A picky eater

[lvtyorkie]

I have a beautiful fourteen week old yorkie. She seems healthy and has gained three ounces in the past couple of weeks. She is a very picky eater, and we have tried several different kibbles and canned food. Once in about every three days she seems to eat well, usually Halo or Merrick. I am wondering if I should be supplementing her with Nutra Cal? I am trying not to encourage her poor eating habits but want to make sure she is getting what she needs. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Gabby weighs 2lbs 6 ounces.

[Maximo]

NutriCal is not intended as a supplement. It should be reserved for when a pup is actually having a hypoglycemic episode.

New pups sometimes take time to adjust to a new home and may not eat as much the first few days. Also, continuously offering food alternatives will encourage picky eating. The dog will hold out for really good stuff, which often ends up being "people" food or table scraps. Choose a kibble or other food and stick to it. You can either free feed, leaving the kibble down all day, or you do scheduled feedings (at least 3 a day for a young pup this size).

You can encourage the pup to eat by using the kibble as rewards for good potty or trick training. It's never too early to start training. When you praise and hold a piece of kibble, usually the pup will happy to eat the piece of kibble.

Don't feed any treats unless she is eating her core diet well.

[lvtyorkie]

Thanks...Just want to do my best. Will stick to one food, it will be the battle of the wills She is ruling with an iron paw already.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by lvtyorkie

Thanks...Just want to do my best. Will stick to one food, it will be the battle of the wills She is ruling with an iron paw already.

LOL, I have no doubt. Even my big boy played a lot of games the first year and had me practically hand-feeding almost all of his kibble. Couldn't resist when he would sit so nicely next to his bowl and look up at me.

Enjoy your sweet little tyrant.

[missdemi]

Try feeding raw or a food with a strong smell. My baby is very similar.

[lvtyorkie]

Our baby seems to be eating a little better, not much and hardly ever kibble. I so appreciate the advise. Today she ate a piece of carrot and thought that was yummy. I pick leaves, twigs and and lots of garbage out of her mouth. She is a little vacumb except for food. We have had her almost three weeks now, am hoping the eating gets better yet. I believe she has one of the most watched little mouths in our family's history.

[nancyf007]

I have added a spoonful of cottage cheese to Abby dish when she is showing no interest and that works great.

[MaddiesMommie]

Originally Posted by Maximo

NutriCal is not intended as a supplement. It should be reserved for when a pup is actually having a hypoglycemic episode.

New pups sometimes take time to adjust to a new home and may not eat as much the first few days. Also, continuously offering food alternatives will encourage picky eating. The dog will hold out for really good stuff, which often ends up being "people" food or table scraps. Choose a kibble or other food and stick to it. You can either free feed, leaving the kibble down all day, or you do scheduled feedings (at least 3 a day for a young pup this size).

You can encourage the pup to eat by using the kibble as rewards for good potty or trick training. It's never too early to start training. When you praise and hold a piece of kibble, usually the pup will happy to eat the piece of kibble.

Don't feed any treats unless she is eating her core diet well.

[gracielove]

I just went through a year of picky eating with my little one. She hated most of the kibbles I would try. I even tried cooking her food for her. Chicken, brown rice and veggies. She would eat it when I first made it and then turn up her nose up to it. Finally after a year of this I found out a few things. She hates foods with grain in them. When I stopped putting rice in her food and switched to sweet potato she loved it. I have found that most dog foods, even the better foods, have a lot of grain in them. Dogs were not meant to eat grain. I have switched her to Brothers complete which is a grain free food that has the natural enzymes still in the food that would be in a raw diet. She is also getting Stella & Chewy's which is a raw grain free food. She is now begging to eat. I don't keep food down for her. I wait until she is asking to eat. She gets no snacks or people food of any kind. Little dogs don't need to eat much so what they get needs to be good for them. I wish you the best with your baby. It can be a trying experience.

