All the Information you need to know

Quality food - we feed and recommend Royal Canin Yorkshire Terrier Puppy

Nutri-Cal Gel - to prevent hypoglycemia

Sugar Water - again to prevent hypoglycemia

Canned pumpkin - good for diarrhea or constipation

X-pen or large crate - designate potty, play, and bedding areas

Potty pads - even if you want to train your Yorkie to go outside, it is not recommended to allow them outside until puppy vaccines are complete.

Leash and harness - only use collars for tags, never to lead your Yorkie; you can easily damage their trachea.

Baby or oatmeal shampoo

Bully sticks, antlers, or hooves - never feed rawhide to your Yorkie, it is toxic to them.

Food/water bowls - allow access to food and water at all times. We prefer porcelain or glass.

Comb, pin brush, and slicker brush

Tooth brush and tooth paste

Warm bedding - remember Yorkies get cold easily.

1. Treat your new puppy as you would a newborn baby. We recommend that you try to make the first few days together with your puppy as calm as possible, remember this is a very traumatic time for your puppy. A puppy will keep playing and not know when to stop for rest. It may play so much that it is too tired to eat.  Be especially aware of the amount of time children play with your puppy.

2. Feed your new puppy premium grade dog food and do not attempt to change over to another dog food until the puppy is well adjusted to their new home. Some, but not all puppies, may need to be supplemented with premium canned dog food and Nutri-Cal for the first 6 months of life to avoid hypoglycemia. Please make sure your puppy has food and water available at all times.

3. Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, is a health problem that can affect all Yorkies. Some signs that a puppy has hypoglycemia are that it becomes weak, listless, depressed, unaware of its surroundings, “drunk walking” depressed, or unable to stand/walk.  Advanced stages include seizures before lapsing in to a coma, which is sometimes followed by death. If your puppy becomes hypoglycemic it is very important that you react immediately!! Give the puppy Nutri-Cal, honey, or take 4 tsps of sugar to 1 cup of water and syringe slowly into the side of their mouth. If the puppy is too weak for the syringe use your finger to rub it on the roof of the mouth. Its life depends on it!! Nutri-Cal is a fast-acting, high-calorie supplement and may be given off your finger. Keep the puppy warm at all times and rub puppy very gently, moving the head from side to side and slowly rotating it.  Also, move the arms and legs so the puppy does not get stiff.  It may be necessary to give the puppy a couple of doses. If the puppy does not respond, get to a vet immediately.  Hypoglycemia can occur without warning if a puppy is placed in a new home, misses a meal, or is otherwise stressed.  You must remember that puppies eat very small amounts yet they exert large amounts of energy.  Your puppy should eat at least 4 times a day. 

4. We recommend that you not leave your puppy alone for the first 24 hours so that you can closely monitor its food and water intake, this will combat dehydration and hypoglycemia. After the first 24 hours, continue to monitor food and water intake.

5. If your puppy is not eating, has diarrhea, or is vomiting, contact your vet or breeder immediately. 

6. Do not let your puppy play in the yard until it has had all its shots.  It may pick up an illness that could cost it its life.  The treatment for parvo costs roughly $600, while having your vet protect the puppy with a shot only costs $20-$40. Remember they are not safe until 2-4 weeks after all puppy shots are administered.

7. Do not let your puppy jump off couches, chairs, beds, or any other high places.

8. If you choose to keep your puppy’s hair long, please remember to keep its bottom shaved or trimmed. Sometimes the poop can get stuck in the hair and keep your puppy from being able to potty correctly. This can cause serious problems and even lead to death. 

9. Never leave your puppy in your car for any amount of time even if the window is cracked.

If you encounter any problems with your puppy, call your vet and breeder.

Hypoglycemia is most common with toy breed dogs, such as the Yorkshire Terrier and if it does occur, it generally will happen between the ages of birth to 4 months old. This is a typical Yorkie health problem that one should keep an eye out for during those first few crucial months of ownership.

​

Hypoglycemia is a fast drop of blood sugar levels. Just about every element of a puppy's body depends on the proper balance of sugar in the bloodstream. For example, the Yorkie's liver manufactures glucose and stores it for release into the bloodstream as needed. Muscle tissues store some of the important materials used in this process.

Brain function and motor skills depend on this. When Hypoglycemia develops, there is only a small window of time to treat the puppy.

Several factors can bring this on such as stress, a lack of nutrients and puppies who are born much smaller than average, however, this can happen to any Yorkie pup. Any breeder will be able to tell you that they have all experienced hypoglycemia in puppies.

What are the Symptoms?

