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Originally Posted by mblab  Hi everyone!  I had a quick question/scenario that I wanted to get your feedback on. (I'm going to weigh her at the vets tomorrow and I am going try to sneak in asking this to the vet while there. I don't know if that'll work, and if it doesn't I'll have to wait another week and a half to actually get the vet's opinion on this.)
Little Zoe is not a big eater. The first week we had her we went on a crazy adventure trying to get her to eat. She always ate something, just a very very very small amount. After much stress (on my part) and lots of trying, I finally decided to be more hard headed then her and make her eat the kibble she'd eaten her whole life. Fast forward three weeks and she now eats 2-4 tablespoons of food a day. I'm just thinking she's never been a big eater and when at the breeder the shared bowl of food for her and her sister was just monopolized by her sister. (Lately watering her food a bit has made her more eager to eat it, but it's still a struggle most days.) She plays when she's awake and she makes regularly so clearly her body seems fine with the amount of food she takes in.
Now here's where I'm looking for you guys and your thoughts on this. Generally she'll eat in her xpen, but this is by force not by choice. I usually have to put her in her xpen, where she's confined and has no other option but eat (or play or sleep) in order to get her to actually eat anything. The other day we went on a play date and little Zoe just went gaga!!! over the other yorkie's food. Zoe currently eats Euakanuba Small Breed Puppy kibble (she's eaten that her whole life) and the other Yorkie eats Merrick's Wilderness Blend. I'm not sure why she loved his food so much, if it were the actual taste or simply because it was his food. Either way, the large pieces didn't stop her (nor did the giant step it took for her to get in to the kitchen). I had thought of switching her to a healthier puppy food, but due to her eating habits I thought it best to just wait it out until I switched her to an adult food. (I also fear trying to slowly switch the food and she winds up ONLY eating the new food and refusing to eat her old food, which would be a big problem.)
Should I try to switch her to the Merrick since she seemed to like it (and it is an all life stages food) or just wait until she switches to adult food? Thoughts? Thanks everyone! |
Just make sure you do it over a period of days. The info I have says to switch like this:
Day 1 - 3/4 familiar food, 1/4 new food
Day 2 - 1/2 familiar food, 1/2 new food
Day 3 - 1/4 familiar food, 3/4 new food
Day 4 - all new food
This gives puppy's tummy time to make the adjustment, and she doesn't get sick.