Question about Size, and a What would you do?

[finoni9]

Our Rocky was 3lb at 8 weeks and he is now 7lb at 7 months old - we are happy with him as he's great take out long walks and my son can have a bit of rough and tumble with him without hurting him!!

[ellykay72]

Originally Posted by finoni9

Our Rocky was 3lb at 8 weeks and he is now 7lb at 7 months old - we are happy with him as he's great take out long walks and my son can have a bit of rough and tumble with him without hurting him!!

That's great to hear! I have three children, and the youngest is 3. We definitely wanted a heartier Yorkie who didn't mind being held, carried and played with. So far, she fits the bill perfectly.

Out of curiosity, I did call the breeder to let her know the puppy's current weight and to ask a few questions. I confirmed again that Mom is 5.5 pounds and dad is 3.5 pounds. She was very surprised about the vet's prediction of a 10 pound adult dog and said she has never had one get that big. Her prediction is that she will be in the 6-7 pound range. She said this was a larger litter than she has had in the past because there were fewer puppies. She said her mama normally has 5 puppies, but this time there were only 3. And, they nursed a lot.

Her guess is that our little one will 'slim down' as she ages. I did tell her, however, that she is long and lean. I haven't seen an ounce of fat on her. She also told me that she left food and water with the puppies all day, everyday. That is not the method we are following. When she is done with each meal, I pick up the food.

[TLC]

Originally Posted by ellykay72

That's great to hear! I have three children, and the youngest is 3. We definitely wanted a heartier Yorkie who didn't mind being held, carried and played with. So far, she fits the bill perfectly.

Out of curiosity, I did call the breeder to let her know the puppy's current weight and to ask a few questions. I confirmed again that Mom is 5.5 pounds and dad is 3.5 pounds. She was very surprised about the vet's prediction of a 10 pound adult dog and said she has never had one get that big. Her prediction is that she will be in the 6-7 pound range. She said this was a larger litter than she has had in the past because there were fewer puppies. She said her mama normally has 5 puppies, but this time there were only 3. And, they nursed a lot.

Her guess is that our little one will 'slim down' as she ages. I did tell her, however, that she is long and lean. I haven't seen an ounce of fat on her. She also told me that she left food and water with the puppies all day, everyday. That is not the method we are following. When she is done with each meal, I pick up the food.

Just a thought...You MAY want to leave kibble and water down for Free Feeding, especially for a small pup. Yorkie pups tend to exhaust lots and lots of energy, so then burn food up fast, and when the energy gets low, so does blood sugar, therefore, being able to pick at kibble all day is ideal

[ellykay72]

Originally Posted by TLC

Just a thought...You MAY want to leave kibble and water down for Free Feeding, especially for a small pup. Yorkie pups tend to exhaust lots and lots of energy, so then burn food up fast, and when the energy gets low, so does blood sugar, therefore, being able to pick at kibble all day is ideal

I am open to any suggestions. We have two other dogs, and I was always told to put food down and pick it up when they walk away. But, granted, they are not a small breed.

[TLC]

Originally Posted by ellykay72

I am open to any suggestions. We have two other dogs, and I was always told to put food down and pick it up when they walk away. But, granted, they are not a small breed.

Mine were free feed kibble until they were about 1.5 y/o and they were about 4 and 5 lbs. Then I moved onto an AM and PM meal (home cooked).

I just know that small breed puppy use up so much energy during the day, that being able to nibble on some kibble at any point helps to keep their energy and blood sugars in check

[finoni9]

Originally Posted by ellykay72

I am open to any suggestions. We have two other dogs, and I was always told to put food down and pick it up when they walk away. But, granted, they are not a small breed.

We fed Rocky 4 meals a day until he was about 4 months then cut down to 3 and then at 6 months cut down to 2 - he did fine with this - from what I head Yorkie's can be quite fussy so I prefer to put it down, if he eats it fine, if not it gets lifted after 20 minutes and he waits til the next meal. He has always been fine with this, in fact sometimes he skips meals and he is fine, no problems!

[finoni9]

Originally Posted by ellykay72

That's great to hear! I have three children, and the youngest is 3. We definitely wanted a heartier Yorkie who didn't mind being held, carried and played with. So far, she fits the bill perfectly.

Out of curiosity, I did call the breeder to let her know the puppy's current weight and to ask a few questions. I confirmed again that Mom is 5.5 pounds and dad is 3.5 pounds. She was very surprised about the vet's prediction of a 10 pound adult dog and said she has never had one get that big. Her prediction is that she will be in the 6-7 pound range. She said this was a larger litter than she has had in the past because there were fewer puppies. She said her mama normally has 5 puppies, but this time there were only 3. And, they nursed a lot.

