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- - Weight Question (https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/general-yorkshire-terrier-discussion/146147-weight-question.html)

My intentions were not to under feed her to make her small, I just didn't want to make her unhealthy and cause strain on her body. I hope no one took it as if I was just wanting a tiny dog.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tcarnagie (Post 2240613)

Can you still feel her ribs??? My little girl is eating 4 times a day and I measure out her daily allowance based on what the food recommends.

If you can feel her ribs, then she is not overweight and she is not eating too much.

Yes I can...

Quote:

Originally Posted by bettyeanne (Post 2240628)

It seems that her bone structure is so tiny, it can't support the weight she had gained. Five of her little ribs had separated! She had to take an anti-inflamatory and pain medication until they healed and we had to cut her food intake, yet again. She is fine and healthy now but we are daily fighting her little "battle of the bulge"! :)

This is very interesting, I never knew that could even be possible. My Mocha is full grown at 3lbs and he has a tiny frame and very skinny little legs. My sister jokes that if he puts on any more weight, he won't be able to support it on his tiny toothpick legs :rolleyes: We didn't actually think it could be a real issue though :shocked7q I'll have to cut down on the treats to make sure this doesn't happen. Thank you so much for sharing your story!

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. This is really my only concern, that she will become overweight for her body structure. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bettyeanne (Post 2240628)

Hi Shannon! There have already been very good answers/suggestions but I would like to share an experience which we had. My Toto was 1 1/2 lbs. when we brought her home at 16 weeks. Her adult weight "guesstimate" was about 3 lbs., which was fine but we, like you, were so madly in love with her we didn't care if she grew the size of a St. Bernard! :) Her weight at 8 months was only 2 lbs. and she was well over a year before she weighed 3 lbs. After a couple more years she began to seem a little "fat" to us so I made it a point to have her checked by her vet in Alabama who "specializes" in the Yorkie breed. She had always cautioned me that she didn't need to weigh over 3 - 3 1/2 lbs. We just never, ever dreamed that she would ever be really fat. She was fat ... tipping the scales at about 6 lbs.! :eek: I almost fainted! And ... got a chewing out like you wouldn't believe!! She explained that it wasn't so bad right then but could possibly present health problems as Toto got older. We dramatically cut the quantity of food and I threatened Patrick with death if he ever let her beg a snack from him again! [He's a pushover! :rolleyes:] We were able to trim a lb. or so off her but a year or so later found that her weight was creeping back up. Late one night, Patrick reached down and picked her up and she literally "screamed" to the top of her lungs! We could find nothing visibily wrong and I waited and rushed her to her Colorado vet early the next morning. It seems that her bone structure is so tiny, it can't support the weight she had gained. Five of her little ribs had separated! She had to take an anti-inflamatory and pain medication until they healed and we had to cut her food intake, yet again. She is fine and healthy now but we are daily fighting her little "battle of the bulge"! :)

I'm sorry that this is so long, but just wanted to say that sometimes Yorkie babies are just teeny. Even though it doesn't matter to us if they are tiny or teapots we have to do whats best for them. If I were you, I would talk to my vet about your babies' size and skeletal structure and let him/her recommend quantity of food, etc. I wish I could "freefeed" Toto but I can't ... she would probably explode! ;) Good luck with your baby and please keep us updated.

I called the vet's office and asked her since Caylee was just in there yesterday to see what she said. She told me to continue as I was. At the next appointment Caylee will be weighed again and we'll go from there.

Wow, thanks everyone for this thread. It really got me thinking. Tila's last visit went well, but the vet was I believe hinting at me to cut down on her food intake. She went over it and told me not to free feed her anymore and just give her the recommended quanity for her size. I think my vet was trying to hint that my baby is chubs. So no extra treaties and no eating so much. She told me that she needs to slow down gaining weight because her legs and everything need to catch up with her weight. I don't care how big she may get, but I don't want future health problems so we're going to get this in check. My vet also told me you should be able to feel the ribs all right and their belly part there should be a little sunken, does that make sense? My baby would weigh a lot less, I feel so bad now, it's my fault.She has such a peitete frame. I have a little chub, chub.