YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community


Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers.

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member!

Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us.

Go Back   YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community > YorkieTalk > Yorkie Health & Diet
Register Blogs FAQ Calendar JavaChat Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 03-27-2007, 07:30 AM   #1
Senior Yorkie Talker
 
debbiect's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Denver, NC
Posts: 107
Confused When to go to one meal a day

Everyone here knows I and many others on this forum have little "brats," that go through stages of refusing anything and everything we give them. It's like a "fast" or something. Well Sparky has done this off and on since I got him in December. He is 19 weeks old, almost 5 months (the 12th of April). He weighed 7 lbs 10 ounces at the vet's last week, so he's not a "toy," by any means, and I realize he weighs more than AKC recognizes (so I'm told). But he's my lil bugger. He's not quite 10 inches tall at his shoulders. Now that you know his size, my question. When can I switch him to eating once a day? I keep Merrick's kibbles down all day, and twice a day he gets 1/4 cup of Merricks dry and I grate up a little bit of New Balance rolls on top of that. Plus I add a few pieces of chopped up chicken or beef, and maybe a grated baby carrot. I have to really baby him to get him to eat (hand feed him). I don't want to go through changing foods everytime he gets picky. Sometimes I'll give him a teaspoon of non-fat plain yogurt or a teaspoon of non-fat cottage cheese (usually between 11 - 2). He eats breakfast about 9 am and dinner about 5 - 6 pm. But he picks at his two meals, and doesn't really act interested. I even cut back on his quantity of breakfast, but still he never eats ALL of his food. (except yogurt, cottage cheese). He doesn't get alot of treats during the day, only a cheerio when he goes potty. I really need help as I am at my wits end. Also, I feed him seperate from my other dog (she's about 6-8 years old, coon hound and has eaten Purina Kibbles all her life), and he acts like he's starving if he can get to her bowl before I pick it up. He will gobble it. I got some samples several months ago and he gobbled Candidae. I started to change, but the tech at my vet's told me it wasn;t a good idea to change, it teaches them to be finicky.(She has several Yorkies)He gobbled Merrick's when I changed him over from Science Diet. Is this something I have to look forward to? HELLLLLPPPPPPP!@!@!!!!!!!@!!@@!
debbiect is offline   Reply With Quote
Welcome Guest!
Not Registered?

Join today and remove this ad!

Old 03-27-2007, 07:43 AM   #2
Owned by 3 furballs
Donating Member
 
JESSY_RN2B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 6,581
Default

I'm not sure what to advice but 1 meal a day seems like not a good idea. I would either feed morning and night or free feed (but that is my personal preference).

I don't have finicky eaters at my house so can't help there. Mine graze all day long and eat small yet frequent meals which is great to maintain stable glucose levels.

I guess your best bet would be an all stages food like Canidae? I don't agree that switching food makes them finicky but that is just me. I prefer feeding an all stages food where both dogs eat from the same bowl whenever each pleases. I don't have hypoglycemia, finicky or weight issues. I guess you have to try different methods until you find what works for YOU.

Good luck
__________________
JESSY_RN2B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:00 AM   #3
Senior Yorkie Talker
 
debbiect's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Denver, NC
Posts: 107
Lightbulb

I keep some Merrick puppy food down all the time. If he were to get hungry, wouldn't he go to that? That would keep his glucose level from dropping. Like this morning, he would not eat his breakfast meal I made for him. So I picked it up after about 15 minutes (he still had his bowl of kibbles on the floor). Then just a few minutes ago I gave him 1 tsp. yogurt, two green beans and a couple bites cut off of a Natural Balance roll. I worry he won't get enough nutrients, although he is very healthy looking.
Does anyone feed their furbaby Natural Balance rolls and does it make their stools soft or loose since it's not a hard kibble? I have one each of the three rolls flavors and he likes all of them, but I would prefer he be on hard kibbles for the stool issue. He hasn't had loose stools so far, but I know if they eat canned foods, sometimes their stools are mushy. I like being able to pick it up when he potty's without it squishing in the paper.
ANyone with ideas, hhhhheeeeellllppppp!
debbiect is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:07 AM   #4
Owned by 3 furballs
Donating Member
 
JESSY_RN2B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 6,581
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by debbiect View Post
I keep some Merrick puppy food down all the time. If he were to get hungry, wouldn't he go to that? That would keep his glucose level from dropping. Like this morning, he would not eat his breakfast meal I made for him. So I picked it up after about 15 minutes (he still had his bowl of kibbles on the floor). Then just a few minutes ago I gave him 1 tsp. yogurt, two green beans and a couple bites cut off of a Natural Balance roll. I worry he won't get enough nutrients, although he is very healthy looking.
Does anyone feed their furbaby Natural Balance rolls and does it make their stools soft or loose since it's not a hard kibble? I have one each of the three rolls flavors and he likes all of them, but I would prefer he be on hard kibbles for the stool issue. He hasn't had loose stools so far, but I know if they eat canned foods, sometimes their stools are mushy. I like being able to pick it up when he potty's without it squishing in the paper.
ANyone with ideas, hhhhheeeeellllppppp!

