Chapter 4 · Sugar dips, the honk, knees and falls
Hypoglycaemia: the emergency
Toy puppies and tiny adults have almost no glucose reserves. A missed meal, cold, stress or an hour of frantic play can drop them.
The signs, in orderQuiet and wobbly. Glassy eyes, a drunken walk. Trembling, drooling. Limp and unresponsive. Seizures.
What to doGlucose syrup, honey or sugar water rubbed on the gums, not down the throat. Wrap them warm. Ring the vet. No improvement in ten minutes: go now.
Prevent itFour meals a day to four months, three to six, never skipped. A snack before and after big play. Warmth.
NeverBuy a 'teacup'. Under 1.5 kg, everything on this page happens more often.
A puppy who perks up after honey still needs a vet call that day.
Sample page · The Yorkshire Terrier Handbook
Chapter 8 · Barking and small dog syndrome
The picking-up problem
Picking a dog up removes their ability to move away, and moving away is how dogs cope with worry.
| You see | What it is | What to do |
|---|
| Barks and spins in your arms when a dog comes to say hello | Fear, made worse by being held | Put them down at a distance; let them choose |
| Barks and lunges at a big dog across the road, trembling | Fear | Distance, reward the look, close the gap over weeks on a harness |
| Barks to be lifted onto the sofa | Demand | Steps at the sofa; quiet gets the lift |
| Barks from the back of the sofa at everyone who passes | Rehearsed alert | Film on the glass, gate the front room, give a job |
Pick up for safety, not for comfort. A Yorkie who has learned they can walk away rarely needs to shout.
Sample page · The Yorkshire Terrier Handbook
Chapter 9 · The coat, the teeth and the topknot
The mouth: the number one Yorkie problem
Forty-two teeth in a jaw the size of a thumb. By two or three most Yorkies have gum disease; by five, many have lost teeth.
- Finger brush and dog toothpaste daily from ten weeks, as a game
- Mouth checked weekly from five months for double canines; removed at seven months if still there
- Dental cleaning with X-rays under anaesthetic every one to two years, as advised
- A swelling under the eye is a tooth-root abscess, not an eye problem
- Accept the extractions: twelve healthy teeth beat forty rotten ones
- No bones, antlers or hooves; they crack these teeth
Bacteria from a rotten mouth reach the heart valves and kidneys. Brushing is the thing.
Sample page · The Yorkshire Terrier Handbook
Chapter 3 · Toilet training the tiny dog
Why it takes longer, and the two routes
A grape-sized bladder, a hatred of rain, accidents too small to notice, and owners who carry them.
OutdoorsEvery 30–45 minutes awake at ten weeks, plus after sleep, meals and play. Same spot, same word, treat within two seconds. Pen for naps and nights.
The rain routineCoat, sheltered spot, treats worth getting wet for, and you go out too. Build it before January.
Indoor toiletA tray in one fixed spot by the door is a fair option for a dog this size. Never loose pads around the house. Still teach the garden.
New accidents in an adultVet first. Infection, bladder stones and a liver shunt all show up as a dog who can't hold it.
Accidents are information. A punished Yorkie learns to pee behind the sofa.
Sample page · The Yorkshire Terrier Handbook
Sample pages are shortened for the web. The handbook goes deeper on every one, and every chapter has a tool to tap, slide or tick.
