Grooming Your Yorkie - Tips on How to Groom Your Yorkie at Home

For the pet owner, grooming a Yorkie can be quite a challenge. Here are a few tips on how to groom your Yorkie:

1) Frequency of bathing depends on the type of shampoo you use on your Yorkie. I use a natural shampoo on our fur babies (Yorkie Splash), and I bathe them once a week. Natural (organic) shampoos do not strip the natural oils out of the skin and hair, and bathing more frequently is okay. But, if you use a standard shampoo (one with alcohol and other chemical ingredients), it is (in my opinion) best to bathe your Yorkie about once every 2 weeks. Chemical products can remove the natural oils from the skin and hair. This can cause damage to the hair if used too frequently. But, if your Yorkie is dirty, give him a bath. I just don't suggest bathing more than once every 2 weeks with a regular shampoo if your Yorkie is not dirty.

Bath & Body

2) Regular brushing is an important part of Yorkie grooming. Never brush a Yorkie if his coat is dry. This can cause the hair to break. When you brush your Yorkie's coat, use a spray conditioner to soften the hair. I use a diluted crème rinse in a spray bottle and spray the solution on to the brush. You should brush your Yorkie's coat daily. When brushing the hair, start at the end of the strands of hair and work your way up to the body. If you encounter a tangle or mat, do not pull on it with the brush. Use your fingers to pull apart the tangled hair (again, working from the bottom upward), then gently brush through the tangle. Be sure to check the underside of your Yorkie where the legs connect to the body - this is where most mats occur and they are easily overlooked.

3) Yorkies need special attention paid to their teeth. Yorkies, like other toy breeds, are prone to tooth decay. Regular brushing of your Yorkie's teeth is a good idea. I use regular brushing in combination with giving Greenies once a week, as well as yearly teeth cleaning by our veterinarian. There are many tooth cleaning products made for dogs, and you can find a tooth brush and paste at any pet supply store.

4) A Yorkie's nails need to be kept trimmed. You can have your vet or groomer do it for you, or, you can trim the nails yourself. I use a Millers Forge Pet Nail Clipper. It has a safety bar on it to help guide you when trimming the nails. Part of the difficulty in trimming a Yorkie's nails lies in the fact that the nails are black, and it is hard to tell where the underlying skin begins in the nail bed. If you are going to trim your Yorkie's nails yourself, it is a good idea to have some corn starch or flour on hand in case you do cut the nail too close and cause the nail to bleed. Some people prefer a styptic powder or liquid to stop a bleed (something like Kwik Stop), but, I prefer something as natural as possible. I have used a styptic pencil on myself in the past, and it burns, so I try to avoid using styptic products.

5) For younger puppies and some adults, it is necessary to keep the ear hair trimmed. This is something you can do yourself at home if you like. In order to encourage a puppy's ears to stand erect, it is important to remove the added weight of the hair on the ears. There are many different opinions on the best way to do this. Whichever way you are most comfortable with is probably the best way for you and your Yorkie puppy.

Personally, I use a 4 blade razor (like Gillette Mach 4 or Venus) to remove the hair from the ears. For puppies with thicker ears, I take off the hair about 3/4 down the ear on the outside and about 1/2 of the ear on the inside. For Yorkie puppies with thinner ears, I take off about ¼ to ½ of the hair on the outside, and the same on the inside. The easiest way I have found to do this is, after bathing while the ear is wet, run the razor over the ear going with the growth of the hair (moving from the base to the tip of the ear). Running the razor over once will essentially remove a layer of hair and thin the hair out. Don't worry, you aren't going to shave the ear bald with one "swipe."

If you want the ears to be completely hair free, plan on spending about 30 minutes going over and over the ear with the razor. I usually run the razor over the outside of the ear about 3 or 4 times, and usually 2 times on the inside. After I have thinned the hair on the ears, I also trim the hair on the ear tips with scissors. I usually just get as close to the ear leather as I can, holding the edge of the ear between two fingers (length-wise to protect the ear) and trim off the tips of the ear, about ¼ inch on each side of the tip.

a. After trimming the ear hair, it is a good idea to clean the ears. Ears are dark, moist places that can be prone to bacterial and yeast infections. Keeping the inside of the ears clean can prevent a lot of headache. To clean the ears, you can use any store brand ear cleaning solution, or you can make your own solution of ½ rubbing alcohol and ½ vinegar (any kind of vinegar will do: white, apple cider, anything). Put a few drops of solution into your Yorkie's ears and use a cotton swab around the inside of the ears to remove the debris. Be careful to only swab the part of the ear and ear canal that you can see. Though, because of the anatomy of a dog's ear it would be very difficult to harm the ear drum with the cotton swab, going too deep in the ear canal can pack any debris further down the ear canal. If your Yorkie has a lot of debris in the ear or if you suspect an infection, take him to your vet.

6) It is also a good idea to keep the area under your Yorkie's tail trimmed (right around the anus). Long hair in this area tends to get rather icky pretty quickly. How you trim up this part of your Yorkie is up to you and your comfort zone. A lot of people leave this to the groomer. Some people use an electric trimmer or scissors. I use scissors and do it myself, but your Yorkie has to really trust you.

7) As far as trimming the hair over the body of your Yorkie, I recommend taking your baby to a professional groomer. If you want to trim your Yorkie's hair yourself and you feel comfortable, go for it. But, for most pet owners, it is easier to take their Yorkie to the groomer once every month or two as opposed to the stress of clipping the hair themselves. If you want some tips on how to cut your Yorkie's hair yourself, there is some good information at http://members.cox.net/jrogan/care.html

Grooming Your Yorkie - Tips on How to Groom Your Yorkie at Home

http://buybestbroochespins.blogspot.com/ http://buybeautybathingaccessories.blogspot.com/ http://buyinline-roller-skating.blogspot.com/