What do you feed a yorkie who won't eat?
 

I am fostering a dog from the shelter who came in skinny and continues to loose weight. They examined him but didn't find anything outwardly wrong with him. He would eat with me if I took him out for a walk and then sat with him and put the food in my hand and then on the floor. I got him some canned wellness turkey and some chicken, he ate a few bites. Last night I got him to eat some dry food but he just isn't doing well. I also have to show him his water, put some in his mouth on my fingers then put the bowl up to him to get him to drink. I really don't want him to have to go on i.v. fluids :(
I was going to go to the store and maybe try getting chicken broth and maybe some plain chicken to see if he will eat that- any other suggestions?
Poor little guy is just a skeleton wasting away :(

Can you feed a homemade diet til he starts to really put on weight?

Baby food chicken works for some. Usually I will make a paste of their usual food and place a portion on my finger and if they refuse to lick it, I place it in the side pocket of the mouth to "prime the pump" a few times and keep it up even if they spit most of it out. Once they get a sufficient taste and get a bit of a blood sugar level from that bit of food in their system, they usually realize how hungry they are and will eat some all on their own, even if they feel bad. Others have to be "force fed" like this for days, especially the panicked or very nervous dogs. Very occasionally I will sprinkle a tiny amount of Butter Buds on the paste before I offer it. Just a hint of that buttery flavor can help some dog. I will feed them this way every 4 - 6 hours as some won't allow you to give them much at one time and will start to try to get away and become really good at turning their heads and avoiding more food. Then I remove the food and refrigerate it to hopefully make them realize that when the food is gone, it is gone and they need to eat while it is out and available. Unless a dog is very ill or panicked, he will usually start to eat this way. A friend of mine had to force feed her very old cat who'd stopped eating altogether for 2 1/2 weeks or something like that and the vet said the old cat was probably trying to die, had likely lost the portion of her brain that governed eating to senility and would slowly starve so she needed to be put down. But after 2 1/2 weeks or so of force feeding, Kitty picked up her appetite again and began to eat and lived several more years, enjoying her food again.

I forgot - sometimes I syringe in a bit of sugar water in the side of the mouth or rub local honey on the gums about 15 mins. before I try to feed the dog to get their glucose levels up and help their attitude.

they didn't do blood work but they want to put him on i.v. tomorrow if he still isn't eating, I feel like he's worse since last night. Last night he ate more on his own and now I really am having to force him, I got some pedialyte so he wouldn't get dehydrated. I might take him in for bloodwork tomorrow but I am on the fence about putting him on i.v.- seems like we are giving up but I can't keep him for a couple weeks, and I work all day Thursday so I dunno maybe being hooked up to fluids would be better :(

Blood work really needs to be done. While he may need IV Fluids, this probably won't help much in the long run with what ever may going on with him.
I will say prayers for this sweet little guy.

I agree...he needs to have blood work done. The first thing we do is get them to a vet for an exam and a blood panel. I cannot imagine putting a pup on IVs and no blood work has been done? If he is sick, they need to do a work up and try to find out the cause.

I always expect them to not eat for up to four days. That is very common. You did not say how long he has been with you.

I have a foster right now who did not eat much when he came to me and he was so thin. He also was leg hiking a lot. He had the initial exam and blood work and a dental ... I asked them to check his urine out the day of the dental and lo and behold, there was a problem. They did an xray and found a huge bladder stone. They could not do it that day because he had been under long enough. His appetite was horrible and he was emaciated....after that bladder stone was removed he did a complete turn around. He now weighs 4.5 pounds which is a pound more than when I got him. He eats like a little piggy now! If this pup is not feeling well, it won't matter what you try to feed him.

Agree! I'd assumed his vet did a full blood panel on a guy this skinny and especially one that is a rescue, not eating, even if the vet suspects it's from his change of circumstances. I'd be sure he had negative heartworm and fecal tests and that his bloodwork was entirely normal before I ever got any further with a new, very skinny dog that is wasting away! You need to know for sure what state his body is in before you try to rehab him.

I know people think it helps but if a dog is going to dehydrate, you are not going to get enough pedialyte or water into him to avert it.

you guys are right, I will make sure they do blood work on him first thing tomorrow, he has been at the shelter for about 3 weeks now and his appetite has been on a slow decline ever since he came in. I have been hand feeding him this whole last week. We have a lot of seriously ill animals right now so I think a quiet little skinny yorkie just kind of got forgotten about :(
I love my work and I know they are doing the best they can but some times the little guys with the quieter illnesses get pushed into the background, I was hoping maybe he was just depressed and being here with us would get him to perk up but I'm beginning to worry its something more serious :(

Low-sodium chicken broth is what I used to force feed water into Minnie. I honestly think IV might not be a bad thing to give your boy a head start to work from. It was enough to get Minnie to eat again the last week of her life.

I don't know about food. Chicken and rice always worked well when Minnie wouldn't eat her kibble. Eggs are great to get some protein into your boy's body (another food recommended by my vet).

My Barney has had on and off issues with food. The vet prescribed science diet canned with extra calories. I think it's called emergency care. At first, I only gave him the canned. This helped a lot. It seemed to stimulate his appetite. He refused to eat other canned foods, but he seemed to like this one. I had to start out holding it in my hand while he ate it. It's stinky and he loves the smell. After a few days, I started mixing it with his kibble, Natural Choice. I agree that I would have blood work done. Your baby is in my prayers. Some of these little ones go through so much. Life is not fair. Please let us know how it goes.

How's that baby doing? What did the blood tests say? I hope nothing bad is wrong and his lack of appetite is just stress related to his situation.

the blood came back with elevated wbc but nothing else. They sent some off to test for pancreatitis. He is on fluids now but still in good sprits, he is a happy little guy, he is one of the easiest dogs. Of course he may not have been eating but every time I fed him special my two had to have something and Molli is on prednisone still from her vaccine reaction so she has visibly put on weight :rolleyes: great....