To make or buy a first aid kit for your Morkie, you need the basics, including:
- Adhesive tape
- Ointment or antiseptic cream (such as Polysporin Ointment, Polytracin or Betadine Antibiotic)
- Sanitary pads, to use as large bandages for bleeding
- Plenty of cotton gauze and scissors
- Hydrogen peroxide, mixed with water to induce vomiting (always check with your Vet or poison centre first)
- Kwik Stop Styptic powder or cornstarch for small bleeding, like nails
- Muzzle
- Baby’s rectal thermometer and petroleum jelly
- Rubbing alcohol
- Pepto-Bismal®
- Benadryl® (more about Benadryl® below)
- Tweezers or Tick Remover (or both)
- Blanket to cover/carry dog
But if there’s a major injury, how are you going to keep that pad or gauze in place until you can get to the Vet or until your Morkie can heal? The answer:
Vet wrap!
Too many people have a first aid kit with bandage material and lots more, but sadly no vet wrap. Believe me, you’ll be grateful for vet wrap the first time you need to use it.
“Vet Wrap” is also know as Corban and can be found at drug stores or in colors at sporting good stores. You can also find it in tack / feed stores where they sell it for wrapping horses’ legs. It is much cheaper buying it at a tack store than it is buying it at the Vet’s or at a medical supply store.
Or, order it (complete with pawprints) at a great price online at Amazon.com
Some more things you may want in a first aid kit:
SUNSCREEN!!! There are brands formulated for dogs: Doggles, GNC pets, and Epi-pet. you put sunscreen on the nose and ears and the tummy, and spray all over light colored dogs. Dogs sunburn and get skin cancer too.
Pepto-Bismol®. Don’t mix Pepto-Bismol® with aspirin and don’t give it to cats. The active ingredient is a salicylate (0.5-1 ml per pound of dog). But for diarrhea and upset tummies, can’t beat a bit of Pepto-Bismol for your Morkie, Yorkie or Maltese.
Note about Benadryl®. For itching and allergies. 1 mg per pound of dog. My vet recommends having some in the kit. Even my 7 pound dogs will take 1 children’s tablet or half an adult tablett, or children’s liquid. Benadryl is an older drug that dogs actually tolerate better than humans do. The liquid is good to put right on bug bites and tick bites too. Could be a lifesaver if the dog gets into poison ivy or gets a bee sting or rolls in a fire ant colony. Tell your Vet how much the dog has been given within the 8 hours prior to the visit if you have to go to the animal hospital.
Pepto-Bismol is a registered trademark of Procter & Gamble. Benadryl is a registered trademark of McNEIL-PPC, Inc.
Read more about a big danger for small dogs like Morkies: Hypogylcemia in dogs
I have a question about3 days ago my puppy who is 6 weeks old was having trouble going to the bathroom his feces was getting stuck half way out of his anus. it seems the problem was I was feeding him beef.so I put him back on chicken and the problem was better now when he goes it gets stuck in his hair and on his butt I cleaned him and his anus looked really sore so I put some Vaseline on it. did I do the right thing and is there anything eles I could’ve done. I bought the puppy from a friend and don’t know much about them and she doesn’t either. thank you for your time
Thanks for your email.
First, 6 weeks old is too young to leave his mom… should be AT LEAST 8 weeks
It’s always tricky balancing small dog’s food so that the stool is not too soft and not too hard. You’ve done really well. You might trim just a little bit of hair away form the anus as well as what you’re doing now. Besides vaseline, you can also use a diaper rash cream for babies, like Burt’s Bees Diaper Ointment – it’s highly recommended.
Debbie, I’m sending you an email with the link where you can download, at no charge, the Complete Guide to Feeding Your Morkie. I think it will help you with your little pup. Best wishes, do keep in touch. Regards, Deb@aboutmorkies.com
OMG there is a link to help feed these angels, Tara is the most finicky thing I have ever seen!! I could really use some advise
My Morkie is 9 weeks old and I’ve been told so many different things about how you should feed them. I understand Hypoglycemia is their biggest porblem at this age and I’m trying to avoid that.What is the best advice on feeding them? Moist or just dry? I have been feeding him 3 times a day. I also give a little high calorie booster paste daily. Should I? I just want to do the best job I can for him so he’s healthy. I’m feeding him Sciense Diet dry Puppy food for now. Is there something different I should be doing? Thank You!!
Hi Denise! Yes dog food can be really confusing. It’s sad that the big brand names is churning out such bad, and dangerous, food.
And there are so many choices today – holistic diet, RAW, homemade food, commercial food and lots more!
For a Morkie puppy, it’s very important that the food you feed is very high quality, because they eat so little. Every bite must count!
Even your Science Diet has changed. It was originally formulated by Dr. Mark Morris, and considered to be top quality. But then after his death in 2007, the company was sold to the Colgate-Palmolive Company who started to take shortcuts and the quality dropped off, along with the sales volume.
In my view, the best diet for a Morkie is a combination of wet (canned) and dry food.
Very good dry foods (little or no corn, high protein) include:
*Arcana (small breed)
*Amicus Dog Food products – includes three kibbles designed for small and mini breed animals
*Go! Sensitivity – a high-quality, all duck dog food for Morkies who may have food sensitivities or dull coats.
*NOW! Grain free dry dog food – Offers a small breed size. The first ingredient in this dog food is turkey, followed by potato flour.
*Orjen from Champion – high-quality, local ingredients
*Wellness Core – Ranked as one of the best dry dog foods by the independent site, DogFoodAnalysis.com
*Blue Buffalo – advertised as “healthy and holistic,” Blue Buffalo has 9 different lines, specially made for small dogs. Preferred by holistic veterinarians and specialists.
Top quality wet foods include:
*Newman’s Own Organics Grain Free product line includes three canned dog foods, all free of synthetic preservatives
*Canidae Grain Free Pure (Canned) – human grade protein
*Drs. Foster and Smith Fish & Potato canned dog food’s first ingredient is whitefish, a protein-rich freshwater species
*Drs. Foster and Smith – Chicken & Brown Rice Formula and Lamb & Brown Rice Formula. Each features real meat or poultry – no artificial preservatives, colors, or by-products
I hope these suggestions help you with your Morkie Denise!
Deb@MorkieNation.com
Thank You so much for your time and reply to help my 9 week old puppy be as healthy as i can do!! Bubba Thanks you too!! 🙂
You’re very welcome! Thanks for coming by AboutMorkies.com
My adorable little female Morkie is 11 years old and will eat just about anything. Her problem is with panting and seizures. She was rushed to the vet and was prescribed liquid medication which completely controls her seizures. Was told these were not uncommon in her breed.