New Yorkie mom - meet Benjamin Button

[Rescuemomma]

Just found my way here - I recently welcomed a darling 3 lb Yorkie into my heart and home, he was on the euth list at a local shelter because he has no teeth - when I heard of him I immediately got my rescue friend to pull him and told her I'd keep him. He has been here since Monday and the best little dog! Very sweet boy, perfect gentleman. This is my first Yorkie. I've done rescue for years, and have been around many Yorks, but none have so completely stollen my heart as little Benji. He has really earned a big spot in my heart for such a little dog!

A few questions, is it normal for the back of their ears to be bald? I've never noticed this before, but I can't say I've really paid that close of attention.

What is the best food for a dog this size (Benji is barely 3 lbs). My IG eats Canine Caviar, Acana, or Orijen, but Benji seems to have a hard time with the size of the kibble. I don't want to do canned food only - is there a good high quality kibble that's good for tiny mouths?

Last but not least - were can I find collars/harnesses small enough? Benji is so tiny I can't find things that fit him - even the tag I had made looks HUGE on him!

[Sheldonsmom]

Welcome to yorkietalk, I am pretty new myself. This is a wonderful forum, ladies here are so helpful.
That is so wonderful you gave the little guy a chance, he is so lucky!

I have no idea about the ears since this is our 1st yorkie and our 1st dog too I feed Sheldon Now grain free small breed formula, it is on the pricier side but the kibble is tiny and soooo cute, very easy for them to chew. A 6 lbs bag costs $23.99

Good luck with your sweet guy!

[Patti]

Welcome and congratulations. How wonderful you rescued the little guy. My Nikki is a senior rescue and he had all his teeth pulled. He is on KD canned for his kidney disease but also eats the same kibble my other 3 eat. I use California Natural and Natural Balance and he can eat both. As far as harnesses and collars there are a lot of people on here that custom make yorkie stuff. Check in the yorkie products for sale. As far as the lack of hair on his ears I'm not sure what that could be but others on here might have some ideas. We love pictures on here!

[Maximo]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. You are wonderful for giving little Benjamin Button a loving home. Congratulations on the new addition to your life.

Some people with really tiny Yorkies use ferret harnesses.

Hairless ear flaps can be genetic, although not typical. It can also be a sign of malnutrition or a condition called "leather ear." Is the skin on the ear flap dark or blackish? That would be another sign of leather ear.

[gracielove]

Can't help you with kibble. Some people use a cat harnesses or ferret harnesses on puppies but I'm not sure if they would work for a 3lb guy. Puppia makes a XS step in vest harness that is quite small that might work.
Amazon.com: Puppia Soft Dog Harness - (Soft Vest... Does he itch his ears? Sometimes scratching at the ears can cause hair loss. It certainly is not normal for a Yorkie to have hair loss on the ears.
He sounds like a little darling. I'm so glad you saved the little guy.

[ladyjane]

Welcome to YT. I would take him to a vet for an exam (including blood work) and see what they think about his ears. If it is fungal, a simple application 3 times/week of 50/50 water/vinegar will help.

Definitely take a look at the collars and harnesses for ferrets.

[Rescuemomma]

Thank you everyone for the great advice and warm welcome! I've wanted a Yorkie for years - but I'm a big believed in rescueing when you have no intention to show your dog - and I only wanted a pampered pet - so this sweet baby boy is a dream come true for me!

I'm one step ahead of you on the vet - he went the day after I got him for a exam and complete bloodwork, thyroid panel, UA, and fecal. Everything came back perfectly normal. Vet didn't think anything about the hair loss on the ears, said it was "a Yorkie thing". The tips and bases have hair, but not the rest of the pinnae.

I'll try to post pictures soon - he's way cute with his tongue that flops out the side without teeth to keep it in LOL. My vet and I are guessing him to be around 6-7 years, maybe younger - it's hard to say, no clouding of his eyes, but the missing teeth make us think he's probably a bit older - but we could be wrong!

Back to the ears - it could be "leather ear" as someone refered to it as. The skin on hear is very pigmented and seems thicker then normal for me.

I did look at ferret stuff - he's a little to big for those, but to small for cat stuff to fit. Ferret collars worked - but they're all breakaway that I found - so still can't find a solution for a good option for attatching a leash to! I'll check out the products page here!

I've looked at now! grain free but couldn't find a supplier of it locally. I also really like Merreck but again the kibble is to big for Benji.

[R_Z]

Way to go! Looks like Benji adopted a great person. I'm so happy to read your thread. You've done such a great thing.

When we adopted Bailey, we ran up to the Petsmart. They carry harnesses, food, clothes and sometimes they have nice sales. Of course there should be some local Small business places as well.

Look forward to the photos.

Welcome to YT.

[JMuedog]

Originally Posted by Rescuemomma

Thank you everyone for the great advice and warm welcome! I've wanted a Yorkie for years - but I'm a big believed in rescueing when you have no intention to show your dog - and I only wanted a pampered pet - so this sweet baby boy is a dream come true for me!

