yorkies will require, and things that will need to be avoided for the health and well being of your yorkie.

1. Yorkies love showering of affection and attention from their master. Be sure to make special time for them everyday. Yorkies want nothing more then to please their masters. If talked to harshly they melt. Usually a stern No! is all that is needed. They learn best by making things fun, play with them, and treat them when they do good.

2. Yorkies require consistency in housetraining. Set Schedules work well, along with crate training. Patience and a gentle hand are required. Some take to house breaking like it is nothing others can be a real challenge. Most yorkies are pretty well housebroke between 6 months to 1 year of age. You will have to keep watch on them at all times since their little puddles inside might go unnoticed. They have tiny bladders so they need to go out often usually every hour on the hour.. Piddle pad and litter training are also other options. I believe the major key to the whole housebreaking task is alot of the 3 P's Patience, Persistence and Praise!

Please Email us for a copy of a suggested housebreaking schedule.

3..A word on crate training. Crate training is by no means cruel. Dogs are den animals and they will often seek a comfortable quiet area to sleep. Crates are designed just for that. When a puppy is properly crate trained, they know the crate is a safe place to sleep, and can give them a sense of security when left alone. Crates also protect your little one, when you can't watch them from electric cords, valuable furniture and whatever they decide looks good to chew on. Crates are also the only safe way to transport your puppy in the car. Most reputable breeders will have started the crate training process with your puppy before they leave. 4-5 hours in a crate during the day is about as long as any dog should be left in them without some kind of a break. If you work a full day you may want to consider and excercise pen. Don't use the crate as punishment.

4. Never give a small puppy rawhide, greenies, new greenies or bones to chew on. They can break off in tiny peices and choke them or obstruct your yorkies bowels. I personally give Bullysticks after 6 months of age and only when I am in the room. Also be sure to throw them away when they get down to 2 inches or so.

A neat and fairly safe chew toy is the kong. It is pretty safe, and can be filled with goodies. Mine enjoy peanut butter.

I do offer a large amount of squeaker, pull and stuffed toys. I check these very often for damage and either repair or throw them away when they are damaged. The string, polyfill, plastic and squeakers can all cause problems for their little tummies.

5. Teeth Cleaning and regular dentails. Yorkies are notorious for bad teeth. Regular brushing and dentals can keep them healther much longer. Infected teeth can affect the heart, brain, kidneys and other vital organs. Most yorkies require dentals every 6 months to 2 years. Of course as recommended by your vet. Hard kibble in the diet is also highly recommended. Petzlife spray and gel is helpful in helping to keep down tarter buildup.

Your Yorkie puppy will start loosing his puppy teeth sometime around the 4th month. It is important to keep a watch on their little mouths to make sure they are losing the puppy teeth and not retaining them. If they are retaining puppy teeth then they will most likely need to be removed at the time of their spay or neuter at 6 months old.

6. NEVER EVER leave your yorkie unattended outside, they can slip out of a well fenced yard and get lost, injured or killed. They also are prey for predatory animals like hawks, fox, and owls.. Many yorkies also have been stolen when the owner lets them outside and turns their back for just a short minute. Don't ever tie out a yorkie. Though they think they are as big as an Irish Wolfhound they are not and they can easily be killed by wandering dogs. Yorkies are very territorial so don't be surprised if your baby flies out the door after the neighbors cat or that silly squirrel.

7. If you have young children you may want to consider a larger breed or a larger yorkie one that is over standard size would most likely be best for small children. It is very important to always supervise young children around any dogs. Most yorkie breeders will not let a pup go to a home with small children.

8. Grooming is very important for the yorkie. If they are to have a full floor length coat then they will need, bathing 2xs a week and daily maintenance. If you keep them trimmed in short puppy or modified schnauzer cuts then bathing is usually less often every two weeks they should do fine.

Yorkies will need to be brushed daily. It is best not to brush a dry coat as it leads to breaking the coat. Use a gentle conditioner like miracle coat leave in conditioner to brush them out. I dilute mine about 15-20:1 for a brush out.

9. To groom a yorkie you will need:

small scissors, small all metal comb, small pin brush, and a small clippers for the ear tips, small cat nail clippers.

Recommended shampoos are pet silk, Kenic, plush puppy, and chris christensens.

conditioners pet silk, Kenic, plush puppy, chris christensens, and Miracle coat leave in condtioner.

Trimming your yorkies hair on the ears.

To trim your yorkies ear tips you will need to use small clippers and trim each tip to look like a V. Trim both front and back and down the sides to the top 1/3rd of the ear.

Yorkie puppies with down ears after 9 weeks of age can have their ears taped up with masking tape. Please ask your breeder on how to do this safely and properly. Also be sure to keep the ear hair on the tips trimmed as this can weigh down the ear. Some yorkies though will always have down ears.

10. Please always be very aware of your surroundings when walking your dog in a public place. Other dogs can see them as being quick snacks. Also yorkies do not realize how small they are and can be killed by other dogs if they see him as a threat.

11. If your yorkie is not properly leash trained it is best to walk your yorkie using a harness. This will help to relief any strain or stress on their delicate tracheas.

Also do not crate or leave your yorkie unattended with his collar on, they get it hung on crate handles, ex pens, crates etc. and choke to death. Also if they are really talented they can manage to get the collar in their mouths and wind up gagged for hours if not severly injured.

12. Always hold your Yorkie firmly with two hands. They can squirm loose faster then you can react. Many have been killed or seriously injured from that type of fall. Placing your index finger over and around their front leg can help give you some control if they decide to try to leap from your arms.

13.If your yorkie is on a chair or sofa please pick them up before you sit down. Also try to limit any jumping off and on furniture. This activity can aggravate luxating patellas, if not cause it by injury to the joints.

14. Most important thing you could ever do for your yorkie is to spay or neuter them when they turn 6 months old. This will stop or prevent any marking activity. And yes our dear little girls do mark their territory as well, it is not just a male thing. They boys can just get it a little higher. Spay and neuter before they reach sexual maturity will also eliminate chances of them from developing mammary or testicular cancers. A female that is allowed to acheive her first heat can be at a 50% greater risk of mammary cancer then one that was spayed before her first heat, and the risk doubles with each successive heat there after. So for the good of your pet and to keep everyone safe and happy Spay and Neuter your pet. We have enough unwanted pets in our shelters.

That's it for now.

Thanks for reading my ramblings.