Using Parmesan

[Signmom99]

I tried using the parmesan on Max this morning. He ate eagerly. That tells me that I was mistaken when thinking his teeth (at 10 weeks) were not strong enough for the kibble. I only put a little on there and did not use fresh grated but rather the Kraft cardboard (as my husband calls it).

My question is how long or how often should I do that? I don't want to make it so he refuses to eat his kibble without the cheese. We already lost one yorkie to pancreatitis earlier this year. I'm scared to feed anything but kibble.

Thanks for your help.

[lil fu fu girl]

Originally Posted by Signmom99

I tried using the parmesan on Max this morning. He ate eagerly. That tells me that I was mistaken when thinking his teeth (at 10 weeks) were not strong enough for the kibble. I only put a little on there and did not use fresh grated but rather the Kraft cardboard (as my husband calls it).

My question is how long or how often should I do that? I don't want to make it so he refuses to eat his kibble without the cheese. We already lost one yorkie to pancreatitis earlier this year. I'm scared to feed anything but kibble.

Thanks for your help.

The big problem with parmesan, whether the good stuff or the cardboard, is that it is loaded with saturated fats and sodium. Both can cause serious issues with our pups, such as pancreatitis. A cup of parmesian cheese usually is around 431kcals. So if you are putting about a teaspoon on every feeding he is getting approximately 9 kcals extra of fat and sodium.
I would be careful and only use a little of it once in awhile. I also do give my dogs a treat once in awhile of parm, however, it is a light dusting on the top of their food.

If he is having issues with his food by itself there are other things to add in, such as cottage cheese, which is low in fat and sodium. Also maybe lean pieces of chicken or beef, might be an additional add-in-treat.

Out of curiosity, what are you feeding him now?

[Signmom99]

He's on Royal Canin puppy food. I wanted a high quality food, small kibble, and that seemed the most logical. He did not like the science diet or eukanuba. Plus the kibble of those two puppy foods were much larger.

Maybe I am just expecting him to eat more than he actually should. I'm scared of pancreatitis. We lost our big yorkie to that months ago. But I think that was brought about by him being given a large shortrib bone which he at all of at one sitting!! Our bad

Is it that he just doesn't like any of these foods? Should I go to a lesser quality food? I just am at a loss as to what to do. If he free feeds with no intervention from me, then he doesn't eat more than 1/2 of an 1/8 of a cup of food. And that's on a good day. Since he only weighs 2 lbs I don't want him to go without eating. He will eat the "Baby" kibble that is the weaning food made by Royal Canin, maybe cause it's soft.

I hate to keep changing his food. His poop is nice and regulated on this RC food. I'm open to ideas. You all have a lot more experience with these little guys than me.

Thanks

[lil fu fu girl]

I would definitely Not go to a lower quality food, like Iams or Eukanuba, or change it if he is doing well on RC. Also, being that little he needs as much nutrition in what he is eating as possible. Maybe if you continue on with the RC kibble that he will eat and then add in treats to his diet that would be beneficial. Meat is not a bad thing for our pups; it is just the quality of that meat and whether it contains large quantities of saturated fats. So adding in some chicken, or beef, or salmon into his kibble to entice him to eat more is not a bad thing. Complete proteins from meat are needed by our pups for the essential amino acids that they contain. Also veges such as green beans, zucchini, or bits of fruit are also good quality in-between meal snacks.

If you go to the top of the page in this forum you will find a bunch of stickies that can give you a ton of info about kibble and healthy snacks.
Hope this helps......

[shodanusmc]

No more Parmesean (SP), or you could have other problems. Ours had 2 bouts years ago, not fun. If the dog is hungry, it will eat. We mix a little Wet with the dry....Had to switch Maxine gradually off of Iams LR after the recall and switched her over to the Scientific Digestion. Naturally, she was not happy, but would not give her cheese, grease, fat, table food, anything but her dog food and Iams LR treats. Best of luck

[JenaLiat]

I soak Claire's BB kibble in warm water before she gets it. Not long, just spray it with the hose thing at the sink and give it to her. She eats in SO fast now!! She loves it softer, I think it is easier to eat that way.
Water isn't adding anything bad to the dog either, so no worries! Just make sure to monitor for pottying the floor with extra water in take!

[Signmom99]

I've tried soaking in water. He's not crazy about it. He continues to poop daily so he must be getting something. I guess it's just the quantity that he eats that bothers me. Maybe that's why I'm overweight!!! I have quantity misnomers!!!!!! LOL

I do have the std poodle on eukanuba senior food, but feed her outside the baby gates in the part of the house where Max is not allowed yet. So I know he doesn't get into her food. We are very careful not to drop people food on the floor for Max to ingest.

So you all think that maybe adding some chicken breast (say poached bland) to his kibble at dinner time would be beneficial to entice him to eat? What, maybe 4-5 bites? Or is that too much/not enough??

Where is the magical yorkie book that has all these questions & answers in it when you need it????????

[JeanieK]

My 6 week old puppies can eat the Royal Canin puppy kibble. They do not need it to be soaked.

