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Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom  I always feel like the "yorkies don't handle protein well" is a myth/tale perpetuated by a misunderstanding of what causes LS and other issues...what do you think? Do you ever feel that way/know what I mean?
It's never been my experience that yorkies, as a breed, have trouble w/ protein, carbs, veg, fruit...or anything, to be honest - in terms of base ingredients. (and I have 3 yorks from 3 diff breeders) I mean sure, every dog (and person) may have individual little food sensitivities...but that's not what I'm getting at here.
A yorkie who has LS will have major protein issues, sure, but that's bc of the LS...not bc there is a core issue w/ yorkies and protein. In other words, while the yorkie breed is more prone (statistically) to LS, LP, CT, pancreatitis etc --it doesn't translate to the breed not 'tolerating' protein or fat well. It translates to: yorkies have genetic vulnerabilities toward certain diseases.
As a breed, I don't find them much different - overall - in their nutrition tolerances. Again, outside of any individual food sensitivities (ie, this or that dog sensitive to chicken for some unk reason).
I'm getting off topic...sorry...but this always fascinates me.  |
I was just going to agree with that! My belief based on talking to vets, breeders, and doing my own personal research is that unless there is some preexisting condition, yorkies are perfectly fine eating foods with higher protein levels.
With that being said, I don't think it's necessary to feed a yorkie or any dog a food with significantly higher levels of protein if they're not still growing or don't have a very active lifestyle. At the same time, I also don't believe it is harmful to feed a normal yorkie with a typical activity level higher protein food if your dog does well on it. I would prefer my dog to get calories and energy from a high quality protein/fat source than a carbohydrate source.
I really enjoy reading about this kind of stuff and hearing other views...it makes me do more research and become even better informed!