New owner of a senior yorkie

[lbcoopman]

Any suggestions would be GREAT.I just adopted a 2.8 lb yorkie that the previous owners claim to be 6 to 8 yrs old... Will confirm with me vet this week. Any suggestions to a new owner, and how much should he weigh about? He is still somewhat skiddish. (got him yesterday) but he is coming out of his shell quickly. The person we got him from did not know any history except he was a rescue and they had him for a few months then she had him for a few months. Poor thing bounced around like that no wonder he is skiddish. This will be his last home. I am already so attached. Spike was sent with some food they had been feeding him, but that they have touble getting him to eat anything. (Obviousy by his weight), but the food seems to big to where he has to work to hard to eat. I am going to get him some wet food and try some other brands to get him to gain some what and find out what he prefers. I have a 19 year old pomeranian as well who absolutly adores him already!

[katelin]

Good News, that poor little guy has a permanent home.

There are lots of things to try to get him to eat better. I recommend kibble, but use wet food when I have to. I've even seen the Little Cesar canned food recommended by someone whose dog wouldn't eat at first (she called it the fast food of dog food, LOL). He is small so the size of the kibble could be too much for him right now. Try the puppy or baby dog sized kibble. We use Royal Canin, but there are others that you will see recommended too. I sometimes pour a little chicken broth over the kibble to make it more interesting or mix in a couple tablespoons of cottage cheese or even a little wet food (canned). Try to get him back to kibble because it is soo much better for his teeth in the long run.


There is also a recipe for "magic broth" from one of our members, and I know she wouldn't mind me putting it up here. Pouring this over his food may encourage him to eat.

MAGIC BROTH


"I grabbed a bag of boneless, skinless chicken tenders from the freezer and thawed them in cold water. I drained them well on paper towels and sprinkled the top side with dehydrated, crushed parsley [no time for fresh!]. I sprinkled maybe 1/8 t. garlic powder ... figured it would entice her and that's not enough to harm. I browned them quickly in just a couple tablespoons of hot virgin olive oil. I then added about 6 bottles of ice cold bottled water and brought it to a boil. Turned it on low and simmered for about an hour and then strained it through a fine strainer. After I cooled some and offered it to Toto she drank it like a demon! I let the vet know and he had me give her about 2 T every hour until she was feeling better!! So, we named it the Magic Broth and I am seldom without it in the freezer. I use it in our food too. It has very little, if any, fat in it and tastes really good!!"


Good luck. There is lots of information here. Just do a search or ask!!

[4doggiemama]

I have two senior girls who come from horrible backgrounds and a rescue Pommie who is 1 yr. old. I feed them Canidae and I am quite happy with the food. When I have had difficulty getting one to eat I mix the dry with a little water which makes a sort of broth. Sometimes I've had to hand feed. I don't free-feed because the Pommie, Snowboy, would gobble everything up in one gulp. My girls are very skittish about anyone bending over them to pick them up. Most of the time I try to squat down. They both are afraid of a flat hand coming towards them so I always give an up-turned hand to them. Rosie, 12 yrs. old and weighs 5 lbs, still has a difficult time coming to me when I ask her to come and I've had her for 10 yrs. It took about 3 yrs. before I made any headways with her coming to me. Finally, she would stand very still, stare straight ahead, and eventually scoot sideways towards me. Just lately she has started to crawl on my lap for no reason. When we travel she wants to sit on my lap but at home---no way. Not even against me. Cocoa, 11 yrs. old and weighs 3 lbs, is afraid of everything, is mentally challenged, and hates men. My poor dh has tried so hard to befriend her. She circles a lot when she's afraid which is quite often. I've never really been able to house train her, so I have trained myself and she is always kenneled when I leave. Well, they all are except Rosie. Snowboy has a lot of fear issues but I'm working on socializing him. I do have one normal Yorkie, Chipper, who is a joy. Wish you the best in making your little rescue feel secure.

[4doggiemama]

I also give my furbabies 1 tsp. plain, non-fat, organic yogurt each meal. It helps with gas problems. Chipper has a major problem with that. In the morning I give each 1 tsp. of Mott's applesauce. It doesn't have sugar or salt. In the evening each get 1 tsp. of no-salt mushed up green beans. My dh says they eat better than him.

