New here and puppy questions
 

Hi all. I just picked up a new puppy last night and while I have had a yorkie before I got it at an older age them this little guy. He is 8 weeks old, the breeder gave me a bag of eukanuba. She said to soak it in hot water then mash and to feed him about the size of a walnut serving 3 times a day. Well I am doing that but he acts starved. I was worried also that he had not pooped but he just took care of that issue and kinda gross cause he just came across the floor carrying it in his mouth. Now I am kinda worried that his has pottied before and consumed it because of being hungry. Can he safely be fed more often then 3 times? My last yorkie was a free feed. I am scared of doing anything wrong with this little guy, I just lost my other yorkie monday evening so I am rather stressed at the moment. I am scheduling a vet check for next week for my little as yet un named guy. He is a tiny thing and only suppose to reach 3 1/2 pounds. Any advise from you all will be so appreciated.

Have you taken your new pup to the vet yet? What does your vet recommend?

Sounds like your pup is hungry. A walnut size only 3 times a day doesn't seem like enough. I got my pup young too and my vet set a feeding schedule of every 4 hours, so 6 times a day, as it's very important to keep their blood sugar levels even with regular feedings at such a young age. And water should always be available.

Welcome to YT :)

I free feed both of my yorkies, strictly because they are both very small eaters, and never eat more than a mouthful at a time. It is very important that your baby eat several times a day, especially one so young. I hand feed both of mine at least 2 times a day, I can be sure they are at least eating this way.

I got my first yorkie at a very young age, she was only 6 weeks old. It can be done, but it takes a lot of time and effort to make sure they are ok and healthy. 8 weeks is pretty young!!

Good luck with your new baby and congrats!! Get that vet check done as soon as possible too!!!

It's good to follow the recommendation of the breeder as far as a scheduled feedings. But, you need to follow your instincts ! If you feel the the little guy isn't getting enough food than feed him more at each feeding. I always have a set schedule for my pups when I send them off with their new owners, but tell them to stick to it as much as possible and adapt to their own life styles. Its important that he get enough to eat so that he does not go into a hypoglycemic shock for lack of nutrition.

My suggestion to you would be to keep him on a schedule, but let him eat as much as he want at eat feeding. Be sure to have a set cut off time for feeding in order to help you with potty training. That gives him time to relieve himself before bedding down for the night so there are no accidents.

I have four Yorkies and out of the four, three of them eat poop. Don't know why and I don't know how to stop them at this point. I've tried and tried but nothing works. My vet says that it's not always about being hungry. And my dogs have always free fed up to just a short time ago. (they are too fat) So if you feel it may become a long time problem do what ever you can to nip it in the bud.

Hi Welcome to YT! and Congrats on your new baby.

Your baby is very young, he should still be with his Mom and litter mates until 12 weeks old...Puppies learn Socialization, bitting inhabition, they learn what is acceptable and what isn't from Mom and littermates.

I would not wait to get him to the Vet...I would get him in today.

You need to have food/water out for him 24/7...feeding 3 times a day is not enough they need more...thats probably why he is eating his poop...puppies burn a lot of energy they need food 24/7 right now...very important to keep his sugar level up.

I wouldn't go by what your breeder said, she did sell a 8 week old pup...not a good breeder IMO but whats done is done...and your puppy is going to need a lot of sleep right now very important. I wouldn't let him play anymore than 15 to 20 minutes.

Good luck with your new baby :)

:thumbup: Ditto! I am a proponent of free feeding too -- especially for puppies and even more so for puppies that still should be with their momma. If eating poop continues, there are products you can buy to sprinkle on the foodto deter them from doing it. You can also try adding a little pineapple to their food. For some reason, it makes their poop unappetizing to them and they stop eating it. Try to get to the poop as soon as they do it. Harder when you free feed as it is harder to determine when their normal schedule will be, but at this stage, you should be watching the little guy at all times when he is out of his crate or play yard.

I don't believe you are feeding him enough ... at least 4x a day. How much does he weigh? When I got my Kody I took him to the vet the very next day.

