What age is a senior Yorkie

Yorkie Age Equivalent

Lets explore some important milestones your Yorkie will go through from early life through their senior years.

3 Weeks

At 3 weeks, a newborn Yorkie will be beginning to open his eyes. If your Yorkies tail was docked after birth, it will be fully healed.

4 Weeks

By now, your Yorkie puppy will have fully learned to walk, so you can expect them to be out there exploring the world. Also, weaning them off of a liquid diet and onto a solid diet will begin.

8 Weeks

A Yorkie puppy will be legally allowed to be given to a new owner at the age of 8 weeks and separated from his mother. If training hasnt yet started, then now is the time. By now, your Yorkie pup should be on a fully solid diet of puppy food, and completely weaned from his mother.

At this stage and for the next several months, you will spend more hands-on time taking care of your puppy. That means its time to start buying appropriate soft puppy toys and youll be ready to get a puppy leash to help your Yorkie explore the world.

3 to 6 Months

Youll notice your Yorkies ears begin to pop up during the 3 to 6 month period. The time this will happen can differ from pup to pup.

4 to 7 Months

At any point within the 4 to 7 months of age bracket, your Yorkie will begin teething. Make sure you have appropriate teething toys at home!

5 Months

While you may have seen the perfect bite come along by now, its not uncommon to see it go again around the 5 month point. Owners should be very aware of a Yorkies bite going awry, as a good bite is crucial to proper chewing and digestion, and overlapping teeth can be an ideal place for bacteria to grow.

5 to 9 Months

Around about now a female Yorkie will tend to enter her first heat. Spaying your Yorkie is highly recommended if youre not looking to breed. Spaying will also greatly cut down any potential of developing mammary or ovarian cancer.

1 Year

At 1 year of age, your Yorkie has left puppydom and entered adulthood. You can now introduce your Yorkie to adult small-breed kibble.

8+ Years

Your Yorkie is now considered a senior. Care must be taken to change dog food to a senior variety, and lots of other changes should be made, such as increased visits to the vet and extra care around the house.

Managing Older Yorkie Health Problems

Last Updated on December 3, 2021 by Ana P.

Older Yorkie health problems are not any different than in other breeds. Because of genetics, some issues are more noticeable than others.

Usually, when health problems occur in Yorkies, we focus on fixing them rather than thinking about what caused the issue.

Indeed, there are common health problems in older Yorkies, but many of them come with the unhealthy lifestyle of the Yorkie.

At What Age A Yorkie Is Old

When thinking of how old a dog should be to get categorized as old, you need to know the average life span of that breed. Yorkies and other toy breed dogs usually live the longest. Its common for them to live up to 20 years. On the other hand, the average life span is around 13 to 16 years.

These numbers are high above the overall dog average, which is 10 to 13 years. A Yorkie is classified as old when its between 10- and 12-year-old.

Health issues occur more often as the dog gets older. Many of these tiny dog breeds have health problems that are only common for them.

When you see that your Yorkie coat is getting lighter spots or hearing and sight issues occur, you can start to treat your dog with higher healthwise precautions.

Common Old Yorkie Health Issues

As your Yorkie gets olds, some of the genetic issues come out. Its crucial to understand these issues and help your dog with medication and examination.

For Yorkie, its common for them to experience hearing loss when they get older. If you acknowledge symptoms like lack of coordination or slow reactions, that is a sign leading to your Yorkie experiencing hearing loss.

Try to do a quick hearing test to confirm the hearing loss. Use a common phrase that your Yorkie is getting excited by, lower the tone and see the reaction threshold. If it previously was common for your Yorkie to react at a lower voice and currently is not, take that as a confirmational sign of hearing issues.

Another health issue can be loss of sight or cloudy eyes, as it is widely known. If your Yorkie is losing its way around the house or is getting encounters with objects that were not there previously, you can take that as a sign of sight issues in your Yorkie.

Bad breath can be a leading sign that your Yorkie is getting old. Its not uncommon for a dog to have an unpleasant breath. However, if this occurs suddenly, it can be a leading issue toward old health issues.

Lastly, uncoordinated movement or slowed movement is something you shouldnt foresee. If your Yorkie has issues with stairs, jumping on and off higher objects, or just getting up after a sleeping session, then it is getting old. The main leading sign should be a drop in the energy levels in your Yorkie.

Old Yorkie Diseases That You Need To Focus On

Several diseases occur as your Yorkie gets older. These diseases lower the quality of your dog life and need treatment, so they dont induce health problems.

We will sum up the common diseases in this section and will give you the most common symptoms.

