BEST Grooming Tips & Secret for Teacup Yorkies

This page helps you with tips and advice on grooming your Teacup Yorkie.

Note that these dogs are also known as either miniature Yorkshire Terriers, Teacup Yorkshire Terriers, mini Yorkies, micro Yorkies or Toy Yorkies.

To groom at home, you will need a soft brush and wide-toothed comb. Start at your dog’s head and work through his coat to remove any tangles before they become knots.

It is essential that this is done every day for a long-haired Yorkie, which is why so many people keep their dog short coated.

The skin of a tiny Yorkie is very fine and can become sore, so be sure to go gently. If your dog expects pulled hair, he will not want to be groomed for long. Stop regularly and give him a tiny treat; this will keep him happy and relaxed.

Don’t brush your Yorkie’s coat when it is completely dry, and do not use a natural bristle brush. It is always best to lightly mist or damp the coat first to prevent the fine hairs breaking.

Take extra care to check the hair around his ears and anus area, for these are often the first to knot up.

I sometimes cut knots from Penny rather than pull on them as it’s easier on her and it saves her showing me her tiny teeth (or those she has left after dental surgery when she arrived).

You can buy nail clippers, but one thing to know is that a dog’s quick grows right into his nail, which is fine for clear toenails because you can see it but not so useful for black ones.

If you choose to cut your dog’s nails at home, then always just nip off the end otherwise you could hurt him and he will never let you near his feet again. The best time to clip the nails is after the bath when the nails are softened.

Bathing a Miniature Yorkshire Terrier is usually pretty easy. I use baby shampoo for Penny and this or a very gentle adult shampoo is fine, or special dog shampoo. They will need bathing regularly due to being unable to shed their coat, which hangs onto all the dirt. Penny has a bath once a month.

It is an amusing activity because a soaking wet Yorkie looks very different without his fluff.

Make sure to keep the hair on the top third of the earflaps trimmed very short in an inverted v shape front and back, otherwise the ears will droop due to the excessive weight.

Not taking the time to regularly involve your little Yorkie puppy in grooming sessions could lead to serious, unwanted behavior that may include trauma to your dog, not to mention stress or injury to you in the form of biting and scratching.

When you neglect regular, daily, or at least a weekly at-home grooming session with your puppy or dog to remove tangles and keep mats to a minimum, it will also cost you a higher fee should you opt to have regular clipping and grooming carried out at a professional salon.

An effective home regimen will include not just surface brushing, but also getting to all those sensitive areas easily missed around the ears and collar area, the armpit area, and the back end and tail.

Do not allow yourself to get caught in the “my dog doesn’t like it” trap, which is an excuse many owners will use to avoid regular grooming sessions. When you allow your dog to dictate whether they will permit a grooming session, you are setting a dangerous precedent.

There is no doubt that the Yorkie coat type is one of high maintenance. Like human hair it will grow and grow, although the breed does not have an undercoat nor does it shed like many other dogs, which makes them a suitable pet for many pet hair allergy sufferers.

However, as a consequence of the continual growth, Yorkshire Terrier hair will tangle into a terrible mess if not maintained.

You can keep the long coat and comb your Yorkie every day. This is necessary to prevent dreadlocks and skin problems. This is possible whether you send him to the groomers for a bath and tidy up on a regular basis or do it yourself with a comb and scissors. You will need to either tie your dog’s fringe back or cut it off for this option. This will enable your Yorkie to see.

Grooming Yourself at Home

To groom at home, you will need a soft brush and wide-toothed comb. Start at your dog’s head and work through his coat to remove any tangles before they become knots.

It is essential that this is done every day for a long-haired Yorkie, which is why so many people keep their dog short coated.

The skin of a tiny Yorkie puppy is very fine and can become sore, so be sure to go gently. If your dog expects pulled hair, he will not want to be groomed for long. Stop regularly and give him a tiny treat; this will keep him happy and relaxed.

Don’t brush your Yorkie’s coat when it is completely dry, and do not use a natural bristle brush. It is always best to lightly mist or damp the coat first to prevent the fine hairs breaking.

Take extra care to check the hair around his ears and anus area, for these are often the first to knot up. I sometimes cut knots from Penny rather than pull on them as it’s easier on her and it saves her showing me her tiny teeth (or those she has left after dental surgery when she arrived).

You can buy nail clippers, but one thing to know is that a dog’s quick grows right into his nail, which is fine for clear toenails because you can see it but not so useful for black ones. If you choose to cut your dog’s nails at home, then always just nip off the end otherwise you could hurt him and he will never let you near his feet again. The best time to clip the nails is after the bath when the nails are softened.

Clipping and Cutting Yorkie Hair

If you have decided to learn how to clip your teacup Yorkie’s hair yourself, rather than taking them to a professional grooming salon, you will need to purchase all the tools necessary and learn how to properly use them.

The first step will be learning which blades to use in your electric clipper in order to get the length of cut you desire.

