Itching and hardly eatting
 

I am now the proud owner of both my little girls who i got for free. The smallest one, I do believe is a runt. She is very skinny and is not showing hardly any interest in her food. Her hair is somewhat thin and both her and her sister is keeping me up all night with constant scratching and chewing. I need to know the best shampoo, conditioner and food to give them, since i am new to the breed and want to be a great mom to them. please someone help!!!!!!:confused:

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. How old are your little ones? How did you become an owner to these two little sweeties? What food are they on now?

Since you are a new member not sure if you know how to maneuver around the Yorkie Talk Forum. If you hit the tab "Forums" on top of the home page and then go into the category "General Discussion"....there are stickies on top about new puppy ownership and maybe answers to other questions you may have.

i got them from a friend who took them in because her son was moving out of state and was going to take them to humane society. right now i have them eatting kibbles and bits. When i first got them they were dirty and i bathed them with Seargants oatmeal shampoo. after that they started itching and chewing. also have like this orangish dirty film around private area and inner back legs. is this something that will go away with good shampoo? I have been doing yorkie 101 online, but not sure what is the truth and what is not.

The first thing I would do is take them to a vet to get checked out and make sure they are worm and parasite free. Ask the vet to look at the orangish film around the private area too. How old are they? You can find a better food other than Kibbles and Bits that isn't that expensive at PetSmart or PetCo. Do you have either store near you? I'm sure someone with more experience will come along and offer their advice but first they should get to a vet. Thank you for taking them in instead of making them go to the shelter.

Girls
 

Good that you are taking care of these babies.
Sometimes dogs can be allergic to oatmeal!! I know it sounds silly as oatmeal shampoos are said the help allergies!!
It could be some kind of infection or fungus on the skin, so I would suggest a vet visit to check the babies out. Also Kibbles and Bits is not a very good food.
Please let us know what the vet says and how your girls are doing.

Poor girls :-( glad you have them now....I agree that they should have a vet visit as soon as you can. If you have no shot records for them most vets will just treat them as its their first shots. There you can get them heartworm tested and started on flea/heartworm prevention. If they are not interested in eating what they were on previously it's a great time to try something new. There are a LOT OF FOOD CHOICES! A couple that I have personally fed and had good results are Natures Variety (recommended here) which is available at Pet Smart, and currently all of our pets are eating 4 health which is available at tractor supply. Many different varieties, grain free available and affordable. Please keep us posted on your new pups....and I hope they get a clean bill of health and show just to need some TLC!

Have I missed how old these babies are? I have reread several times but I have not seen how old they are....

Vet visit is FIRST order of business.
MUST HAVE a book called "Yorkies for Dummies"...chocked full of super information covering all areas of concern, and you really do need to be reading this book!
I would just use a gentle baby shampoo for these little kiddos...you dont know why they are itching and specific shampoos with things that sound wonderful, may compound your problems.
Be sure your vet checks for worms....these babies sound like they came from "iffy" situations, at best. Worms can kill a puppy......
Depending on how old these babies are, will determine what food (age specialized)you need to be looking at....if you have puppies under 8 months old, they need puppy food.....organs are developing, brains are developing,, joints and bones are solidifying, and puppy formulas are specifically designed to meet requirements for that development.

Vet visit is your first order of business! Start reading that book so you have a guideline to follow....you need all the best, qualified information you can get your hands on....

Keep us updated on your babies development! Congratulations on taking on this busy, busy, heart warming endeavor!!

The babies are 3 y/o

Hi and welcome to YT :). Congrats on your new little ones!

Okay...on the skin issues - you do need to get to the vet ASAP bc something is definitely going on here if both of them are itching at the same time this badly -- this could be mange/mites and if it's that, it needs to be addressed ASAP before any skin damage occurs, which can then result in permanent fur loss.

Also, the lack of appetite and skinniness is a concern. Dogs lose their appetite when something is wrong. Granted, there are finicky eaters out there, but most dogs love to eat and only get inappetance when something is truly wrong and they're not feeling well.

