Weight Question
 

She weighed 1 lb 13 oz, her estimated weight was between 3.5-4, could I be overfeeding her? My husband thinks that I am. I definitely don't want to cause her any health issues. I feed her twice a day, I put around a handfull in the morning and same in the evening. Sometimes I'll put about a fork full of wet food in the morning w/a 1/2 of hand of dry. Sometimes she doesn't eat it all at once though. I didn't think they'd eat if they weren't hungry though, however I know I do sometimes so they probably do as well. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

How old is your dog??

8 weeks 4 days.

Just wanted to add, I really don't care what her ending weight is as long as she's healthy, kwim?

I think she will be closer to 6 lbs

If, at 8 weeks she is 1 lb - 13 oz, I think she will probably be around the 6 lb mark at her adult weight. A good rule of thumb is.. triple the weight at 8 weeks to give you an estimate of her weight full grown.

I agree...if you triple the weight at 8 wks you get a fairly good idea of what size they will be although that is not a guarantee either. I had a dog at 10 weeks weighted 1.65 lbs and now at 6 months weights 4.5 lbs and he still has growing to do. I got Emme at 10 weeks and she was 1.75 lbs, she is now 2 lbs at 14 weeks.

So I belive your baby will be around 6 lbs or so.

An 8 week old needs to be fed at least 3-4 times a day but in smaller portions.
Her blood sugar could drop very easily.

As for how much, you can use the food bag for a guideline but that is just an estimate and it really depends on the individual dog.

I was told Chloe was going to be around 3 lbs,,,she is now a year old and she weighs 6lbs 8 oz. I feed her a small bowl of can food in the a.m and they have hard food in their bowl all day long. I think they eat when they are hungry,Id rather know she is full than hungry! GOOD LUCK,I dont really know if there is a right or wrong answer......

So you all don't think I'm overfeeding right? That's what I'm gathering. I just don't want to cause her an injustice if that makes any sense.

At this age. I like to feed them 3 times a day. I leave the food for 30 min and let them eat as much as they like. Then I take the food away.

I think your puppy will grow to 5.5- 6 lbs.

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.

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.

Thanks for all the comments. As a new mommy w/this breed, I need all the help I can. I've read a lot but I think it's so much better hearing from people with experience.

I got Pippin at 7 1/2 weeks. I know everyone says it's too young but Pippin had no issues when I brought him home, he was a happy pup that wanted to chew on my socks and climb all over my cat. Anyways, the first time I got him weighed was at his first vet visit at his new home with me and he weighed about 1.25lbs. His vet told me he'd be around 7lbs. He's a year old and he weighs about 8 1/2lbs. He's not over weight because I can still feel his rib cage and he only eats when he's hungry.

There is dry kibble down all the time for him and if he eats really good one day, he won't touch his food the next day or sometimes he'll pick at his food. Either way his vet said he's very healthy at that weight so thats fine with me.

Joey too got "fat" after a trick training class where lots of training took place and way to many fatting treats. I had to keep upping the treat because he would get full, and so a more tempting treat would be offered. As you say sometimes we eat when we aren't hungry, but it always is something extra tempting, not our vegetables. Your little girl at 8 weeks should not be dieting at all. Most vets recommend free feeding the first 6-8 months for yorkies, this isn't important for larger breeds, but until your little girl reaches 4 pounds she will be susceptible to hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is low blood sugar, and as you know the brain uses sugar to function, no sugar no function. Hypoglycemia can be life threatening, and that why small frequent meals are important. Don't worry about her weight now, just make sure all food she is getting is healthy food, and she will not overeat. She is programmed to become a certain size as an adult and underfeeding won't keep her tiny, but it will ensure she isn't healthy. Let you dog decide how much to eat, at this age, they grow in spurts, and the amount of weight that they gain in any one month varies greatly.