There are symptoms for this. However, it is important to note that a puppy may not display all of them, they may not happen in the order in which they are listed or they may happen so quickly in succession that imminent danger is present within minutes.

All small puppies must be watched very closely. If symptoms appear, immediate medical attention is required to save the life of the Yorkie puppy.

Look for: Drowsiness, shaking, fainting, confused behavior, seizures, weakness, depression, muscle weakness and tremors, a drop in body temperature, coma...some owners mistakenly believe that the puppy has passed on.

A veterinarian should be able to know immediately if a puppy has this.

How is This Treated?

As soon as you notice the symptoms, you should rub honey, karo syrup, or pancake syrup on the gums of the Yorkie puppy. It is recommended that all puppy owners keep this on hand.

Warm heating pads should be placed around the pup to slowly warm up body temperature. These are steps to take just to stabilize the puppy so that you are then able to rush to the veterinarian for an emergency appointment or go straight to the animal hospital.

The vet will give the puppy a warmed dextrose solution that is injected subcutaneously and the puppy may be given an IV drip until stabilized.

It is also recommended you keep Nutri-Cal on hand. This can be purchased online or through your local pet store. This is a rich source of vitamins for your puppy.

Grooming:

Proper grooming to keep your Yorkie looking nice and remain healthy will include:

· Baths

· Brushing and combing

· Nail Care

· Trimming

· Creating Top Knots

Baths

So, How often should you give a Yorkshire Terrier a bath? Keeping the above in mind, the perfect timing for most Yorkies is once every 3 weeks unless there are extenuating circumstances.  Things start off with proper bathing techniques. Timing of baths is crucial for effective grooming with pleasing results. 

Grooming Tips

1) Choose your grooming products carefully. Never use human shampoo, no matter how well it happens to work for you. It will dry the skin and coat of this dog breed as it is not formulated with the correct pH balance. Invest in a quality shampoo, conditioner and leave-in product.  A bottle lasts quite a while for a little Yorkie, so you won't need to restock often. 

If you give too many baths, the following will happen:

1) Even if you are using the best shampoos and other products, the nature of shampoo is to cleanse and too much of this will strip away oils too frequently, causing the skin to dry out.

2) The act of scrubbing too often will be abrasive to the skin and coat. Hairs can lose their strength and the coat can weaken.

If you give a bath too rarely, many things will happen:

1) Natural body fluids will accumulate and not being cleansed away this can cause the coat to look (and feel) oily

2) Skin pores can clog

3) The coat will begin to smell

4) Long hairs will tangle and knot without the help of a quality conditioner

2) Brush and comb the coat directly before and after a bath. You'll want to do this before baths to catch any tangles before they become wet in the tub at which time they will become more difficult to remove. Combing also separates the hairs for better cleansing.  

3) Be sure to rinse out all shampoo and conditioner. Any leftover shampoo residue will cake up into tiny particles similar to the texture of waxy, wet clay substance. These little chunks will clog skin pores, prevent body oils from being properly distributed on the silky hair and can cause skin irritation. When you think that you have rinsed enough, rinse for a minute longer.

4) Use a quality canine bath brush which stimulates the skin and is the right texture for a silky-haired breed. Any cloth that is even slightly abrasive can irritate the skin which affects the coat.

5) Male Yorkies should be wiped with a canine cleansing wipe, to clean off urine that usually collects onto the coat when they urinate. Doing so right before bedtime and after their last "bathroom" trip of the day generally works best. In this way, your Yorkie will be able to retreat to his sleeping area perfectly clean and fresh.

6) Take note of any feces that may have clung to hairs near the anus.  For females, bacteria from feces can travel to the urethral orifice and cause a urinary tract infection. If you do need to wipe the rear end to tidy up your Yorkie after a bowel movement, be sure to wipe outward and not toward the urethral opening. 

7) Each day, use a quality canine facial wipe to wipe around the eyes. If you choose to do this with only a damp washcloth, once the eye area is cleaned, use a 2nd dry cloth to pat this area dry. You will not want to allow the hairs around the eyes to remain wet or even damp, as a yeast infection can quickly grow in that sort of environment. If your Yorkie tends to dive into his or her water dish, try to wipe the face as often as you can so the area does not stay damp for a long time.

Brushing and Combing

Proper Brushing and combing techniques will keep the coat healthy, keep it tangle-free and allow it to grow. Trying to remove matted hair can take hours and can be very stressful for both owner and dog. Therefore, it is highly recommended to brush and comb your Yorkie 1 time per day if the dog has a long "show coat" and every 2 days if the dog has a shorter "puppy dog cut".

