is your yorkie a porkie??

Can you feel his ribs fairly easily - they may have a thin layer of fat on them, but you should be able to feel each one.

Take an overhead view - it's hard with the Yorkie's coat, but after a bath and before drying, is your Yorkie "wasp" shaped or barrel shaped? Healthy-weight dogs should have a definite waist between shoulders and hips.

Now take a side view - again when your pup is wet is best because of the Yorkie's coat. There should be what experts call an "abdominal tuck" - that is, the area behind the ribs should go up or be smaller in diameter than the rib area. This won't be as extreme in the Yorkie as in some breeds who are very deep chested (the greyhound for example) but it should be there.

• Too little activity.


• Neutering - a spayed or neutered dog needs fewer calories.


• Age - like us, the Morkie tends to gain some weight as the years add up.


• Too much food, the wrong food and too many treats.

Calories from treats can really add up. Your 6 or 7 lb. dogs needs only about 500 calories a day - one medium Milk Bone is 40 calories. Another popular treat, "Bonz" for small and medium dogs is 70 calories, and a couple of your buttered toast crusts, can be anywhere between 40 and 60 calories or more!

It's a complex question, depending on the dog's health, environment, age, exercise level and other factors including RER or "Resting Energy Requirements."

Always check with your Vet, but as a rule of thumb, for a healthy ADULT Yorkie who gets moderate exercise you can use this formula:

Divide his ideal weight (in pounds) by 2.2 then multiply that number by 30. Add 70 for the number of calories your Morkie needs per day.

So for a 4 lb. Yorkie = (4 x 2.2) x 30 + 70 = 334 calories a day

Dog size

calories per day

5 lb. Yorkie

400

6 lb. Yorkie

466

7 lb. Yorkie

532

8 lb. Yorkie

598

9 lb. Yorkie

664

10 lb. Yorkie

730

Yorkshire Terriers have a potential hereditary defect called Patellar Luxation - or "floating" kneecaps. The kneecap or patella, actually slips in and out of place. This disease is a result of years of breeding to produce all the good things we love about the Yorkie. Unfortunately along the way, some of the negatives stick too.

You can imagine that extra weight on that leg aggravates the problem.

Besides breed-specific hereditary diseases that are made worse by too much weight, there are more common problems that any breed can suffer. These include:

• Canine diabetes.


• Digestive problems including constipation, flatulence and diarrhea. Phew, who needs it!


• Serious damage to joints, bones, and ligaments are a direct result of too much weight being borne by the joints.


• Heart disease and high blood pressure.


• Difficulty breathing - fat pushes on the abdomen wall and there is less room in the for the lungs to fill properly. Overweight dogs often wheeze, unable to take a full, deep breath.


• Increased chance of cancer - could be another risk to your Morkie who's overweight. The exact link between obesity and cancer isn't known for sure, but why risk it!


• A shorter life - just like people, dogs with all the burdens overweight causes, simply don't live as long.

1.
The first and easiest step is:
Cut out all treats, especially table scraps. If you really feel your Yorkie has worked for a treat, try a 'baby' carrot. Nearly all dogs love them.

2.
Second, gradually reduce your pup's caloric intake over a few weeks. How?
Keep feeding the same amount you are now - and measure it.
Over several weeks, slowly reduce the measured amount to about 70% of original amount.

Tip:

feed your dog at the same time, and divide the food into smaller portions more frequently through the day to help him cope.

3.
Third, the hardest part: get moving.
If you're not on a regular walking program with your dog, start one today. Start out small and build up over time. For the first week, a 10 minute walk will be enough to get the ball rolling. Increase this by 5 minutes per week until you're up to half an hour. Then add a second, short walk per day - starting at 10 minutes. Soon you'll be up to 2 x 30 minute walks per day and both you and your Yorkie will see fabulous results!

Tip:

Buy a dog scale suitable to a toy breed and chart your Yorkie's progress carefully. Remember, at his weight, even small fluctuations represent a large % of change.

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