Actually I found Yorkie Talk when I did a google search while trying to find a homemade diet for Gracie to eat. She refused dog food from the start. I find it is quite a common problem with Yorkies.
I did the hand feeding for quite a while but she was still not eating enough. I started finding recipes (here) to make home cooked meals. She would eat them when I first would cook for her but refused leftovers!!! I finally found she hated grain in her food. When I switched the grain to sweet potato she loved the food I made. I wanted her on a commercial diet though and after much trial and error I got her on a commercial grain free raw diet that she does beautifully on.
I hope you are able to find a food she loves. Gracie eats off paper plates due to the raw diet. A flat dish will help but if your puppy does not like the food she is not going to eat well. Some say let the dog starve until they eat but I find a problem with that method. If the food is so repulsive to the dog that you have to starve it to get it to eat then perhaps there is a problem with the food???
Read up on dog food ingredients. Many of the larger commercial pet food companies are grain based foods. Dogs prefer meat so they put a lot of artificial flavorings and "meat by products" in the food as well as sweeteners to get the animal to eat it. Corn it's self is high in glucose and can help speed up tooth decay as well as lead to diabetes later in life.
The whole pet food industry is quite complicated to figure out. It is self regulating, meaning it makes it's own rules about ingredients as well as labeling. You really need to take a close look at what you buy for your pet to eat as far as food and treats. Be careful with toys made in China as well. |