I have made an appointment with the vet for tomorrow for a health check plus to find out the weight and his advise on food amount. Until then I will add a little more food to his dish and feed him more frequently than the 3 times a day. He is a very active little thing.

I believe you'll find most Vets will tell you to free fed a Yorkie puppy cause of there small size and sugar level dropping so fast. When a yorkie puppy has hypoglycemic they crash really fast and even die...thats why its important to have food for them 24/7.

And you haven't seen nothing yet LOL...I have a 20 weeks old pup Harley so he don't sleep as much anymore...he is always into something and bouncing off the walls:jump28ib:but I love him :p...he gives my 2 yr old Yorkie Bella a run for her money.:D

Hope all goes well at the Vet.

I bought several books on yorkies just prior to buying my little girl and it says to feed yorkie pups 4-5 times daily. I work, so I free fed Daisy when she was a young pup. I believe it said that when they get to be around 6-7 months of age you can reduce it to 3 times and then closer to a year you can reduce it again to 2 times a day. Your dog sounds like it might be a tiny and the feeding rules may be different. The best thing to do is get to the vet ASAP to find out what kind of feeding schedule your particular pup needs. Baby yorkies can "fade" very easily if not fed and monitored properly. If you are already having concerns and issues, I'd move the date up with the vets office.

Eukenuba is a low quality dog food....First I would suggest buying a premium quality dog food....that might help put an end to his poo eating habits...as his body will absorb more nutrients from the higher quality food...

and secondly I don't really trust the advice of a breeder that allows an 8 week old puppy to leave it's mom.

And finally....Puppies should have access to food and water 24/7...they don't eat much and I found my babies to be more grazers anyhow..never eating more than a couple bites at a time all day...

Being so small I would also have honey or nutrical on hand in case his blood sugar drops...

Good luck..I hope your puppy is healthy!

Here in Ohio the law is that a puppy only needs to be 8 weeks of age before being released to it's new owners. That is when I release my pups unless there are health issues. I never send a pup to it's new owner unless I am 100% possitive they are ready.

I do agree however some pups should be kept longer due to size of the pup to ensure it gets the proper nutrition from the mother. The smaller they are the longer they should be nursing.

I would bet that puppy doesn't weigh more than 1 1/2 pounds...If you have to wet down his food and mash it.....clearly that baby should still be with it's momma.

And I'll just stop there.

I am sure I will not keep him on the eukanuba food, will prob buy what the vet recommends. I upped his amount of food at his last feeding to just under a fouth cup, he wolfed it down in seconds then proceded to rut around searching for more. I feel if I were to leave food for free feeding then he would eat til he got sick, perhaps when he is older I can do the free feed as I did this with my prior yorkie. He does have an appointment with the vet at 2 on saturday so I will know more about him after this. I do have honey and karo syrup but right now he is a ball of non stop energy when I take him from the playpen unless I sit and hold him.

I disagree that Eukenuba is a low quality dog food. Probably not the highest quality with respect to protein levels but overall not a bad food. For the food snobs out there, yes there are higher quality foods out there including grain free, holistic etc..but overall don't worry about the brand of food.

We did free feed our little one for the first 6 months. They usually just pick and run. It's hard to overfeed them when they are young but once they are about 1 year old, we only fed them 2 times a day. Once in the morning and once for dinner. Enjoy your new baby.

O.K.....I got one of my books out and here is what it says. Up to 3 months of age feed 4 times a day. From 3 to 6 months of age feed him 3 times a day. After 6 months, feed him 2 times a day. There again, it sounds like you have an under weight yorkie and this book is in reference to yorkies bred to the standard. So.....as I already know you are going to do.......it's much better to ask the vet. Oh...and yes, as already mentioned, keep Nutrical or something similar at hand......VERY IMPORTANT. Good luck with your new baby!!!

