Taking care of yorkies as they age...advice?
 

My yorkie is only 4.5 years old, which isn't old by any means, but not young either. Is there anything (beyond yearly exams, shots, etc.) I should be doing to be proactive about his health right now? I guess I'm being a little paranoid, but I want my baby with me as long as possible ;-) :aimeeyork

Yorkies can live up to 15 years and I know of one that is 19 so you have a long ways to go with your little one.

Just make sure you take care of their teeth and feed them top quality food and give them lots of love.:)

Thanks! I need to have his teeth cleaned again, it's just so expensive and I'm fresh out of grad school with tons of loans to pay off, but I want him to live a long time, so I will do what is necessary! What food would you recommend?

Hi, if you do not already, start brushing your baby's teeth. It will help you to avoid putting the dog under anesthesia. One of my dog's has not yet required a dental - his teeth are spotless. The other adult dog needed a professional dental cleaning for the first time at age 7.5 and that was only because one of her teeth broke so they had to pull it and I figured I'd have it done while she was under anesthesia. All I have ever done since they were puppies is feed them high quality food (mostly home cooked although currently they eat 50% of commercial food), brush their teeth a couple of times a week, and scale the teeth with a dental tool every couple of months if I see any build up on the teeth which I never really do.

As for aging dogs -- my two almost-nine-year-old yorkies act like puppies! They have not shown any signs of aging - if you look at my albums, there is a photo of my 8 month old puppy sitting with the two 9 year olds and they all look the same.

If you are looking for a good quality (but expensive) commercial dog food, I use Merrick canned. In the past, I have used Wellness Superfive Mix chicken (now available at Petco and less expensive than Merrick). There are a lot of good quality commercial foods....you should look for one that does not have by products and one that contains human grade ingredients.

I'm no expert but if your dog is healthy (no diagnosed medical issues where a restrictive or prescription diet has been ordered), then I suggest adding fresh vegetables and a couple of teaspoons of plain organic yogurt to your commercial diet. If your dog is not used to vegetables, start by lightly steaming them to avoid digestive upset.

Hope this helps.... :)