Help! Advice re. feeding needed

[Bonzo]

We made the mistake of hand feeding Bonzo when he arrived (10 wks old)as he didn't eat. Our wonderful breeder who's bred yorkies for over 30 years said it was probably to do with him suddenly being an 'only' dog after being used to having so many other dogs around.

Fast forward - He's now 6 months old and guess what? We're still having to hand feed him. We've graduated from biscuits actually in our hand, to him taking them from his dish (which was a cause of much celebration), but with us holding the dish and playing a game. If anyone had told me 6 months ago that I'd be kneeling on the floor throwing a ball/toy for my yorkie, and in between times he'd take a few biscuits, I'd have said they were mad. He's not underweight due to our herculean efforts for him to eat, but I've got a bad back and am finding it increasingly difficult to continue with this method of feeding. We've tried mixing different things eg. corned beef, tripe in with his biscuits to entice him, but he just sniffs the bowl and walks away.

I spoke to the breeder recently and she said just to leave him to eat, that he wouldn't starve himself. He didn't eat, just curled up in his box, and then stopped drinking as well. By 8pm we were back to the hand feeding.

I'm embarrassed to be in this situation because I'm a doggie person who strongly advocates good discipline and good practice. But we're stuck!

Can anyone help pleeeeassse!!

[kalina82]

How much does Bonzo weigh now at 6 months old? How often are you feeding him and how much are you feeding him at each meal?

By the time my yorkie was 6 months old she was eating maybe twice a day. I got her home at 13 weeks and maybe a week or two later she stopped wanting lunch so instead of 3 meals, she was getting 2. Then she stopped eating all her breakfast, but all of her dinner. Eventually, since she isn't a speed eater, i just started leaving her daily amount of food down all day and she was free to eat whenever she wanted. She's 4 years old now, a little less then 5lbs, and still eats whenever she wants. Some days she doesn't eat at all. i don't worry about it though. If she's hungry, she knows where the food is and can help herself. She's even gone 2 days without eating and has been fine. I've never had to hand feed her, and she's never had a hypoglycemic attack. very happy and healthy.

[ladyjane]

You are worrying too much! Put the food down like the breeder said and walk away. After 15 minutes, pick up the bowl whether he has eaten or not. Put it down later in the day and do the same thing!
You have not waited long enough! You cannot accomplish this with one meal! Yes, he is going to walk away and do just what he always does to get you to hand feed him. He has you trained!
I have never had a pup starve himself to death.
Certainly keep an eye on him so that he does not get hypoglycemic, but I seriously don't think it will happen.
Good luck!

[princessizzy]

I'm sure this is not going to help you But We have to play a game with Izzy to make her eat.... Even though she loves her food it still take effort on my part get her to eat...

I first offer her the food 75 percent of the time she will not eat it...
Then I have to call the other dogs in to pretend theat im giving it to them... And boy does she eat it fast then...lol... I know it's not like hand feeding. But Like I said it does take time and effort on my part..

I guess i don't care because there was a time where i could not get her to eat for NOTHING and i was also hand feeding her.. And there's something good about knowing that their tummy is full that bring comfort to me

Yup i know she has me wrapped but I don't care

[Britster]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

You are worrying too much! Put the food down like the breeder said and walk away. After 15 minutes, pick up the bowl whether he has eaten or not. Put it down later in the day and do the same thing!
You have not waited long enough! You cannot accomplish this with one meal! Yes, he is going to walk away and do just what he always does to get you to hand feed him. He has you trained!
I have never had a pup starve himself to death.
Certainly keep an eye on him so that he does not get hypoglycemic, but I seriously don't think it will happen.
Good luck!

[Bonzo]

Bonzo weighs 3lb and the breeder expects he'll be 5lb or under fully grown. I do leave his Royal Canin biscuits down in the hope he'll help himself during the day, but he just sniffs the bowl and walks away. I bought some meat dog food to coat his biscuits with but that didn't make any difference.

I feel bad because we have brought this on ourselves - it's not really Bonzo's fault, it's what we've taught him to expect. But it's frustrating the heck out of me and I'm seriously beginning to resent spending 20+min, three times a day, trying to get my little darling to eat.

I'm kind of scared of biting the bullet and leaving him to eat when he's ready, but I'm going to have to. I will set a date to start in the next week and let you know how I get on.

He's such a good pup in so many other ways, it's just the feeding issue which is driving me nuts!

