They choke, they choke, they choke!! when giving your puppy food, snack, or maybe even the forbidden tidbit from the table, always remember how small their throats are. unlike most dogs, they get the smallest things caught in their throats. Cut-up everything you give to them, into very small pieces! especially when they are puppies, and a good habit to get into throughout their lifetime. Not only are their throats small, the smaller dogs also have trouble chewing something bigger.

I use and highly recommend dry Royal Canin. use puppy 33 until they are 10 months old, and then yorkshire 28. royal canin is available at petsmart and petco. make sure food is available to them at all times! they will eat small amounts through out the day, and night. adults usually eat between ¼ to ½ cup a day. I use honey comb dry cereal for treats. I also recommend a halter leash, not a collar) due to their small trechea. A ferret halter works great for the smaller babies.

Yorkies have low blood sugar until they are about 12 weeks old, and longer if they are a tiny. Make sure they eat well before they play to hard. if they seem sluggish, shake, act drunk, hard to wake up, or even volmit, give a dime size doze of nutri-cal, on their tongue, (karo syrup works in a pinch, do not use honey) and call me. if they seem to be playing really hard, stressful trips to the vet, groomer or traveling long distances, it wouldn’t hurt to give them a doze to be safe. but you can overdo it, so no more than once or twice a day. call me immediately if your baby doesn’t eat, (especially the day you receive your baby) low blood sugar can be deadly!!! scrambled eggs, canned food, cheese, or cooked chicken (cut in small pieces) can be used in a desperate attemptto get them to eat. i use honey comb dry cereal for treats!

Watch where you walk, or set. You will learn to scoot your feet when you walk, and always watch where you step. They will run under your feet, until they figure out that it might be a dangerous practice. The other thing I noticed with all dogs, is they will jump on the couch or chair, and look at you lovingly. You move them over so you can sit next to them and as you turn to sit, they jump under you, and end up getting sat on! I learned to hold them as you are sitting. Until they have learned to get out of your way, be very careful! It is almost impossible to keep them off of couch or in bed with you, so be careful how they get down. Serious injuries can occur from jumping off of furniture has resulted in hurt knees, broken bones, and even death. I’ve heard several horror stories of broken necks from jumping off the back of the couch. You can build or purchase dog stairs and ramps to help them get on and off the furniture and beds. Never leave children alone with babies or tinies!!!

Many yorkies, (even 12 lb) have been known to meet their demise to outside dangers! Other dogs, hawks, owls, and coyotes, have been known to carry them off. Use Extreme caution when your dog is outside, and always stay with them! Keep in mind people have been known to steal them too. Owner’s report them stolen out of their yard, and one new owner had her baby while paying for gas! Be on your guard at all times. They do quite well as inside dogs. I use potty pads. I found that the bedpads (found in the pharmacy area) are bigger and cheaper than the puppy training pads. The puppies are already using them.

Yorkies are capable of that long beautiful hair. It takes a lot of work to keep them beautiful. Even if you decide to keep their coats short, you need to keep their rear-ends clipped short. The hair tends to get in the way, when they potty. Eventually, There is a build-up, and they will not be able to poop. This could be very serious, and needs to be watched, even as adults.

When your puppy is 6-8 months old, you need to make sure that an adult tooth is not growing along side of his puppy tooth. It is very common to have trouble losing their puppy teeth. A trip to the vet will be warranted, for some teeth pulling, and a good idea to spay or neuter, at the same time. Females should be spayed before they are 9 months old, males neutered, as young as your vet recommends, they will mark territories if older. Due to excessive amounts of tartar, their teeth will need at least yearly cleaning from your vet. Daily brushing seems to help reduce tartar.

Your puppy will have the tips of his ears shaved, just a little help in keeping his ears up. They will go up and down, as they teeth, but should be up after a few months old. If they fold down in half, taping might be necessary.

Yorkies are very sensitive to your moods! They just melt if they think you are mad at them, be sure to let them know that you still love them, even if they did something bad, never hit or kick them. A firm, “no” is usually sufficent. They will run to you if they are in trouble, just to get that reassurance. Chaos in the house will make them shiver in fear. Trips to the vet, and strange places scare them too. Be sure to let them know everything is ok. They need lots of love, and attention!

Yorkies are very active. Especially up to about 10 months old. They are very athletic, and like to run! They settle down to be quite the lap dog, as adults. Yorkies also like to chew. I buy toddler teething toys (those without water) for them, even as adults. The size is right, and they love the rattle sounds most teethers come with. A word to the wise, keep all paper out of reach. Puppies are the worst, but even my adults love to chew paper, especially magazines, Phone books and toilet paper.