Yorkies are NOTORIOUSLY finicky eaters, much like some cats in this respect. Welcome to the wonderful world of cullinary canines. I have gone to such extremes of experimentation that I feel pretty confident sharing with you some of the things I have learned about getting my dog to eat healthy. Here's what I found with my Chewy:
1. He will starve, and look for disgusting tidbits on our walks, rather than eat the same thing every day.
2. He's easily fooled as to what constitutes "different".
3. It's important to make sure your Yorkie is eating, as they can have metabolic problems (such as hypoglycemia) if they neglect their nutritional requirements. To my knowlege, yorkies seem to be the only dog that will starve itself into health problems just out of stubbornness. lol. Any pro's please correct me if that's a mistaken outlook...
I have had great luck with
Ecuanuba. At first, just using this kind of food was enough, but eventually Chewy tired of that. Then I started experimenting: A little cottage chese or a sprinkle of parmesean cheese across the top turns that plain old bowl of chunks into a unique cullinary delight. Just keep it lean and healthy, avoid globs of fat, choking hazzards, salts, garlic, onions, chocolate and even sweets in general. Keep good healthy food appearing in the mix with a high-quality chow and your dog will soon start rushing to your feet when he hears the feed scoop.
On a cold day, nothing beats a warm meal...Here's a few winter treats that keeps Chewy fit through the dreary months when his energy and apetite dwindle:
Try adding some no-sodium or low-sodium chicken broth to the chow and microwave it for about 15 seconds. Make sure that you don't use his metal feed-dish
. Also be sure to check that there are no "hot-spots" in the mixture to burn their little mouths.
A mixture of canned Ecuanuba and hard food often goes well if warmed up a little.
When Chewy had a serous digestive problem from eating some bits of wicker,
our vet had us feed him what she called the "safe diet". I was woried that chewy woudln't eat any "safe diet", but whe she revealed it's recipie, I knew we were in business. I still use this when I run out of dog-food or as a special treat. This is by far the most successful dish I've had him eating:
My Vet's "Safe Diet":
50% White rice (cooled down of course)
50% Cottage Cheese!
YUM! I actually tried this, and it's kinda like rice pudding, not bad actually.
Expect your yorkie to come back with a cottage cheese mustache kiss, just to thank you for the yummy treat!
You can also experiment by adding cottage cheese or white rice to hard-chow. We do our best to keep Chewy eating as much hard-chow as we can since its very good for keeping those notorious Yorkie teeth clean and healthy. Don't let the pup push you into a strictly soft-food diet. Ballance your human wisdom against your finicky eater and you will eventually fall into a pattern where you know just how to rotate in some ingredient to keep your dog interested. Good luck and happy cooking!