Age and Heat

Question
QUESTION: I have a Yorkshire Terrier Miniature bitch, and she is 7 months old. At what age are they classed as an adult dog? At what age do you change their diet from puppy food to adult food, her current food is Pedigree puppy, chicken and rice.
At what stage in her life is she most likely to come into her first heat, and how long roughly will it last for?

Thank you,
Abbey.

ANSWER: Abbey,

A yorkie is considered an adult when they are one year old.  Technically you are supposed to keep feeding them puppy food until they reach one year but I don't think that is necessarily true.  The difference between adult food and puppy food is primarily fat content.  Puppies need the fat in the puppy food in a similar way that babies need the fat content in milk.  I usually took my puppies off puppy food when they were about 9 months old.  They are big enough and mature enough in my opinion to handle it and I believe that it helps to keep them from getting to fat at a young age.

Yorkies belong to the "Toy" breed and heat cycles vary depending on the size of the dog.  Most large dogs will go into heat every six months like clockwork but yorkies are a little different.  They can go into heat anywhere from 6 months to 18 months.  The first heat can take the longest to begin but after that they usually come into heat about every 9 months.  The heat cycle is usually pretty standard.  The first week they will bleed heavy and bright red blood.  The second week they will bleed but it will be a pink milky color and not be as heavy, it is this time (day 7 - 13) that they can get pregnant.  The third week they will not bleed or have discharge but the pee pee remains swollen.  So the heat cycle basically lasts for three weeks.  Please keep in mind that these are general figures and vary with the individual dog.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Every night I have been putting my dog in her pen downstairs since the first week after I got her. I always make sure I leave her with a couple of her toys, her basket, fresh water and paper for her to go to the toilet on. She was brilliant in there, always weeing a pooing on the paper, up until the last few nights. When in her pen she even refuses her treat on weeing. When I come down in the mornings she has either screwed the newspaper up or shredded it, and trod in her mess (which she has never done before)and her urine can be anywhere.
She's a little bit on and off with her food, not too bad though. But I have read on here before that they can act out of character when they are in season, but she is 7 months. Is this possible at all? Or could there be another reason for her behaving like this?
She had two completely clean nights, and as soon as she is completely clean she will be coming upstairs at night.

Thank you,
Abbey

Answer
Abbey,

Think of your yorkie as a child.  Now think of your yorkie as being in the terrible twos stage of development.  That is just one possibility for the reasons she has begun acting this way.  Puppies do not sleep through the night and so when they wake up they want to play.  She gets full of it and then starts to tear up the papers and basically trashes her pen.  This is perfectly normal for her age and as for trotting in her mess, that can't be helped when you are going crazy in your pen.

The second reason I can think of is that she is angry with you for putting her in her pen.  Dogs cannot talk so they find the only way they can communicate with you and that is by doing something bad.  Again, this behavior can be closely correlated with that of a child.  When you do something that they don't like they will act up to show you their disapproval.  I had a dog once that was so mad at me for leaving him alone all day while I was at work he tore holes in the cushions on my couch!  As they grow older and wiser the bond between you becomes stronger and therefore the separation becomes more stressful for them.

Let me ask you, before she started tearing up her pen did she have nights that she went without going to the bathroom in her pen?  How large of an area is her pen?  It is best to restrict her sleeping area to about the same size as she is.  You place a towel in the cage and that is all.  She does not need toys or papers at 7 months she should be able to hold it till morning.  She definitely does not need to have water in her cage.  My suggestion to you would be to make her pen only large enough for her to lay down and sleep in, remove the water, toys, and papers and replace them with a comfy towel.  The reason I say a towel is because you will probably have to wash it a few times before she gets the idea that she does not want to go potty in her sleeping quarters.  Take her out to potty before you go to bed and within a few days the problem should be solved.  Each dog is different so it may take longer than a few days but if you are consistent then she should be fine.  

Abbey, I don't know if you have children (if not this is good practice for the future) but if you do try to think of your little girl as a child and apply the things you know to her and you will find that you will get good results.  Yorkies are very smart, mischievous and stubborn and the trick is to outsmart them.