[Bonzo]

I forgot to put how much we're feeding Bonzo. The breeder said that now he's six months he only really needs two meals and they should consist of a dessert spoon of his biscuits. Of course I'm still trying to feed him 3 meals which probably isn't helping

[kjc]

Sometimes I'll handfed mine if they're sick, and to back them off, I decrease the amount I handfeed by about half and leave the rest in the bowl. They're still hungry as they're used to getting twice the amount, but partially feeding may stimulate their appetite and they come back on their own to finish the remainder.

In your situation, I think I'd put food down for him, and if he hasn't eaten by nighttime, I would handfeed him 1/3 -1/2 his usual amount, then get up and have a seat or go on about your business. That way you know he's getting something in his tummy and you can relax a bit.

[Ringo1]

Perhaps another brand of dry food would help? My Lucy was a horrible eater too; until I started mixing in a few (heated) canned, sliced carrots and/or canned chicken with her dry food. (Wellness 99% is the canned). Or boiled skinless, boneless chicken breast with a littleof the homemade broth. She cannot resist that.

I agree with the others; it's going to take more than just one meal and I probably would not free feed while you are trying to get him to eat on his own.

[DamSweet]

Hi - I went through exactly the same thing with Bridget. I was so worried that she wasn't eating that I started hand feeding her - I even fed her her soft food off a spoon. I put kibble down before I left for work in the morning and it didn't seem to be touched. I tried changing foods thinking she just didn't like it - but it seemed she didn't like anything. So in order to get her to eat I'd make a game out of it...I'd throw a toy - she'd bring it back and she'd eat some kibble I was giving out as a treat. At first I didn't mind - it was like "our" time. This went on until she was about 6 months old or so, and no longer needed it to be a game - just wanted to be hand fed. We even went as far as my fiance getting on all fours and pretending to eat her food...which worked some of the time. Someone posted that Parmesan cheese sprinkled on her food would probably attract her, and it did. She started eating her soft food on her own, then we tried it with the hard food. It was like a miracle, before too long she was eating on her own. I also found that the soft food gave her a "jump start" in the morning. I'd put down just enough to mask her joint supplement - she then finished breakfast with her kibble. I think that because I had always had large dogs I "felt" she wasn't eating enough, when actually she probably was, I just didn't realize it - a small amount of kibble goes a long way in a tiny tummy. I've always left her kibble down all day, just in case I get delayed at work, and most of it is usually there when I get home - it's for my own piece of mind. Oh the things we do for our little fur-babies....I don't know that I can say I had this much patience with my "skin-kids"!

[Bonzo]

Thanks so much for that Donna and everyone else. Your experience sounds almost identical to ours. Bonzo is 6 months and we've realised he's definitely teething because I found a tooth a couple of days ago. In himself he's fine, but the breeder told us he may go off his food when he's teething. That's all we need!

I guess I feel guilty for establishing this play/feed routine which we're now struggling to change, and I'm also getting resentful of the time it takes to feed him. It worries me that if we travel with him, feeding will be a problem. I too am far more used to big dogs who woof their food down and are always looking for more. Bonzo seems to have a much more 'laissez faire' attitude, but I'm learning, through the help of other members that this is fairly normal for the breed.

I will certainly try the parmesan cheese and maybe start the day with a little soft food. (I don't know if we can get Wellness here. I bought him a tin of Ceasar - there wasn't much choice in the local supermarket.) He's a good weight and doesn't look thin, I think it's mainly in my head. It's totally ridiculous the amount of worrying I'm doing about his feeding. I too have a 'skin child' and although I still worry about him, even he has pointed out that I'm getting a wee bit over the top over this 3lb bundle of joy!

We've had serious snow here in the North East of England which has added to my reluctance to just bite the bullet and put food down for him and leave him to it. The last time we did that he went until 7pm with nothing, stopped drinking and sulked/slept in his box. As he's teething and the weather's so cold, I really don't want him losing weight.

Guess I better get my ski's on and hotfoot it to our local supermarket for some parmesan. Thank you to everyone for your advice and support. It's such a relief to have people to turn to who understand the problem, and I really appreciate the time you've put into replying

[smepperson]

We just got our beautiful new baby from Hylan Acres in Tx and she was feeding a certain kibble. Well I messed up and added some wet food that I think is better for him (which changed his poo to a lighter shade and a bit less solid). He gobbled it up - loved it. Now I am trying to do the right thing and skip the wet to just add dry of my brand with the breeder brand. He will not touch it. Walks to the bowl like he is hungry and walks away with that look on his face like - "I cannot believe you expect me to eat this stuff!" - you know the look...sigh* Anyway, am trying to stick to my guns but he has not had a bite of food (2 full wellness puppy treats earlier - crazy about them!). do we just leave the food where it is and hope he eats eventually? Ok I know the answer to that one but...