Yorkie Health

[Geo39]

We're about to become owners of a very healthy and robust 14 week old male Yorkie, part of a litter of four siblings, born to well-documented parents in a private home. The mother is our son's Yorkie and both she and her litter have received excellent care via his local veterinarian (---in Puerto Rico.) I have every reason to believe that this little guy, who will probably top out around 3 pounds, will continue to be healthy. He has an appointment with our local vet for a general check-up the day after we return home to Maine. That said, it's still somewhat frightening to read about the health problems that can befall Yorkies, and the extremely high cost of resolving serious issues. We are retired and living on a fixed income. We certainly have the resources to insure that our Yorkie receives the best of preventive care - but I'm not certain what we would do if faced with a catastropic event? I know that the issues brought up on Yorkie Talk are not statistically representative of the breed (i.e. - healthy Yorkies don't have "issues" ---) but what is the consensus of opinion about the general health and wellness of the average Yorkie - and especially the smaller ones?

[charley11]

Do not over vaccinate. Too many vaccines cause many health problems.

I attached some links.

http://www.dogs4dogs.com/blog/2009/09/30/vaccinating-small-dogs-risks-vets-arent-revealing/


Catherine O’Driscoll | Purdue Vaccine Study

[Geo39]

Thanks for the response. I'll certainly go over the vaccination information with my vet and, in fact, it'll help me to determine whether or not he's the vet I want to stay with - or if I should look for someone else. I definitely shop doctors like I was buying a new car!!! When we had to find a new family doctor recently I requested an "interview" with the doctor we were interested in. He later stated that it was one of the few times he had ever been interviewed by a prospective patient! Unbelievable!

[chachi]

Common health problems for yorkies are liver shunts. luxating patellas and pancreatus. I have 2 though and neither have had any of these problems and they are six. These are just health problems that can occur in small breeds

[ladyjane]

I don't understand. You say this is a healthy and robust puppy and then say he is going to top out at 3 pounds? Honestly, breeding small pups is asking for high veterinary bills imo.

As for high vet bills, anyone who is interested in a yorkie needs to definitely consider what they would do if the pup fractured a leg and needed surgery ... or ended up having a liver shunt (which can happen) and needed surgery. Other things that can crop up are pancreatitis...that can land a pup in the hospital for a few days...eye problems. Oh, the list goes on and on. I strongly suggest that you think about setting aside a fund or getting a credit card just in case. It is heartbreaking for a pup to have to be rehomed because the owner cannot afford the veterinary care. And, trust me, it is a common occurrence in this breed.

Another thing: they need dentals often every year. Sometimes you can get lucky and not need them (doubtful you will skip any with a 3 pound yorkie); but I just had to do every one of my pups this year. I had four wellness exams this past week and three dentals and the bill was $1391. So....right around 300 - 400 for each pup's yearly exam and testing and also dental. If you don't do them, you are bound to have problems down the road with your pup's health...kidney failure...cardiac problems. And, those things are costly and also shorten your pup's life. Very sad when I see this happen to pups.

Hope this helps a bit.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by chachi

Common health problems for yorkies are liver shunts. luxating patellas and pancreatus. I have 2 though and neither have had any of these problems and they are six. These are just health problems that can occur in small breeds

Oh gosh...forgot about luxating patellas..not sure HOW. hahah! Yes, they are also a problem...what is worse is the torn ligaments. Often you can get away without surgery on LP, but once that ligament tears, surgery must be done.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Geo39

We're about to become owners of a very healthy and robust 14 week old male Yorkie, part of a litter of four siblings, born to well-documented parents in a private home. The mother is our son's Yorkie and both she and her litter have received excellent care via his local veterinarian (---in Puerto Rico.) I have every reason to believe that this little guy, who will probably top out around 3 pounds, will continue to be healthy. He has an appointment with our local vet for a general check-up the day after we return home to Maine. That said, it's still somewhat frightening to read about the health problems that can befall Yorkies, and the extremely high cost of resolving serious issues. We are retired and living on a fixed income. We certainly have the resources to insure that our Yorkie receives the best of preventive care - but I'm not certain what we would do if faced with a catastropic event? I know that the issues brought up on Yorkie Talk are not statistically representative of the breed (i.e. - healthy Yorkies don't have "issues" ---) but what is the consensus of opinion about the general health and wellness of the average Yorkie - and especially the smaller ones?

But.....many of the issues sadly are representative of the breed these days. Unless there has been genetic testing of the parents and the grandparents of this puppy, you really have no idea that he is coming from a great line health wise.

