eating? how picky? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

jerseyjaguar · 02-25-2013, 08:54 PM

i became the proud owner of a 10 month old female....she is perfect in many ways...but the eating is a problem. she cam e to me eating only kibble acccording to breeder but turned her nose up to it from day one...she seems to like real food...like boiled chicken and rice,yogurt, cheese, raw carrots, egg...i told feed her people foor from table...i'm afraid these food don't have enough vitamins and minerals as in a premium dpg food. i bought her an excellent holistic brand wontet, sometimes eats it and then doesnt...always wants what we are eating...will eat turkey and chicken tough....do these dogs tend to be picky eaters? and how much should they be fed? she is 11d go months and 5 lbs. also, do they eat all at once or do they like to pick and go abck to it? just need some pointers on the eating, kinda making me tired ...don't mind cooking some chicken and rice for her....but would love to see her eat the holistic brand as its filled with a lot of good stuff...

kimp5 · 02-26-2013, 04:34 AM

I got mine at 10 months too and she was 5lb, and had the same issue. I ran around trying different kibble , givng her chicken etc. I fianlly realized somewhere down the line I became her personal sous chef! That had to change. (she also gained .75 lb being with us although the vet said that was good as she was underweight for her size.
So what I realized is that they are scent driven by food. So I picked the kibble I wanted her to have (royal canin calm)and realized it has no smell. So I boiled two bone in chicken breasts in just spring water, took the broth let it cool, skimmed the fat and put it in a bunch of ice cube trays. When its time for breakfast I melt one and pour it over her food. She gobbles the whole thing! I save the chicken for treats for good behavior.
She eats twice a day, 6am and 6pm. She gets a 1/4 cup for breakfast and a 1/4 cup for dinner. She inhales it. I now put water in it as she seems to developed an aversion to drinking from a bowl!
I also give her a mini organic carrot or two cut into long shreads or some organic romaine lettuce during the day. She also gets blue buffalo treats for good behavior. Hope that helps...

Verbena · 02-26-2013, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kimp5

I got mine at 10 months too and she was 5lb, and had the same issue. I ran around trying different kibble , givng her chicken etc. I fianlly realized somewhere down the line I became her personal sous chef! That had to change. (she also gained .75 lb being with us although the vet said that was good as she was underweight for her size.
So what I realized is that they are scent driven by food. So I picked the kibble I wanted her to have (royal canin calm)and realized it has no smell. So I boiled two bone in chicken breasts in just spring water, took the broth let it cool, skimmed the fat and put it in a bunch of ice cube trays. When its time for breakfast I melt one and pour it over her food. She gobbles the whole thing! I save the chicken for treats for good behavior.
She eats twice a day, 6am and 6pm. She gets a 1/4 cup for breakfast and a 1/4 cup for dinner. She inhales it. I now put water in it as she seems to developed an aversion to drinking from a bowl!
I also give her a mini organic carrot or two cut into long shreads or some organic romaine lettuce during the day. She also gets blue buffalo treats for good behavior. Hope that helps...

Great recommendation. Hello and Welcome to YT

Marhcarter · 02-26-2013, 04:51 AM

Mine is also not an enthusiastic eater. He gets 1/4 cup blue buffalo 2 x day which he eats better than the previous Purina One (I know...boo hisss) but he still probably eats only 1/4 cup 2 or 3 times every 48 hours.
Sometimes he goes 24 hours without eating a meal, but his daddy makes sure he has treats.., and so do I, if I have to be honest. He gets carrots, frozen green beans and "good potty" treats several times a day and his weight remains stable, so I know he isn't starving to death. I have said before, I don't cook for myself or my hubby, so I'm certainly not cooking for a dog (although I would cook for the dog before myself if pushed...)

Maximo · 02-26-2013, 10:16 AM

You do have to be careful making sure your pup has the proper nutritional balance. Dogs have much more specific nutrient needs than humans. Too much phosphorus (from protein) or calcium can cause serious illness.

Your pup is training you to pick up the kibble and offer home-cooked food. Home cooking is great, but you have to know what you are doing.