Dogs are like us. Somedays they will be hungrier than others. I would definitely keep the dry kibble out at all times (But that is just me speaking).

You could continue to feed the yogurt as a treat once a day and possibly the rolls in the evening.

I feed mine yogurt or cottage cheese with a dose of supplement (ML). As a treat I feed Evanger's canned but a tiny bit. Their main staple of food is dry kibble (Canidae).

Hope you are able to find a solution.

Good luck
__________________
JESSY_RN2B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:14 AM   #5
No Longer A Member
 
ARCHIE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: NEW YORK
Posts: 16,218
Animal Smiley 049

What I would suggest is to divide up the amount of food you would
give him in one sitting and feed your pup 2xdaily.
I never understood how a dog could survive being feed only once a day.
I would feed him 1/2 for breakfast and the other 1/2 in the evening for
dinner. This way there is always something in his stomach.
Let's not forget the treats as well.
ARCHIE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:20 AM   #6
Crazy about Kacee!
Donating Member
 
yorkieusa's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Kansas
Posts: 21,173
Default

I've never, ever fed just once a day. I've always maintained a three small meals a day schedule with a night time snack.

One thing that can happen to them is that they can get an upset tummy if their tummy is empty too long. Just a thought.
__________________
Karen Kacee
Muffin 1991-2005 Rest in Peace My Little Angel
yorkieusa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:22 AM   #7
Donating YT 3000 Club Member
 
Yorkieluv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 7,178
Default

Emma eats a little bit of natural balance rolls mixed in with a little canned Merrick food mixed in with a little bit of Merrick dry food. Her stools are not loose at all...She gets this twice a day and she gets a tsp of Stonyfield yogurt once a day and little snacks throughout the day like a little piece of green apple (peeled) or something like that. If she does get hungry though, which she usually doesn't, she'll snack on Miko's dry food which I leave out all day.
__________________
Miko 's his Mommy
Yorkieluv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:22 AM   #8
Senior Yorkie Talker
 
debbiect's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Denver, NC
Posts: 107
Default

The Merrick's bag says to feed a total of 1/2 cups of dry food a day, so that's why I usually give him 1/4 cup in the am and another 1/4 cup in the pm. But he always has Merrick's dry in a bowl by his water dish, because I would like for him to eventually free feed. (That's the way Cindy, my coon hound was until Sparky came in. I had to pick her food up so he wouldn't eat it and he's on puppy food.) Could I switch him to Merricks all stages, or is it too soon? I'm just full of questions, sorry! But he rattles my brain! OH but suuuccchhhh love! I wouldn't trade him for a million bucks.
debbiect is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:22 AM   #9
YT 500 Club Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Soddy Daisy, TN
Posts: 733
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ARCHIE View Post
What I would suggest is to divide up the amount of food you would
give him in one sitting and feed your pup 2xdaily.
I never understood how a dog could survive being feed only once a day.
I would feed him 1/2 for breakfast and the other 1/2 in the evening for
dinner. This way there is always something in his stomach.
Let's not forget the treats as well.
I agree with this method. However, I started the one meal a day thing when Millie was about a year old. but switched to the above when she would go a day and 1/2 without eating (sometimes).

Her morning ration (or breakfast) I give her cottage cheese or kibble or one center cut bacon (cooked) and 1/2 egg. These are the three things that she will consistently eat. If she does not eat it within a 20 minute period, I pick it up and she waits until dinner.

