[SugarMama]

I'm so excited! I've been looking into Yorkies for a little while to try find a good breeder or a rescue. I found my new baby, Sugar, on Petfinder.com's classified ads. She was about 15 minutes away from my house and her owner was looking for a good home for her. She's a single mom w/ a 4 yr old and she's been working long hours so Sugar was in her crate most of the time. I asked all of the q's I could think of and she sounded perfect. We met her & brought her home Friday. She's 3 1/2 and she's adorable. She has a puppy cut & floppy ears. I have 2 daughters, they're 7 & 5. Everyone, including my husband, fell in love w/ her immediately. From the first time she stepped foot in our house she acts like she's always been here. There wasn't any adjustment time for her, she just fit right in. She even lets my girls give her rides in their doll stroller. I'm glad that we decided on a Yorkie and I'm glad that we were able to find one who needed a new home, and she had been well taken care of. I do have a couple of questions thttp://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/modcp/moderate.php?do=posts#hough.
1.) She had a flea bath the night before we brought her home because she had been around some other dogs who were scratching. Now she's scratching & has dandruff - but no fleas in sight, whew! I've read that they need a bath once a week so I'm going to give her a bath soon. Is there any type of shampoo & conditioner that will get rid of her dry skin? She's starting to get a couple of red spots where she's scratched so much.
2.) Her previous owner did not have her on any type of heart worm medicine. She said that she'd heard mixed reviews on whether to put her on any. I've always thought that all dogs need to be on heart worm prevention, is there any reason why Yorkies shouldn't be? She's not due for shots until November, but I'm planning to take her this week for a heartworm check & to get her on Heartgard or some type of heartworm preventative.
3.) She's a cat litter box snacker...gross! Does anyone know of a way to break this habit? I can't think of anywhere to put my cat's litter box where she wouldn't be able to get it. My cat's food & water bowls are now on top of my dryer. I've been trying to keep the door shut so that she can't get into the laundry room where the litter box is located, but I can't always keep it closed or my cat will start having accidents. I've heard before that dogs do this when they're missing certain minerals (or something) in their diets. I'm slowly switching her dog food, she was on Old Roy's kibbles & bits type food. It was full of fillers and coloring. I'm hoping this will help, but if not, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks for all the great info on this site. I've learned so much already!
Mindy