Max was not an enthusiastic eater his first year. I handfed almost all of his kibble. He would perform tricks for his food. He is now 4 and would happily eat an entire bag of kibble.

If you want your pup to eat kibble, put the food down and leave it. She won't starve herself to death. (premium kibble does go bad quickly, so refresh the kibble at least once day if she doesn't eat it).

gracielove · 02-26-2013, 10:48 AM

Some of them are very picky eaters. I think my girl is the pickiest eater of all time. I had the added problem of cats that were more than happy to eat what she refused. If she would not eat I had to take up the food and try again later or sit and defend it.

I think the fact that these little darlings go every where we go makes it even harder to get them to eat dog food. They smell that great smelling people food and they know that is what they want! Why wouldn't they? So it's best to ignore their woeful stares while we are cooking and eating and then try to feed them when there is no people food around.

As was already mentioned they are very scent oriented so they will smell their food much better if some other scent is not blocking it out. If you have a high quality food that you want you darling dog to eat then stick with it. They do sell toppers to shake onto dog food to try to entice them to eat better. I always go for all natural products that are made by companies that I have investigated as much as possible to know if they really use high quality ingredients as they claim.

Never give any treats before mealtime. I changed Gracies meal time to late morning so that she would be good and hungry when the food is offered. Then we do some more exercise and training with some small treats. I found a really great food that Gracie loves. One out of so many I tried and of course it was the most expensive. I'd rather feed a good quality food than have the vet bills that feeding poor quality can bring. Hope you little girl gets eating better soon. No having other dogs around at meal time could also effect her desire to eat. The competition for food often drives them to eat more.

jerseyjaguar · 02-28-2013, 05:56 PM

Thank you all for your sage advice! It's comforting to know we can go somewhere and really discuss yorkie issues...Today I bought RC yorkie kibble...read somewhere that picky ones will eat it...well...she did just that tonight! I was standing there stiff as a board watching her eat it so I wouldn't so anything to distract her...i left it out and she goes and picks at it..I have 3 cats and 2 of them want that kibble which is not good for them, so leaving it out so she can graze (1/4 cup) is difficult...she sits in her bed next to me in my bedroom when i'm on computer and i brought the plate with me and she picked again...I can keep cats away. I'm relieved that she is eating SOME dog food...hope this lasts. I will give her some yogurt in a.m. along with food and fresh chicken here and there...At least this has the vitamins and minerals they need....

thank you all!

02-25-2013, 08:54 PM	#1
jerseyjaguar YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: lk hopatcong nj, usa Posts: 9	eating? how picky? i became the proud owner of a 10 month old female....she is perfect in many ways...but the eating is a problem. she cam e to me eating only kibble acccording to breeder but turned her nose up to it from day one...she seems to like real food...like boiled chicken and rice,yogurt, cheese, raw carrots, egg...i told feed her people foor from table...i'm afraid these food don't have enough vitamins and minerals as in a premium dpg food. i bought her an excellent holistic brand wontet, sometimes eats it and then doesnt...always wants what we are eating...will eat turkey and chicken tough....do these dogs tend to be picky eaters? and how much should they be fed? she is 11d go months and 5 lbs. also, do they eat all at once or do they like to pick and go abck to it? just need some pointers on the eating, kinda making me tired ...don't mind cooking some chicken and rice for her....but would love to see her eat the holistic brand as its filled with a lot of good stuff...

02-26-2013, 04:51 AM	#4
Marhcarter ♡Huey's Human♡ Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Ringgold, Ga Posts: 3,333	Mine is also not an enthusiastic eater. He gets 1/4 cup blue buffalo 2 x day which he eats better than the previous Purina One (I know...boo hisss) but he still probably eats only 1/4 cup 2 or 3 times every 48 hours. Sometimes he goes 24 hours without eating a meal, but his daddy makes sure he has treats.., and so do I, if I have to be honest. He gets carrots, frozen green beans and "good potty" treats several times a day and his weight remains stable, so I know he isn't starving to death. I have said before, I don't cook for myself or my hubby, so I'm certainly not cooking for a dog (although I would cook for the dog before myself if pushed...) __________________ Huey's mom, Marilyn :When a day starts & ends with puppy kisses, I can handle anything that comes in between!