I found the later I feed her (about 7 - 7:30) in the evening the better chance of her eating her entire meal and the less picky she is. Her evening meal consists of wet dog food. Either Merricks or Evangers.
__________________
Sheila and Sweet Millie Sage and Jasmine Rose
Ladylavender is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:22 AM   #10
Donating YT 3000 Club Member
 
Yorkieluv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 7,178
Default

Oh, and I forgot to mention, I don't think one meal a day is enough...
__________________
Miko 's his Mommy
Yorkieluv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:25 AM   #11
Donating YT 3000 Club Member
 
Yorkieluv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 7,178
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by debbiect View Post
The Merrick's bag says to feed a total of 1/2 cups of dry food a day, so that's why I usually give him 1/4 cup in the am and another 1/4 cup in the pm. But he always has Merrick's dry in a bowl by his water dish, because I would like for him to eventually free feed. (That's the way Cindy, my coon hound was until Sparky came in. I had to pick her food up so he wouldn't eat it and he's on puppy food.) Could I switch him to Merricks all stages, or is it too soon? I'm just full of questions, sorry! But he rattles my brain! OH but suuuccchhhh love! I wouldn't trade him for a million bucks.
All of Merrick's foods are for all life stages That's the great thing! Puppies need to take in more calories than adults and that's why they say to feed double the recommended for their weight when they're pups. If you have any questions about this, you can contact them and they will explain it more thoroughly. But yes, all of Merricks foods are for all life stages.
__________________
Miko 's his Mommy
Yorkieluv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:29 AM   #12
Donating YT 500 Club Member
 
Rockster's Mom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Posts: 1,279
Default

I feed Rocky once a day, only because I tried the 1/2 serving for breakfast and the rest for dinner and he would never eat his breakfast. Now he has 1/2 cup a food for dinner and he gets healthly treats in the morning which he will eat. Rocky is so not a morning dog, just like his mommy who is not a morning person.
Rockster's Mom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 08:49 AM   #13
Senior Yorkie Talker
 
debbiect's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Denver, NC
Posts: 107
Default

Rockster's Mom
How old is Rocky? Sparky does not seem to be a morning person. He likes to lounge around after pottying, going back to bed til about 8 or 9 o'clock.

Yorkieluv
The Merricks food Sparky eats is called "Puppy Plate." I don't think it is all life stages. I know they have several different varieties, and maybe the others are, but this one is specifically for puppies.

So feeding him "people food" in okay? I didn't think they could eat things like bacon, eggs, because they were bad for them. I occassionally mix Sparky's kibbles with chicken, or beef, and last night a mixed it with a little bit of grilled pork loin. I feed him green beans, raw baby carrots, raw broccoli, cucumbers, apples, celery, and that's the jest of what people food he's had. Which incidentially he loves people food.
debbiect is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 09:00 AM   #14
Donating YT 500 Club Member
 
Rockster's Mom's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Posts: 1,279
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by debbiect View Post
Rockster's Mom
How old is Rocky? Sparky does not seem to be a morning person. He likes to lounge around after pottying, going back to bed til about 8 or 9 o'clock.

So feeding him "people food" in okay? I didn't think they could eat things like bacon, eggs, because they were bad for them. I occassionally mix Sparky's kibbles with chicken, or beef, and last night a mixed it with a little bit of grilled pork loin. I feed him green beans, raw baby carrots, raw broccoli, cucumbers, apples, celery, and that's the jest of what people food he's had. Which incidentially he loves people food.
Rocky is one. He likes to eat bannanas, apples, carrots, eggs (scrambled), chicken, hamburger, and he loves steak (but I usually never give it to him because it is always marinated and seasoned). I only feed him people food as treats unless he is sick then he gets boiled chicken & rice or hamburger & rice. He is pretty much a dog food dog for meals.
Rockster's Mom is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2007, 09:15 AM   #15
Donating YT 3000 Club Member
 
Yorkieluv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: USA
Posts: 7,178
Default

[QUOTE=debbiect;1028644]Rockster's Mom


Yorkieluv
The Merricks food Sparky eats is called "Puppy Plate." I don't think it is all life stages. I know they have several different varieties, and maybe the others are, but this one is specifically for puppies.
QUOTE]

Yes, it is Puppyplate is for all life stages...Here's a link to Merrick's website where it states this:
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/about_us/faq.php#faq_164

If the link doesn't work go to www.merrickpetcare.com At the top right, it will say FAQ...Click on that and scroll down to the heading Canned Foods...Then look for the question where it asks about Puppyplate being okay for older dogs....Click on that and read the answer.

It says:
"Is it okay to feed Puppy Plate to an older dog?
Yes, all Merrick food is developed for All Life Stages. Please review the feeding guidelines on the back of the can for each entree to learn what amount you should feed your dog."

The name PuppyPlate can be misleading and make you think it's only for pups.
__________________
Miko 's his Mommy
Yorkieluv is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks



Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off




Google
 

SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:24 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167