As for a healthy yorkie not having issues, not so. A healthy yorkie can jump off of a sofa and end up with a fractured leg or a torn ligament. You are looking at surgery with plates and screws. The other thing is that you must spend money to keep a yorkie healthy as mentioned in my previous post. Ignoring periodontal disease is deadly to their organs. I see a LOT of people take that short cut and not spend money on dentals and a LOT of yorkies sick and dying early because of it. It is a huge problem.

[Geo39]

Ladyjane:

I said that I was retired and living on a fixed income - not "destitute." Our Yorkie will definiitely be well cared for. As for final weight, I could be way off. There was no attempt to downsize the offspring and in fact, the male Yorkie was reasonably larger than the female. If your comments are echoed by many other responses I will probably suggest that my son find a very wealthy purchaser for the Yorkie. I do, however, appreciate your comments.

[AlicetheYorkie]

Hi and welcome
I think this is a concern and issue to think about with ANY breed of dog, even a "mut". The common problems associated with Yorkies has already been mentioned, but every breed has it's "issues".
The best thing you can do for ANY dog is prevetative care and a great diet. You want to start researching high quality foods now so you know what you'll start with (unless the breeder has a recomendation, but I've heard some supposable "good breeders" recommend some rediculous things).
As with any animal or human for that matter, good health comes down to taking care of yourself. "You are what you eat" really is true.
Other than a holistic food, a great vet who doesn't overvaccinate and proactive care (ie. wellness exams and not allowing things like crazy jumping) it's comes down to breeding and the rest is chance.
What I did after I had to unexpectedly dish out $450 for my cat to have emergency surgery 4 weeks before my wedding, I started a "pet savings account". I started out by putting $100 in there and I add between $5 - $30 each week to it. It's small so far, but we don't miss that little bit each week, it gains interest and I know it's there if we have an emergency. There's also the option of pet health insurance (alot of people here like Trupanion insurance) if you can spare about $30 or so a month for the premium (I personaly prefer the saving account, but it's a personal choice).
Bottom line, with any pet there's the possibility of having an unforseen expensive problem and the only way to possibly avoid breed specific health concerns is to adopt a mixed breed, but that's of course not a guarantee either.
You don't have to be rich to own a dog, but you do have to be prepared

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by AlicetheYorkie

Hi and welcome
I think this is a concern and issue to think about with ANY breed of dog, even a "mut". The common problems associated with Yorkies has already been mentioned, but every breed has it's "issues".
The best thing you can do for ANY dog is prevetative care and a great diet. You want to start researching high quality foods now so you know what you'll start with (unless the breeder has a recomendation, but I've heard some supposable "good breeders" recommend some rediculous things).
As with any animal or human for that matter, good health comes down to taking care of yourself. "You are what you eat" really is true.
Other than a holistic food, a great vet who doesn't overvaccinate and proactive care (ie. wellness exams and not allowing things like crazy jumping) it's comes down to breeding and the rest is chance.
What I did after I had to unexpectedly dish out $450 for my cat to have emergency surgery 4 weeks before my wedding, I started a "pet savings account". I started out by putting $100 in there and I add between $5 - $30 each week to it. It's small so far, but we don't miss that little bit each week, it gains interest and I know it's there if we have an emergency. There's also the option of pet health insurance (alot of people here like Trupanion insurance) if you can spare about $30 or so a month for the premium (I personaly prefer the saving account, but it's a personal choice).
Bottom line, with any pet there's the possibility of having an unforseen expensive problem and the only way to possibly avoid breed specific health concerns is to adopt a mixed breed, but that's of course not a guarantee either.
You don't have to be rich to own a dog, but you do have to be prepared

[BonBon]

Welcome to YT.

Since you mentioned that you're on a fixed income, have you considered looking in to pet insurance to cover major medical expenses that might develop? I have pet insurance on my little guys and after much research I recommend one of these three companies:

Trupanion
Embrace
PetPlan

[Geo39]

Ladyjane:

One further comment. My saying "---healthy Yorkies don't have 'issues'---" was with respect to the fact that people are generally looking for help when they write in to YorkieTalk (---just like me) and therefore, a distorted picture is presented when you consider the Yorkie populace in general. Nobody writes in to say how healthy their Yorkie is today!!!