[lvtyorkie]

Thanks for the thoughts on grain free food. I am trying so hard just to stick to one food and hope she eats. Probably less than ten times have I even seen her try kibble and usually what happens is she chews just a little and then spits it out. I have it available to her all the time. She will eat the canned Halo and Merrick but not very well. I have tried just to stick with them. I have checked the growth chart to see if she is gaining on track and it appears she is gaining less than two ounces a week. The breeder at first advised me she would be about six pounds and now it looks as if we will be lucky to hit 4 1/2. When we picked her up at 12 weeks I was surprised she was so small at 2lb3ounces. Gabby's energy seems fine and she appears healthy. She gets her third shots around the 27th and I will consult the Vet on her eating.

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by lvtyorkie

Thanks for the thoughts on grain free food. I am trying so hard just to stick to one food and hope she eats. Probably less than ten times have I even seen her try kibble and usually what happens is she chews just a little and then spits it out. I have it available to her all the time. She will eat the canned Halo and Merrick but not very well. I have tried just to stick with them. I have checked the growth chart to see if she is gaining on track and it appears she is gaining less than two ounces a week. The breeder at first advised me she would be about six pounds and now it looks as if we will be lucky to hit 4 1/2. When we picked her up at 12 weeks I was surprised she was so small at 2lb3ounces. Gabby's energy seems fine and she appears healthy. She gets her third shots around the 27th and I will consult the Vet on her eating.

Gracie was always full of energy and healthy as a young puppy, too. I guess my main concern was that the first year is when they are forming systems that must maintain them for the rest of their lives. I did buy her some soft chewy vitamins that she liked so at least I knew she was getting some nutrition. She always wanted the cat's food and knowing it was up there on the cat table where she couldn't get it may have made her more stubborn about not eating her food. Of course the cats would sometimes knock some off the edge of table for her which made matters worse.
I keep a small bag of her food by where I sit in the evening and she will come up and paw around until she finds it to let me know she wants to eat. What a relief to finally have a dog that wants to eat her food! I know that with a puppy you are going to have to find what is right for your pup. There is some good information about dog foods in the Yorkie health and diet part of this site. It takes a while to narrow it down to what works best for you but I'm sure you will find a solution.

[G-Mendoza]

Im a bit new to the forums but Tori our 5 pound 18 month Yorkie is the also a picky eater turns out that the previous owner fed him table scraps, what we have found that he loves is Purina chef michael's canine creations in either smoked turkey or rotisserie chicken flavor mixed with your choice of kibble in our case we use Iams smart puppy small breed food. on occasion we will cook him a small piece of ground turkey no spices and he loves it!! he comes running into the kitchen in joy. i hope this may have helped. Best wishes and good luck!

[cdra]

Originally Posted by gracielove

I just went through a year of picky eating with my little one. She hated most of the kibbles I would try. I even tried cooking her food for her. Chicken, brown rice and veggies. She would eat it when I first made it and then turn up her nose up to it. Finally after a year of this I found out a few things. She hates foods with grain in them. When I stopped putting rice in her food and switched to sweet potato she loved it. I have found that most dog foods, even the better foods, have a lot of grain in them. Dogs were not meant to eat grain. I have switched her to Brothers complete which is a grain free food that has the natural enzymes still in the food that would be in a raw diet. She is also getting Stella & Chewy's which is a raw grain free food. She is now begging to eat. I don't keep food down for her. I wait until she is asking to eat. She gets no snacks or people food of any kind. Little dogs don't need to eat much so what they get needs to be good for them. I wish you the best with your baby. It can be a trying experience.

I've had my puppy for a couple of weeks and noticed she didn't like grain either. i'm giving her instinct kibble and she eats it with no problem. her stools are much more solid now. it took a little while for her to eat anything at all but now she's doing much better.

[lvtyorkie]

Woop woop banner day for our girl. She ate some kibble, of course she would only eat it if I hand fed her. I will count it as a victory as she only spit it out before. Gabby is doing a bang up job training me.

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by lvtyorkie

Woop woop banner day for our girl. She ate some kibble, of course she would only eat it if I hand fed her. I will count it as a victory as she only spit it out before. Gabby is doing a bang up job training me.

That's all right. I am still hand feeding Gracie. Believe me after what we have been through I don't mind a bit. At least she is eating.