Her guess is that our little one will 'slim down' as she ages. I did tell her, however, that she is long and lean. I haven't seen an ounce of fat on her. She also told me that she left food and water with the puppies all day, everyday. That is not the method we are following. When she is done with each meal, I pick up the food.

Rocky is long and lean too, not fat at all (altho having loads of hair makes him look bigger than he is)

[Yorkieville200]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Your analogy doesn't work because purebred dogs are very different than humans. Humans reproduce randomly like mixed breed dogs do, not purebred dogs. Breeding purebred dogs correctly should produce a predictable result.

Every breed has a blueprint that breeders should follow to make sure that Yorkies continue to look like Yorkies and Dalmations continue to look like Dalmations, etc. Reputable breeders strive to produce puppies who are representative of the breed standard. It takes a lot of knowledge and commitment. Of course, the most important thing is to start with parents who are excellent examples of the breed.

Backyard breeders just put two dogs together randomly. Many don't even know what the Yorkie standard is. They are breeding dogs from other backyard breeders so they are starting with dogs that are pretty far off the standard.

This is an excellent explanation written by a Maltese breeder:

Maltese Show Dog Versus Maltese Pet.....What is the difference?

Excellent post!!!

[Dreamer74]

We free feed our yorkies and have not had any problems with weight. If you watch them they eat two larger meals each day and poop at the same times each day, they have scheduled themselves. They do pick at the food and nibble through out the day especially if it has been a very active day.

[mscat]

Originally Posted by piptickle

Mika was 3lbs at 8 weeks! To me she was tiny, and still is! She hovers between 7 and 8lbs now at 11 months(has been since 5/6 months old), I'm pretty sure she is done but really would'nt mind if she gained a pound or two! We have 4 kids and she is great with them-she has never snapped or growled and she chooses to curl up with our 3 year old son every night on the couch!!!

That is exactly the same weight as my Suzi at that age.... It will be ok! It is difficult to predict what weight your puppy grow into! I would not take the vet's "guess" too seriously. As long as your puppy is healthy and happy then it will be ok. A lot of times these little guys surprise us . Suzi seems so tiny at 7 lbs . She is 11 months old now !

[ellykay72]

The first two nights were great. Last night, I got no sleep. She last ate a few bites around 8:00 p.m. but had to go out at 12:30 a.m. to poop. She was then up at 4:00 seeming very hungry. I don't want her to think that the middle of the night is a meal time, but I felt bad for her. And, someone told me, because of her size, that she should need to poop in 15 minutes. With her, it seems to often be hours.

We'll get it down one day, I hope.

[mscat]

I free feed Suzi , and use potty pads . She often eats at night too. 8 hrs is a very long time for a yorkie to go in between feedings. They have very small tummies and can only eat so much... Yes, she will be hungry if the last time she ate was 8pm....

[Britster]

Jackson was 6 pounds at 12 weeks old, he is now 8.6 pounds at almost 18 weeks old. His mom was 8 pounds and his father was 7 pounds. And I love every ounce of him! I personally like him being bigger (even though he still seems so small to me) I can't imagine having a dog smaller than he is (at his whopping almost 9 pounds! lol) Way too fragile for my liking.

[Yorkieville200]

Originally Posted by ellykay72

The first two nights were great. Last night, I got no sleep. She last ate a few bites around 8:00 p.m. but had to go out at 12:30 a.m. to poop. She was then up at 4:00 seeming very hungry. I don't want her to think that the middle of the night is a meal time, but I felt bad for her. And, someone told me, because of her size, that she should need to poop in 15 minutes. With her, it seems to often be hours.

We'll get it down one day, I hope.

You WILL get it right, I promise! It just takes time for a new puppy to adjust to a new home. And I'm glad you fed her in the night, when she seemed hungry. (You wouldn't want to risk a hypoglycemic attack.) If it seems like hours, before she poops, she's not eating enough at one meal. I would really recommend free feeding her, since she is still adjusting to her new home, but measure out what you feed each day, and at the end of the evening, remeasure what is left, so that you know how much she ate.

She will relax and get on a good feeding/pooping schedule. Years ago, with my first Yorkie, she was such a little smarty, that right at bedtime, she'd run out to the kitchen and get a mouthful of kibble, and hold it in her mouth, and when we put her up on our bed, she'd drop the kibble on the bed, and eat it while we got ready for bed.

My husband was not allowed to eat his peanut butter and crackers in bed, but our Yorkie was allowed to bring her bedtime snack.

Sheila

[lexisnana]

Your baby sounds like she has the same build as mine. Lexilyn was the same weight at that age. She also has very long legs, a little to tall for the yorkie "standard". But at 13 mos. her hair is longer and makes her legs look shorter! She also has petite features and looks smaller than her 6.4lbs. I leave kibble out 24-7 for her. I couldn't stand to think of her hungry. I think she's perfect, no matter what size.