You're right..it is one star above alpo...so it's not the lowest...and most definately not the highest quality food. (it's a mid-range dog food) I do apologize to all the Eukenuba users..I didn't mean to call it "low-quality" I meant to say it's lower quality. But in truth when I said that I thought it was a 2 star food...It is 3 stars. SO it's not as low as I originally thought.

I personally don't feed anything lower than 4 stars....and if that makes me a 'snob' so be it. My yorkies nutrition is way more important than people's opinions.

And you absolutely should worry about the BRAND of food you feed your baby...it's like feeding it spam instead of steak...nutrition absolutely makes a difference in the overall health of your yorkie!!

You should just educate yourself on nutrition in dog foods...then you can make a good choice regarding what you feed. Here's a link that will help:
Dog Food Ratings by Brand

LOL, thanks for the giggle. Kinda funny visual, too!:eek: I am so glad my yorkie never developed a taste for poo!

Definitely watch your little one because he is definitely too young to be away from mom and the litter, especially since he is so young. Those little ones can go down quick when not properly nourished. Your vet will give you the guidance you need, but follow your instincts, too.

Did you post a photo? And can't wait to hear what you name him!

My Harley is from a litter of 4 and he use to wolf down his food too when he came home at 12 weeks...I was worried like you but knew he needed his food 24/7...after a few days when he realized he didn't have to fight for his food anymore he stopped doing that...now he just picks at it all day long.

Did your baby come from a large litter? that might be why he wolfs down his food, trying to get as much as he can before its all gone...just a thought.

While Eukanuba isn't the best food, it isn't the worst either...I feed Eukanuba puppy small breed for Harley 20 weeks old and I fed Eukanuba Yorkshire Terrier small breed for my Bella who is 2 yrs. Both came to me on Eukanuba thats what my breeder feds. I have tried to switch Bella over to Blue Buffalo but she won't touch it...Harley is way to young to switch over so I haven't even tried with him I don't wanna upset his tummy cause switching foods can be hard on them and I want him eating with hard poops right now while he is a pup :D...But I do supplement..what the Eukanuba lacks I try and make up...I give them boil chicken, chicken and beef liver small amounts, turkey, eggs...any type of veggie, fruit...cottage cheese and cheese, mine love cheese I use that as a training treat cause they love it so much...so you can supplement.

Would love to see a pic of your new baby. :)

:thumbup: good post i have always free fed my babies & have never had one's sugar go down...I have 2 that is 8 wks today and wouldn't dream of letting one go at this time..I have been called to picky but thats ok..once my mama is done i like to watch them for a while to make sure they will be ok :)

Awwwwww puppies "puppy breath" I use to live just 3 houses down from my breeder for 13 years and than moved to south Florida in 98. I miss all the puppies...she don't have but about 1 litter a year if that...and she would never part with any baby until its a full 12 weeks and sometimes a lot older...I'm no breeder but I did learn a lot from her and the ones here on YT....Good luck with your babies...would love to see pictures :D

Eight weeks sounds rather young, but in the hands of a good mom, all should be just fine. As for food, Buddy is still eating what we got from the rescue place that came with him. Monday after a visit to the vet, we'll be able to get him his real food.

good luck!

I would be very careful based on my experience with Zoe. She got severe hypoglycemia at about 9 weeks, and we ended up having to feed once per hour, 24-hours-a day for two weeks. Then it moved to once every two hours, then 4-5 x/day and so on. She's 5 months and still eats 3-4 x/day and is very thin. Clearly many of them need very frequent feedings, especially went sent home at a young age. I hope you don't have to go through what we did and that your little one thrives.

Your pup is only 8 weeks of age, just barely being weaned and should have never have left his breeder's home until a minimum of 12 weeks of age. Yorky pups at this age have very sensitive stomachs and I would not be changing food on the pup for a while. He's just left his mom, litter mates and his breeder's home...so many changes for a pup that shouldn't even be away from it's mom. Just make sure he has food available to him at all times. As a breeder when I begin weaning at about 6 weeks of age (and only to introduce food) I feed about 4 times a day......of course they are still nursing off of mom and do so until she says enough (about 10 weeks of age)....By then they are on puppy food and eating 4 to 5 times a day, with kibbles left for them all day.

