Feeding:
It is best to feed your puppy the food your breeder recommends for at least two weeks. If you want to feed your puppy a higher grade or natural grade of dog food start by mixing the new dog food with the present dog food at a 3 to 1 ratio for 5 days. Then mix the dog foods at a 1 to 1 ratio for another 5 days. Next mix the dog foods at a 1 to 3 ratio and feed for 5 days. Now you can feed your puppy the new dog food without mixing in the old dog food.Small puppies should eat 3-4 times per day. (We free feed our puppies.) If you have difficulty with your baby not eating add a bit of warm water. At 12-24 months change to an adult dog food. Keep treats and people food to a minimum. Keep fresh food and water out at all times (at least until the puppy is 1 year old). If your puppy gets a bit stressed add a tsp of honey to fresh drinking water, Nutri-Stat, or Pedialyte.
Napping: Yes, taking a nap is just as important, if not more important for a tiny puppy as it is for children. The size the puppy is one of the factors that determine how often the puppy needs to rest. The naps help the puppy build back its reserve.
Bathing: It is necessary to bathe your puppy anywhere from once a week to once a month. The environment, type of haircut, and quality of coat all affect how often your new puppy needs to take a bath. Any good shampoo and conditioner will do. While the yorkie/long coat chihuahua is still wet we recommend that his/her coat be combed with any good quality comb. Once their hair has been combed use a blow dryer to dry their hair.
Grooming: Daily brushing is recommended to maintain the coat and keep it mat free. (Only for Yorkies. Long Coat Chihuahuas will need this much less often.) When brushing, never brush a dry coat, spray your brush with mixture of water and conditioner then brush him/her. Brushing will keep the hair clean, except on the side of the body where urine collects on a male. Wash this area daily with a damp cloth and warm water. Wash mucus from the corners of the dog's eyes, daily if needed, with a cloth or wad of cotton soaked in warm water. Mucus will rot your pet's hair if it's not removed. Dry your puppy off carefully. Take special care to keep the hair around the puppy's bottom clean. It is common for this hair to become matted with feces. Hair on his feet will need trimming occasionally.
Clipping nails: We use a standard or baby nail clipper (for people). Clip them at the hook,no further. Dog nail clippers may be needed as they age.
Ears: Keep the hair on the top third of the earflaps trimmed very short. This way, excessive hair won't weigh down the ears before they are firmly "set," at around six months of age. If they droop the puppy’s ears need to be taped. If you take your puppy to be groomed, request the ears be shaved 1/3 down from the tip in an inverted v shape front and back, too much hair weights it causing an unnatural droop. Get your dog's ears checked regularly for excessive wax and mites, and ask your vet to pluck the hair from inside his ears.
Teeth: Use a tooth brush and paste made for dogs available at all pet stores. Sometimes baby teeth need to be removed. We recommend to wait until the yorkie is at least 1 ½ years old before removing any baby teeth, unless the baby teeth are creating problems in which case we recommend the teeth be pulled upon you vets recommendation.