[4doggiemama]

Oh, and if you are going switch around with brands be careful. It needs to be done gradually. I switched to Canidae very gradually over 3 wks. and Snowboy still had very soft stools. The others did better with adjusting.

[yorkiesmiles]

welcome to YT -- thank you for giving this guy a forever home!!

Innova is great, as are a lot of other foods. I do add water to the dry food, it must taste better and it helps make sure they are taking in enough moisture and water.

He may just be small. Standard for a yorkie is 4-7 lbs. But my Roxy is only 3 1/4 lbs and she eats a lot.

So glad your pom loves him

[YorkieChick1]

Wow, you have a pom that is 19 years old!!! I don't think you need much help, you could probably tell us a thing or two!! Welcome and can't wait to see pics of Spike!!

[mypreciouspups]

Welcome to yt and I am so glad to hear you adopted this little one..do you think you could take a picture and post it on here for us to see.. it will also give us a clue to his frame size for his weight..

There is some great ideas for food for you here already.. since I live in canada half time.. I am not always sure of all the food that you can buy.. so I will stay out of that one..

I really just want to welcome you and let you know I took in rescues years ago..two abused badly.. so the hand going to the head was not good.. Brandie was my hubbies dog and the love of our life.. when we got him we had never had a dog let alone a yorkie.. he lived a good long life with us..then we got sassie who was so afraid of children.. she was afraid if you threw a latex toy and it hit something..she would litterly try to bury herself in a corner. but she soon trusted me and was my faithful companion until a year and a half ago.. we never had to put a leash on her.. we did.. but she would just walk beside me and never leave you.. a rescue once they trust you.. are so faithful and thankful to be in a loving home.. words cannot describe the feeling one gets from doing this wonderful act for a dog..

You are great.....anne

[nygee]

to YT... This site is full of LOVE and dedicated owners... Spike has found his forever home with you, so glad you rescued him... If your going to switch diets, do it gradually... I had no clue about the harm I could cause by doing this... So I drastically changed Gizmo's & Gypsy's diet (so ignorant of me) 3 wks later Gizmo was vomiting and pooping blood... Rushed to the vet, and the cause, was the drastic change of food... My poor baby, I almost killed him, but Gypsy wasn't phased, thank god, cause she's so tiny, I would've lost her in an instance... 1 month later I came across this site, wish it would've been sooner... There is so much to learn here, where literature fails...


I Love My Furbabies, Nygee, Gizmo & Gypsy!!

[Diego]

Welcome to YT .

[alaskayorkie]

Congratulations, and good for you. You're doing a great thing.

Hopefully, the vet check will go OK. Tiny Yorkies are prone to more medical problems than medium sized, but living that long is a good sign. A lot of the big fears may be past. The weight is worrisome if he's not eating, so be sure to work with your vet and others here to get him on a good diet. If you do decide to stick with what he was eating, a quick fix for oversized food is to crush it. Put it in a baggy and bang it with a hammer. I do that for my 4-pounder who is on a prescription diet of larger food.

That's bizarre that people passed him around as much as they did. I can't imagine anyone passing off a Yorkie like that.

Best advice I can give you is to keep doing what you're doing: Come to YorkieTalk and ask questions.

Good luck. I can't wait to see pictures.

[mingtoy]

Welcome to YT .

[bettyeanne]

Welcome to YT and God bless you for rescuing, especially an older Yorkie! We sometimes have a very difficult time placing "seniors" but if given an opportunity, these little ones will soon show you that there's still a feisty little spirit living in them! You do have to give them time ... when I am around any Yorkie who doesn't yet know me, I spend a lot of time sitting on the floor. Most always, sitting on your lap has to be their idea!

I feed our little Toto, Innova/Small Bites for her kibble and we feed it to our rescues as well. It's tiny little kibble that they can crunch with little difficulty. Good luck with little Spike ... can't wait to see pics and hear how he is progressing!

katelin ... Thank you for sharing the "Magic Broth" recipe ... I hope everyone who tries it, reap the same benefits that we have! I believe I could pour it on cardboard and Toto would eat it!!

[yorkie mom-3]

to YT! Bless you for adopting and especially an older yorkie. So glad he will have a furever home.

[shirlblack]

Welcome to YT and bless you for adopting. We've had one for 8 years now and he's been the joy of our lives.