ok, I need help....so I'm consulting the experts !
 

I have a male yorkie, who is almost a year old, and
weighs, barely 3 pounds.
He has not been a great eater, and at times he
simple refuses to eat anything....human food or dog food.
I have had him to my vet and he said hes a very healthy
dog.......
I am now injecting food in a large syringe....as I know
these little ones can "go down" very quickly.

He plays hard with the others......but at times he does seem low energy, when I give him nutri cal.

any ideas on what to do to stimulate his appetite?
I am at my wits end......
and have tried literally everything.

Have you tried to sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on the food?

I suppose you've already tried changing his food to something he might like better.

Alice is really picky and I found that she likes grain free foods much better (smells stronger?). I use Orijen puppy. The other thing I have to do with her (and from what I've read here, it seems to be pretty common) is that she won't eat her food out of a bowl. I have to kind of spread it out on the kitchen floor and then she'll eat it all. She has this weird way about doing it too - she keeps moving around the food and taking every few pieces from a differnt side of the pile. Lol, idk, off the floor is the only way she'll eat so I do it.

I tried all the tricks mentioned in threads here, parmesan cheese, chicken breast etc and none of it worked for her. I had to put her in a corner of the kitchen and sit on the floor with my legs spread to block her from walking away, kind of telling her - this is your food, you are gonna eat it. She would still give me a hard time every few meals and one day I was really frustrated and dumped it on the floor lol and she ate it! I don't know what it is, but it works. So now I just spread her food out on the kitchen floor and she goes at it. Of course when she's done I wipe the area down with natural cleaner lol.

There's a whole pile of threads in the "health and diet" section so I'd say check those out too if you need more ideas.

has he ever actually had a hypoglycemic episode?

what food is he eating, how much are you giving him, and at what times?

Well, first off......how much does he eat. You may think he's not eating enough, when in fact its just enough.

I have tried, everything ...even sitting on the floor, as he
is one who will not eat off or out of a bowl or saucer.
today at 3, he had about ...two tablespoons of
royal canin puppy kibble, which was good...

he refused anything more at supper....I gave him nutri cal to keep his sugars stable, yes he has gone hypoglycemic.

at 9 tonight...he was spitting kibble out that I was pushing in between his back molars...*sigh
so against my better judgement, he did eat
some boneless skinless chicken breast...maybe a tablespoon....

every day is a struggle with this little guy..

I am talking to my vet this thursday....to see what we can come up with......
he doesn`t seem like a sickly little guy..
its almost impossible to entice him.

thank you so much each and every one..

the grain free food might be worth a try, I actually have some here......

try home cooking?

As long as he's healthy, have you tried RAW food? I used to feed nature's variety and my yorkie LOVED it. she'd gobble it up in seconds.

no I never tried the raw.....
I`d be ok with him not eating much as he is tiny....
its the hypoglycemic episodes that scare me...

so far I`ve been keeping him stable with nutri cal...
the funny thing is....
he appears to be growing some..I am seeing my vet again
thursday and will get him weighed...

the thing is......I have three babies.....
and over the years I have had sooo many...
there is just that something special about this guy...

we bonded instantly.
I will not give up on him........he's the love of my life.

make sure you're not giving him too much nutrical because that can actually make him not want to eat.

omg I never knew that about nutrical!

see, this is why I LOVE this place.

that is such a good thing to know...as I always give it to him when he won't eat, maybe I should wait till I see signs of lethargy........wow.
I get sooo paranoid about low sugars with him having episodes in past.....ty sooo much

Personally I dislike Royal canine ALOT!
My guy is 3lbs 15oz and he eats a heaping 1/4 cup a day of a high quality grain free feed. I feed NOW! and love it. I found Harley started to grow a lot better on that.

Has he throw up at all? When harley gets sick I have to give him a bit of medication to settle his tummy before he'll touch food again.

Also are you free feeding? I would definitely give food all day long. Also try adding a supplement food with the kibble. I used to feed Trippet with Harley's kibble so he'd get the kibble then 1/4 of a small can per day of trippet. Now I feed him canned sardines with his food.

How old is he?

when was the last time he had an episode?

What tests has your vet done to pronounce him healthy? Has he ever had a bile acids test? All Yorkies should have one done by six months old since Yorkies are so prone to liver shunts. It is especially important to rule out liver disease in a Yorkie who is small like your guy and a picky eater.

Did he have a basic blood panel before his neuter? That can tell your vet a lot about his organ function and general health.

I agree with the homecooking. Remy was about 3.5 over a year old and then I went to total homecooking and she gained a pound! She needed it. I can tell you she is very eager at meal times now..


I still have blue kibble out - maybe 1/2 cup with three dogs and every couple days it is gone, like a treat for them:p

I also agree using the nutracal may be taking the hunger away so he doesn't eat. Remy was so little when I first brought her home I kept it on hand, I only used it once. The vet said not to free freed because yorkies get disinterested with their food.. I still free fed kibble.

he is almost a year old.....
his last episode was few months back...
nothing can tempt this little guy.....its so strange
its like he just doesn't care to eat.

I have two other dogs who free feed.....and I am not
sure he doesn't take the odd few pieces of their food, which is not puppy formula....but hey....as long as he eats I'm happy.

I am so hoping the vet can help me out Thurs....
maybe I am too worried about his sugar....however I have seen how fast they can "go down"...


He plays alot with the other yorkie..and he plays hard...
I do find some days he sleeps more than others...
however he really doesn't seem sickly....

well I am going to go now and hold him for awhile....he loves affection.

later you guys *wave

some low fat cottage cheese, green beans, small amount of wet food

Yep. Lucy loves all those AND cooked carrots; homemade chicken broth on her kibble; plain yogurt and a little canned Wellness 99% Chicken or Turkey.

I feed her Blue Buffalo. I was feeding the Whitefish version but she soon tired of that and now she is gobbling up the Senior version because it is lower in protein. She has mild liver issues.

I second everyone's opinion about bile acid testing - best to know about any liver issues and the testing is not expensive.

Green beeans are high in fiber and are actually used in weight reduction.

2 tablespoons of kibble is absolutely marevelous. Do you know how small these little guys tummies are, maybe the size of a walnut. If I fed 1/4 cup of food to my pups at each feeding they'd be little porkchops....

NutriCal can also bring on a hyperglycemic attack and contribute to sugar diabetis. There is a product called Dyne that can be purchased on Revivalanimal.com....

Call me an overprotective mother - Guilty!! Ok, my husband says if we had a two legged child I would be embarrassing. But, I think I would ask for liver tests just to put my own mind at ease. When I got Gidget in Nov, my vet did liver tests. He said he likes to do them on all new yorkies because of the number of liver shunts in our area. The tests were normal, but it does give piece of mind.