He's such a tender age, vaccinations don't begin until the age of 8 to 9 weeks.

You have to monitor his play time.....make him rest...playing no more than 20 minutes to a half an hour at a time, then rest. At this pup's age they do not retain the sugar levels well. Stress, over activity, over handling can all lead to hyperglycemia. No honey (bacteria). Obtain some NutriDrops, should an attack of hyperglycemia should occur all is need is a few drops rubbed onto the gums. NutriDrops obsorbs much faster than NutriCal.

When we adopted Oliver at 6 weeks old it was a complete guessing game. He was abandonded by the owner and left in a carton with his three sisters by our drugstore. Thanks to some wonderful people all the puppies got good homes. Anyway Oliver was all trial and error. We had no idea of his background so we started him on Health Extension wet food three times a day and we always leave dry food down for him because he likes to nibble and snack. when we adopted him he weighed 3 1/2 lbs and now at 11 weeks he's 6 1/4 lbs so I guess we must be doing something right. btw Oliver is a shih tzu but I guess a puppy is a puppy.

I have heard that Karo Syrup works for this also... I'm thankful that I have never had to find this our the hard way. You hang in there, and take the advise about play time very seriiously... I would hate to hear that the little guy has has a low sugar episode do to stress.:dogzzz:

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: I could not agree more. Especially with a growing puppy you want to make sure the get the best nutrition possible as their bodies are still forming and need the food with better nutrients and less additives in order to build a strong body. Better to start early with a healthy diet which will provide a solid foundation to grow on. I prefer to feed 4 stars and above as well as adding fruits, vegetables, lean meats, cottage cheese to Busters' diet as well. Would you want to eat noddles raman everyday for your whole life? I was reading your recent post. Glad to hear your puppy is feeling better. That loose knee problem is probably Luxating Patella. Their kneecaps pop in and out of place. This is a problem with many small breeds. There a different grades of LP and usually a diagnosis of a grade 3 or 4 requires surgery. I would recommend a pet insurance plan as LP is expensive. Buster had one knee done in October. I have Pet Plan and they did cover the LP surgery as he was not diagnosed with it until after I had the insurance so it was not a preexisting condition. Many insurance companies do not cover LP as it is what they call a hereditary condition.
PS I would go with Mardelin's suggestions (Nutridrops) as she is a wealth of information!

Hi Food Snob...meet your fellow Food Snob, ME!:rolleyes::D

Sheesh, you would think everyone would want the BEST for their pet's diet but, maybe not:confused:

This entire thread has me shaking my head (as usual:rolleyes:) with 8 week old pups being farmed out to their new families and like always...with health issues!

Wonder if the OP would like to share the name of this reputable Breeder?

After reading thru multiple post and such I realize each person has a food of choice for their pet....As I stated I would prob not use the eukenuba food but would leave it to the vet to determine what would be best for my little guy, I also had no intention of just switching him from one food to another at his age. I did learn thru my first yorkie that they can be very picky on foods and I went thru several kinds before Asia would eat one consistently. I have also talked with the vet in regards to the pups age and him being sold to me at 8 weeks...here he said it is very common to sell a pup at 8 weeks. When I got him he was very playful appeared healthy, the home was in a well to do section and decorated to the hilt in everything Yorkie...the woman even had white carpet so she certainly didn't appear to be in the breeding business just for money. As for my little one being sick well he has been to the vet and I communicate with them on any change no matter if small. So far they can find nothing positive in disease so hence them believing stress might be the cause, but we are watching for signs that would lead us in other directions as well. In the present tho he is being treated with a rx food and forti flora to rest his intestines so god willing things will improve soon

Both my Rio and Bullet are tiny at 3 lbs and I completely believe in free- feeding them. Especially as puppies, I always made sure they had food available and if they weren't eating on their own, I would give them Nutrical and wet food to entice them. Puppies need more calories for their growing bodies than adult dogs, so I wouldn't worry about over-feeding them.