he's not a "teacup" because "teacups" simply doesn't exist except at 3pm when it's time for tea... "teacup" is just a marketing term fabricated and used by some breeders to describe extremely small dogs as if it some sort of "designer breed", so as to justify the premium the breeder is asking for the dog. but yorkies under 3lbs full grown are simply yorkies at the smaller end of the standards scale.
with that being said, i've been feeding my pup 2x a day. once at 9am and once at 6pm. since he's picky about his food, i only use kibbles as treats for training, maybe a handful throughout the day. i let him eat as much as he likes for about 10 minutes during meal time but will cap him off at 1/2 cup (per the package food instructions) for the day. overall, he'll eat a little over 1/4 cup of kibble and drink about 3-4 oz of water per day. we go out for a 30-60 min walk everyday except for rainy days and an hour or two of indoor playtime at 10-15 min sessions. the rest of the time he spends sleeping in his crate or lounging on my lap. week 11 weight is 3.2 lbs at the pace of .2 lbs per week since week 8. i expect him to fall between 6 to 8 lbs when fully grown.
perhaps rather than to put your pup on a "diet" and restrict his intake, you can exercise him longer and more often. |