1. Luxating Patella And Arthritis

This disease is usually genetically based, and many tiny dog breed dogs are keen to have this disease. Symptoms that lead toward luxating patella can be skipping while walking, showing up a lazy leg, scared of jumping, and refusing to play around.

This disease needs medical examination, and you need to take your Yorkie to a vet appointment. Usually, patellar luxation needs surgery. When Yorkies are old, addition to this disease can be arthritis as well. Dont hesitate to book a vet appointment if you acknowledge this disease.

2. Cancer

Its commons for dogs to have cancer as well. The percentage of cancer that occurs is nearly the same as in humans. Lack of appetite is the number one symptom of your Yorkie having cancer.

Cancer can occur in different organs so take your Yorkie to veterinarian checkups regularly when it gets older. Usually, X-rays scans can help with the diagnosis of black cancer spots. If your veterinarian acknowledges that, a specific further examination is necessary.

For older dogs, its common to develop bone cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, or mast cell tumors. You can spot the mast cell tumors as they show as lumps on the skin. If you spot them in the early stage, they can be easily extracted and stop further development.

Bone cancer symptoms are lack of movement, pain when your Yorkie is active, and bone fracture can occur.

3. Teeth Infections

Teeth infections, in many cases, are the main factor that is leading toward other diseases. Yorkies have tiny jaws so, thats why they experience food jamming between their teeth. If you dont clean their teeth regularly or get them to professional teeth cleaning, they can develop teeth infections.

When bacterias get around these teeth infections, and if not treated right, they can spread across other body organs.

In many cases, kidney and heart failure may occur cause of bacterial infections that came from these infections.

4. Heart Failure

Heart failure is the most common cause of death among Yorkies. Usually, the main factor that leads to this disease is an unhealthy lifestyle. As an owner, you must not feed fatty foods to your Yorkie, and you need to take them regularly on walks.

Do veterinarian checkups to see if your Yorkie has issues with the heart rhythm. In many cases, heart diagnosis is probable, and prescribing medication to save your dogs life.

Managing Older Yorkie Health Problems

When managing Yorkie health problems at an older age, you need to remember three main precautions.

• Always remember to maintain a healthy diet and weight for your Yorkie. If your Yorkie is overweight, it has a greater chance do developing health issues. Cancer, arthritis, high blood pressure are all issues that can occur cause your Yorkie is overweight.
• Daily walks and activities, moderate amounts are crucial for a healthy Yorkie.
• Regular veterinary appointments are crucial to keeping up with the health of your Yorkie. Early diagnosis of many diseases can lead to a healthy and happy dog.

Even though your Yorkie might get older, it doesnt mean you shouldnt practice these suggestions and keep them healthy.

Final Thoughts

As people get older and need a healthier lifestyle, the same goes for Yorkies. Dont hesitate to make changes in their day-to-day lifestyle. Its pretty typical as dogs get older to experience many health issues, but its up to you to help them maintain a healthy life.

When you spot some of the signs that lead to your Yorkie getting old, focus on regular veterinarian checkups and track their wellbeing.

If you have any other information about this topic, comment down and share information about Yorkies.

Common Older Yorkie Health Problems

Although Yorkshire Terrier and other toy dog breeds have a considerably longer lifespan than larger breeds, aging is inevitable. And like humans and other animals, older Yorkie health problems are part of their old life.

Notably, the biggest challenge lies in knowing if your Yorkie is aging or not. They are pretty tiny and will remain that way for the rest of their lives. With a lifespan of about 17 years, you can consider eight years or older old enough to be a senior. At this stage, they tend to lose their attention-seeking and lively traits.

Worse still, health problems begin to show. We highlight the most common health problems you should look out for to ensure your dog remains healthier as they age.

Top 5 Common Older Yorkie Health Problems

Regardless of your Yorkies maintenance levels and daily activities, these five health problems are hard to ignore when they hit old age. The problems include;

Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia in dogs, like in humans, is a condition whereby the bodys glucose or blood sugar is constantly lower than average. Older Yorkie breeds and hypoglycemia are inseparable. And since blood sugar is the primary source of energy, a drop in blood sugar levels affects your dogs neurological function.

Common signs of hypoglycemia in old dogs include trembling, seizures, lack of coordination, dilated pupils, and stupors. Other signs include general weakness, muscular twitching, extreme lethargy, and any other unusual behavior.

The results of hypoglycemia often include tremors, disorientation, or a coma. Even more, dogs can succumb to severe hypoglycemia if not treated in time. You can help prevent this problem by feeding your aging Yorkie at closer intervals and reducing physical activity. However, you should contact your vet if the signs persist.