The “blade cut” refers to the length of the dog’s hair that will remain after cutting against the natural lie of the hair.

As an example, if the blade cut indicates 1/4” (0.6 cm) the length of your mini Yorkie’s hair after cutting will be 1/4” (0.6 cm) if you cut with the natural growth of their hair, or it will be 1/8” (0.3 cm) if you cut against the direction of the hair growth.

Even if you decide to leave the full grooming to the professionals, in between grooming sessions you will still need to have a brush, a comb, a small pair of scissors and a pair of nail clippers on hand, so that you can keep the hair clipped away from your Yorkie’s eyes, knots and tangles out of their coat, and their nails trimmed short.

A good quality clipper for a teacup Yorkie, such as an “Andis,” “Wahl” or “Oster” professional electric clipper will cost between $100 and $300 (£60 and £180) or more, and blades cost extra.

Make sure to keep the hair on the top third of the earflaps trimmed very short in an inverted v shape front and back, otherwise the ears will droop due to the excessive weight.

Paying for a Groomer

You can have your little dog professionally clipped to keep his coat easy to maintain. If you go for this option, it is important to remember that a teacup Yorkie feels the cold. So you will need to invest in good quality dog clothing.

A good professional groomer should cut your dog’s nails, clean his teeth and pluck excess hair from within his ears. If you do choose a groomer, like everything else, check their customer reviews and experience with the breed.

Fleas and Ticks

I’m including fleas and ticks under Teacup Yorkie grooming because that’s when they’re usually found. Don’t think that if your Teacup Yorkie has “passengers” you’re doing something wrong, or that the dog is at fault. This is a part of dog ownership. Sooner or later, it will happen. Address the problem, but don’t panic.

To get rid of fleas, bathe your dog in warm water with a standard canine shampoo. I recommend you comb him at least once daily, every day during pest season with a flea comb that is fine-toothed to trap the live parasites. Submerge the comb in hot soapy water to kill the fleas. Do this on a white towel so you actually can see what’s coming off your dog as you comb.

Wash the Teacup dog’s bedding and any soft materials with which he has come in contact. Look for any accumulations of flea dirt, which is blood excreted by adult fleas. Wash the bedding and other surfaces daily for at least a week to kill any remaining eggs before they hatch.

While nobody likes to use chemicals on their dogs, it seems almost impossible to use anything else in the battle with fleas, ticks, and bugs! For the last decade or so, I have used a safe lawn product in my dog yards that kill fleas, ticks, spiders, mosquitoes, and more. I go by the directions and don’t allow the dogs to go to those yards until after a rain or watering after application, since then I usually do not need to use any other products on the dogs. I do a lawn application at the end of March, the end of June, and the last one in September.

Do NOT use a commercial flea product on a Mini Yorkie puppy of less than 12 weeks of age, and be extremely careful with adult dogs. Most of the major products contain pyrethrum. The chemical can cause long-term neurological damage and even fatalities in small dogs.

TIP: Nexgard is a treatment for fleas and it also treats for heartworms, so it is time efficient. Also, Dawn dish soap kills fleas and is safe for all ages.

TIP: A collar, like the Seresto collar, is an innovative flea and tick collar that protects for up to 8 months by a slow release of insecticide — without the need to remember monthly applications.

If your Miniature Yorkie is outside a lot, check for ticks on a regular basis, as these eight-legged parasites can carry diseases. Look out for warning signs such as lack of movement, swollen joints, fever, and loss of appetite.

If you find a tick, coat it with a thick layer of petroleum jelly for 5 minutes to suffocate the parasite and cause its jaws to release. Pluck the tick off with a pair of tweezers using a straight motion. An alternative is a tick remover, which is a tool similar to a bottle opener. Never just jerk a tick off a dog. The parasite’s head stays behind and continues to burrow into the skin, making a painful sore.

Clean the wound with antiseptic and make sure to clean your tweezers with isopropyl alcohol to sterilize them. Keep an eye on the area where the tick was to see if an infection surfaces. If the skin remains irritated or infected, make an appointment with your veterinarian.

Many Yorkie breeders are choosing to avoid harsh chemicals and over-vaccination, choosing instead to use homeopathic nosodes, natural wormers, and work on keeping their immune systems healthy. They tend to feed a raw, species-appropriate diet and don’t treat their dogs for fleas unless they see them.

They also do regular worm counts on their older dogs to see if they actually have worms. Diotomaceous Earth added to the food daily helps to keep your dog clear of worms but if purchasing, make sure it’s food grade. For dogs that don’t like extras added to their food, I use Four Seasons. Ground pumpkin seeds can also be used.

Want to know even more as a professional Teacup Yorkie dog trainer – take a look at my Micro Yorkie book…

Here is a video of a very angry teacup yorkie at the dog groomer:

Keep coming back here – we will be shortly expanding this page to include information on: haircuts, styles, styling, care, bathing, accessories for grooming, combing, cleaning, dental and puppy potty training.