NEW teacup yorkie owner - need opinions!

[amorrow]

My Husband brought home a yorkie for
Christmas for the kids and i . So far so good . He's been here for 4 days and is doing great but we are having some problems with his eating habits . The breeder told us he was on wet ( ceasar) in the mornings , leave out dry food for him all day to eat ( bil-Jac small breed or diamond natural chicken and rice small breed) then for dinner give him wet dog food again . He hasn't been eating dry food at ALL - first two days he maybe ate 2 tablespoons all day . We finally called the breeder and told her our concern . She suggested us try chicken and rice baby food or to boil some chicken breast and mix with white rice . We did this and of course he ate , but still will NOt touch dry food. Does
Any of this sound legit ? Am I doing all I can do ? Why is Rosco not eating ? She also informed us to keep honey water for him along with regular water at all times . 1 tablespoon honey to 3 tablespoons water to help with hypoglycemia. Anyone have any suggestions / comments please anything is appreciated

[Wylie's Mom]

Hi and welcome to YT - CONGRATS on your new little baby !

During transitional times, pups/dogs will often eat less, drink less, poop less and pee less...this usually improves with a little time. It's very stressful for that little pup to suddenly be away from it's Mom and litter mates - so his appetite is likely decreased, causing him to go off his less-appealing dry food.

I would keep doing what you're doing if it's working, for now. In a couple of weeks, I'd get him off of both the Ceasers and the Bil-jac - both of which are really poor foods that the breeder uses . Go to PetCo or Petsmart or a pet food boutique or a feed store and get something of quality for him.

Keep Karo or Nutrical or Honey or Syrup handy in case of hypoglycemia, which you're already aware of.

Btw, you could also try mixing the kibble w/ the canned food to get him to eat more...and/or you could try moistening the dry food; and you could also try sprinkling Parmesan powdered cheese on the dry food, which can be reallllly enticing.

[matese]

Just want to welcome you to YT, sorry, no suggestions on feeding, how ever, boiled boneless chicken breast cut up and mixed with white rice will always work when any dog turns down their regular food.Hoping your new little baby adjusts to his new family quickly, new babies always cause us humans much concern.

[bjh]

Congratulations on your new puppy. How old is your puppy is and how much does he weigh?

If your puppy is still very young then I advise grinding up the dry food in a blender and leave a small bowl or plate down of the ground up dry food. Very young pups like to lick up the dry food. You can also soak the dry food in a little warm water and add the a little wet food to that.

What are you putting his food in? From years of experience I have learned that my yorkies love eating off a small flat plate or saucer better than out of a bowl.

[Maximo]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk and congratulations on your new puppy. How old is he? Does he have a full mouth of teeth to eat the dry food?

You don't need to leave honey water out at all times and your pup will be better off without it. Save it for if he shows actual signs of hypoglycemia.

I had to hand feed Max almost his entire first year. Yorkies can be really funny. He would perform sits and I would hand him kibble. I bought a Kong toy and devised a game to speed the process a little. I put the kibble in the Kong and made up a song to get him excited.

Best wishes in finding what works for your puppy Rosco. Always act positively, excited about his food and he will mirror your reaction.

[marcie]

Just want to say Welcome to Yorkie Talk.
And we love to see pics of your baby. Lots of great tips here
for your little one. Good luck.

[amorrow]

Thank you everyone for the welcome and all the suggestions . As for the food being a " poor kind" I just stuck with what she said he's been eating - yes he has about 10 teeth or so - so leaving the honey water out beside his regular water at all times is not necessary ? He won't even drink his regular water goes straight to the honey water - also no one mentioned anything about the baby food - is that a legit suggestion that this breeder gave? Rosco was botn sept 13,2014. I don't know about his weight bc I just got him and it's not on any of his paper work . Yes I have tried mixing the wet ceasar food with dry food and he doesn't touch it . I will definitely try a saucer and cheese - thank you all ! I tried to post a pic of him but like I said I'm new and I haven't figured it out yet .
Thanks again !!

[leeagoldstein]

My little guy barely touched his dry food when we first got him. He would even eat around it when we mixed it with his wet food.

However, when we changed over to his adult food - he loves the dry food, maybe even more than his wet food.

Keep an eye on the little guy, my philosophy is that if they are hungry, they will eat. Remember, two tablespoons might be a lot for him - his stomach isn't that big!

[Lovetodream88]

Well there is no such thing as a teacup so I would be a bit scared in what the breeder told you. If he is eating the wet food let him just eat the wet food for a few days then you can slowly start mixing the wet with the dry. I would try to make sure he is getting puppy food though because he will need that to get all the nutrition he needs to grow well. How old is he? I have heard that honey is bad for puppies so I would certainly not give that. The only reason he would need sugar like that is if he is experiencing hypoglycemia, just giving it is not going to prevent it from happening and if you don't follow it up with a protein he will end up having a hypoglycemic episode.

[amorrow]

Oh great ! Now I should be worried that this dog is an imbred Mut ? Everything that she's said to us everyone else is saying not true - she has a website and it says " teacup " all over it - sugar tree yorkies is the breeding company - someone tell me what they think please !

[MauiGirl]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. The joy of getting a new pup always comes with the worries of caring for a little one. What you are experiencing is normal, and I'm glad you are keeping an eye on it. Getting them to eat a little every few hours at this stage is important.

You have received lots of good advice, so I'll just add a couple things that worked when mine were babies. Save the broth when you boil chicken and use that to moisten small kibble, and put finely diced chicken on top. I used to add about a teaspoon of cottage cheese to it until my Tiki got to eating better. I continued to put about a tablespoon of home-cooked chicken and rice on top of kibble as an enticement for all my pups for the first year.

Many breeders on here recommend Royal Canin puppy food for the first year, you might want to look into it. Good luck, and hope to hear more about your little guy.

[Maximo]

Teacup is often used to describe "toy" size dogs (toy is used by dog shows to describe the group), but teacup is a controversial marketing word in the Yorkie world. Technically, there are no teacup Yorkies. The 'standard' set by the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America is under 7 pounds.

You will find Yorkies of all size here on Yorkie Talk. My boys are larger than standard.

Regarding the honey (or Karo syrup and Nutrical which are more generally used), it is for when a dog is in trouble with a possible hypoglycemia attack. If it is given freely and used as a preventative, then it causes sugar levels to spike and fall. When something like this is used, it should be followed up with a protein.

I would ditch the honey water. He needs to learn how to drink regular water.

Make sure you take your pup to the vet for a wellness check if you have not already. Great way to establish a relationship with a vet and follow up on necessary puppy vaccinations. Another big topic that you can find info on in the YT library here.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by amorrow

Oh great ! Now I should be worried that this dog is an imbred Mut ? Everything that she's said to us everyone else is saying not true - she has a website and it says " teacup " all over it - sugar tree yorkies is the breeding company - someone tell me what they think please !

I didn't say that but reputable breeders don't use the word teacup but that doesn't mean it is an inbred mutt.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by amorrow

Oh great ! Now I should be worried that this dog is an imbred Mut ? Everything that she's said to us everyone else is saying not true - she has a website and it says " teacup " all over it - sugar tree yorkies is the breeding company - someone tell me what they think please !

I found a few red flags on the site but there's not much there. It's says each puppy is sent home with a royal Canin packet. I'm guessing they didn't give you that?

[amorrow]

No mam I guess not