Alice White
The health of Yorkies depends on a number of factors – heredity, mandatory vaccinations made on time, balanced nutrition, regular care, and arrangement of a comfortable place for a small dog to live. If you have health problems, you should immediately contact a veterinarian who will diagnose, prescribe veterinary drugs and a special diet.
The life expectancy of a Yorkshire Terrier with good care can be 14 – 16 years. But the health of the Yorkshire Terrier will require increased attention.
The main diseases of Yorkshire terriers
- Dislocation of the patella.
- Liver disease.
- Inflammation of the pancreas.
- Low blood sugar.
- Allergy.
- Problems with teeth and gums.
- Drug sensitivity.
Overweight is a real threat to the health of the Yorkshire Terrier. Excessive stress damages the heart, liver, joints, and digestion.
Diseases of Yorkies affecting bones and joints have two global causes: improper care and heredity. Check with the breeder if your puppy’s family has had any health problems. If you hear “no, never” – turn around and leave – it’s not true. Honesty is an important quality for a breeder. Feel free to inquire about parents’ test results for popular genetic diseases.
Ataxia is most commonly a hereditary disorder that leads to muscle weakness. Can affect any muscle group. There is no effective treatment yet.
Legg-Calvet-Perthes disease (aseptic necrosis) affects the hip joint. Most often it develops at the age of 6 – 12 months. This is fraught with pain when extending the paws, lameness. Surgery required.
Cruciate ligament injuries and ruptures are the results of congenital anomalies, excess weight, or overuse. Treatment: wearing a tight bandage, braces, plaster cast, or surgery.
Fractures, dislocations, sprains are most often associated with falls, jumping from a height, or too active games.
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative change in cartilage tissue. The joint wears out faster than it renews. Consequences: pain, lameness, joint destruction.
Hydrocephalus is an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, leading to the entrapment of nerve endings. Symptoms: restlessness, loss of coordination, head tilt, partial blindness, seizures, sudden respiratory arrest. In some cases, treatment is possible.
Due to the specific composition of saliva in Yorkies, plaque and tartar quickly form. Cleaning is carried out 1 time in 6 – 8 months, otherwise, the dog will lose many (or even all) of its teeth by 5 – 6 years of age.
Otitis media occurs due to oversight and lack of timely haircuts.
These dogs are afraid of drafts, they are fraught with health problems of the Yorkshire Terrier, for example, “chilled ears.” The dog is restless due to pain. The main danger is the high probability of incorrect treatment due to the difficulties in diagnosis.
Lachrymation (epiphora) or lack of tears (keratoconjunctivitis dry) are associated with a malfunction of the lacrimal glands. In the first case, wet paths form from the inner corners of the eyes, in the second, the mucous membrane dries out regularly.
A cataract is a clouding of the lens that leads to partial or complete blindness. Can affect one or both eyes. The disease can be slowed down, a complete cure is unlikely.
Atrophy, dysplasia, retinal detachment leads to acquired blindness.
Pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, is manifested by vomiting, indigestion, lethargy, and refusal to eat. In addition to treatment, the dog has prescribed a strict diet.
The shortened intestines of Yorkies result in an inability to digest coarse food. When feeding “natural” it is necessary to strictly monitor the body’s reaction to each new product.
Yorkshire Terriers pay dearly for their diminutiveness. Including difficulties during childbirth. In addition, females often suffer from purulent endometritis of the uterus and inflammatory processes in the ovaries.
Eclampsia is also a common problem.
Teeth and gums require increased attention. Note that the baby teeth of the Yorkshire Terrier change much later than the larger dogs.
It is advisable to clarify whether the parents have test results for hereditary diseases characteristic of Yorkshire terriers:
- Malignant hyperthermia is not a disease, but a syndrome that manifests itself only with the use of a number of drugs under anesthesia. Cardiac arrhythmias, renal failure, acute skeletal muscle necrosis, and death may occur.
- Hyperuricosuria is an inherited disorder associated with the accumulation of uric acid salts and the formation of stones.
- Canine degenerative myelopathy is a severe, progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes paralysis of the hind limbs. It is associated with a dysfunction of the spinal cord motor neurons due to the simplification (degeneration) of their nerve endings. The disease begins with an almost imperceptible weakness in one or both hind legs. Then it becomes difficult to get up from a lying or sitting position. The dog periodically loses balance, coordination is disturbed, after which paralysis develops.
