YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - Does ANyone else Have to HAND FEED DRY FOOD ???

spikey · 09-20-2005, 01:33 PM

Hi I'm new to this forum. We just got our yorkie a few weeks ago. He has been great.

My yorkie is now 10 1/2 weeks, initially when we got him, he didn't eat from the bowl too. My daughter hand feed him for 2 days. Then I decided to leave him alone and put some sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on the food. At first, he didn't touch the bowl, and later he started sniffing and ate the whole bowl. I did it once and now he has no problem eating his food even if I don't put cheese on it.

When we first got him, the breeder told us to leave food around for him to eat. He'll eat when he's hungry. When I took him to the vet, he discouraged us to do that because he said if you free feed him, you have no control of when he poos. He suggested that since there'll be nobody in the house from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., it is better for me to feed him early in the morning and let him poo before I go to work and then feed him when I return at 5:30 p.m. I mentioned to him that most puppies have to eat every 2 - 3 hours and I won't be home to feed him. He said it is not true that puppies need to be fed regularly. He also said that a lot of yorkie's owners are very concern of their pets not eating. He said yorkie is very small dog and they've small stomach and we shouldn't expect them to eat a lot. If he is not moving a lot in the day especially when nobody is at home to play with him, he doesn't need that much of energy. He also discourage us to hand feed him. He said dogs are like children, once you spoil them, it'll be very hard to change their habits. He said leave him alone, he won't die if he miss a meal. Once he's hungry, he'll eat. He said the only time I need to concern about him not eating is when he is sick. If he is active, happy and lively, don't worry at all. He also said that as long as he eats well in the morning, I shouldn't worry about him being hungry during the day. So far, I've followed his instructions and it works very well. My husband will feed him at 6:30 a.m. before he leaves for his work, spikey (my yorkie) will poo around 7:30 a.m. just before I leave for work. Then when I come home at 5:30 p.m., I give him his second feed. When my daughters return from school at 3:00 p.m., they'll play with him and give him treats. The vet told us not to give too much treats to spikey because a biscuit to the yorkie is equivalent to their half meal. If we give him too much treats, they might not eat their main meal.

09-20-2005, 01:33 PM	#12
spikey Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 45	Hi I'm new to this forum. We just got our yorkie a few weeks ago. He has been great. My yorkie is now 10 1/2 weeks, initially when we got him, he didn't eat from the bowl too. My daughter hand feed him for 2 days. Then I decided to leave him alone and put some sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on the food. At first, he didn't touch the bowl, and later he started sniffing and ate the whole bowl. I did it once and now he has no problem eating his food even if I don't put cheese on it. When we first got him, the breeder told us to leave food around for him to eat. He'll eat when he's hungry. When I took him to the vet, he discouraged us to do that because he said if you free feed him, you have no control of when he poos. He suggested that since there'll be nobody in the house from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., it is better for me to feed him early in the morning and let him poo before I go to work and then feed him when I return at 5:30 p.m. I mentioned to him that most puppies have to eat every 2 - 3 hours and I won't be home to feed him. He said it is not true that puppies need to be fed regularly. He also said that a lot of yorkie's owners are very concern of their pets not eating. He said yorkie is very small dog and they've small stomach and we shouldn't expect them to eat a lot. If he is not moving a lot in the day especially when nobody is at home to play with him, he doesn't need that much of energy. He also discourage us to hand feed him. He said dogs are like children, once you spoil them, it'll be very hard to change their habits. He said leave him alone, he won't die if he miss a meal. Once he's hungry, he'll eat. He said the only time I need to concern about him not eating is when he is sick. If he is active, happy and lively, don't worry at all. He also said that as long as he eats well in the morning, I shouldn't worry about him being hungry during the day. So far, I've followed his instructions and it works very well. My husband will feed him at 6:30 a.m. before he leaves for his work, spikey (my yorkie) will poo around 7:30 a.m. just before I leave for work. Then when I come home at 5:30 p.m., I give him his second feed. When my daughters return from school at 3:00 p.m., they'll play with him and give him treats. The vet told us not to give too much treats to spikey because a biscuit to the yorkie is equivalent to their half meal. If we give him too much treats, they might not eat their main meal.