Remember that tangles are a normal part of having a long coat. Even puppy coats can tangle if not combed through often enough. Brushing dry hair will cause breakage. You should always spritz the coat with a quality leave-in conditioner spray to dampen the coat before brushing. Keep an eye on this, you may need to spritz in sections as you move along. The goal will be to add some moisture, but not to soak the hairs.  A leave-in spray also protects the coat from damaging summer sun, drying arid winter air, static and contact friction damage.

Tangles should be worked out with your fingers. First, wet the tangle with conditioner. Lather your hands with the solution as well. Get into a comfortable position and begin to gently work out the hairs. Only as a last resort would you want to clip off a mat; this is reserved for a serious tangle that you simply cannot unwind.

Part of learning to groom a Yorkie will be to use the proper tools for this breed.  For short coats, use a small sized slicker brush that has medium spread between bristles. For long coats, use a rubber backed pin brush with moderate spread. The right tool will properly distribute body oils as you groom and correctly rake through the coat without breaking hairs or causing split ends. 

Combs are used for touch-ups, to catch any tangles the brush may have missed, to groom small areas such as the face and to give the coat a 'finished' look. The comb that you use should be made of metal.  A double-sided small metal comb with wider teeth on one side and finer teeth on the other is perfect. For long coats, a medium-toothed metal comb works well. 

You will want to do some small trimming to keep a nice, finished look. There are a few areas that will need special attention. If you look at the underside of the paw, there should be no stray hairs that grow out from in between the pads and past the pads. This should be trimmed to the level of the puppy or dog's paw.

The top 1/3 of the ear hairs should be trimmed. This helps to keep the ears standing erect as they will not be weighed down. 

The area around the dog's rectum should be trimmed short for hygiene purposes. It prevents small pieces of feces from sticking to the rump.

Many owners choose to keep their Yorkie with the "puppy dog cut" as opposed to maintaining the long "show dog cut".  Maintaining a "show dog cut" requires quite a bit of work. This look is one where the Yorkie's hair is one length and flows all the way to the floor. Constant grooming must be done to avoid tangles or mats which could destroy the entire look.  

Many Yorkie owners choose to trim their Yorkie themselves and others opt to have a professional dog groomer do the job. If you do choose to do this yourself, it is highly recommended to invest in quality clipping tools, as this will make grooming and trims much easier.

Remember that if you make a grooming mistake, the hair will grow back; and it does so rather quickly for most puppies and dogs. Never shave so low that skin shows through the coat. This can cause many skin irritations issues. If you do shave too short and skin can be seen, apply sunscreen to these areas in the summer if you'll be taking your Yorkie outside for more than 20 minutes.

Nails

Nail trimming should be done every 2 or 3 weeks. Check your pup or dog often to see at what rate their nails are growing. Often, if you don't clip the nails often enough, the clickety-clack sound of them on hard flooring when your Yorkie walks will remind you. If you continue to ignore this grooming need, they can become ingrown which will cause quite a bit of discomfort for your dog.

An owner may do this themselves or opt for a dog groomer to do this. If doing this at home, it is important to use quality pet nail trimming tools. The cut should be fast and easy, as most dogs do not stay very still while having this done. A good alternative to clipping is a grinder, which (if it's a good one) will quickly and relatively quietly mechanically file the nails. 

One of the biggest worries of those who try to trim their Yorkie's nails at home is the element of cutting too low and cutting the "quick" of the nail. The quick is a vein that runs down the center of each nail. If cut, there will be quite a bit of bleeding.  If you do clip the nails, do a little bit at a time, taking a look each time that you trim a piece. As you slowly remove small pieces, you will eventually see a gray or pinkish color oval of color in the nail. This is your sign to stop cutting. 

Trimming is easier if done right after bath time, when the dog's nails are wet. Grinding can be done at any time.

Top Knots and Bows

Yorkies with long coats that do not have their coat shaved will need to have the hair on the top of their heads put into a top knot. Many owners choose to have a short puppy cut for the main coat, but leave hairs on the head long in order to pull them back into a cute top-knot. This keeps the hair out of the dog's eyes, allowing them to see, of course, but also keeps stray hair from scratching against the surface of the dog's eyes.

Ears

Taking care of the ears is important. Regularly check the ears, look for any redness, discharge or odor. If you do see these signs, a vet check for infections should be done. If there is hair in the channel, remove it by pulling it out with a small forceps ear tool. Whether the hair is oily or not, using a plucking powder (lightly) will make it much easier to do. A weekly ear cleaning is recommended and there are many different brands available online or at your local pet store.