My Yorkie does not seem to be eating enough

[dawnandodie]

This is my first little puppy, my husband bought me a yorkie for my birthday, it is exactly what I wanted, this little guy was born in May of this year. He has learned everything so quickly, the potty thing was a breeze, I put 2 bells by my back door and within 1 week he knew how to ring them to tell us he had to go outside to potty! Anyway my concern is that he is not eating enough, when we came to me he was on Purina, as that is what he was eating since birth, I moved him to Iams, and he ate that, then he kind of stopped eating it, then one day I got a sample of Natures Lamb and Rice, he ate that like no tomorrow. I thought perfect I will get this and he will eat, well now he is really not eating. I dont know what to do to get him to gain some weight, when I pet him I can feel his back bone and I just feel he is too skinny. When I took him to his several visits to the vet, he told me to give him baby food for about a week then taper it off to normal food, and he would gain weight, I did but he did not gain weight.
Any suggestions on feeding him???
thanks

[Ellie May]

Have you tried canned dog food? It is better for them anyway because of the moisture and he might like that. I would say if he is eating a lot more than what the package says and still isn't gaining he needs to see the vet.

Some good brands of canned food are Evangers and Canidae but there are lots more. Iams/Eukanuba does very cruel animal testing so I won't support them. Their food is also not very good (don't tell your vet that though...they usually don't know too much about nutrition ). Purina is also not very good. There are lots of threads here about good food. Please remember to brush his teeth. Some people think that eating canned food leads to tooth decay. I really don't think that's true but it is healthier to brush their teeth anyway.

[dawnandodie]

Thank you for the reply, I have used canned dog food, I noticed he liked lamb and rice, so I bought the natures puppy lamb and rice dry and wet food, he eats just a little bit of it, that is it then he wont eat it for awhile, he will nibble on his dry food, maybe 8-10 pieces then that is it. I even tried mixing it with dry food if he does eat it he picks the wet food. Yeah I know they say give dry food, but realy if I brush his teeth I am not concerned with tooth decay. What about mixing some boiled chicken with his dry food, would that be fine just to get him to eat and get a little pounds on him?
thanks
Dawn and Odie too!

[Ellie May]

Boiled chicken is fine. I would use white meat with no skin or fat. Is he very energetic or more of a quiet dog?

[dawnandodie]

he is a quiet dog, not really hyper unless we play, I take him to work with me every day and he gets excited to say hi to every one in the office then he relaxes in my office, we go on walks everyday for lunch. He really goes crazy when he meets another dog, he gets sooo happy. It seems that he adjusts with me when I am active he is active, when I am lazy he is... At night he will play with the kids for a little while then lays around. He goes potty normal, and I check his stools about once a week just to make sure they look ok. I did try the white skinless chicken breast mixed in a blender with his dry food and he ate it up, so maybe that is what I need to do for awhile and then try to add more dry food as I go. What about adding veggies too, he likes broccoli is that ok to give him? I read the NO Food list, and it was not on there.. I just want to make sure he is getting enough vitamins to keep him healthy, and I want to make sure he has some meat on his bones!

[girltime]

Originally Posted by dawnandodie

This is my first little puppy, my husband bought me a yorkie for my birthday, it is exactly what I wanted, this little guy was born in May of this year. He has learned everything so quickly, the potty thing was a breeze, I put 2 bells by my back door and within 1 week he knew how to ring them to tell us he had to go outside to potty! Anyway my concern is that he is not eating enough, when we came to me he was on Purina, as that is what he was eating since birth, I moved him to Iams, and he ate that, then he kind of stopped eating it, then one day I got a sample of Natures Lamb and Rice, he ate that like no tomorrow. I thought perfect I will get this and he will eat, well now he is really not eating. I dont know what to do to get him to gain some weight, when I pet him I can feel his back bone and I just feel he is too skinny. When I took him to his several visits to the vet, he told me to give him baby food for about a week then taper it off to normal food, and he would gain weight, I did but he did not gain weight.
Any suggestions on feeding him???
thanks

My two are adults now, but I do remember going through these stages. I've gone through some of the best brands of dog kibble in trying to find that perfect match. For little over a year I have had mine on Natures Variety Raw medallions. Have to say my two act as if they are laced with candy. I have to be sure to break it down into smaller pieces, because they will be gulped down too quick if not.

Before buying NV Raw medallions, the pet store allowed me to take some samples home. I would highly recommend asking your petstore for samples.

You may be thinking there is no way you could feed raw....That's OK, I thought the samething for 2 years. Little over a year my Rocky was going through one of these phases on not wanting to eat and that's when I gave NV Raw a try. For me and my families life style, NV Raw and Natural Balance Small Bites kibble is a match.

Natures Variety link & feeding chart:
http://www.naturesvariety.com

[Brookef18]

I went through this with chewy. he is a year and a half now. I wound up giving him Royal Cainin (SP?) Mimi yorkie. He likes it does fine with it. He eats a little bit through out the day. he gained very slowly as a puppy. he weighs around 4 1/2 pound now. i got to the point where I just put it down and watched to see how the food went down through out the day. he poops and pees plenty so i guess he is ok. i measure out 1/2 cup a day. if it goes down to almost empty I refill it. His bowl is never empty!

