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10-09-2010, 08:55 AM | #1 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Jakarta
Posts: 1
| How to stop hand feeding my 10 months yorkie? Hi everybody, I have a problem. My 10 months yorkie, Kiki, wont eat unless i hand fed him. I got him when he was about 11 weeks. He is 10 months now. He ate very little, n after a while, he barely touch his kibbles. I took him to the vet, she said he was healthy. She said probably he was just adjusting to new environment. When i got him, the breeder fed him eukanuba, but i slowly switched it to orijen puppy, but he stopped eating it after a week, i noticed he got trouble chewing the big kibbles, so i switched again to artemis fresh mix small breed puppy. Then after another two weeks, he barely touch that also. I asked around, call the vet, he was just spoiled, she told me to try hand feeding him..so i did, n he ate.. Though he never eats a lot. I tried to put his food down on his bowl, so he can eat himself, but he wont touch it, but when i hand fed it to him, he eat some. i know i'm spoiling him, but this is a first time i got a puppy n i worried that he would starve. So i kept hand feeding him. i tried to mix his food with chicken or cheese to get him eat more, it help a little.. i tried to give him snacks, but he didnt care much for snacks, though he love to chew raw hide. i give him half a tab multi vitamins a day. I checked with the vet, he got all the vaccine the vet recommended, also de-wormed as scheduled. When he was 6 months, i took him to the vet again, just to make sure he was alright, coz he grew, n got skinnier. Vet said he was healthy, though he was a tad skinny. i tried to started scheduling his meal. People said a healthy dog wont starve himself. And i have to stop being such a worrywart. So i started to put his bowl of kibbles out 3 times a day. Leave it for 30 minutes, then took it. He didnt touch it for 3 days!! Then the 4th day, in the morning, he ate, but only once. he didnt touch his meal again for another for 3 days, and ate once. I tried this for 3 weeks, and i was devastated. He started to lose weight quite fast n the he was already skinny to begin with. His ribs n backbone was more pronounced than before. And he slept more through the days, and that worried me coz usually he was very active, he love to play a lot and run around. So im back to hand feeding him till now. He didnt lose weight again after that, but he didnt gain what he'd lost, coz he still ate very little. but at least he eat again, and he is as active as ever. I also tried to do raw feeding. i chopped some chicken and he just sniffed, but he didnt eat that also, he just ran around the house with a chunk, n leave the house messy. lol..I tried this only for 2 days, i cant let him starve himself again after that 3 weeks. I checked with another vet just a few days ago, just to be sure, coz i started to doubt the first vet i took him to. but she also said he is healthy, but he sure is underweight. Since a month ago, nightly i fed him lactose free baby milk, hoping he could gain some weight from that. but so far he is still as skinny, though he likes the milk. I asked the vet if thats okay, she said as long as Kiki didnt have a digestion problem, I can continue to give him the milk, so long as it's lactose free. I read quite a lot that milk is not really necessary for dogs, some even said its not good, but since he didnt have any bad reaction to the milk, i still give him that. So anyone ever had a problem like this? what if i have to go out of town or something? i dont want him to starve himself. i stopped taking vacation out of town since i got him..lol...im okay with that, but i really dont want him to depend on me to hand feed him forever. i dont think that's healthy. What can i do to make him eat from his bowl? Come to think about it, ive been hand feeding him for about 6 months, excluding the 3 weeks i just told u. is it too late to change this habit? any suggestion would be welcome..thx in advance Last edited by stobelie; 10-09-2010 at 08:58 AM. |
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10-09-2010, 09:08 AM | #2 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posts: 1
| My yorkie is 5 months old. I would leave her food out all day. So, she will eat when she is hungry. I noticed that she eats in the morning, skips lunchtime, eats again during dinner, and one more time at 10 PM. Since I brought her home at 8 weeks, I had always free feed her. She is not overweight and she won't eat if she is full. One time, when she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to eat, I put Nutri-cal on her food and she ate it. I would recommend giving your yorkie Nutri-cal if he is not getting enough supplements. I hope your yorkie gets better at eating! |
10-09-2010, 09:25 AM | #3 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas
Posts: 1,921
| Maybe you could try something like this: Dry Dog Food Sampler Pack - Luke's All Natural Pet Food Just put several samples in front of him and see if there is one that he seems to really like. Also, how much does he weigh? Is he a really tiny one? The reason why I ask is that pups with liver problems don't eat well because eating makes them feel sick, so they get picky and eat only very small amounts. They don't eat as much, they don't grow like they should. I would have my pup's bile acid levels tested, just to be safe and rule out liver problems.
__________________ Life is merrier with a Yorkshire Terrier! Jezebel & Chuy ... RIP: Barkley Loosie & Sassy |
10-09-2010, 09:42 AM | #4 |
No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South Florida
Posts: 8,577
| I used to board Yorkies for friends and others..many were hand fed..one was offered a bowl of ice water every hour or so and I was told that was the only way she would drink. The owner had a heart attack and recovery took about a month...I kept her Yorkie during this time...I put the water bowl down and told the dog she had the choice to drink or not to drink..of course she did not understand my words, but dogs do understand body language and tone if voice..the dog drank fine from the bowl.. This also applies to eating...I have never had a dog starve themself to death or even come near it..as a rule it takes 3 days and they will eat...BUT you attitute is very important and if the Yorkie suppects you are worried and concerned you have lost the battle...make an issue of eating and it will be an issue..or you can put the food down and go about your day...your dog may lose a bit of weight, but a touch underweight is much healthier for them anyway..I would only be concerned if my Yorkie became weak from lack of food, but if they show no signs and are walking, playing, acting normal, they are fine..your Yorkie is playing you like a piano. |
10-09-2010, 11:26 AM | #5 | |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Up North
Posts: 808
| Quote:
Heard it many times, dog won't eat, tried all the dog foods from dry to wet to home cooked. I take them in for a week and they are eating fine and drinking fine within 3 days. They are smart and will play you until you are eating out of their paws.. Take a step back and remember that no matter how we think they are still dogs They eat their own poop or each others, they eat dirt and rocks, mice and rotten things. We may try to humanize them and baby them but that does not do them any favors when they become terrors or manipulators.
__________________ "The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for." | |
10-09-2010, 11:55 AM | #6 | |
Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas
Posts: 27,450
| Quote:
I tell people this all of the time. I have had so many pups in my home and not one has starved himself. Sometimes it takes a day or two, but they get to know quickly that the food is put down twice/day for 10 - 15 minutes.
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