Yorkies that haven’t been spayed will go into heat most probably twice a year. The heat cycle usually lasts for 3 weeks during which your Yorkie would need special care.
During the heat cycle provide additional time and attention to your Yorkie (she might become needy). Keep your dog away from male dogs especially during walks. Keep her on a short leash. Offer your Yorkie tastier cuts of meat or her favorite food since she may suffer from appetite loss. If she shows signs of aggression, give her more space, and provide a quiet, children-free area.
If you want to get more details and tips about taking care of your Yorkie during the heat cycle keep reading this article.
Table of Contents
How Do I Comfort (Care) My Yorkie While in Heat?
The heat period is quite a special one and your Yorkie will feel much different than usual due to hormonal level changes.
Provide Your Yorkie Extra Attention
During her heat cycle, your Yorkie may become clingy, needy, quite snuggly but also nervous sometimes. Take a little more time than usual to cuddle her. She really needs that.
Distract her by providing some new toys
During her second phase called Estrus, she will have only one thought on her mind- to mate! In order to distract her and make focus on something else, a new, interesting toy or some safe chew toys would be perfect.
Provide Safe and Calm Area for Yorkie girl to rest
Yorkie in heat may feel more tired and sleepy. Provide a safe, calm, and children-free zone, where she can rest as much as she wants.
Use Doggy Diapers
During the first stage of the heat cycle, called Proestrus, your Yorkie girl will have vaginal bloody discharge.
Besides bloody discharge female dogs urinate more frequently so they can make additional mess unintentionally
To reduce the mess you can use doggy diapers that are very practical in this period especially if your Yorkie stays alone at home for several hours.
Even though dogs are able to clean themselves, it can happen that your Yorkie leaves some mess on the floor .
In that case, don’t yell at her, don’t scold her, just comfort her gently while you clean the mess.
Visit A Vet
If you are first time owner or you are especially concerned, the best thing to do is visit a vet. Even though the heat cycle is normal for female dogs, a veterinarian is the best person to ask for advice.
How To Walk My Yorkie While In Heat?
Some people mistakenly think that they shouldn’t walk the dogs in heat. On contrary, dogs in heat do require some physical activity. Maybe they have lower energy but still, they need to go out.
When you walk your Yorkie while in heat, you need to take precautions to avoid any unpleasant situations like unwanted litter.
First, make sure that the ID tag and microchip information are up to date. Dogs in heat usually have a strong urge to escape so they can find a mate so this way you will find your Yorkie easier if she runs away.
Another thing, you can invest in a GPS tracker for even better results.
Another thing- never leave your Yorkie unsupervised while outside. No matter you have a big yard with a tall/strong fence. You won’t believe what males are capable of when they smell the female in heat.
It’s recommended to walk your Yorkie in less sociable hours – very early in the morning and late in the evening to reduce the possibility of meeting other dogs.
Avoid any dog parks, dog shows, or public events where you think other dogs will show up. Pick some isolated place/park/path for a walk where you won’t be meeting other dogs.
It’s a good idea to mask the scent of your female in heat. Some dog owners apply a tiny amount of Vicks VapoRub cream on the tip of her tail that should keep the males away from her.
Dogs hate menthol scent but you should be careful and do not let her lick the area you applied the cream as this product contains menthol and camphor among others and these are toxic to dogs.
Giving your dog Chlorophyll tablets may also reduce the odor but you should consult the vet about the exact dosage. Never give any medicine to your dog before consulting the vet.
You should also prevent male dogs to track her scent all the way from the park or some other spot to your home.
Males can detect the scent of a female in heat up to 3 miles. So they know that there is some female in heat even if they don’t see her. Plus, males are attracted to females in heat even before they become receptive to males.
They can track her smell all the way to your home and then hang around trying to get to her. This is a possibly dangerous situation that should be prevented.
If you take a car ride from your home to the place where you will walk with your Yorkie and then ride back home, males will have no chance to track your girl.
Don’t forget though that your Yorkie in heat should be always on a leash while outside. No matter how trained she is, how obedient she is, her natural instincts would win in this situation, so keep her tight and never let any intact male come near her.
How To Keep Clean My Yorkie While In Heat?
As you know, the dog should have several baths during one year. Frequent baths are not good for their skin and fur. The general rule of thumb for Yorkies is one bath in two to four weeks unless your dog gets really dirty so you are forced to bathe him.
Like we said in the beginning, the heat period is a bit different than anything else so different rules apply when it comes to hygiene as well.
Even though Yorkie dogs like other breeds keep really good care about their intimate area, lick themselves more than usual, they might need your help in order to keep a good level of cleanliness.
During the first phase ( around 7 days ) of the heat cycle, you might be able to see the bloody discharge. The amount of discharge varies from dog to dog but still, it can make a mess. You can also see sometimes that discharge has hardened into your Yorkie’s fur.
So some extra baths will make no trouble to your Yorkie’s skin and fur. If you don’t feel the need to bathe your dog you can only wipe her intimate area on daily basis. This will keep her clean and will reduce the scent.
Many Yorkie owners use either disposable or washable diapers for dogs in heat. This can prevent a mess but never consider these items as contraception for dogs ( as some owners do) as males will easily find the way even if a female wears diapers or heat pants.
You can also place disposable absorbent pads on the place where your pet sleeps. You can also use washable pee pads.
What To Do If My Yorkie In Heat Won’t Eat?
This is a completely normal thing. Especially for the second phase ( Estrus). Your Yorkie has only one job to do and that is to find the mate and breed. Nothing else matters, not even the food.
Luckily the appetite loss during heat doesn’t last long enough to harm your dog but still, you have to do your best so your Yorkie gets all nutrients she needs.
No matter how well she usually eats, during those days she may become a picky eater. That means that she likes one food today but totally dislikes it tomorrow. As a good dog parent, you have to cope with it.
- Offer her favorite food more often than you usually do.
- Bribe her with some tasty treats.
- Give her tastier cuts of meat.
- Put some delicious topping over her regular food. That can be a healthy and tasty fish or coconut oil or even peanut butter. You can always purchase ready- to use toppers or cook a delicious unsalted chicken broth and soak her kibbles in it. It will give her a different texture and improve its dry food taste.
- Treat her with some tasty fruits like blueberries, strawberries, or bananas.
Always make sure your Yorkie drinks enough water to keep her hydrated.
If she refuses to eat, try hand-feeding, in some cases, it helps since she needs more of your attention and affection.
Your Yorkie won’t be so interested in food during the first and second phase of her heat cycle ( around 2 weeks ) . If her appetite doesn’t recover and gets back on track after the heat cycle symptoms are over, you should consult the vet.
Conclusion
Your Yorkie will go into heat every 6 months or so, she will stay in heat for approximately 3 weeks, and during that period she will require special care and attention.
The most important thing you need to do is to give her more cuddles and more of your time if she asks for them.
Another equally important thing is to keep her away from an intact male. This means that you should seal up your house, don’t let any intact male come in, always supervise your girl while outside, walk her on a leash and never let her go near males.
I really do hope that you find this article helpful and that you will find some tips on how to handle and take care properly of your Yorkie female in heat.