Shorkie Dog Breed Information, Health Problems

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shorkie

A shorkie puppy is one of the best pets for you. No matter if you are a new owner, this pet will suit you. A shorkie is a cute small dog that you can cuddle with.

The Breed

Shorkie is a cross-breed of Yorkshire terrier and a Shih Tzu. So it is a package of the features of both. There’s no breed standard for Shorkies. So it is hard to predict whose appearance and temperance will a puppy get after breed. A matured Shorkie will display balanced characteristics of the breed. Many features including appearance, personality, and characteristics depend on the two crossbreeds.

Appearance

Many people love to have a Shorkie as the pet. Their appearance is so adorable that makes us never reject them as a pet. A shorkie has sleek, long, and straight fur that is more similar to that of human hair. The shorkie puppy’s owners used to cut the coat into a ‘teddy bear’ cut.

Characteristics

This dog weighs about 5 to 12 pounds. The breed size is small which is about 25 lbs. A dog reaches a height of 6 to 11 inches. They are available in a variety of colors including grey, black, blue, red, cream, white, gold/yellow, and fawn depending on the breed. The face is darker compared to their body. They have straight and silky hair.
Shorkies are spunky, energetic, and playful. They even don’t know that they are small. A shorkie always loves to jump onto your lap and cuddle.

Which breed of shorkie is ideal for your home?

You can share your home and garden with the shorkie. Make sure that, your puppy or the adult shorkie gets the required physical activities and mental activities that keep them happy. You need to concern about the health of the shorkie too.
Shorkies love to interact with the owner. They hate being alone. You can take the him for walks. It is better to let the dog walk from its own feet. You must consider the safety of your pet. Otherwise, it will be injured while walking on dangerous pathways.

How to train a shorkie?

Shorkies are a highly intelligent dog breed. But training a shorkie is a challenging task. You can play with shorkie puppies. It is easy to train the dog to walk on a lead and come back when called. Shorkies are capable of chasing after small creatures like squirrels. You can give an interactive mechanical toy like a fish on a string to play with. Shorkies like to play indoor games like hiding and seek.

You can cope with the shorkie puppies with friends and family members. So they will grow into well-balanced and outgoing adults. It is also recommended to mingle shorkie puppies with sociable pups and patient adult dogs to make them more social. But try to choose healthy dogs as the friends of your shorkie.

How to care for a shorkie?

Caring for a shorkie is not a difficult task. You can allocate one hour from your day to take care of the shorkie. You can take shorkies for a 30 minutes walk daily. The puppy can be your companion for walks and sofa cuddles. It will give them good exercise too.

The health of puppies is really important as it affects our health too. Daily teeth cleaning is essential to a shorkie as they are prone to frequent dental problems. It is recommended to use a toothbrush or dental chews. The fur on the shorkies skin grows quite long and matted easily. So you must brush them daily to remove tangles. Shorkies belong to the low shredding breed. So you need to maintain regular trips to the groomers.

Shorkies have sensitive skin. Most of the human products are not compatible with this small dog breed. So try to stick to specially formulated dog care products.

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Health problems related with Shorkies

The health of Yorkshire and Shih Tzu directly affects the health of shorkie puppies. The illness and anatomic defects of the crossbreed were passed on to the pups. It is better to seek help from a good vet whenever your shorkie puppies are ill. As mentioned earlier, shorkies undergo dental problems like teeth crowding and mouth. It is common to see premature tooth loss in small breeds like Shorkies.

Brachycephalic airway syndrome is one of the common issues related to this breed. It is common among Shih Tzus. You need to be careful when the dog is stressed or excited. Never use dogs showing marked respiratory diseases for future breeding.Both Yorkies and Shih Tzus have a risk of heart diseases. So shorkies also have a kind of risk. Obesity is another health issue related to your puppies. If you don’t have an idea about the amount of food to feed on shorkies, then seek the help of a veterinarian.

When you are getting a shorkie puppy, try to ask for a recent clear eyes test for the parents of the puppy. They are more likely to undergo bad eye conditions like lens luxation and glaucoma. Whenever you notice an eye issue with your pet dog, take him to a vet.

The lifespan of a shorkie

Though we can have two or more puppies during our lifetime, a puppy will get most probably a single owner. If you can’t take care of a shorkie for its lifetime, then don’t select him as a pet. Normally, a shorkie lives for 11-16 years.

To Sum Up

A shorkie puppy is one of the best pets that you can have at home. They don’t like to be alone. They love to hang out with you. so try to spend most of the tie with your pet. Don’t try to overfeed shorkie puppies. It is bad for their health. You can feed them with high-energy-containing food twice a day. Give them a small portion from the beginning of the meal. Your smokie dogs can’t tolerate extreme heat as they come from two breeds that are not compatible with extreme temperatures. Cover up your pet with coats or sweaters during winter to keep them warm. You must take necessary actions to protect shorkies during the hot seasons too. Keep in mind, you should buy a shorkie only if you have enough time to care for him.

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Few More Dog Breeds!

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Categories: Dog Breeds

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