Yorkies’ tiny bodies are notoriously fragile. Extra care must be taken when transporting your dog, or letting it jump. Focus your Yorkie towards movements that will not stress joints or the spine. Other Yorkie issues include:

• Patellar luxation: Luxating simply means out of place or dislocated. Patella is a kneecap. A Luxating patella is a kneecap that chronically moves out of its normal position.
• Progressive retinal atrophy: Atrophy is a wearing or wasting away of a body part. In this case, it is the retina in the eye, which eventually leads to blindness.
• Portosystemic shunt: The portal vein carrying blood bypasses the liver. While most commonly a birth defect, liver disease such as cirrhosis can also be a cause.
• Hypoglycemia: Here, your blood sugar is lower than the typical range. This can lead to lightheadedness and shakiness.
• Collapsed trachea: This condition occurs when the cartilage rings on the trachea weaken, which causes the windpipe to collapse when they breath in.
• Reverse sneezing: Also known as paroxysmal respiration, this condition has the dog pulling air through the nose during a sneeze rather than blowing out.

While you always hope your pet will live a long and healthy life, it is always a good idea to invest in pet health insurance.

Keeping your dog’s mouth clean and problem free goes a long way to your pup’s overall health. Dental hygiene can be the cause or can be the byproduct of other serious health issues.

Visual inspections can be performed to keep track of the signs of potentially waning oral health. These signs can be anything from bad breath to abnormal chewing to loss of appetite.

Keeping ahead of these warning signs can pay dividends. A preventative approach can delay and stop many of the common dental problems from arising.

Oral health can be tackled in five basic steps:

1. Brushing your dog’s teeth to prevent an undesirable buildup of plaque
2. Feed your dog a diet where the high quality dog food has dental benefits
3. Regularly give your dog dental toys and treats
4. Use mouthwash, to help where brushing misses
5. At the sign of any abnormalities, consult a vet. You can even do it virtually, from the convenience of your home.

Dogs are just like humans in that they can experience anxiety. The degree to which they are susceptible to anxiety and how they deal with anxiety is breed specific. Left unchecked, initial signs of anxiety could give way to an anxiety disorder. The symptoms of anxiety disorders can lead to a myriad of behavior issues.

Knowing the signs and symptoms will best equip you to keep ahead of it and to nip it in the bud at the earliest signs. There are options available to help with anxiety.