First Aid Kit for Elderly Yorkshire Terrier

A 13-year-old Yorkie is a proper senior — their skin gets thinner and more fragile with age, and standard dressings that would be fine on a younger dog can actually cause damage when you try to remove them. What are you most worried about with her? Small wounds, protecting a paw, something else?

That's very common in elderly small breeds — the skin just doesn't have the same resilience it once did. The bruising tells you the same story: everything is more delicate. So the two things you want to avoid are anything adhesive directly on her skin, and anything with compression. Even light self-adhesive bandages can be too much at this age if you're not careful. What does she weigh roughly?

Right, that makes sense. Cohesive bandages are often applied too tightly without realising — they cling to themselves and it's easy to add more pressure than you intend, especially on a dog that small. For her, I'd go with PetFlex No Chew bandage in the 5cm width. It's a self-adherent wrap but it's extremely light, conforms well without gripping tight, and crucially it doesn't stick to skin or fur when you remove it. The 'no chew' formulation has a mild bitter taste which also discourages her from worrying at a dressing — useful if she's the type to lick at anything on her legs.

Yes — because it only adheres to itself, not to her skin or coat, removal is just a matter of unwinding it rather than peeling anything away. The key thing with an elderly dog is to apply it loosely: you should be able to slide a finger underneath easily. Use a non-stick wound pad like a Melolin dressing underneath to cover the actual wound, then wrap PetFlex over the top just to hold it in place. That combination keeps everything gentle. Keep the 5cm roll rather than a wider one — easier to control the tension on a small dog.

For her specifically, saline wound wash is worth having — it cleans gently without stinging, which matters when skin is fragile. A digital thermometer and a note of her vet's out-of-hours number are non-negotiables at her age. And honestly, a small notebook to log any new lumps, wounds or changes is genuinely useful — elderly dogs can change quickly, and having dates and notes helps your vet enormously.