Yorkie Health Tip: Care of the Yorkshire Terrier's Teeth

If you have this small breed dog, it's very important to be watchful of their teeth. Yorkies tend to get gum disease and they also develop plaque on their teeth quite easily.

In order for Yorkies to stay healthy you will need to keep a close watch on their dental health. If you don't attend to this, your Yorkie could develop other health problems such as tooth loss, and other serious disease such as heart and kidney disease.

When you bring your puppy home, they will have sharp little puppy teeth. Yorkies begin to lose their puppy teeth sometime between 5 to 7 months of age. Sometimes their adult teeth come in and the baby teeth don't fall out. Occasionally, these baby teeth will need to be surgically removed. When I took my Yorkie in for a consult before spaying, I asked the vet about a couple of her teeth. All of her adult teeth had come in, but there were about three or four baby teeth that still remained.

The vet had determined that only one of my Yorkie's baby teeth needed to be surgically removed. During her surgery for spaying the vet removed one of the baby teeth. The others fell out on their own. If you are concerned about any of the baby teeth and are going to have your dog spayed/neutered, this is a good time to make the decision on removal. That way you will eliminate the necessity for placing your Yorkie under anesthetic twice, and you will save a little money. Many Yorkshire Terriers are sensitive to anesthesia. Avoiding situations where your dog would need to be under anesthesia is desirable.

Brushing your Yorkshire Terrier's teeth is essential. You won't have to brush them every day, but you should consider it at least twice a week. Yorkies tend to accumulate tarter on their teeth rather quickly. Diet plays a big part in how quickly tarter accumulates. Feeding your Yorkie a combination of dry and wet food seems to be a good combination along with the occasional brushing. If despite brushing your Yorkie's teeth severe plaque builds up, your veterinarian can surgically clean your Yorkie's teeth.

My vet gave me a little finger brush to use for brushing teeth. You can also purchase a special tooth paste made for dogs. Since dogs can't rinse their mouths it's not a good idea to use human toothpaste. Dog toothpaste is designed so that the dog can swallow it without any harmful effects.

Chew bones can also help to keep a Yorkies teeth clean. I am very cautious about giving my Yorkie any kind of bones to chew on. If you decide to give your Yorkie any type of chew bones, ask your veterinarian about a good choice for Yorkies. Once you have made the decision on what type of chew bones you will use, don't give them to your Yorkie unless you are going to supervise. Before the bones get so small that they fit into your Yorkies mouth entirely discard them. I have had some of these bones get caught in my Yorkie's mouth and were a little difficult to remove. Also if a Yorkie can hold the entire bone in their mouth, it's difficult to get the bone away from them. You will have to use extreme caution so that they don't accidentally swallow the remaining piece. This could cause choking or problems within the digestive track creating a blockage.

Dental health in Yorkshire Terriers is very important to the overall health of your Yorkie. These little dogs will give you a lot of companionship and fun. Be sure to insure that your Yorkshire Terrier remains healthy so that you and he/she will have a very long and happy relationship.

Sources:

Personal Experience
http://www.yorkieinfocenter.com/Dental_Care.html