I'm so excited about this! We all know how picky Yorkies can be about eating, and my JoJo is no exception. Especially considering my dad had spoiled him on table food (bad, I know).
Well, when it came to his dog food, he would literally starve himself before eating a morsel, unless I hand-fed him, and that is not always practical. So I figured out a way to "train" him to eat!
This is how I did it:
I first began with my usual hand-feeding, but while he ate I would praise him like the dickens ("good boy!" in a really excited tone). Then I added "eat your food" when presenting his food, and continue to praise him. Finally, I put his food in his bowl, used my command of "eat your food", and the moment he went to his food bowl and took a bite I praised him. I was in shock that it worked! But I was so proud of him! I continued praising him while he was eating to reinforce it (he would look up at me every so often as though he was waiting for my praise LOL).
Now, even if we're in another room, all I have to say is "eat your food!" and he runs to his food bowl and eats. Yorkies are so smart!
Now, I realize this may not be the coolest or most impressive "trick", but nonetheless, I'm so proud of my little guy. But more importantly, I think this is a very useful thing I've taught him because I was getting concerned about his lack of nutrition. So if anyone's got a picky eater, try this and see if it works for you, and let me know how it goes!
