Purchasing a yorkie is a serious decision. There are things you need to watch out for and ask about when shopping for your yorkie puppy. Always ask for a good health guarantee, preferably at least one year. Your breeder should guarantee against heart murmur and liver shunt. Yorkies are also known for having somewhat weak knees. There are breeders out there who do have yorkies with very sound knees, but this is rare. Bad knees are called "luxating patellas". There are four levels of LP. Grade 1 is not a concern unless it progresses to grade 2. Many healthy happy yorkies live perfectly normal lives with grade 1 and grade 2 LP's. A grade 2 should be monitored by your vet to be sure it does not turn into a grade 3. The worst level of LP is grade 4. If your yorkie has bad knees, it is best to get more than one opinion. One vet may diagnos the knees to be a grade 1 while another will say it is a grade 3. A grade 1 or 2 LP in your pet yorkie is probably not going to cause problems in his lifetime. Be sure your yorkie does not jump off of high places, this can aggravate his knees, and worsen them over the years.
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Read here about collapsed trachea
Yorkies sometimes make a noise that sounds like a "honk" or a "snort". They do this when they are excited or have been running around. This should be checked by your vet. Most times this is just what is known as harmless "reverse sneeze" and is fairly common in the breed. If it is "collapsed trachea", this is more of a problem. Collapsed trachea is also fairly common in yorkies. There are different degrees and typically, vets do not do any type of surgery on this unless it is detrimental to your yorkie's life. Collapsed trachea typically shows up between the age of 4 and 10 years old. Collapsed trachea is more of an aggravated cough that happens when a yorkie gets excited or has been running vigorously. Try to keep him calm and it will subside.
Yorkies are known for having problem teeth. If you are going to purchase a yorkie as a pet, please know you will have to take care of his teeth. Good chew toys help, such as the bullysticks I suggest on the page about toys, and also adding Oxyfresh to his or her water bowl is another aid. But nothing compares to brushing and/or dentals done by your veterinarian. Some yorkies may need dentals done twice a year, while others can go annually or every 18 months. Your yorkie puppy may retain some baby teeth and need them surgically removed. This is usually done between the ages of 6 months and 1 year old. Another new product that just recently came out and I recommend is by "Petzlife". It is a spray and a gel to easily put on your yorkie's teeth daily. This will help immensely in the care of your dog's teeth.
