Don't forget that the more attention you give your dog while they eat, the less likely they are to eat it on their own. Don't point to the pieces he is not eating...it only turns it into a game that he wants you to continue playing!
Feed him the beef and chop it up into small pieces. I have never grated it for Stormy, that would be boring, and it is then almost the same consistency as the canned food, which he doesn't like.
Chop it into little pieces, find a place where there are NO distractions, put a handful on his blanky and pretend you are not paying attention, or in his carry bag and walk him around in it with the food. TOTALLY ignore him while the food is there. Read a book, flip through a catalog, write your "to do" list for the day, and DON'T look at him, no matter what. Give him 15 or 20 mintes with it with NO attention whatsoever, and he'll probably eat it. He wants your attention, the positive attention is so fun for him and he craves it, the negative attention (you pointing at the food or scolding him and telling him to eat it) only causes him to have a negative association with eating...
Each dog likes a different routine:
Rexxy (my 10 year old foster yorkie who had starved himself for 3 weeks before he came to live with me while we found him a permanent home) needed to be on a comforter on the couch - completely alone with the door closed - no other dogs or distractions for a half hour...when I came back 30 minutes later, the food was gone - and now, he scratches the comforter to tell me he's hungry - that is Rexxy's routine. And, his new mom in his forever home has said that in the month that she has had him, it works every time.
Stormy (my 4 year old yorkie from a wonderful breeder in Massachusetts) felt safe in his carry bag, so rather than feed him from a dish in the morning and at dinner, I would chop up a wheel, put it in the front of his carry bag, harness him in and either take him shopping or walk around the house with him in the carry bag on my arm. And he'd gobble it up because he knew when he was in the carry bag that it was time to relax and not play...there were no other distractions. Now when Stormy is hungry, he digs in his carry bag and sticks his head under the cushion to try to find his food!
Teddy (my 2 year old rescue yorkie) likes to eat his chopped up on a small plate (not a bowl) 2 times a day without fail and he licks the plate clean.
You know he likes the beef flavor, so only feed him that flavor - chop it up, don't grind it, and make sure you are not feeding him too much. He may not be eating it as much because he is not starving like he was the other night when you fed it to him the first time. So try feeding him smaller amounts 2 times a day and make sure it is around the same time each day so his digestion is on a routine and he has time to digest between meals so he feels hungry again when you are ready to feed him.
It may take you some time to find out his exact favorite way to eat the food, so try leaving him in a room with it, or even putting him in his crate (if you do that when you go out) or on his blanket in a gated off room and go for a walk or an errand for 20 mintes to a half an hour. If you are not there to interact with him, he may find the eating a fun thing to do while you are away.
He sounds just like my Stormy, and the more attention you give him during meal time, the more attention he will want, and the more of a game it becomes which will take his mind off of eating all together...because yorkies are so smart, they crave interaction and I really believe, for most of them, the interaction is more enjoyable than eating. |