Did you just become a newborn Yorkie’s parent? Are you looking to learn about the best ways to take care of the young new edition to your family? Handling Newborn Yorkies puppies can be challenging, and their needs are very different than those of a fully grown Yorkie.
Caring For Baby Yorkie Puppy
At birth, Yorkies, including Teacup Yorkies, seem very weak and fragile little beings. You might be worried about their health at all times, and the smallest oddities may scare you. But knowing and understanding more about your Yorkie pup can help calm your fears. This way, you can be prepared with all the best ways to handle any situation.
Here’s a guide to all the essentials about newborn Yorkie Puppies.
Taking Care of A Newborn Yorkie
Yorkies at birth are as vulnerable as they seem. These tiny creatures won’t even open their eyes for the first two weeks, and they use their sense of smell to find the comfort and reliability of their mother.
At birth, a newborn Yorkie puppy is also frail against temperature changes –especially the cold. They don’t have any efficient means of maintaining their body temperatures because their fur hasn’t developed yet, and their surface area to volume ratio also favors heat loss. Without proper attention or their mother’s presence to help keep them warm, Yorkie puppies are prone to health conditions like Hypothermia.
Keeping your (very) little canine best friend’s unique needs in mind, you can take several measures to help them safely make it through this phase.
Keep Them Warm
As we mentioned before, Newborn Yorkies rely on external influences to help them deal with body temperatures. You need to make sure that they aren’t exposed to any cold. The American Kennel Club also advises you to keep Yorkies in consistently warm settings for this early phase. Think of it as not having warm clothes in extreme cold and not being able to tell if you are cold. A Yorkie’s mother is usually a good source of warmth for a Yorkie. Naturally, they gravitate to their birth mothers for their needs.
While the mother of your Yorkie should be around at all times, you still need to prepare a warm and comfortable sleeping pin where your furry little friend can stay safe. We recommend investing in a heating pad or an infrared heating lamp. These are both safe and reliable options for artificial sources of heat. However, we suggest that you be cautious of temperatures being too high or the possibility of the heat lamp burning your pup. Keep these things in mind when positioning the lamp and the ambient temperatures at an average of 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s vital to understand precisely how crucial a warm environment is for Yorkies in the earlier weeks of their life.
Here’s another Yorkie article you’ll enjoy: Taking Care of Newborn Yorkie and Teacup Yorkie Puppies
Provide Your Baby Yorkie Proper Nursing
Typically, newborn Yorkies are expected to double their weight in the first ten days of birth. This shows how much energy and growth nutrients they need at the earliest stages of their life. There are cases of Yorkie pups losing weight instead of gaining it. Keeping track of your Yorkie’s weight and knowing about their dietary needs is vital.
Since most of your Yorkie’s nutritional needs are reliant on the mama Yorkie being able to nurse her cubs, knowing about her dietary requirements is also essential. This can especially be the cases if you are dealing with a litter of pups and a single mother needs to cater to all demands. Here’s where you come in. You need to monitor the weight of your puppy, keeping an eye out for any pup that might be struggling, and know the dietary needs of the mama Yorkie.
If you notice that the milk production of the mother is running low, you should consider increasing the calorie intake with high-calorie supplements like Tomlyn in the mother’s food and pair it with milk thistle to help production. If you notice one or two of the pups are having a particularly tough time gaining weight, you must consult a veterinarian. The vet will assess the situation and recommend that you take over the feeding with a bottle if it’s completely necessary.
Here’s another Yorkie article you’ll enjoy: Yorkie Puppy Stages
Let Your Baby Yorkie Be Adventurers
Dogs are naturally curious and adventurous beings. From their birth, they like to sniff, chew and run after anything that excites them. They are inquisitive about everything around them, much like newborn babies.
Newborn baby Yorkies, however, take some time before they start their explorative journeys. As we mentioned before, Yorkies have their eyes completely shut at birth. So it takes time before all their senses are available. Once your puppy starts to open its eyes and develops a stronger vision, it will grow into the playful, adventurous personality that Yorkies are known for.