Toss the oatmeal shampoo - it's a total myth that oatmeal shampoo is good for the skin; it can actually make it worse.

Get something like this: Amazon

Now what
 

Seriously, these dogs *truly* need to be seen by a vet - they are clearly in rough shape and you NEED an actual diagnosis. We can't diagnose types of worms on the internet. Take a picture of the worm w/ your phone and show it to your vet.

What shampoo did you get? What food?

:thumbup::thumbup:

They need to see the vet ASAP for their health and safety, and yours. So many parasites can be passed to humans. Small problems can become big problems. Also need to rule out heartworm.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Please, vet these dogs ASAP!! You are contaminating your yard and house with fleas and worms and God only knows what else these unfortunate babies are shedding off themselves! These are all issues you are going to have to address immediately, before you loose control of the situation and your property is flea infested/worm infested! Some of those over the counter flea shampoos make Yorkies very sick...please vet these babies and get proper medication for them to get a handle on your flea issue, before your entire home is infested with fleas!!!! These babies sound like they came from horrible conditions and you are wonderful for taking them in, but you are going to very soon see a "FREE YORKIE" is NOT usually a blessing!! You are going to have to get those pups treated by a vet, bottom line! Do not buy more than one month prevention of heartworm meds from the vet, as they will charge you a fortune for it. I will send you information on Heartworm med and flea med, but you MUST get the initial issue under control ASAP. Once they are vetted correctly, you can maintain monthly treatment for heartworm and fleas much less expensive, with Ivermectin and Frontline ....I will send that to you, but you must get these babies vetted first....they must be checked to see if they have already developed heartworms...all different ball game then. Get these fleas under control, get the worms under control....you "lucked out" and got two yorkies cheap....NOW the money hemorrhage begins! Remembering you usually get what you pay for, "FREE" most often means big bucks getting everything that is wrong, fixed. I can help you with information to get heartworm and flea preventative that is great, that your vet is going to charge you an arm and leg for, very, very cheaply....but they must be vetted first to get them turned around....and you can not give heartworm meds to dogs that are already infected with heartworms, without treatment....these dogs need to be vetted ASAP!!!

These are tapeworms....honestly like everyone else said....the best thing you can do for these girls is take them to a vet. They need to have a health exam, heartworm test, dewormed properly and have vaccines if everything checks out. Please please please take them to see a vet....

I agree with all above members, you cannot buy over the counter de-wormer, a vet must determine what kind of worms they are and treat accordingly. You MUST get these babies to a vet, take a fresh stool sample, place each dogs stool in aluminum foil and put their name on the stool sample foil. The vet will test the stool of each dog, there are parasites that cannot be seen by the naked eye, a micro-scope is needed. As yorkiemom1 (Judy) stated you are infecting your yard if that is where your dogs pee and poop, if they are leash walked then any dog that sniffs the pooped area can get infected also. You took these babies to give them a better life, some times they need more then just LOVE, they need medical attention NOW . PLEASE for the sake of these precious babies do not put off taking both of them to the vet.

wow after just reading this thread I will not be coming back here, especially yorkiemom1 post. Anytime I have posted here I get rude comments just from asking questions. Trying to come here for educated owners may as well spend the money going to the vet first instead of seeking suggestions here

Wow just wow, I see nothing rude in this thread. There are NO VETS on YT, ppl ask advise they get advise, suggestions, best thing to do is take to a vet where what ever is wrong with the dog will be seen with human eyes, not internet guessing. Yorkiemom1 gives the best advise, what's best for the dog, VET care. Anyone that is looking to save money by bypassing a vet and thinks they can get a free remedy on YT are very wrong when it comes to medical issues. If you leave YT it's your and your dogs lost.

When I went to the Vet yesterday for a wellness check my vet also saw grayish bumps on Boomer's lower abdomen and thighs. He said it may be an allergy and just keep an eye on it. He also suggested rinsing him daily with lukewarm water to help rinse out the allergy.

I will bring him back if I see it getting worse or him itching more. Right now I dont see him itching anymore than his brother.