Yorkshires are pretty easy to take care of as long as the guardian understands their needs. They are prone to injuries due to their small body structure, eye complications, especially cataracts, liver infections due to poor hygiene and contamination, and slipping kneecaps. However, you can avoid these complications once you understand how to take care of a Yorkshire Terrier.
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How to Take Care of a Yorkshire Terrier
Initially, Yorkies were domesticated to kill mice and other rodents in homes and factories. However, they are family-friendly and make great emotional support companions. The following tips will guide you on how to give your Yorkie the right amount of care and loving and raise its chances of living a long and happy life.
Early Training
Training your Yorkshire as early as possible is crucial. Starting your dogs’ training as soon as they come home will help them adjust smoothly to the new environment. Like humans, dogs are habitual creatures.
Once your Yorkie is home, it should be trained on basic house rules, for instance, where you want it to relieve itself and how to socialize with visitors. Training requires adequate time because, without proper training, you might end up frustrated with your dog’s unruly behavior.
Commands
Teach your Yorkshire simple commands like “eat,” “sit,” “stand,” “come,” and “quiet.” These commands allow for accessible communication with your dog when you want to get them to do something. The best way to get your dog to catch these commands is by rewarding them once they catch on to an order.
You can get them to sit by having them stand in front of you while holding out a cookie which they will only get once they have sat down. Rewarding their obedience will teach them to always sit down while eating. You should introduce these commands when you have the dog’s full attention.
Socialization
Make your Yorkie interact with other dogs once you have had it vaccinated. Expose it to as many people, dogs, and new environments as you can to make them comfortable around new faces. Yorkies love plenty of outdoor walks.
You can expose them by taking them to the park, walking them around the neighborhood, taking them on car rides, or enrolling them in obedience training or puppy socialization classes to make them more friendly and adjust to new environments.
Rewards
Using reward-based training is a way of ensuring your dog is well holistically. Dogs love treats, and what better way of getting them to master new rules than rewarding them when they do good. You can reward your dog in the form of treats or formal praise.
Your training should also be consistent since inconsistency will take your dog a long time to master the commands, or it will quickly forget them. Always respond to your dog’s behavior so that it can know what to expect when it does something good or bad.
Veterinarian Visits
Communicate with your breeder about your dog’s healthcare. Your Yorkie should have been taken for an examination at six weeks old, had its first distemper shot, and got dewormed to kill intestinal parasites. The breeder should be able to prove this by handing you a bill or invoice from the vet.
It would be best if you did adequate research on your seller before purchasing your Yorkie. Regularly take your dog to the vet for treatments and vaccinations. Return your Yorkshire Terrier to the vet two weeks after their first deworming dose to be dewormed for the second time to kill any worms that survived the first dose.
Some of the diseases you should vaccinate your dog against include:
- Heartworm vaccine at eight weeks
- Lyme vaccine at nine weeks
- Rabies vaccine at 12 weeks
Remember to neuter your dog at six months, carry out yearly examinations once your Yorkie turns one year, and biannual examination reviews once it turns ten years old. Your dog should get booster shots for the heartworm and Lymes vaccines monthly and after three weeks, respectively. It is also essential to identify problems that might specifically attack a Yorkshire and learn how to prevent your Yorkie from getting them.
Dental Visits
Dog dental check-ups may seem a little weird, but dental care is crucial for your dog, just as it is for you. Regularly brush your dog’s teeth using dog toothpaste. You can brush sections of their teeth until all surfaces are clean.
Below is a simple method you can use to brush your dog’s teeth easily:
- Get the dog to lick the toothpaste off your fingers.
- Use a soft toothbrush to brush your dog’s teeth gently.
- Regularly brush the Yorkie’s teeth to have it familiarize and enjoy the teeth brushing process.
- Give your dog a treat once you have finished brushing its teeth to reward it for completing the activity.
Regularly brushing their teeth ensures that there are no bacterial growth or plaque attacks on their crowded teeth. Besides brushing, you should periodically take your Yorkie for dental check-ups for professional tooth cleaning and treatment of mouth sores.
Nutrition
Choose good-quality commercial food for your Yorkie. Good health arises from healthy eating, and you should therefore ensure that you pick the right food for your dog. You can ask your vet for recommendations on what food to buy for your dog, or you can choose food that has meat as one of the top two ingredients in it.
Consider domestically preparing food for your dog. Since buying commercial food for your dog might be costly, you may opt to prepare your Yorkie’s food at home. Consulting an animal nutritionist will help you decide what foods to prepare for your dog by creating a personalized meal plan.
To avoid getting them unfit, you should also give your Yorkie treats sparingly while making sure they are low-calorie dog treats.
Hygiene
Observe general hygiene standards for your dog. Groom your dog’s coat by regularly combing it or clipping it short to avoid tangles and keep the area around the eyes clear. Bath your Yorkie after every three weeks using the best Yorkshire terrier dog shampoo to keep his coat healthy and free from fleas, ticks, scratches, cysts, or scabs.
Conclusion
Conclusively, taking care of a Yorkshire Terrier might be costly and time-consuming when done incorrectly. However, suppose you follow the above tips, you may have fun taking care of your Yorkie. Care gets easier as they grow older and their immunity becomes stronger.
