My dog's food - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Lexxy · 02-28-2015, 10:25 AM

Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been around in awhile. I have a problem. My Yorkie is 3yrs. old, and I know he's overweight. When I first got him he would not eat his dry dog food, but he would eat wet food. Now he's addicted to wet food, and I don't know if that's good or bad. I keep kibbles out, and he'll pick at them once in awhile. I was buying cesaers for a long time, but can no longer afford this. I've tried Pedigree wet food, he liked it for awhile, but I have to put maybe a piece of hotdog or something in it , and then he'll eat it. I really would like to get him to eat dry food, I think it's better, but I put a plate of it out, and he won't touch it. If I call to ask my vet, they want to charge you to talk to you, so I'm really confused. Is it normal for them to want to eat more than once a day? What should I do about what kind and what to feed him? I need to know before I go shopping on Tuesday. Should I continue with the wet food? How do you get him to get use to dry food? Any suggestions would help a lot. Thank you!

ironmike86 · 02-28-2015, 01:24 PM

You can find reviews of food here Best Dog Foods
Good indicators are the first 4 indigence at least should be a specific meat,specific meat meal more then one or 2. Words you can pronounce. Not 10 syllables. Feeding twice a day is better. If you are home 3x is good. You say he's over weight? Theres a dog food calculator there also. More little meals are better. Instead of one big meal. if he's being picky and is over weight I wouldn't worry. If hes a good eater he will eat when hes hungry

kerry1272 · 03-01-2015, 06:23 PM

You might try adding a bit of cottage cheese to the dry food. Mix it well so the dry is coated. Sammy can be picky at times and I just do that and he eats it all up.

anneclaire · 03-01-2015, 11:06 PM

Kerry does the cottage cheese upset his tummy???? I spoiled mine by adding a little canned to her dry and now she is being picky too! LOL

kerry1272 · 03-02-2015, 02:32 AM

Not at all! I also have a morkie that gets picky and I add it 2-3 times a week depending on how well they are eating. I free feed also, but my morkie eats about 1 cup dry a day and the baby is at 1/4 cup right now. But he is just over 2 lbs. at 14 weeks.

ColesMommy01 · 03-02-2015, 04:41 AM

Do you free feed or split his meals throughout the day? If you look at the bag I would feed the recommendation for your yorkie's ideal weight(did the vet tell u what that is?). Split the amount up throughout the day or give it to him all at once so he can graze as he sees fit but once he's eaten everything in that bowl I wouldn't give him anymore(unless it's healthy treats). Putting a tsp of parmesan cheese or cottage also entices them to eat kibble.

JadeD · 03-02-2015, 06:00 AM

I have 2 dogs, a Yorkie and an 80 lb English Setter. My setter has issues with recurring urinary tract infections and the best thing for him is daily yogurt. It keeps him from getting infections as often. I just buy a carton of plain yogurt. He gets fed twice a day and I add a heaping scoop to his food.

I just got the Yorkie in January and he is always wanting to eat the Setters food because of the yogurt in it. I now will take just a small handful of my Yorkie's food and when I feed my setter (twice a day) I throw the Yorkie's food into his own dish and after I add the yogurt to the setters I just sort of wipe the spoon off into the Yorkie's dish to give his food just a touch of the flavor without him getting a lot of it.

You could try taking the dry kibble and adding just a touch of plain yogurt to it and see if he will eat that. I would use very little as Yorkie's are small. I had another English Setter who had cancer and when her stomach was upset she only ate plain yogurt, plain oatmeal (her favorite), white rice, boiled chicken and banana's. Those foods would help her get back on track so she could eat again. Unfortunately we lost her last summer. My husband's English Setter was so happy when I brought Teek home because he had always had another dog with him and he was lonely. These two hit it off really well. I realized from other dogs we have had here that he prefers small dogs to dogs his size.

TysonMyBoy · 03-02-2015, 11:13 AM

First, use your money to buy the best quality dry kibble you can...IronMike suggested a good web site. Then, if your Yorkie is a good size try waiting him out...he will eat when he gets hungry. Maybe you are allowing him to be picky....JMO

maxdog · 03-02-2015, 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TysonMyBoy

First, use your money to buy the best quality dry kibble you can...IronMike suggested a good web site. Then, if your Yorkie is a good size try waiting him out...he will eat when he gets hungry. Maybe you are allowing him to be picky....JMO

agreed...they are smart, just like children...if you keep giving him what he wants why should he change?....maybe if you mix it together to start, it will ease him into the dry food

chestermama · 03-03-2015, 02:49 AM

chester likes green beans, that is an option and the cottage cheese as well, I would be careful with hot dogs, they are fatty and yorkies are prone to pancreatitis. good luck, they are smart

LunarBerry · 03-03-2015, 07:42 AM

My next bag of food is gonna be weight control by Wellness for toybreed. My girl is a tad chunky and we are currently trying a few ways to bring her weight down. Seems like her fat is less but she still feels heavy, I'm guessing it could be partly muscle? Either way since she has patella issues the formula that I'm going to use would be perfect as it has joint supplements in it (though she's on a supplement now, but once I switch I'll be halving it anways).

gracielove · 03-03-2015, 01:38 PM

The two foods you mentioned have some very low grade ingredients in them and they use flavor enhancers in order to get the pet addicted to the food. That is probably why you are having a hard time getting your dog to switch.