I'm one step ahead of you on the vet - he went the day after I got him for a exam and complete bloodwork, thyroid panel, UA, and fecal. Everything came back perfectly normal. Vet didn't think anything about the hair loss on the ears, said it was "a Yorkie thing". The tips and bases have hair, but not the rest of the pinnae.

I'll try to post pictures soon - he's way cute with his tongue that flops out the side without teeth to keep it in LOL. My vet and I are guessing him to be around 6-7 years, maybe younger - it's hard to say, no clouding of his eyes, but the missing teeth make us think he's probably a bit older - but we could be wrong!

Back to the ears - it could be "leather ear" as someone refered to it as. The skin on hear is very pigmented and seems thicker then normal for me.

I did look at ferret stuff - he's a little to big for those, but to small for cat stuff to fit. Ferret collars worked - but they're all breakaway that I found - so still can't find a solution for a good option for attatching a leash to! I'll check out the products page here!

I've looked at now! grain free but couldn't find a supplier of it locally. I also really like Merreck but again the kibble is to big for Benji.

Welcome to YT!

We feed Merrick and EVO kibble and the EVO is pretty small. Have you tried it yet? Congratulations on rescuing your pup. Sounds like you make a perfect match!

I'm no help on the halters. I've always been lucky and find them small enough at Pet's Mart or my local pet store.

[Rescuemomma]

I checked out Petsmart and Petco but found nothing that fit well - and wasn't impressed with their selection of food and products - what can I say, I'm picky LOL. Especially with food - I don't generally feed things with alot of grain, by-products, preservatives, etc. I'm not worried about cost - I find spending more $$$ for a high quality food usually means less $$$ at the vets, as the dogs just stay healthier - of course that's not always true, but I'm a big believer in feeding the best food you can!

Benjamin Button is a Velcro York - I love it, he's seldom more then a foot away, right now he's curled up on my chest napping. A bit over a month ago I lost a very special old rescue dog to heart disease and epilepsy - and this little boy is really helping me to finally move on! Such a sweet boy - I think I may look into training him as a therapy dog and taking him into hospitals or nursing homes - he is so gentle and mild and just seems to have a gift for knowing when someone needs some extra Yorkie love - myself included!

[Rescuemomma]

Originally Posted by JMuedog

Welcome to YT!

We feed Merrick and EVO kibble and the EVO is pretty small. Have you tried it yet? Congratulations on rescuing your pup. Sounds like you make a perfect match!

I'm no help on the halters. I've always been lucky and find them small enough at Pet's Mart or my local pet store.

Unfortunately, it's one I refuse to feed. Use to love Evo, I fed their cat food to my now 19 year old Ragdoll for a long time, but now that Procter and Gambles owns them, I refuse to buy it - I won't support that company in any way, shape, form if I have any other options at all!

[JMuedog]

Originally Posted by Rescuemomma

Unfortunately, it's one I refuse to feed. Use to love Evo, I fed their cat food to my now 19 year old Ragdoll for a long time, but now that Procter and Gambles owns them, I refuse to buy it - I won't support that company in any way, shape, form if I have any other options at all!

Ah, I had forgotten they were bought out.

Sadly, I think the EVO & Eukanuba have some smaller kibbles that I've seen.

Have you considering home cooking for him? Many YT members cook for their pups. That may be an option.

[Rescuemomma]

I've considered home cooking - I've also done raw for my dogs in the past and considered a pre-made raw, but I do alot of rescue transport and travel a bit, and of course my dogs go with me - so while I may go that way for daily feeding, I still want to find a good kibble to fall back on when I travel, I just find raw and home cooked is to hard to keep from spoiling when I travel!

[gracielove]

When Gracie was a puppy she refused to eat kibble. I tried so many brands. There was one that I really wanted her to eat but it was kind of big for her so I used an old pair of big dog nail clippers to break the kibble in pieces. It was the kind of clipper that is more like scissors. I guess I can get kind of obsessive with things that concern this dog but I was desperate to get her to eat! Anyway, it's an option. A little dog doesn't have to eat very much when it is a quality dog food.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Originally Posted by Rescuemomma

Unfortunately, it's one I refuse to feed. Use to love Evo, I fed their cat food to my now 19 year old Ragdoll for a long time, but now that Procter and Gambles owns them, I refuse to buy it - I won't support that company in any way, shape, form if I have any other options at all!

Hi and welcome to YT. Benjamin Button sounds like he's found his furever home. Thank you for rescuing him.

As for food, I personally feed Stella and Chewys freeze dried foods. They come in patties and you break them up. It's a grain free food. I like it because it travels well as well as you have the option to add water to rehydrate or not. Mine prefer it just broken up without any water added. There are several different flavors. Currently, I only carry 4 of the different flavors, Beef, Lamb, Surf and Turf and Chicken.

As for harnesses, yes, there are many vendors on YT including myself. My site is below in my signature.