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lindsayloo
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lindsayloo is offline  
Location: West Yorks
Joined: Aug 2007
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06-09-2007, 07:39 PM

Help how can i get my yorkie pup to eat more


Hello, i have a five and a half month old yorkie pup. I am having a nightmare getting her to eat enough

she will eat treats and our food no problems but try and give her her own food and she doesnt want to know. Initially we thought it was the dry food so we changed her to moist food.....she went wild about it .......for a few days then back to square one

she is only eating about 3/4 of a tin when she should be having 1 & a 1/4 tin.i admit i have at times hand fed her just to get her to eat this amount.

Today i tried a different tactic i took the food up after 15 minutes and have not fed her any other food/treat etc. she has eaten small amounts but only about 1/2 a tin if that.
what i want to know is am i doing the right thing here. I am worried about her weight as she is only tiny and the risk of hypoglycaemia with her being a toy dog. Any info gratefully apreciated

......ooh and one more question (sorry i am complete novice to dog owning!)
how many times should you keep taking the food up and putting it down again, because i fear i have probably put it down too many times....phew thanks for listening Lindsay.
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ShaynLola
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Location: N. Ireland
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06-09-2007, 08:01 PM
Hi Lindsay Welcome to Dogsey!

If she is eating 1/2 to 3/4 of the recommended amount then I wouldn't worry too much. The amount stated on the tin/packet is just a very rough guideline and many dogs will be fine with less while others might need more. A healthy dog will not intentionally starve itself and if she is bright and active then she is most probably getting enough to eat. Yorkies have tiny stomachs and she may well be full up on a s relatively small amount.

One of my dogs is basically a stomach on legs...he will eat anything, anytime, anywhere! He needs much less food than most people would think for a dog his size as he gains weight easily. My other dog is more fussy and sometimes I wonder how a dog of her size exists on the amount she eats. She is also very active so it can be a struggle to keep weight on her. At her worst, she went 4 months existing on a few mouthfuls of food per day (sometimes not even that)...she looked like a hairy toast rack BUT she was still her energetic, bouncy self and the vet could find nothing wrong with her. I think it was hormone related as the hunger strike started a few weeks before her first season and ended just about the time when hormone levels would have been returning to normal. She now eats regularly now but still not as much as she probably should do for her size and activity levels. But I tend not to worry so much as she is fit, healthy and in excellent condition other than be a tad skinny.

Try not to keep changing foods and hand feeding as you are only encouraging her fussiness as she learns to hold out for something better Pick a food and stick with it. Put the bowl down at her usual mealtime and lift it again after 15-20 mins whether she has finished or not. Feed nothing more until the next mealtime...repeat until she gets the idea to eat fast or not at all!!
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IsoChick
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Location: Preesall, Lancashire
Joined: Feb 2006
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06-09-2007, 08:04 PM
Hi Lindsay

Welcome to Dosgey!

Although I don't have a toy breed, I did used to have a very fussy eater.

Max wouldn't eat dry food unless something was with it (e.g. tuna, sardines, gravy etc).

Eventually, I took his food up after 20 mins and that was it. I only put it down again at the next meal time.

A dog won't starve itself and after Max realised he wasn't getting anything else (like my food! ) he eventually ate it. It did take a couple of days though, and he'd only be having a mouthful at mealtimes before he realised there was no tuna!

I felt very mean and cruel and first, but it was worth it, as I just feed my boys dry food now. They have eggs or tuna/sardines as treats once or twice a week, but that's it.

Anyway, maybe someone with experience of a small-breed fussy eater will be along to help you!

Shelley
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lindsayloo
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Location: West Yorks
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06-09-2007, 08:30 PM
Hi, thanks you both for your quick replies its good to know i'm doing the right thing! although i shall only put her bowl out three times tomorrow. As opposed to the three billion times i got it out today......at least i won't get repetitive strain tomorrow!!!!!! Lindsay
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IHeartDoggyz
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Location: Lancashire , UK
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21-09-2007, 02:27 AM
Hi Lindsey, i have a tiny yorkie, she is now over 1yr old but i can understand you and your worries. My yorkie too was and still is a very fussy eater and she seems to eat very very little, i do to worry for her, she will even turn her nose up at chicken if she feels like it! i took me a while but i finally found something she eats, she has it every day, it is from 'pets at home' its a frozen tripe, you can get frozen chicken, beef, beef n tripe ect.. i used to cook it for her but it can be fed thawed and raw, its nothing added just pure natural tripe. but even so she will only eat tiny amounts of this, so still i feed her more than one meal a day [ppl say adult dogs need one meal per day].. also i give her chicken every now n again , but she will not eat tit bits, and rarely eats doggy treats only certain ones.
Im no expert but i would try keep her on one main food, saying that even though i feed honey this tripe every day i still will give her chicken or something every now n again..personally i would hate one food all the time, i know its different for dogs though.
The tripe is between 52-67 pence depending on which meat, but i also have a complete dried dog biscuit down all time for her to nibble at..but she only eats a few biccys a day if that.
It is worrying, you think oh no my dog will starve, or is she too thin ect?.. yorkies tummys are so very tiny so they cant eat a large amount at each meal anyway,
Hope you get everything sorted... gemma x
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