Dry food is not necessarily better for a dog. It depends on the quality of the ingredients and the processing that they go through.

You might want to do some research on pet food companies, read ingredient lists, compare the ingredients in different foods and decide what is best for your pet. Think of what you think sounds healthy for your dog.

Getting him off the stuff you have been feeding him may be a challenge but it can be done They make it hard by using those flavor enhancers.

Getting him out for some exercise will help with the weight issue.

shelbysmom · 03-03-2015, 04:50 PM

The most important thing is that he is eating high quality food whether it is wet or dry. There isn't anything wrong with wet food. If he is picking out the wet food you are probably wasting money buying dry food. (he doesn't need hot dogs or anything to convince him to eat if he is overweight)

Slowing transition him to a good quality wet food and only feed him half as much. Green beans for treats.

If you really want him to eat dry food get a small bag of Acana to try it out, it's only $4. Another option is Fromm, you may be able to find a place that carries it and has free samples.

Look at the portion amount and give him the amount of portion for the weight he should be, not the weight he is.

Lari72 · 03-06-2015, 06:09 AM

My Max is a picky eater and we have been feeding him the waterfowl Taste of the Wild. I feed him 1/4 cup 2 times a day. My concern is what I add to his food. I keep the oils that I fry my chicken in. I add 1 teaspoon to each feeding. My husband says not to add anything, if he is hungry he will eat. He will go days without eating until I add the oil. Any suggestions?

02-28-2015, 10:25 AM	#1
Lexxy YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Bend, OR, USA Posts: 4	My dog's food Hi everyone. Sorry I haven't been around in awhile. I have a problem. My Yorkie is 3yrs. old, and I know he's overweight. When I first got him he would not eat his dry dog food, but he would eat wet food. Now he's addicted to wet food, and I don't know if that's good or bad. I keep kibbles out, and he'll pick at them once in awhile. I was buying cesaers for a long time, but can no longer afford this. I've tried Pedigree wet food, he liked it for awhile, but I have to put maybe a piece of hotdog or something in it , and then he'll eat it. I really would like to get him to eat dry food, I think it's better, but I put a plate of it out, and he won't touch it. If I call to ask my vet, they want to charge you to talk to you, so I'm really confused. Is it normal for them to want to eat more than once a day? What should I do about what kind and what to feed him? I need to know before I go shopping on Tuesday. Should I continue with the wet food? How do you get him to get use to dry food? Any suggestions would help a lot. Thank you!

03-01-2015, 06:23 PM	#3
kerry1272 Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: apple valley, ca usa Posts: 37	You might try adding a bit of cottage cheese to the dry food. Mix it well so the dry is coated. Sammy can be picky at times and I just do that and he eats it all up. __________________ Kerry- Sammy and Wicket's mommy!

03-02-2015, 02:32 AM	#5
kerry1272 Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: apple valley, ca usa Posts: 37	Not at all! I also have a morkie that gets picky and I add it 2-3 times a week depending on how well they are eating. I free feed also, but my morkie eats about 1 cup dry a day and the baby is at 1/4 cup right now. But he is just over 2 lbs. at 14 weeks. __________________ Kerry- Sammy and Wicket's mommy!

03-02-2015, 06:00 AM	#7
JadeD YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC Posts: 1,201 Blog Entries: 1	I have 2 dogs, a Yorkie and an 80 lb English Setter. My setter has issues with recurring urinary tract infections and the best thing for him is daily yogurt. It keeps him from getting infections as often. I just buy a carton of plain yogurt. He gets fed twice a day and I add a heaping scoop to his food. I just got the Yorkie in January and he is always wanting to eat the Setters food because of the yogurt in it. I now will take just a small handful of my Yorkie's food and when I feed my setter (twice a day) I throw the Yorkie's food into his own dish and after I add the yogurt to the setters I just sort of wipe the spoon off into the Yorkie's dish to give his food just a touch of the flavor without him getting a lot of it. You could try taking the dry kibble and adding just a touch of plain yogurt to it and see if he will eat that. I would use very little as Yorkie's are small. I had another English Setter who had cancer and when her stomach was upset she only ate plain yogurt, plain oatmeal (her favorite), white rice, boiled chicken and banana's. Those foods would help her get back on track so she could eat again. Unfortunately we lost her last summer. My husband's English Setter was so happy when I brought Teek home because he had always had another dog with him and he was lonely. These two hit it off really well. I realized from other dogs we have had here that he prefers small dogs to dogs his size. __________________ It's raining Yorkies here! LOL Teek ,Rowan , Raksha (Grand Puppy) , Raelyn

