Accidents and injuries

The leading health issue in toy dogs is INJURY. You must keep Yorkshire Terriers under constant surveillance and leash/arm control. Too much can happen to these small creatures in the blink of an eye.

• Bone fractures or a concussion can occur from jumping off furniture, or falling or leaping from your arms, or being hit on the head by a thrown or falling object or being stepped on.

• Yorkies can choke on the tiniest object, and it takes very little to overdose them with anything toxic.

• Yorkies can squeeze through the smallest crack of a door or fence and be gone.

• If you allow them to act foolishly aggressive toward larger dogs, their neck can be broken with a single grab.

• If you let them off-leash, their excitable chasing instincts may send them under the wheels of a car.

Dental disease

Miniaturized dogs often don't have enough room in their mouth for strong, healthy teeth. Instead, we see teeth pointing in various directions, malformed teeth, and teeth crammed together. Plaque and tartar build up rapidly on those teeth, causing gum disease. Then the teeth wiggle around in their loose sockets and need to be extracted by the vet.

Repeatedly putting a small Yorkshire Terrier under anesthesia to have teeth pulled is both worrisome and expensive. You should brush your little dog's teeth weekly and scrape the tartar off his teeth before it builds up. Yorkies are notorious for retaining their baby teeth, at your one-year checkup you have your vet assess this at that time and get any retained baby teeth pulled. There is a bacterium that is in dogs’ mouths that cause the tarter to stick and thus causing bad breath. The following product Perio Support was recommended by 2 different veterinarians. The product can be found on amazon at a much cheaper cost than buying it from your veterinarian.

Follow the link below:

Amazon.com : VetriScience Perio Support Teeth Cleaning Powder for Cats and Dogs, 4.2oz – Reduce Plaque By 20% - Bad Breath and Tartar Control – Vet Recommended : Pet Herbal Supplements : Pet Supplies

 

Collapsing trachea

Tiny breeds such as Yorkies, Chihuahuas, and Maltese can have a genetically weak trachea (the windpipe through which they breathe). A windpipe is a long tube and if it's weak, it can temporarily collapse in on itself, limiting the amount of air that gets through. Then the dog coughs and gasps, producing a distinctive goose honking sound.

Collapsing trachea is a serious condition that always gets worse over time. Sometimes surgery can help, but more often not.

To make matters confusing, Yorkshire Terriers are also prone to a condition that resembles collapsing trachea but is completely harmless. It's called reverse sneezing. It tends to occur when the dog is excited or when he's eating or drinking.

Recommendations have been made that you should only use a collar in the house for decoration or dog tags such as their rabies tag or ownership tag, and never for the sole purpose of walking your dog. Anytime you plan on using a leash then you should use a harness. Harnesses lessen the tug on the throat area and place all the pressure from a pulling pup more to the chest and belly area. Your pup should always be close to your body when walking, the recommended distance is no more than 6 feet. This distance gives you a better reaction time in the event a situation occurs that you need to take control over.  I.e.: oncoming traffic, another dog, other pedestrians, and in some area’s large birds such as hawks or eagles.

Eye diseases

In Yorkies, we see cataracts (often progressing to blindness), retinal dysplasia, dry eye, and occasionally progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), which always leads to blindness.

Orthopedic disorders

Many toy breeds inherit loose knee joints, where the kneecap pops in and out of its socket. It's called luxating patella, which means dislocating kneecap. It can be mild, causing temporary bouts of lameness, or it can be crippling and require expensive surgery.

Hypoglycemia

Tiny dogs can have difficulty regulating their blood sugar. In Yorkshire Terriers, tiny not only means a young puppy, but even an adult Yorkie who weighs less than 3 or 4 pounds.

If blood sugar drops too low, a tiny dog can have a hypoglycemic attack, which might be mild if immediately treated, or which can progress to coma and death.

 Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar) In Dogs: Symptoms, Causes, And Treatments

Hypoglycemia in dogs is the condition of having low blood sugar, which results in symptoms that mostly relate to an affected dog’s energy level. It can be caused by underlying conditions or exposure to certain substances. When it becomes severe, it can cause pain, seizures, loss of consciousness, and even death in canines.

Sugar, which takes the form of glucose, provides energy for your dog’s entire body. When the blood sugar level is too low, it will eventually affect the organs and brain function. For that reason, it’s important to consult your veterinarian if you see signs that your dog might be hypoglycemic. Here’s what you should know about the symptoms, causes, and treatments for hypoglycemia in dogs.

Symptoms Of Hypoglycemia in Dogs

Symptoms of hypoglycemia in dogs usually begin mildly with signs of low energy. However, these can progress to more dangerous symptoms quickly if left untreated. Sometimes symptoms come and go, while other times they are persistent.

If you spot some or all of the following signs that your dog is hypoglycemic, then you should take them to the vet immediately:

• Lethargy

• Slow response to stimuli

• Weakness

• Loss of coordination

• Increased thirst or urination

• Decreased or increased appetite

• Weight gain

• Muscle spasms

• Trembling

• Irregular heart rate or breathing

• Paralysis of the hind legs

• Seizures

• Blindness

• Collapse or unconsciousness

Causes Of Hypoglycemia in Dogs

Hypoglycemia in dogs can be caused by a number of underlying conditions or from exposure to certain substances. It results due to glucose being removed from the bloodstream, an inadequate amount of glucose from diet, or low production of glucose from glycogen stores by the liver.

