not sure what to do!?

[yorkiepuppie]

milu has been sleeping all day. she does that sometimes. but she didn't want to eat anything today. i am not sure what i should do. i know she is not hungry because she's been sleeping all day. and i know that she's been trying to hold out, to make me give her human food.

i never know what i should do?

is it better to let her go without food, so that she knows i am the boss, and she needs to eat her food, or is it more important to make sure she eats something even if it means feeding her people food.

i buy her good quality dog food, Nature variety kibbles and raw medallions( i even got her 4 different kinds of meat/medallions). but she just wants to eat people food...

[yorkiepuppie]

my vet suggested that i be strict with her, but she is such a good doggie, and i don't like to force her to eat things she doesn't like to eat. i don't want to punish her for not liking dog food and liking human food better.

[juliaw04]

I know that not everyone will agree with me, but in MY opinion, Milu only prefers human food over his kibble because he's been given the choice. I have never offered my two anything other than kibble and they happily gobble it up. Again, in MY opinion, I would give Milu a little bit of nutrical to make sure his blood sugar doesn't drop and then just wait it out. He will eat when he's hungry enough.

[ILUVSADIE]

As long as he's not too young, I would just give nutrical to keep his blood glucose up and not become hypoglycemic. Otherwise, I would just wait him out - he'll eat when he's hungry. Once they get the taste of human food, it's a battle of wills - and not easy to break the habit.

Good Luck!!!

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by juliaw04

I know that not everyone will agree with me, but in MY opinion, Milu only prefers human food over his kibble because he's been given the choice. I have never offered my two anything other than kibble and they happily gobble it up. Again, in MY opinion, I would give Milu a little bit of nutrical to make sure his blood sugar doesn't drop and then just wait it out. He will eat when he's hungry enough.

thank you for the suggestion. i know, i know, i shouldn't have given her human food, but its really really hard not to. she is really smart and she manipulates me! no, i cave in and gave her human food because when we are eating she would wait patiently, and she would do all the commands she knows! she would do "sit, down, play dead, roll over,...etc.." (without anyone saying anything) and she would try to go to the bathroom on the pee pad (because she always gets a treat for going on the pee pad) so i caved in...(i wasn't strong enough!)

and she doesn't beg for food, she just refuses to eat food she doesn't like. she can even refuse nutri-cal! if you can believe that!!! she likes to eat different things everyday and gets tired of eating the same thing VERY quickly! (so for a while i was force feeding her because she was too skinny!)

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by ILUVSADIE

As long as he's not too young, I would just give nutrical to keep his blood glucose up and not become hypoglycemic. Otherwise, I would just wait him out - he'll eat when he's hungry. Once they get the taste of human food, it's a battle of wills - and not easy to break the habit.

Good Luck!!!

milu is 8 months old. i didn't give her a lot of human food. she would only get maybe 2 bites of my food when i eat. (i mean, 2 little yorkie bites) but i guess it doesn't matter how much i gave her, the point is that she knows what it tastes like now...

i really don't understand how a dog can be so picky with food! but before i gave her human food, she didn't eat much of dog food either. she would eat SOOO very little food that i had to supplement it with lots of nutrical and treats...and then she got tired of her nutri-cal and treats, i had to go buy many different kinds of treats and can food so she will eat something. she is even picky with can food. i asked the vet if something is wrong with her health wise. but the vet said she is fine, and told me to be very strict with her.

but milu was so small and bony, really hard for mama to be strict with such a tiny little girl!

[ILUVSADIE]

Originally Posted by yorkiepuppie

milu is 8 months old. i didn't give her a lot of human food. she would only get maybe 2 bites of my food when i eat. (i mean, 2 little yorkie bites) but i guess it doesn't matter how much i gave her, the point is that she knows what it tastes like now...

i really don't understand how a dog can be so picky with food! but before i gave her human food, she didn't eat much of dog food either. she would eat SOOO very little food that i had to supplement it with lots of nutrical and treats...and then she got tired of her nutri-cal and treats, i had to go buy many different kinds of treats and can food so she will eat something. she is even picky with can food. i asked the vet if something is wrong with her health wise. but the vet said she is fine, and told me to be very strict with her.

but milu was so small and bony, really hard for mama to be strict with such a tiny little girl!

I know how upsetting it can be when our babies don't eat. It seems that I've always had very picky eaters - no matter what the breed. Just hang in there - you sound like you're doing everything possible to ensure that she's getting adequate nutrition!!!

Good Luck and don't worry so much - she'll be fine!!!

[Ellie May]

My opinion is a bit different.
"Within reason", I will do what I can to ensure that Ellie enjoys her food. Eating should be an enjoyable part of a dog's day. What if we had to eat something that we didn't really like 3 times a day everyday?

With one little Yorkie, I would give in and get a balanced recipe from a nutritionist or find something she likes and mix it in her kibble. Now if it gets to the point where she constantly wants different foods and won't even eat homecooked, then it would be time to get tough... I'm allfor spoiling these pups though. If I had a larger dog I would probably mix something that was appetizing to him/her in the kibble and then get tough...

[Patti]

I am with Ellie May. I have hadmy share of picky eaters and what I did is make sure I never fed them when I was eating so they wouldn't associate my eating with their eating. I have 2 right now that at one time were eating some chicken with their food to get them to eat. After they were bigger and I wasn't worried about hypoglycemia I weaned them to all dog food. Now with 4 the competition is so fierce I swear they would eat anything. I would be most concerned with him not eating and then worry about what he is eating. But that is just my opinion and what my experience has been. Is she sleeping all day because she is lethargic from not eating? Good Luck

[Yorkieluv]

I'm a bit concerned about her not wanting to eat and going through bouts of being skinny. Are you sure she doesn't have an underlying medical condition. Was she bile acid tested before you tried feeding her the raw?