Sight and Hearing Difficulty

Loss of vision as dogs grow older is a significant problem for many pet owners. Seeing your longtime friend lose sight can be traumatizing. Degenerative changes occur as your Yorkie friend ages, which often leads to eye diseases such as cataracts. Cataracts are untreatable, though a few vets can remove them surgically.

Likewise, older dogs will gradually lose their hearing, which results from degenerative changes, and you cannot do much about this. Dogs will show confusion from time to time as they develop hearing difficulty, and you should not mistake it for dementia.

Both you and your Yorkie must change considerably to continue living a near-normal life. Notably, dogs have incredible instincts and will adapt to life without vision. However, you will need to take them slowly. And since dogs lose their hearing senses pretty gradually, you two will have sufficient time to adjust to the new life and ways of doing things

Loss of Cognition

Dementia or cognitive dysfunction is another major older Yorkie health problem. And like in humans, loss of cognition in dogs will lead to low quality of life. This condition is pretty subtle from the onset. However, it gets more severe as your toy dog continues to age.

Common cognitive dysfunction signs and symptoms include confusion that worsens with time, disorientation, wandering or pacing around, and attempting to exit or enter a door from the wrong side. Other signs are withdrawal from the rest of the family members, vocalization, fecal and urinary accidents, and changes in sleeping patterns.

The fact that these problems also cut across other diseases can be confusing to make the correct diagnosis. And we know of several Yorkie owners who wrongly thought that their dogs had dementia when they saw a few of the mentioned signs.

The best way out of this is to contact your vet for a correct diagnosis. Besides, a vet will also provide you with supplements and medications to help you manage this condition.

Kidney Disease

Aging takes a toll on kidneys. And Yorkie breeds, like other dogs, will develop kidney disease when they get older. Kidney disease or renal disease is chronic. It is gradual and will often start as a renal inefficiency and progress to renal failure.

You need to be very keen when your Yorkie hits ten years as it could start after your dogs 10th birthday or later. While renal failure is incurable, remarkable success lies in early detection and management. The aim of managing kidney disease is to slow its progression.

A more accurate way to detect kidney disease is through urinalysis. You can look out for signs such as lethargy, loss of appetite, increased urination, increased thirst, and nausea. You can effectively mitigate the progress by putting your dog on prescription kidney diets.

Arthritis and Bone Problems

Another problem that a senior Yorkie will most likely face is related to joints and bones. Bone and joint degeneration are synonymous with old people, and dogs are not an exemption. Joint problems could worsen and develop into arthritis.

Pay extra attention to how your dog runs or goes up and down the stairs to know whether there are any degenerative bone and joint changes. If your Yorkie takes stairs one at a time, that could be a warning sign.

Arthritis is generally the inflammation of joints. Notably, this condition often comes with a lot of pain and discomfort. Movements of joints will equally be a problem. While the situation is not reversible, it is manageable with calcium and iron supplements. Your vet may also consider analgesics to ease pain and discomfort.

Tips for Caring for Your Senior Yorkshire Terrier

Some of the above problems are inevitable. However, we feel that you can successfully improve your Yorkies quality of life and prolong its life with the following tips;

• Veterinarian Visits- You need the help of a professional to get the best for your older Yorkie. Ideally, most of the health problems highlighted may not be easy to detect until symptoms show. That can be too late. Geriatric checkups twice a year are ideal for Yorkie breeds over eight years. Checkups include urinalysis, a complete blood count, and a chemistry panel.
• Prescription Supplements- There are lots of nutritional supplements you can consider for your dog. However, this may often be unnecessary for old Yorkie breeds because each dog has specific needs. Talk to your vet about the necessary supplements after every visit.
• Long and More Sleeping Hours- Seniors will have more extended sleeping patterns than when they were younger. Add frequent naps to your dogs schedule and allow them to sleep longer in the morning or retire to bed earlier in the evening.

• Change Your Dogs Exercise Schedule- You are wrong if you think your dog does not need exercise because of age and the resulting health issues. It would help if you still took your old Yorkie out for exercise. However, you can modify the schedule by reducing the duration of each session and possibly increasing the number of sessions.
• Grooming Changes- The quality of life of your Yorkie goes down with more health challenges. You do not want your dog to look shabby despite the issues. Consider using grooming products that are friendlier to the skin as the skin gets more sensitive with time.

Always Keep an Eye for Your Older Yorkie Health and Behavioral Changes

We cannot stop our dogs from aging. However, knowing the common Yorkie health problems is an incredible start if you want to maintain its quality of life at old age. Look out for any changes and prioritize early identification of any potential health problems. Finally, always stay in touch with your vet.