Here’s another Yorkie article you’ll enjoy: How To Tell How Big A Yorkie Will Get – A Yorkie Puppy Growth and Weight Chart
Food Quantity for a Newborn Yorkie Pup
Yorkshire Terriers are known to be part of the “toy group” of dog breeds, and they share this category with breeds like Affenpinscher, Brussels Griffon, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The name is associated with dog breeds short in size but joyous, high-energy, and fearless otherwise.
Unlike the bigger, sturdier dog breeds, these smaller dogs have more sensitive food patterns, and it’s important to maintain a balanced diet that accounts for both their size and energy. This is especially vital in the case of newborn Yorkie pups.
Your Yorkie Pup will exclusively depend on milk from breastfeeding for at least the first four weeks after birth. An exception to this is the case that your vet has advised you otherwise. After these first couple of weeks, Yorkies also develop healthier gums, and you can find signs of new teeth. This also usually corresponds with the end of Mama Yorkie’s ability to make milk.
Now you can slowly transition your dog to a more solid-based food diet.
While it isn’t hard to find the right brand for your dog, and there are many high-quality dog food products meant for small-sized dogs, food can be a challenging thing. The trick lies in finding the sweet spot of quantity and volume that works well for your dog. It’s important to stress that because newborn Yorkies are still developing their immune system and, as a result, have very sensitive guts, you need to research what and how much goes into your tiny friend.
If your Yorkie’s diet isn’t able to keep up with its high-energy personality, your Yorkie runs the risk of getting Hypoglycemia, a condition characterized by sudden drops in blood glucose concentration. On the other hand, however, too much feed can lead to health complications like obesity as your Yorkie grows.
During the weaning period, you should give the puppy at least 1/3rd of a cup of puppy food and increase that amount as you find suitable. Eventually, you want to reach a healthy state of 3-4 meals a day and 1/3rd to half a cup of food per meal.
Here’s another Yorkie article you’ll enjoy: Yorkies in Heat: Signs, Cycles, Length & Symptoms
If Your Newborn Yorkie Isn’t Eating
It is likely that your Yorkie pup may not fully cooperate when it comes to food. Usually, you can work your way around this by changing the food product and mixing up flavors. If your Yorkie is still not convinced, it may be a sign of an underlying illness, in which case you should consider going to a veterinarian.
What to NOT Feed Baby Yorkies
Yorkies aren’t commonly known for being fussy eaters. But this also means that they can be impulsive and thoughtless eaters too. They will eat anything they can get their paws on. Because of how sensitive Baby Yorkies are at birth and how cautious about their food diets you need to be, it’s best to stick with the natural source in the first few weeks: the mother’s milk.
Many dog food brands contain substances that your newborn puppy might be allergic to, and these might go unnoticed among the many food components mentioned on the box. If your Yorkie has an allergic reaction at this fragile age, they can develop serious health concerns. Even when preparing food on your own, there are things you may not account for allergies, foods to avoid, and even the size and hardness of food.
As your Baby Yorkie grows, and you have to take over the responsibility of making the food, you need to learn about your little friend’s compositions and dietary restrictions.
Here is a list of some of the things you should avoid:
Foods that can cause vomiting, upset tummy, or severe diarrhea:
- Raw meat
- Eggs
- Garlic
- Onion
Foods associated with kidney issues and even failure in the long-term:
- Grapes
- Raisins
Foods to avoid due to the risk of choking:
- Chicken bones
- Large kibbles
Here’s another Yorkie article you’ll enjoy: Yorkie Throwing Up? What Do You Do? Everything You Need to Know About Dog Vomiting
When to Separate a Yorkie Pup and its Mother?
A Yorkie’s mother is going to be a crucial part of its life, especially in the early days, even if your home is the ultimate destination. As a pet owner, making peace with this fact and learning to appreciate this mother-child bond is very important. To genuinely understand how special this relationship is and decide when to best separate the puppy from the mother, you need to realize the dependence of a puppy on its mother.