My yorkie also refused Nutri-cal, all treats, and most foods (unless it was homecooked and even then we had issues) when he was a pup...He slept a lot as well, but I found out a few months later that he had liver problems...If I had bile acid tested him before, I could have gotten him on the right food from the beginning.

Now I'm NOT saying this is your dog's problem. I'm just saying that it's possible he may be refusing food for reasons other than just being "picky."

[Darlin Beauxs]

Yorkies are such picky, temperamental little beings . BUT, having a rescue Yorkie allows me to see that I created most of this selectiveness in my pack, because Darcy eats anything she is offered, unless the pieces are too big, then she waits for us to break them up for her.

Baxter is the worst. I mix Merrick Canned in with Merrick Kibble. He will get a mouthful, then allow the kibble to drop on the floor, eating only the meat chunks. Darcy goes behind and eats all the kibble scattered on the floor. Cooper will nose around the bowl and pick the choice pieces he wants, too.

At treat time, they have ofter refused to take what I offered. I have 3 large cannisters of treats on the counter, and they know one is chicken jerky. They hold out, waiting for the better treat. If they don't take it, I just say "that is the treat, sorry" drop it by their paws, and walk off. Again, Darcy will happily take hers, and trot off, and Cooper usually ends up gobbling his treat, and snatching Baxters, too. Baxter will still be sitting in the corner, waiting for the treat he wanted, long after we are all gone. He throws me such pitiful looks, but I am the boss, and that is the way it is.

When they are sick, or act like they aren't feeling well, then I will give them anything just to make sure they eat.

[yorkiepuppie]

first of all, i just want to thank everyone all the advice and input! it feels so nice to see all the responses! we (milu and i) feel so LOVED!!!

secondly, just to clarify, not that it's a big deal though, milu is a girl. (she asked me to clarify that LOL)

milu is 8 months old, she was spayed last month, and at the time she was 2.6 lbs. i think she may have gained some weight since then because all her dresses became too small for her. and i was supposed to throw her a little party if she reached 3lbs! (what can i do for her?)

3rd, she did finally eat yesterday (today at about 3am) she woke me up because she was crying, she wanted to get off the bed, i put her on the floor, and she went to her food dish and ate 13 kibbles.

13 kibbles is really not enough food though is it!? but i did give her nutri-cal yesterday, and i did offer her raw medallions (even with parmasan cheeses sprinkled on it!) but she didn't want it! but i tried!

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

My opinion is a bit different.
"Within reason", I will do what I can to ensure that Ellie enjoys her food. Eating should be an enjoyable part of a dog's day. What if we had to eat something that we didn't really like 3 times a day everyday?

With one little Yorkie, I would give in and get a balanced recipe from a nutritionist or find something she likes and mix it in her kibble. Now if it gets to the point where she constantly wants different foods and won't even eat homecooked, then it would be time to get tough... I'm allfor spoiling these pups though. If I had a larger dog I would probably mix something that was appetizing to him/her in the kibble and then get tough...

i know what you mean about having to eat what you don't like! i ask my fiance to try all the dog food i feed milu, and he told me that it tastes really bad! (fiance wouldn't try the raw. he said "no way" lol )

so i felt bad feeding milu something that tastes like 'crap'....

milu is at a point where she is a little too picky though. she wants to eat something different for every meal.

at first i was catering to that, just because i thought it's important for her to eat. but i am really trying to make sure i don't spoil her, and also, i don't want to become a 'slave' to her. i want her to be a good girl, not a picky girl!

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by Patti

I am with Ellie May. I have hadmy share of picky eaters and what I did is make sure I never fed them when I was eating so they wouldn't associate my eating with their eating. I have 2 right now that at one time were eating some chicken with their food to get them to eat. After they were bigger and I wasn't worried about hypoglycemia I weaned them to all dog food. Now with 4 the competition is so fierce I swear they would eat anything. I would be most concerned with him not eating and then worry about what he is eating. But that is just my opinion and what my experience has been. Is she sleeping all day because she is lethargic from not eating? Good Luck

ok, so i have to gradually try to get her used to eating her own food and not associate human food with her food? i get so confused sometimes. i don't know if she is lethargic from not eating? but she is not bony now, she used to be bony when i got her from the breeder. she would eat maybe 8-10 kibbles a day. i don't know how she stayed alive!

it's really hard to find the balance between making sure they eat something and trying to train them to not be so picky!!!

[yorkiepuppie]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

I'm a bit concerned about her not wanting to eat and going through bouts of being skinny. Are you sure she doesn't have an underlying medical condition. Was she bile acid tested before you tried feeding her the raw?

My yorkie also refused Nutri-cal, all treats, and most foods (unless it was homecooked and even then we had issues) when he was a pup...He slept a lot as well, but I found out a few months later that he had liver problems...If I had bile acid tested him before, I could have gotten him on the right food from the beginning.

Now I'm NOT saying this is your dog's problem. I'm just saying that it's possible he may be refusing food for reasons other than just being "picky."

well, i always ask the vet every single time we go in about weather or not she might have health issues.(because of her small size, her parents were both 5lbs) but the vet always thinks that it's more a training issue. (he told me to be strict with feeding her, and only offer her food twice a day at set times. and remove food after 15 minutes if she doesn't eat)

i did not follow the vet's advice.....i have kibbles down for her all day, and i try to feed her raw medallions at least twice a day...(am i bad?)

i didn't know that i needed to do the acid bile test prior to feeding raw diet. is it necessary test prior to feeding raw?