[gemy]

Originally Posted by Geo39

We're about to become owners of a very healthy and robust 14 week old male Yorkie, part of a litter of four siblings, born to well-documented parents in a private home. The mother is our son's Yorkie and both she and her litter have received excellent care via his local veterinarian (---in Puerto Rico.) I have every reason to believe that this little guy, who will probably top out around 3 pounds, will continue to be healthy. He has an appointment with our local vet for a general check-up the day after we return home to Maine. That said, it's still somewhat frightening to read about the health problems that can befall Yorkies, and the extremely high cost of resolving serious issues. We are retired and living on a fixed income. We certainly have the resources to insure that our Yorkie receives the best of preventive care - but I'm not certain what we would do if faced with a catastropic event? I know that the issues brought up on Yorkie Talk are not statistically representative of the breed (i.e. - healthy Yorkies don't have "issues" ---) but what is the consensus of opinion about the general health and wellness of the average Yorkie - and especially the smaller ones?

Look at Pet Insurance, there are several threads about Pet Insurance, and some will even cover genetic problems. Get it immediately in place. Also above n beyond that, you can start a separate savings acct for your Yorkie, and start to put aside monthly into it.

Three pounds is a tiny Yorkie, and statistically they are probably more prone to health problems than Yorkies closer to the 5-7 lb range.

Whilst true that we here on YT, have a lot of posts on the sick and emergency about health issues, it is also true, when you google yorkies and health problems this site crops up again and again. So perhaps disproportionately Yorkies might appear unhealthier than they actually are.

But I do agree with LadyJane this breed does have it's share of health concerns.

Your pup should be tested at 16wks old Bats. Bile acid test which may indicate a problem with the liver. Also both of his parents should have been tested and been within normal range, prior to breeding. As well as a few other tests, many threads in the breeders section that you can look up, or you can go to the YT library and read the article on How to find a reputable breeder.

The other thing is hypoglycemia, and your pup must be fairly light if he is only tracking to 3lbs fully grown. So you need to read up on this, prior to travelling on the flight with him, and insure you recognized hypoglycemia and are prepared to deal with it in flight.

With the wee ones, you will need to consider getting ramps and training the pups to use the ramp, making sure they don't jump off of furniture. Risk of fracture, sprains n strains. Also dependent on structure(eg; short legs, versus long legs) your pup may not be able to climb and descend stairs too well.

Dentals I've not had to do on my 2.5 yr old Yorkie (yet), but I brush regularly, he has tartar fighter food, and also an additive in his water to help with tartar. As well he is a very well behaved dog for grooming, so his breeder or I can remove plaque buildup. In fact we have a training/grooming session set up this wkend to do just that, he has 2 back molars that have a bit of tartar build up on them.

For regular preventative including dentals, I would think that about $400 plus the cost of heartworm preventatives and flea and tick would be a good ball park number.

Grooming is something you can learn to do yourself, and if you start them young, it can be a very pleasant bonding time for you both.

Lastly you are receiving a pup from your son, if your pup ends up with health problems will your son cover the health costs? In other words what kind of health guarantee is he offering? You might want to have this discussion if you haven't already, prior to leaving with this pup.



Good luck with your decision.

[Geo39]

Originally Posted by BonBon

Welcome to YT.

Since you mentioned that you're on a fixed income, have you considered looking in to pet insurance to cover major medical expenses that might develop? I have pet insurance on my little guys and after much research I recommend one of these three companies:

Trupanion
Embrace
PetPlan

I think that's a great idea. I can more than cover average expenses - but it is indeed the major medical issues that can break you! Right now my wife and I have a supplemental health insurance policy for ourselves with a very high deductible. I wasn't aware that the health insurance plans for pets had come of age.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Geo39

Ladyjane:

One further comment. My saying "---healthy Yorkies don't have 'issues'---" was with respect to the fact that people are generally looking for help when they write in to YorkieTalk (---just like me) and therefore, a distorted picture is presented when you consider the Yorkie populace in general. Nobody writes in to say how healthy their Yorkie is today!!!

You are correct about that...at least in the Sick and Injured part of YT. In other areas of YT you do see healthy pups.

There are a couple of members who believe that some of the neurological problems that are seen here are common in yorkies. That is not actually true, but I suppose they feel that way because they see it here in this forum.

But...with that being said, luxating patella IS common in yorkies! And it can be costly to repair. And..injuries can and do happen sometimes. I had a yorkie years ago fall and end up with cervical disc surgery as he was unable to walk. He was fine after $4,000...and that was in 2004. No matter how careful a person is, things can happen. I am fortunate presently and do have healthy yorkies that I personally own (interestingly they were all rescues and i have no idea of their history); but their vetting also has not been inexpensive. I am a firm believer in preventative care...yearly lab testing and dentals as needed.