New Puppy Care
 

Hello! This is my first post, and I am going to apologize in advance for it being long!! ...in preparation for my baby Winnie coming home I have been pouring over information on raising and caring for a Yorkie baby. This is where I have been finding the most helpful information...there are a lot of breeder pages and most of them say something different!! My husband and I are long time pet owners, our husky is 11, our weenie is 10 and our Cassie was 12 when she passed from bone cancer 2 1/2 years ago. Our Cassie (a 3# chihuahua mix) I raised from five weeks. Our husky we have had since she was 12 weeks and our weenie we adopted from a sad situation almost four years ago now....so it has been some time since we have had a puppy!!! I did work as a veterinary technician for 6 years before my children were born, and dealt quite a bit with hypoglycemic kittens and pups. Thank God I never had any issues with Cassie (that was before I knew any better, too early etc!)but reading all this about how to avoid it is scaring the mess out of me!!! We do free feed our dogs now, so thats not an issue. So now...my confusion lies here. Some breeder pages I've visited recommend sprinkling sugar on food and in water, others recommend a twice daily dose nutrical, some say using honey nut cheerios as treats is ok also. Some of them recommend all of those things together. So in short...I'm lost. Our dogs eat Iams. All of them have their whole lives. Our husky turns her nose from blue buffalo....seriously picky. So we stick with that. I just could really use some general "keep this puppy healthy" advice! I have plenty of time since she won't be coming home until August 16th. Thank you in advance for any advice...direction...help!!!

I personally like nutri-cal, because it at least has vitamins/nutrients and not just sugars. I remember Karo syrup being suggested too, but it's plain sugar basically. Sugar alone or sugary human foods I wouldn't do unless you have nothing else and need something. But that's my personal preference. I gave my new yorkie baby, a pea size of nutri-cal about 2-3 times a day for the first couple of days. And lessened it to 1-2 for a day or so more after that and now I just give it to her if I see she's either shaky/nervous or hasn't eaten as much. She's doing great in the short time I have her ^^

I also like nutri-cal twice a day, pea size amount.
My vet said if I'm at a friends house and it is needed, rubbing honey on his gums can be effective.

I to prefer nutrical so that they don't crash later. Welcome to YorkieTalk and the wonderful world of being owned by a Yorkie.

I bought the nutrical and only used it once or twice during the first few days after Pips came home. If they eat regular meals at least three x a day and you leave something in the bowl during the night you should be fine. Limit playtime and allow them to sleep. Mine sleeps most of the time with probably two to three hours playtime total over 24 hr period.

I just brought Sheldon home yesterday, I've been giving him Nutracal right before I feed him. So far, this is working well for us.

I brought my Razzman home at 12wks and almost 2lbs. I never had to give him nutrical, he was a fine eater from the moment he walked into my home and heart:)

So it is great you are preparing yourself, but just have the nutrical on hand (in case it is needed).

I too own large dogs, and I had prepared a couple of safe places for Razz to sleep in, and to play in. I had a doggy play pen, and he slept in his crate beside my bed.

Closely supervise play inter-action with the big ones and your puppy.

Ideally your breeder will send you home with some of the food the puppy is used to eating, then you can gradually change him over to the kibble you want him on.

The library here has wonderfull articles on new puppy care.

It's important to remember that Nutrical isn't a substitute for food for a puppy who isn't eating well. It's fantastic for treating a hypoglycemic emergency, but it always needs to be followed by an easily digestible protein to prevent a rebound hypoglycemic episode.

If possible, keep the puppy on the same food that the breeder had Winnie on, at least for awhile. Moving to a new home is stressful enough without a sudden change in diet. It might be a bit harder for you since you have other dogs in the house, but if you can keep food available to her at all times. When you are ready to make a transition to the food of your choice, do it slowly. Some yorkies can be incredibly picky eaters.

It's great that you are starting your research early. Yorkies are very different in many aspects. I've yet to run across one who didn't think they were a big dog in disguise. Good luck.

Thank you for all your advice! I popped on a couple times yesterday but seemed every time I sat down one of my hairless critters were paging me! This is my list of items: collar/id tag, (I have a leash but never used it on my cassie....I carried her everywhere lol) food/water bowls, comb/brush, shampoo/conditioner & spray, blankets/bed, toys, nutrical, tooth paste/toothbrush, hairbands/bows, nutrical, toy puppy food (dry) & four cans of soft puppy food. The only thing I am recycling is the leash. Everything else is fresh and new....Much to my husbands dismay ;-) any items I need to add to my supply list?

unfortunately...things have not worked out with the puppy....but at least I am prepared when I do finally find my Winnie. :-(

I'm sorry things didn't work out with that pup. Don't worry though, your special baby will find you when the time is right!

Thank you...I know it is for the best. The "breeder" seemed very legit....it actually took me a lot of googling to find out the truth...and when I confronted her, she said she was offended and would be returning my deposit. Frankly, I wouldn't have started googling if she hadn't started acting strange at my request to see a new photo of the puppy. But I'm glad she won't be getting my money. I just wish I could warn the rest of the buyers. Oh well....lesson learned I guess...usually the hard way!!