Hello everyone!
New to Yorkie talk and though this is my first post, I have been coming to your site Alot for answers and advice since we brought home our new baby boy Cubby! First, I just wanted to say how helpful you all are and how beneficial this site is!
We bought Cubby @ 3 mths from a breeder that lives 5 or 10 miles from us. We were told that he'd had all of his puppy shots and that the next shot he'd need would be the rabies shot @ around 4 mths and that he was in perfect health. We asked the breeder which vet she had taken Cubby to. She told us and gave her high recommendations, and since Cubby had started with this vet, we decided to continue taking him there since she was familiar with him.
After doing some reading on this site, I have come to realize that I should have taken Cubby to the vet right after getting him, but aside from him being thin, he's perfectly healthy; eating great, going to the bathroom regularly, thriving with us, so we waited and @ 4 mths brought Cubby to the recommended vet for his rabies shot, this was Yesterday. We won't be going back to this vet.
At the vet, the first thing I found out was that Cubby had not had all of his puppy shots, he still needs two distemper/parvo shots along with the rabies shot. The vet and her assistant gave Cubby a distemper/parvo shot yesterday. She stuck him with the needle 3 times before successfully delivering the shot and when he yelped and jumped while being stuck, the vet and the assistant said. "Oh I remember him now, he's the whiner, the crier of the litter." After this, she examined him and while feeling his back legs, she says, "Oh, he's the one with the knees." Then she tells me that Cubby has floating knees, that she can push them out in either direction but they go back in place right away on their own, and that he's only a 1 or a 2 on the scale, and that if we help him to gain some muscle in his legs, it will help. Next, we talk about him being thin. I tell her that I am feeding Cubby Innova puppy food and supplementing his diet with fruits and vegetables and giving him only natural treats and ask her for advice on helping him to gain weight. Immediately she says that she's never heard of Innova. I tell her that it is one of the best foods available and she says, "they all say that, but they are not, you need to get him on a better food that will put some weight on him," and she starts raving about Eukanuba Small Breed puppy food.
Next I tell her that I've noticed that Cubby's skin seems dry and flaky and that he scratches alot, that I know he has no fleas, that I use Coat Handler products on him and ask if there is anything I can supplement him with that will help with dry skin. I got no answer except for her to push the Eukanuba on me again because it will help his skin too. Then I asked what product I could buy that would not only clean his ears but dry them out after a bath, and again I got no answer. I was told to come back in 3 wks for him to get the other distemper/parvo shot and the rabies shot @ the same time, and am unsure whether getting all of these shots @ one time is safe.
I'm a little upset with the breeder for being told that Cubby was up to date on his shots, and alot upset with the breeder for not being told about his knee problem. (With the way the vet said, "oh, the one with the knees," I'm sure the knee problem was mentioned to the breeder when Cubby was there with her.)
As for the vet, I didn't like the comment that was made about Cubby being a crier while she was sticking him three times with a needle, none of my questions were answered, and I was made to feel like a bad mother for feeding Cubby Innova instead of Eukanuba. Cubby will be going to a new vet from now on.
In the meantime, I was hoping all of you could help me get the answers that the vet did not give me.
1. Should I switch his food to Eukanuba Small breed puppy instead of Innova? The vet gave me a sample and he does chow it down, but I can't help but think that though I'd rather eat a cheeseburger than certain kinds of fish, a diet of just cheeseburgers is not very healthy even though it would put the weight on.
2. If I keep Cubby on Innova, how can I help him to gain weight in a healthy way? What vitamins, supplements, foods?
3. What can I do to get rid of his dry skin? Supplements, vitamins, Shampoos?
4. What is a good product to both clean his ears and dry them out after a bath?
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!
Tina