I give mine a wee bit of canned food first thing in the morning, sort of as an appetizer. I think it gets them going and makes them hungry. Then just dry kibble the rest of the day.

You could try that, and then just keep an eye on him to see if he is eating.

I know I fretted something terrible with my first yorkie, worrying abot her not eating enough, but she survived.

You could also mix in a little purina puppy chow to see if he eats that better.

My theory is, poor food is better than NO food. You can always switch back to the RC after he gets a little bigger and is less of a worry.

[lil fu fu girl]

Originally Posted by Signmom99

I've tried soaking in water. He's not crazy about it. He continues to poop daily so he must be getting something. I guess it's just the quantity that he eats that bothers me. Maybe that's why I'm overweight!!! I have quantity misnomers!!!!!! LOL

I do have the std poodle on eukanuba senior food, but feed her outside the baby gates in the part of the house where Max is not allowed yet. So I know he doesn't get into her food. We are very careful not to drop people food on the floor for Max to ingest.

So you all think that maybe adding some chicken breast (say poached bland) to his kibble at dinner time would be beneficial to entice him to eat? What, maybe 4-5 bites? Or is that too much/not enough??

Where is the magical yorkie book that has all these questions & answers in it when you need it????????

I would take those four or five little bites and chop them up fine, and then spread it over and through the kibble. I feed mine homemade raw everyday, as I am a believer in complete proteins. However, I do not feed chicken raw, as their feed has been found to be contaminated with Salmonella.

[Signmom99]

I am thinking to try the chicken in the kibble. Using some canned in the morning sounds like a good idea too to get the appetite stimulated. The down side is that he spends the morning in the expen the I let him out for an hour in the back yard while I'm on my lunch hour, then he goes back in the expen until hubby gets home around 3ish. Maybe he's just not expending enough calories?

Have to leave for the weekend but grown daughter will stay here and babysit while I'm gone. Will start the chicken and/or canned food idea come Monday. Will update mid next week as to how we're doing.

Thank you for the ideas. I do continue to weigh the dry free feed kibble to see if any disappears during the day. I guess a tiny bit is better than no bit!!

[Signmom99]

Ooh YEAH!!! I wasn't paying any attention to Max and i saw him get some kibble out of the free feed bowl. That is promising, right? Maybe I am just expecting him to eat more than he should be? Guess I'm just used to big dogs inhaling their food. Thanks for hanging in there with a panic striken new yorkie mom. I'm sure I'll be on here lots. Hope to be able to help others some day!

Now if I could just figure out how to upload pictures y'all could see my precious little boy! I'm not partial am I??? LOL

[Signmom99]

Nevermind, I jumped the gun. He just threw up kibble that had not even been chewed. Back to square one. See told you I was probably jumping the gun!!

Next vet visit in 2 weeks. Will we ever make it through puppyhood. I raised two kids and didn't worry this much!!!!!!!!!! LOL

[Psychoyorkie]

I've learned through experience that if the food is very good quality, they wont need as much of it because they are getting what they need in it so it takes much less for them to be satisfied. This applies to much larger dogs as well.

[capt_noonie]

Personally, I don't think RC is that good of a food. Only 3 out of 5 stars. Royal Canin Mini Puppy Food | Review and Rating It has corn in it, it's just an average quality food and it cost close to $20 a bag. There are much better foods out there. I tried to give Uni RC when I first got her thinking that was the best there. Well it is, at Petsmart. Even Petco has better brands now.

Uni is really picky and a friend told me about Honest Kitchen. You can get the "preference" and add your own protein to it, chicken fish or whatever you want (low fat though!). Uni is on the "verve" one she loves it. she barks and barks when it's time to eat. That's never happened before. She also has pancreatitis and this is the lowest fat food I have found 7.5 percent

If you do switch food, make sure you do it slowly.

[lil fu fu girl]

Originally Posted by capt_noonie

Personally, I don't think RC is that good of a food. Only 3 out of 5 stars. Royal Canin Mini Puppy Food | Review and Rating It has corn in it, it's just an average quality food and it cost close to $20 a bag. There are much better foods out there. I tried to give Uni RC when I first got her thinking that was the best there. Well it is, at Petsmart. Even Petco has better brands now.

Uni is really picky and a friend told me about Honest Kitchen. You can get the "preference" and add your own protein to it, chicken fish or whatever you want (low fat though!). Uni is on the "verve" one she loves it. she barks and barks when it's time to eat. That's never happened before. She also has pancreatitis and this is the lowest fat food I have found 7.5 percent

If you do switch food, make sure you do it slowly.

I personally, do not like RC as well. Any kibble that has corn as the first or second ingredient is a tell tale sign. Corn is a carbohydrate that is used as a stabilizer for the kibble, so that it maintains its structure. However, many companies also use it for the incomplete proteins it contains; as they can include it in their total "crude protein" amounts. The problem with "crude proteins"is that they do not have to be digestible by our pups in order to be included in the total amount. So despite the totals that are given on the side of the bag, your pup still might not be getting enough.
I totally agree with you, complete proteins from high quality meats and fish are essential.