Few things are as helpless, too.
Newborn puppies can’t see, can’t hear and can’t walk.
They are completely reliant on their mother, even for something as basic as regulating their body heat.
How long does it take for puppies to develop enough that they can begin to do things for themselves.
When do Yorkie puppies start walking?
Keep reading for the answers to those questions, along with anything else you need to know about a Yorkshire terrier’s early developmental phases.
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When Do Yorkie Puppies Start Walking?
On average, you can expect the puppies in your litter to start walking at 3 to 5 weeks of age. No Yorkie puppy is the same, so it does vary.
But it is unlikely that they start walking before the three week mark, because they are still developing at that age. By the time puppies have reached 5 weeks, they are well developed.
In addition to being able to walk, their eyesight is well developed, and they will start to wag their tails and bark to engage in socialization and playtime.
If you have a Yorkshire terrier puppy that is just beginning to walk, or is getting close to that point, there are a few things you need to know to properly care for it. We’ll look at those now.
Your Yorkie Puppies Pen
When you begin to notice that your Yorkie puppies have sprung onto their legs, you’re going to want to make sure their pen stays as clean as possible.
This is mainly because a Yorkie’s eyes start to open around the same time it learns to walk. It is going to want to explore as much as they can. It will also be able to get up and walk to a specific area to relieve itself.
My advice for keeping their pen clean is to make sure that your puppies always have fresh bedding and newspaper laid out.
Clean newspaper is important because they will begin to learn the scent of a fresh newspaper, and that it is far nicer than the scent of urine-soaked newspaper. This should encourage the puppies to leave their pen to relieve themselves.
If you set up a large area of newspaper outside of the pen, try to aim for this area to be twice the size of the pen. This should help you with any Yorkie puppies that are not yet toilet trained.
Development Stages
There are two development stages that your Yorkie puppy will embark on as a new-born. The neonatal stage and the transitional period. It is during the transitional period that your Yorkie learns how to walk.
Neonatal Period
The neonatal stage lasts until your Yorkie is two weeks old. Your Yorkie puppies will be born blind and deaf, and the only sense they will have is their sense of smell. It is this sense that a Yorkie puppy uses to locate its mother.
The puppy can not yet regulate its own body temperature. It’s mother and siblings help keep it warm. In addition to keeping her babies warm, the mother also provides them with milk from breastfeeding.
She ensures the puppies get all of the nutrients and antibodies they need to become strong and healthy, which helps them move on to their next stage of development. Without the vital antibodies in the breastmilk, the puppies will grow up much more susceptible to disease.
During this period, all puppies spend most of their time sleeping. They need to store up plenty of energy, which they then spend nursing when they are awake. They need to grow quickly, doubling their weight.
Transitional Period
The transitional period starts from 2 weeks and goes up to 4 weeks. This is when your Yorkie puppy becomes more active. It develops ears and begin to open its eyes.
Puppies become more playful with their siblings and more influential in their new world during this stage. It is also when they begin to walk.
Not only that, they start to wag their tails and learn how to bark to communicate with their mother and siblings.
Nursing Your Yorkie Puppies
Nursing is an important part of your puppy’s development and is key in helping it develop its mobility.
A new-born Yorkie can’t regulate its own body temperature. Newborns rely on their mother to provide them with the necessary amount of heat to keep them comfortable.
You can also help keep your puppies warm by making sure their pen is not located in a cold and/or drafty area. Another step you can take is buying a heated lamp to place over the pen. But make sure it is high enough above the pen, so that you don’t burn your puppies or their mother!
Make sure that you also give extra care to the mother during the first few weeks. She’ll need extra food to make up for all the energy she is giving to her pups
Her Yorkies are going to need this energy to make them strong enough to get their legs up and moving. You could always ask your vet for a good food choice that will give both the mother, and her babies, all the nutrition they need.
You also want to keep an eye on the puppies to see if any of them is not gaining enough weight. It could be that it is not feeding enough from the mother. It may be the case that it needs an extra helping hand when it comes to latching onto its mother’s breast.
Once your puppies have hit the four week mark, they should be up and moving. You may also start to notice that their teeth are starting to grow
When this happens, and they start showing more interest in their mother’s food, rather than her milk, you may want to switch them over to special puppy food.
Playtime
When your puppies reach five weeks old, they should have fully developed their eyesight. By this stage, not only will they be able to walk, but they will also be able to see where they are walking to!
This means they will start to become much more playful, especially as they learn to socialize. They will have started to wag their tails and bark, as they learn to interact with their brothers and sisters.
When Yorkie Puppies Start Walking: Related Questions
Next, let’s take a look at some common questions related to when puppies start to walk. If you have any additional questions, please ask them in the comments below.
How Long Should Yorkie Puppies Stay With Their Mother?
The minimum amount of time a Yorkie puppy should stay with its mother is 12 weeks. Anything from 12 to 16 weeks is a good time for a Yorkie puppy to go to its new home.
Anything before 12 weeks can lead to issues like separation anxiety. This can cause numerous problems for new owners, like eating problems and crying.
When Can You Take Your Yorkie Out On Walks?
You need to wait until your Yorkie puppy has had all of its necessary vaccinations before you can start taking it out on a walk. Most puppies will be ready to take on the outside world from 12 to 16 weeks.
It’s important that they have all of their necessary shots before letting them run around anywhere public, because they can pick up lots of nasty diseases from outside areas and from other dogs.
These diseases can be dangerous and include conditions like parvovirus, canine hepatitis, and leptospirosis.
At this stage, your pup should also be fully developed enough to enjoy its walk. It will be able to run around, socialize with other dogs, and maybe even learn some tricks that you can teach it while walking.
When Yorkie Puppies Walk: Conclusion
All puppies are different and they all mature at a different pace. But the vast majority of Yorkshire terrier puppies start to walk between the ages of 3 weeks and 5 weeks.
This is a time of rapid development for them. They develop their hearing and eyesight, they begin to wag their tails, and they start barking. As a result, they become much more playful and start interacting with their siblings and their surroundings.
If you notice that your puppy is not walking normally, it is probably best to take it to a vet. Your Yorkie walking weird right from the beginning indicates there might be a genetic issue.
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