Summer Health Care Tips
 

Hi! I'm Tom Becker and have bred Yorkies exclusively for over 35 years.
A couple of ideas that keep your dog healthy in the summer
1) Keep liquid Benadryl on hand in case your Yorkie
finds bees, especially some that nest in the ground. Typically
give a teaspoon or so depending on size and rush to a Veterinarian
To make sure all is OK. A 3 cc syringe without the needle works great to squirt it
in.
2) Know the phone numbers, hours and print the direction of the local
Veterinary office for any emergency. Minutes can make a difference.
Have a traveling crate, towel and a roll or two of that
flexible sticky rubbery gauze tape in case you have to quickly bandage
or immobilize a leg,etc
3) Google and print an article about heat stroke and the dos and don't s.
Make sure family members are aware as they are small dark dogs and the ones
with smaller "noses" are more prone. It can be tricky but doing the right thing
can save your dogs life as you go to the Vet and doing the wrong well
intentioned thing can make matters worse. Ice, cool water and wet towels are
helpful at some times and harmful and lethal at other times.
4) Get several good clear pictures in case your dog is lost or stolen. Take a Qtip
and store a saliva sample in a ziplock bag and take a hair sample stored on another as further proof of ownership ( possibly later gene testing)
5) Never be in an open area without a leash and harness. It can be a long one
but the instinct to run and chase a squirrel, rabbit or something else has tragically ended many Yorkies lives.
6) For the same reason Hawks and other birds quickly
can scoop up your precious one. It isn't worth it.
7) Sunshine and fresh air are great but not too much at one time.
Asphalt can be so hot on their feet - even grass gets hot. Always have fresh
water available. Mine show special interest when ice cubes are added. Always
keep some unflavored pedialyte in the refrigerator - helpful if they get the runs, etc
8)Always give your dog a probiotic 1x a month. A teaspoon of yogurt
with live cultures is enough to help compensate for the antibiotics that end up
in dog foods from the animals it's made of.
9) I avoid ALL tartar control chew products, as many contain silica
which is a sand like product. It may be great for their teeth but
cause havoc on their stomachs and intestines.
10) Be familiar from the web on which foods are not good for dogs besides the
ones most know - chocolate,grapes, raisins, onions and poisonous plants,
The ASPCA has a decent handout on their site that mentions things like that as
well as anti-freeze, electric cords and other hazards.

They are so precious and special. As their owners we owe it to them
to protect them and keep them out of harm. Feel free to add your hints, I am
always learning!

Best, Tom

:goodpost:

As a fairly new yorkie-mama, thank you for this information! Great advice for things to have on hand :)

Thank you for this information

Thanks for the info. Very informative

Thank you for the information, Tom. It's always nice to have an expert here when I'm still an amateur with my pup, lol. I didn't even think of the Benadryl tip for bees. I can only seem to find the children's version of Benadryl in liquid form though, and I know that stuff is likely filled with tons and tons of sugar to get kids to take it. Is that ok too, and if so, how much should be used?

Children's liquid benadryl is perfectly ok, they actually like the taste of it and will even want to lick the syringe afterwards. The formula for figuring out the dosage for Childrens Liquid Benedry is:

Your dogs body weight times 5 divided by 12.5 = dose in cc/ml

To figure out your dogs body weight you have to convert ounces to pounds...

EX: a dog that weighs 4 pounds 10 ounces would weigh 4.625 pounds

you must take the 10 ounces and divide by 16 then add the 4 pounds...
10 divided by 16 = .625 + 4 =4.625

4.625 X 5 divided by 12.5 =1.85 cc/ml

It's good for bites, stings, give it before you go to the vet for vaccines to decrease the chance of reactions to shots too. I have 2 bottles in my doggy emergency aid kit and plenty of syringes.

Good evening Tom,

I'm too tired to read your post atm. I just have one question, can your recommendations also be applied to shih tzus?

Thanks.
Starlette

Hi and Welcome to YT! And Congratulations on finally making your 1st post! Great info and thanks for the reminders!

What type of probiotic do you recommend?

When I'm rested again, I have a recommendation that will greatly assist your post for identification #2 and #4.

Starlette

Thanks for the info, Carmeow! So you give it before any vaccine?

Fortunately Cookie didn't look like she had any adverse reaction to her rabies vaccine at the beginning of the month, nor from her distemper/adenovirus/parainfluenza/parovirus shot last week either.