New Puppy Parent Information
"Bringing home your new Yorkie"
The First Few Days
When you get home: Do not allow your puppy to have run of the house. Your puppy should be placed in a small area or play yard etc. They will not be able to find their food and water if he goes out exploring a big room or house. Please remember these are very small puppies and even a small room to us is a huge place for them. Make sure your puppy is comfortable and feels safe.
Here are a few playpens that I recommed.
Click Here
Well Baby Check-up: The first thing you should do, if you know the day you are getting your puppy, is to make an appointment with your vet, your vet visit should be within 48 hours of getting home, this way it would be easier to return pup before getting attached to it, if there was something wrong with it, and you needed to take it back. When going to the vet, USE SOME COMMON SENSE. Keep your puppy in a crate or in your lap when visiting the vet's office. Do not let it romp on the floor or furniture and most certainly do not allow it to socialize with other animals that also may be in the office at the same time. Do not let others handle or pet your puppy. Their hands may carry germs that will cause your puppy to become sick. Where do all people take sick dogs? To the vet! Where is the best place to pick up germs or contract disease? Naturally, it's where everyone takes sick dogs. TO THE VET!! Your puppy will already have its first series of puppy shots when you receive it. Make sure that you complete the proper series of puppy shots as this could save your puppies life. However it is vital that you do not overload your little Yorkie's immune system, so no more than the standard vaccinations is required. Make sure that you do not do more than one treatment in a visit. If your puppy needs a worm treatment, give a couple of days after the vaccination was given. The puppy vaccinations that your vet will give puppy, will protect it from catching several different deadly viruses. NOTE: I ALWAYS take a baby blanket with me to put on the examining table to put my yorkie on. I know they suppose to clean the surface before another client comes in, BUT I don't want to rely on others cleaning the way I do and I don't want the chance of my little ones taking some kind of virus home.
Visitors: One of the biggest mistakes people make when they purchase a new puppy is they immediately have to take it visiting to show it off. NOT A GOOD IDEA!! Do not take your puppy out in public or to parks or to visit friends. Take your puppy straight home and try your very best to keep it there until it has adjusted to its new surroundings and it's new "parents" and she/he is completed on all of its vaccinations. Don't do anything that stresses the puppy out like going out shopping for new puppy clothes with puppy. New puppies should not be taken out with you and shown off to allyour friends for at least a month and until they are totally up to date on shots. Theyneed to get to know and trust their new parent and not be upset by strangers wantingto hold or play with him. After the puppy has adjusted to his new home it is time toinvite family and friends to visit, but please make sure no small children hold or left alone with puppy.
Public Places: Make sure to NOT take your new puppy to a Public Park, Petsmart or Petco on a shopping spree. This is one of the worst places to take them when they are young. Make sure your puppy is up to date on their shots before going to a public places such as this. Theses areas are a breeding place for viruses.
Hypoglycemia (Low Blood Sugar)
Stress and Hypoglycemia: Hypoglycemia is a disorder of the central nervous system and is a direct response to the lack of adequate food. Dehydration comes from lack of water. Hypoglycemia can occur without warning when a puppy goes to a new home, misses a meal, or doesn't eat full meals, becomes chilled, overtired, or exhausted from too much handling or playing. It occurs mostly in toy breeds, but it can also occur in the larger breeds as well. Signs to look for are depression, weakness, being wobbly or jerky, the head appears to be tilted to either the left or right side, the neck appears stiff and in a locked position, the body may soon appear the same way, and the teeth may be clamped tightly together. This can lead to convulsions, seizures, or coma which can result in death! Remember, this is only a puppy. Compare it to an infant child, which requires extra care. You would not wake your baby up to show your friends or neighbors, so do not wake your puppy up, as it needs rest too. This is important to your puppy's health.
Treatment: Once a puppy's sugar drops you must ACT FAST! The blood levels of glucose must be restored immediately! Do not hesitate, your puppy's life is at risk. Treatment by oral administration of certain glucose containing electrolyte fluids is very important. I use Nutri-Cal, it gives quick results and gets into bloodstream within seconds. When given, the usual dose is about ¼ cc per ounce of body weight. If you don't have that on hand, you may mix white Karo syrup with water and place on the puppies tongue and in mouth with a dropper or just place some on your finger and rub on the puppies gums. Keep doing this every few minutes. Do not put excessive amounts in the puppy's mouth, as the puppy can choke. If you don't have nutri-cal or karo in hand you can use pancake syrup, honey etc. If the puppy does not improve within 10 minutes, contact your vet immediately! This is not something that can wait until the vet opens the following morning! I always recommend if you ever have any concerns, questions, or worries don't hesitate to call your vet even if the puppy is doing better. Once a puppy's sugar drops, it is much more likely for him/her to have another episode. It can take weeks to build back up afterwards. Make sure your baby is eating and drinking often. The first stages baby food beef, turkey or chicken can be fed.
Prevention: Make sure your puppy eats at regular times to keep his/her sugar up. That is the best way to try to prevent this from happening. Make sure before going to bed at night or leaving them alone for a period of time, your little one has had a meal. Always watch to see that they consume some of their food, just don't assume they did.
TOYS: After all the years of living my life with yorkies, I have found one toy a yorkie can't resist. That is anything that crinkles. I start my infants out on the tiny cat toys that crinkle or make sound. (Some of them may have feathers on them, make sure to take the feathers off or they will try to eat them) These toys help stimulate them to play. I also hang a few safe toys on the inside of their playpen so they wont get board during their time in there.
Now for the teens and older ones, they still love the crinkle toys or baby toys that have the paper crinkle sound. But they need a little more entertainment. This is very important. I call them Boredom Busters. I have complied a list of ones that work the best.
