Recsued elderly yorkie

Question
I volunteer at a local no kill shelter.  Recently someone brought in a 3 pound flee infested female older yorkie ( we think around 8 - 10 years old).   I want to give her the best care I can.  She has a few health concerns.  She has a large bare spot on her back and sparse hair on the remaining of her body.  Should I be concern about sun exposure when I take her out to potty, and what can I do to moisturize her skin and hair, plus will her hair grow back?  The second concern is diet.  She has lost most of her teeth.  What should I feed her, how often and how much do I give?  Thank you

Answer
Twila,

She has probably lost her hair because of the severe flea infestation.  My first concern would be any open sores she may have from the fleas and her getting an infection.  If you can you should bath her with dawn dish washing detergent.  It will be gentler on her skin than flea shampoo and it will kill the fleas.  I would suggest that you shave her hair off as close as you can with clippers (it can grow back later when she has healed).  This will give her skin a chance to heal and help keep the fleas away until she has gotten better.

I do not think that the exposure to the sun will be a problem as long as you do not leave her outside in the sun for an extended period of time.  Also, the large bare spot could be mange so you may want to have her seen by a vet.  After you shave her you can put lotion on her skin if it is dry but if it appears to be ok then there would be no need to put any lotion on it.  Once the flea infestation is taken care of her hair and skin should get better fairly quickly.  

Most Yorkies have problems with their teeth as they get older.  Since she has obviously been abused I would feed her as much as she wants as often as she wants.  I don't suggest canned dog food because it is very rich and can be tough on an older dogs digestive system.  I would start off feeding her moist dog food to see if she can chew it even though she does not have many teeth.  If she seems to be able to chew soft dog food then any brand will do just as long as she seems to be able to tolerate it.  If she cannot chew the moist dog food then you may have to try an alternative.  You can purchase a hard dog food and put some in a bowl.  Then put very hot tap water in the bowl, just enough to cover the dog food.  Let it stand for a few minutes until all the water has soaked up into the dog food.  At this point it should be very soft and moist.  Give it to her and see if she will eat it.  If at first you have trouble you could use puppy chow until she is able to eat adult dog food.  With her being so tiny I don't think that you have to worry about her getting fat.  

Because she is small and her teeth are bad you should make food available to her 24/7 so that she can regain some strength.  Watch her closely because if she has lost a lot of teeth then she may have some bad teeth still in her mouth which could prevent her from eating.  Dogs do not show pain unless they are in excruciating pain so she could have bad teeth that are causing her pain and you would not know it unless you observe her when she is eating.  

Hopefully with a little TLC she will improve in the next few days.  Just getting the fleas off of her and giving her some much needed nourishment and love will go a long way towards making her feel better.  God Bless you for volunteering your time to help this poor little girl.  If you can please write me back in a week and let me know how she is doing.  I will be worried about her and it would put my mind at ease if you let me know how she is.