[dawnandodie]

thank you so much for the replies, I think I will try the raw meat and see how he does, this weekend I included him in our sunday morning breakfast and he had one scrambled egg, he loved it! I also had some boiled chicken, and ground that up with his dry food, he then ate it, however I am just concerned about him getting plenty of nutrients, so I will make sure I do a variety. I found a nearby store that carries Natures Variety, so I will swing by there. thank you again!

[dawnandodie]

Originally Posted by Brookef18

I went through this with chewy. he is a year and a half now. I wound up giving him Royal Cainin (SP?) Mimi yorkie. He likes it does fine with it. He eats a little bit through out the day. he gained very slowly as a puppy. he weighs around 4 1/2 pound now. i got to the point where I just put it down and watched to see how the food went down through out the day. he poops and pees plenty so i guess he is ok. i measure out 1/2 cup a day. if it goes down to almost empty I refill it. His bowl is never empty!

See when I was little I had big dogs, so I kind of expect Odie to eat more than he does, which I know is not enough. You say yours eats about 1/2 a cup a day? I will try to get him to eat around that. Lately (before I tried these new methods) he would eat a handful maybe every other day. I know he was hungry he just would not eat!
thanks for the advice!

[sweetr72]

I just wanted to welcome you to YT..from one Dawn to another!! My Soleil was also born in May...the 17th to be exact!! Do you have pics you can share?? How much does he weigh?? Soleil is 4 pounds 6 ozs!! I was going to do the bell thing too..I wonder if its too late??

Dawn

[dawnandodie]

Hi Dawn, thanks for the note! I will get pics on here hopefully this week, I have a ton, I have just been to busy. My Odie weighs a little over 4lbs now, I just think he is too boney! I feel his back hip bones and I dont know if that is right or not. As for the bell thing, it is not too late, see I taugh Odie to pee on comand, so when I felt it was time for him to go potty I would stand by the back door and ring the bell and say go potty, he would come to the door, I would also watch and when he went to the door on his own, I would get up and ring the bell and say potty,within a week he learned it. I cant believe how quick he learned it. Now my issue is, I was thinking I did not want to get him fixed as I thought I may get a girl and breed 1 litter, but he is driving me crazy about marking his territory on everything (outside) that and he seems to run off on his own and wont listen to come back, before he and I would check the mail without a leash and I could walk around with him without as well, but now he takes off and does his own thing, I think it has to do with him not being fixed, as that is what I have read in books..Anyway thank you for the nice welcome and lets keep in touch!
Take care,

[Dawnzig]

... I'm a bit worried about whether or not my Yorkie (AJ) is too skinny. He is a little over a year old, and he weighs around 5 lbs. His back definitely feels boney, but he is energetic and from all I can tell, very healthy.

I will be taking him to my local vet once I get all his paperwork from my cousin. (I inherited the doggie from my Aunt who recently passed away)

From what I understand, he has his papers, and has a chip implanted. I know my aunt paid a small fortune for him. My cousin is just now going through all of his mothers paperwork, and once he finds the dogs records he will be sending it to me.

It has been an adjustment, (I'm more of a cat person than a dog person) he is used to a much larger home, (but now he can go out in the back yard) and my aunt was not really following up on the potty training and such. That seems to be going fairly well.

Now if my cat would just stop glaring at the poor baby.

My question is: Is it normal for this breed to be a bit bony along the backbone?

[Yorkieluv]

I'm sorry to hear about your aunt...
Bony is not normal...Does he eat okay? When you take him into the vet's office, make sure they do a fecal test to check for worms/parasites...This could be the reason why he is so skinny. You might try to post a new thread under the Yorkie Health & Diet section to get more responses...

[dawnandodie]

My little boy is boney as well, you can even feel his hip bones by his lower back. What he could be going through is seperation issue, especially if he is not eating. I would just make sure you note how much he eats in a day and as long as he is eating he should be fine. Also keep an eye on his weight, my little one is not quite a year old yet, and he is 4lbs. Let me know what the vet says. Thanks Dawn and Odie

[Dawnzig]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

I'm sorry to hear about your aunt...
Bony is not normal...Does he eat okay? When you take him into the vet's office, make sure they do a fecal test to check for worms/parasites...This could be the reason why he is so skinny. You might try to post a new thread under the Yorkie Health & Diet section to get more responses...

Yea, he is eating alright, though my aunt never fed him canned food, just kibble for puppies (Science Diet). She had taken him to the vet herself for a worm check and he had a clean bill of health, she asked about his weight as well and the doc said fine, but I'm still kind of worried and want to take him to my own local vet.

I also want to go to the vet to find out a) if he should still be eating puppy food - he is just over a year old, and b) is he too skinny for his age/breed, c) should I allow him to hump the stuffed animals, or take them away from him (I don't want to encourage the humping behavior, he tries it with kids and other visitors) d) is he breed-able, or should I get him neutered, he is papered and chipped, but I don't quite know what that means actually. I've done a little reading and while I think he has the right coloring in his coat, I think his back is too curved to be an ideal stud. e) how much will it cost to get his baby teeth removed (uugh, I've heard as much as 3 grand, more than I've spent on my own dental work in the last few years)

I've done a little reading, and found that you don't even think of breeding until 2 years, but if there is no good reason to breed him, (the curved back), then I should get him snipped.

My aunt didn't neuter him because the lady she bought him from asked her not to, for future breeding possibilities.

Thanks for your input, I think it is kind of amusing to have 3 Yorkie Mom's here named Dawn.