We can understand the excitement and urge you may be feeling to welcome your little canine buddy into your home and shower it with love and affection. But your puppy’s physical and emotional development is strongly tied to the time it spends with its birth mother.
Not only are newborn Yorkie puppies physically dependent on their mothers for everything from food, comfort, and warmth, the personality traits they develop as fully grown dogs are also linked to this bond. The timing of separation becomes increasingly essential.
The generally accepted time for separation is when your Yorkie is 12 weeks old. At this point, the little fellow has grown sufficiently independent of its mother. It has physically developed enough to regulate its body temperature on its own and has spent enough time off of the mother’s milk. Now your dog feels safe when it’s separated from its mother.
A premature separation, even at six weeks (after two weeks of not taking the mother’s milk), can make your Yorkie insecure. This insecurity leads to defensive behaviors such as acting out, unwarranted aggressiveness, and immense anxiety. Without the comfort of being around its mother, the Yorkie feels unsafe.
You might feel like you’re missing out on the young and important days of your Yorkie’s life by not being with it. You can join in on the experience alongside the mother. Occasionally visiting your soon-to-be best friend and watching it grow can be an enriching experience.
Here’s another Yorkie article you’ll enjoy: Crate Training a Yorkie Puppy – How to Quickly Crate Train Your Dog
Knowing the Danger Signs – What You Should Look Out For with Your Newborn Yorkie
Seeing a Yorkie puppy might make your heart melt at how innocent and helpless it is. The small ball of fur with tiny paws always curled up, and eyes shut close will make you want to protect it from everything wrong. While that is a natural feeling, it is crucial not to panic if you observe some behavior that the Yorkie shouldn’t demonstrate. You can reign in your terror by learning and understanding the danger signs and what they mean.
Unwillingness to Breastfeed
Yorkies are very enthusiastic about two things: food and fun. So if you see your little pup unwilling to breastfeed, it is usually an indicator of its gut health issue. Because of how essential breastfeeding is to weight gain, you should consult your vet if the problem persists.
Unhealthy-looking Coat
Yorkies are famously known for their silky, shiny coats. Ironically, however, Yorkies are prone to skin infections as puppies. A Yorkie pup usually has a uniform, dark coat. If you notice any abnormalities, such as missing hair spots, it can hint at a skin infection.
Obvious Anomalies
There will also be more evident physical abnormalities that you should be on the lookout for. The appearance of unusual growths like a cleft in the mouth region can stem from some genetic illnesses or may be a product of inadequate nutrition. Either way, you shouldn’t freak out and contact a vet.
Frequent Fainting Spells and Difficulties Breathing
Yorkie pups have little work to do. Sleeping and feeding are really the only two things on their to-do-list as pups. So if you notice them having trouble breathing or find them “too sleepy,” even though they aren’t exerting themselves too much physically, it may be due to an underlying heart problem.
Restricted Movement
Yorkie behaviors are usually standard: they eat, they sleep. But if you notice some unusual physical activity, like the pup avoiding certain places, it may be a sign that they associate the area with some trauma.
Here’s another Yorkie article you’ll enjoy: Yorkie Names – Some of the Cutest Names For Your Male and Female Yorkie
Related Questions Regarding Your Yorkshire Terrier Baby
How Long Before Yorkie Puppies Open Their Eyes?
Yorkies usually open their eyes four weeks after birth. Their eyesight also gradually reaches optimum by the 6th week.
How Big Are Yorkies At Birth?
A Yorkie’s size depends on the genetics of its parents and its breastfeeding habits. But one thing is for sure: your little pup is going to look like a ball of black yarn as a puppy. Yorkies usually weigh anywhere between 2.5 and 5 ounces at birth, although teacup Yorkshire terrier breeds can be smaller.
Are Puppies Sad When They Leave Their Mom?
Like a kid leaving the nest to find their way at 18, a Yorkie will also adjust normally to leaving. However, the timing of separation is crucial because an early separation can cause great anxiety and mistrust.
Here’s another Yorkie article you’ll enjoy: A Male or Female Yorkie – Which One Should You Pick? The Girl vs Boy Puppy?
