The do's and do not's:
Diet:
Most of the puppies will consume their dry pellets. If not, you may add some lukewarm water to soak the pellets a bit. At first keep pellets readily available, so the puppy can eat whenever he/she wants to.
If the puppy loses appetite and refuses to eat, please contact me.
Other health related information:
At 4-5 months of age your puppy will change its teeth. It will lose its baby teeth, but for an interim period it may have a double row of teeth. A vet should take out the baby fangs it they have not fallen out by one year of age. Deworm your puppy regularly every three months for tape and roundworms. Keep your puppy free of fleas and ticks by using Frontline spray – parasites can cause skin problems. Should your puppy get dandruff, use Sebaderm dog shampoo until the condition has cleared up. Inoculate your Yorkie once a year. Yorkies are extremely sensitive to anaesthetic! Make sure your vet is aware of this – use only Isuflarane (No barbiturates)
The DO NOT’S of puppy care:
Do not give the puppy milk to drink.
Do not give the puppy small bones.
Do not offer the puppy small chunks of meat, Pronutro or chicken liver.
Do not let small children play with or carry the puppy.
Do not allow visitors to sit with the puppy on their laps.
Do not leave the puppy unattended on a bed, couch or chair.
Do not let the puppy go near a swimming pool / fish pond unattended.
Do not let the puppy come into contact with other people’s dogs or allow it to visit public places before it has reached full immunity 4 Months).
Do not let the puppy jump from high places or allow the puppy to use the stairs regularly, because this may damage the joints of the growing puppy.
The DO’S of puppy care:
Do let the puppy have access to fresh drinking water at all times.
Do snip the hair short under the tail.
Do let the puppy have “chew-sticks” to chew on (available at pet shops)
Do keep the puppy in an enclosed area at first to avoid over exertion.
Hypoglycaemia (Low blood sugar):
In case of a hypoglycaemia attack, the puppy will appear limp and lifeless, with the gums and tongue greyish blue in colour. The eyes will be unfocused and barely open. They may appear to be slightly sunken in. The puppy will be shivering and trembling in the early stages. As the condition worsens the puppy either goes into a coma or gets convulsions. Hypoglycaemia is a metabolic disorder and will result in death if it is not diagnosed and cared for immediately.
It is sometimes difficult to diagnose low blood sugar. Usually the puppy is comatose when bought to a vet and since the puppy usually responds immediately to intravenous or subcutaneous dextrose injections, the problem is often diagnosed as acute viral hepatitis or encephalitis. The reaction is the same in all of these cases. However, in a young puppy, this condition is usually low blood sugar, brought on by stress or shock of some kind. Also, it usually occurs from 4 to 5 months of age, but can also occur in adult dogs due to stress.
The stress usually causing this is:
- Over handling puppies. They need to get enough rest.
- A puppy refuses to eat for over a period of 8 hours due to the change of home and/or food.
- Exposure to low room temperatures for a period of time or sleeping in draughts.
Exceptionally small puppies (all pocket size yorkies and some miniatures) are particularly susceptible to low blood sugar and only if this condition has been diagnosed, the puppy should be given the following solution with a syringe per mouth:
¼ Teaspoon glucose powder or normal sugar
2 Teaspoons warm water
Feed this to the puppy through the mouth slowly. If this does not help, put the glucose powder directly on the tongue of the puppy a few times and wait for 2 minutes. It is extremely important to act fast when low blood sugar is suspected. Remember to keep the puppy warm (a warm water bottle works well) please cover the warm bottle with a towel so thatthe puppy does not burn.
If there is an improvement the puppy should be watched closely and the cause of the low blood sugar identified. If there is no improvement after 2 minutes, take the puppy to the vet and treat the case as an emergency.
General:
From now on it will be your pleasure and responsibility to give the puppy the loving care it has received here. However, please feel free to phone at any time if you do need advice.