Additionally, any condition that affects glucose levels could result in hypoglycemia.

Here are several known causes of hypoglycemia in dogs:

• Excessive exercise

• Poor diet, malnutrition, or starvation

• Delayed mealtime for puppies

• Overdose of insulin

• Eating artificial sweeteners

• Consuming antifreeze

• Body using too much glucose during pregnancy

• Portosystemic shunts

• Addison’s disease

• Sepsis

• Inflammation of the liver

• Pancreatic tumor

• Certain cancers, especially liver cancer, leukemia, and malignant melanoma

Treatments For Hypoglycemia In Dogs

Treatment for hypoglycemia in dogs aims to restore appropriate glucose levels in the blood stream. For dogs who have a hypoglycemic crisis resulting in seizures, a veterinarian might recommend that corn syrup, sugar, fruit juices, or honey be rubbed on the gums, followed up with a small meal once the seizures have stopped.

A veterinarian might continue to feed a dog small meal as they recover. If a hypoglycemic dog is not capable of eating, then the vet may administer intravenous fluid of concentrated dextrose.

Further treatment depends on the cause of the hypoglycemia. If it’s related to exercise or diet, then your veterinarian will prescribe lifestyle changes. They may also advise more frequent meals with high amounts of fat, protein, and complex carbohydrates.

If there is an underlying cause, it must be treated accordingly. Some conditions, such as pancreatic tumors, may require surgery. Others such as Addison’s disease can be managed with medication.

In cases where the hypoglycemia can’t be treated or managed any other way, a veterinarian may prescribe anticonvulsants or steroids.

Having an appropriate diet, especially throughout puppyhood, can help prevent hypoglycemia. Therefore, you should make sure your dog is getting the right nutrition and discuss diet with your veterinarian. In most cases continuing the same diet with your puppy as your breeder started will be beneficial to your puppy.

Diet

As we all know I have really been promoting our current dog food brand and I thought I would tell you why.

First and foremost, the food is all natural and holistic meaning no artificial preservatives and our babies get to absorb 95% of all the nutrition. They also offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back, if you don’t like the products or your baby doesn’t like the food, you just call them or email them, and they will refund you 100% no questions asked. The gradual switch doesn’t cause tummy issues, their stool is much more consistent and so far, no diarrhea with the change even with the puppies as they start on it.

Secondly, I have seen a great difference in coat growth being faster and the bounce back of my moms and an increase in the size of litters our moms have been having, not just mine but other breeder friends that are feeding Pawtree are seeing the same. This means the moms are getting the nutrition they need to develop ad raise bigger and stronger litters. Now I’m not saying this hasn’t been the same with my litters and food in the past, just simply saying I think they are getting a better diet, this food came from a recommendation of a fellow breeder, I tried it and the results have been amazing.

Thirdly, the size of the bites is small it is great for weaning your puppies and a great starter food. I am hearing great feedback from my puppy parents, and they are loving the food as well. I have used just about all the products at this point. The treats are freeze dried to hold all nutrition from the real meat, the grooming products are great, and the smell lingers fresh for days unlike the off the shelf brands. I have been using the CBD Mega with our standard poodle that has anxiety, joint care for our standard poodle with authorities, and the salmon oil for itching and coat care as well. I also won’t forget to mention the food seasoning they are great they keep the food interesting for our babies, so they don’t get bored with the same ole food all the time.

Finally, the company has been in business for over 7 years now, and they have had NO RECALLS!!!! This is a big one for me. There are so many people feeding food from companies, and they have no idea how many recalls these companies have had. A prime example is Hill’s Science Diets in 2019 alone had 33 recalls on their food (just google it I did). So, to sum it up there is nothing bad I can say about PawTree and their products, I have only seen and heard positive results. Going forward this will be our brand of choice here at Tiffany’s Colorful Yorkies.

I have made a recommendation list of all the products you will need with your new puppy; you can buy them separate or there is an ultimate kit that will save you money and send you everything you will need when your new baby arrives. You can use code: Intro4u and save 20% on your first order.

Click on the Pawtree logo and be redirected to my Pawtree recommendations page!

 

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In Closing 

I want to follow up with this by saying that as a breeder of Yorkshire Terriers we strive to breed the best in the breed. We do all the genetic testing through embarkvet.com, all our adults are vetted after each litter for bloodwork, x-rays and a complete health and wellness check.

We do all of this to ensure that you have the very best of the best when it comes to our puppies. The one thing that as a breeder we cannot talk enough about is HYPOGLYCEMIA, this is the one thing we have no control over when they leave us. While we work with our babies to leave us as happy, healthy, and pre-spoiled little ones, a constants diet, schedule, and supervision are key to a well-rounded happy and healthy puppy. As for the diet we highly recommend that your puppy stays on the same diet that they go home with for at least a year before you decide to change to another brand. Please remember when choosing food for your baby if you decide to change to do your research and make the change gradually. Check for recalls, check the top ten worst dog food list, and most importantly ingredients. Also know that a lot of companies change their formulas based on the products they can buy which can cause adverse allergic reactions in your dog’s such as Itchy, dry or irritated skin among other affects. These are some of the reasons we recommend Pawtree as our food of choice, it's all natural and holistic and made with locally sourced ingredients so the formulas never change.

Here at Tiffany’s, we are always readily available to answer any questions or address any concerns that you may have. Please feel free to reach out at any time via email at Tiffanycolorfulyorkies@gmail.com.