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Originally Posted by SpunkyXL  More like a treat..From what I'm hearing on this forum, the biscuits you see in the store is unhealthy? Chicken treats would give him the proper protein. I just got my 9-week old Yorkie last week..I want to give him the bessssssst foods! |
Well, 9 weeks is considered really young for a Yorkie, the mother club the YTCA doesn't recommend allowing the pups to go home so young, and one of the reasons for this is their size. They just don't have the weight that larger dog breeds have at that time. So this means that an illness could have disastrous effects. Once puppies are weaned, breeders are not experimenting with their diets, but are giving them a well-balanced puppy food. Around 12 weeks if they are thought to be big enough to go the their new home, they ask you to keep the puppy on the same diet for a week or so, so that any problems the dog is experiencing can't be blamed on a new food. Chicken is a healthy treat, but sometimes it is so loved by the dog, that he'll turn his nose up at more nutritious fare. Protein alone isn't considered a good diet.
There are many threads on raw feeding and they suggest that you give raw including bone, and this contains enough minerals to keep the dog healthy, but once you cook it, important vitamins are lost, and the bone is no longer is safe to eat. Some people believe that raw isn't the best choice for smaller breed dogs, and some people think you should never give raw to a young puppy who might not have a fully functioning immune system. There is a lot of information on the diet forum on this subject.
To answer your question, I think that around the age of 10 weeks you could safely give your dog 1-3 teaspoons of boiled chicken. You could break that up and give several pieces throughout the day as a treat. First time you introduce a food don't give much, your puppy will be less likely to experience diarrhea, and I personally don't believe in adding very many new things the first 6 months, but I did use cheerios as a potty training aid.