02-26-2013, 10:16 AM	#5
Maximo ♥ Maximo and Teddy Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 25,041	You do have to be careful making sure your pup has the proper nutritional balance. Dogs have much more specific nutrient needs than humans. Too much phosphorus (from protein) or calcium can cause serious illness. Your pup is training you to pick up the kibble and offer home-cooked food. Home cooking is great, but you have to know what you are doing. Max was not an enthusiastic eater his first year. I handfed almost all of his kibble. He would perform tricks for his food. He is now 4 and would happily eat an entire bag of kibble. If you want your pup to eat kibble, put the food down and leave it. She won't starve herself to death. (premium kibble does go bad quickly, so refresh the kibble at least once day if she doesn't eat it). __________________ Kristin, Max and Teddy

02-26-2013, 04:34 AM	#2
kimp5 YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Boston MA Posts: 890	I got mine at 10 months too and she was 5lb, and had the same issue. I ran around trying different kibble , givng her chicken etc. I fianlly realized somewhere down the line I became her personal sous chef! That had to change. (she also gained .75 lb being with us although the vet said that was good as she was underweight for her size. So what I realized is that they are scent driven by food. So I picked the kibble I wanted her to have (royal canin calm)and realized it has no smell. So I boiled two bone in chicken breasts in just spring water, took the broth let it cool, skimmed the fat and put it in a bunch of ice cube trays. When its time for breakfast I melt one and pour it over her food. She gobbles the whole thing! I save the chicken for treats for good behavior. She eats twice a day, 6am and 6pm. She gets a 1/4 cup for breakfast and a 1/4 cup for dinner. She inhales it. I now put water in it as she seems to developed an aversion to drinking from a bowl! I also give her a mini organic carrot or two cut into long shreads or some organic romaine lettuce during the day. She also gets blue buffalo treats for good behavior. Hope that helps...

02-26-2013, 10:48 AM	#6
gracielove YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NY Posts: 6,582	Some of them are very picky eaters. I think my girl is the pickiest eater of all time. I had the added problem of cats that were more than happy to eat what she refused. If she would not eat I had to take up the food and try again later or sit and defend it. I think the fact that these little darlings go every where we go makes it even harder to get them to eat dog food. They smell that great smelling people food and they know that is what they want! Why wouldn't they? So it's best to ignore their woeful stares while we are cooking and eating and then try to feed them when there is no people food around. As was already mentioned they are very scent oriented so they will smell their food much better if some other scent is not blocking it out. If you have a high quality food that you want you darling dog to eat then stick with it. They do sell toppers to shake onto dog food to try to entice them to eat better. I always go for all natural products that are made by companies that I have investigated as much as possible to know if they really use high quality ingredients as they claim. Never give any treats before mealtime. I changed Gracies meal time to late morning so that she would be good and hungry when the food is offered. Then we do some more exercise and training with some small treats. I found a really great food that Gracie loves. One out of so many I tried and of course it was the most expensive. I'd rather feed a good quality food than have the vet bills that feeding poor quality can bring. Hope you little girl gets eating better soon. No having other dogs around at meal time could also effect her desire to eat. The competition for food often drives them to eat more.

02-28-2013, 05:56 PM	#7
jerseyjaguar YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: lk hopatcong nj, usa Posts: 9	Thank you all for your sage advice! It's comforting to know we can go somewhere and really discuss yorkie issues...Today I bought RC yorkie kibble...read somewhere that picky ones will eat it...well...she did just that tonight! I was standing there stiff as a board watching her eat it so I wouldn't so anything to distract her...i left it out and she goes and picks at it..I have 3 cats and 2 of them want that kibble which is not good for them, so leaving it out so she can graze (1/4 cup) is difficult...she sits in her bed next to me in my bedroom when i'm on computer and i brought the plate with me and she picked again...I can keep cats away. I'm relieved that she is eating SOME dog food...hope this lasts. I will give her some yogurt in a.m. along with food and fresh chicken here and there...At least this has the vitamins and minerals they need.... thank you all!