03-02-2015, 11:13 AM	#8
TysonMyBoy Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Panama City Beach Posts: 161	First, use your money to buy the best quality dry kibble you can...IronMike suggested a good web site. Then, if your Yorkie is a good size try waiting him out...he will eat when he gets hungry. Maybe you are allowing him to be picky....JMO __________________ Pam, mommy to Tyson and Rin, grandma to Ernie (Surely I'm not old enough to be a grandma)

02-28-2015, 01:24 PM	#2
ironmike86 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: USA Posts: 1,628	You can find reviews of food here Best Dog Foods Good indicators are the first 4 indigence at least should be a specific meat,specific meat meal more then one or 2. Words you can pronounce. Not 10 syllables. Feeding twice a day is better. If you are home 3x is good. You say he's over weight? Theres a dog food calculator there also. More little meals are better. Instead of one big meal. if he's being picky and is over weight I wouldn't worry. If hes a good eater he will eat when hes hungry

03-01-2015, 11:06 PM	#4
anneclaire YT Addict Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Leon, Iowa USA Posts: 474	Kerry does the cottage cheese upset his tummy???? I spoiled mine by adding a little canned to her dry and now she is being picky too! LOL

03-02-2015, 04:41 AM	#6
ColesMommy01 YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: where there's no good sushi Posts: 1,423 Blog Entries: 1	Do you free feed or split his meals throughout the day? If you look at the bag I would feed the recommendation for your yorkie's ideal weight(did the vet tell u what that is?). Split the amount up throughout the day or give it to him all at once so he can graze as he sees fit but once he's eaten everything in that bowl I wouldn't give him anymore(unless it's healthy treats). Putting a tsp of parmesan cheese or cottage also entices them to eat kibble.

03-03-2015, 02:49 AM	#10
chestermama YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: washington Posts: 3,383 Blog Entries: 1	chester likes green beans, that is an option and the cottage cheese as well, I would be careful with hot dogs, they are fatty and yorkies are prone to pancreatitis. good luck, they are smart

03-03-2015, 07:42 AM	#11
LunarBerry YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: GA, USA Posts: 693	My next bag of food is gonna be weight control by Wellness for toybreed. My girl is a tad chunky and we are currently trying a few ways to bring her weight down. Seems like her fat is less but she still feels heavy, I'm guessing it could be partly muscle? Either way since she has patella issues the formula that I'm going to use would be perfect as it has joint supplements in it (though she's on a supplement now, but once I switch I'll be halving it anways). __________________ R.I.P. Mick & Mandy (before 2010), Mila - 4/3/15, Chloe - 2/18/16, Kimchi - 6/2/2021

03-03-2015, 01:38 PM	#12
gracielove YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: NY Posts: 6,582	The two foods you mentioned have some very low grade ingredients in them and they use flavor enhancers in order to get the pet addicted to the food. That is probably why you are having a hard time getting your dog to switch. Dry food is not necessarily better for a dog. It depends on the quality of the ingredients and the processing that they go through. You might want to do some research on pet food companies, read ingredient lists, compare the ingredients in different foods and decide what is best for your pet. Think of what you think sounds healthy for your dog. Getting him off the stuff you have been feeding him may be a challenge but it can be done They make it hard by using those flavor enhancers. Getting him out for some exercise will help with the weight issue.

03-03-2015, 04:50 PM	#13
shelbysmom YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 1,394	The most important thing is that he is eating high quality food whether it is wet or dry. There isn't anything wrong with wet food. If he is picking out the wet food you are probably wasting money buying dry food. (he doesn't need hot dogs or anything to convince him to eat if he is overweight) Slowing transition him to a good quality wet food and only feed him half as much. Green beans for treats. If you really want him to eat dry food get a small bag of Acana to try it out, it's only $4. Another option is Fromm, you may be able to find a place that carries it and has free samples. Look at the portion amount and give him the amount of portion for the weight he should be, not the weight he is.

03-06-2015, 06:09 AM	#14
Lari72 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 4	My Max is a picky eater and we have been feeding him the waterfowl Taste of the Wild. I feed him 1/4 cup 2 times a day. My concern is what I add to his food. I keep the oils that I fry my chicken in. I add 1 teaspoon to each feeding. My husband says not to add anything, if he is hungry he will eat. He will go days without eating until I add the oil. Any suggestions?