How much should Yorkies eat?
 

Dixie is 10 months and weighs about 2.5 pounds, give or take. She's never been a big eater. When I first got her the breeder and the vet both said about 1/4 cup of food (Royal Canin mini) for her size. Sometimes she doesn't even eat that much. It this ok? She usually goes #2 about twice a day (morning and afternoon) and is happy and healthy. She just doesn't seem too interested in food...
How much does your pup eat a day?

Thanks in advance!
Mica

dixie is a very tiny dog!

if the vet says 1/4 cup a day then maybe that is the amount that she should eat.

we don't feed mickey at certain times we just leave his food out and just replenish it when its empty or close to being empty. the only time we feed him on schedule is after he goes for a walk or pees he gets a small portion of canned food.

have you tried switching dog food? maybe dixie doesn't like the food... if you don't think she's eating too much, try include canned food to her diet as well
though be aware! ive seen and heard dogs only wanting canned food after their first taste of it. luckily mickey still eats his dry food

I have a 1/4 cup measuring cup in her dog food bag and I just put a scoop of that in her bowl in the morning. I've tried the wet dog food mixed with dry when I first got her, but weaned her off because she started eating better. I put VERY little in. I do leave her food out all day for her to eat.

Thanks for the advice, I may have to switch food...although I hate to do that.

They say not to leave the food out. I do sometimes tho'. I also add a little grated carrot, fresh cheese, apple slivers or something a little different each time. They like the variety. Mine eat about 3 times a day. Kibble in the morning, canned food and rice, boiled potatoes or pastina for the carbs at lunch time and then an evening meal of fish and veggies that I cook up myself. They eat so little at a time I think it's best to give them food more often. Mine will leave anything they don't want and so they haven't put on weight. We avoid any treats and people food. Each dog is different so study yours and help it grow in a healthy way. Good luck.

i know its hard to switch food and it may take several brands but you'll find the right food!

we had to switch mickey's food from grocery/pet store brand to a vet brand because of his food allergies... i don't know what its called but he eats D/D (we call it D/D and the vet knows what we're talking about lol) and he loves it! he eats lamb & egg flavour and chicken&rice. he hates salmon and something else

its so cute how dogs are picky like humans lol or at least like me lol

can you adopt me as your daughter??? boy, am i jealous of your dog! you're dog is very lucky to have a mommy who cooks for him/her!
i don't even cook that much variety for myself (damn no cooking skills and being a student; quite sad cuz my daddy's a chef; i forgot to inherit any useful traits from my parents lol)

Feeding
 

Hi,

Tiki eats probably twice a day. We always have her dry kibbles in one bowl. She never touches it by the way.
She won't eat out of the cute little doggie bowl with paw prints on it that we bought. Just refused to eat. My neighbor suggested trying a small flat white plate. so that is now what her meals are served on. She eats about 1/4 cup of kibbles and I cook chicken breast (suggested by the vet) and mix about one tablespoon with her food. I don't cook it daily though. I cook about 5 breast fillets at a time, chop them up small and freeze them in those little snack size bags. Nuke it for 20 seconds and add to the kibbles.

We stopped using Royal Canin because of the wheat content. Vet said wheat is not good for them. We use Nutro Ultra minis for adult dogs and we mix it with Solid Gold minis for dogs. We just got a sample size bag of Halo organic dog food to try. We added a small amount of it to the other kibbles. It is made of salmon and veggies. It gives her a variety too. She does love green beans and peas too. She is just under 7 1/2 pounds.

Did I mention she has us trained?? Well trained?

The vet said she is very healthy. She has a small amount of tarter on her back teeth and will probably have to have that removed this year. Other than that her teeth are wonderful She gets them brushed every night before bed and the groomer told us about this spray that they use that helps prevent tarter. So instead of spraying it, my husband puts some on his finger and rubs it onto the tooth surfaces.

We bought a rope chewie toy when we first got her. The vet sid since it is mde of all cotton, it would not hurt her if she swallwoed some of it. We try to stop her from doing that but she does LOVE to chew on them. We found one that actually has green dental floss mixed within the rest of the strings. She loves it too. We really are extra careful with her teeth because we don't want to have any taken out - at least not for a long while. The vet said it is almost inevitible and she said she has never seen like a 9 or 10 yr old Yorkie with all the teeth. :(

We do love her a lot!

Myrna

I am in the process of buying a teacup yorkie, or for some who despise the term, a very small yorkie. What advice would you give me on how to feed her, generally.

I appreciate your advice....Thank you in advance

MissUnderstood

I free feed Harley kibble, he eats Merrick Before Grain. He is 14 months old and weighs about 4.5 lbs. In a 24 hours period he generally will eat about 1/2 cup, sometimes a little less. I don't think you should be focused on a certain "amount" as long as she is at ideal body conditions! If I remember right, I believe that around 9 to 10 months it didn't seem like Harley ate alot and then around 11 months to a year, he was eating more. Just be careful if you do change the food, it seems like alot of people feel you start a nasty habbit when they change the food of a picky puppy! I would say as long as she plays well, is overall healthy, and you aren't concerned that she is too skinny I would leave it be.

Jeri and Harley

I feed Maddie twice a day. 1/3 cup kibble in the a.m. and 1/3 in the p.m. I usually add a little something to it though: carrot bites, blueberries, or cheese. (I love her watching me hopping around at my feet with excitement at what mommy's added this time..hehehe)
She may also get Wellness Jerky for a treat, too.

I first felt like 1/3 cup at a time was to little, but she does fine with this. I didn't want her to become an unhealthy weight. She is 7-10 lbs. so this amount works for her.

Lexi is very picky eater...wish she would eat better. I have even tried everyones ideas and some new recipes. She eats a very small amount of hard food usually at night when she goes to bed. During the day she may or may not eat some merrick can food. She does love cheese:) Good luck with your little one:aimeeyork

what should i do she is a picky eater
 

I feed my 2 adults 2x a day. One handful each in the morning and around 6 or 7 pm at night. A few healthy treats during the day. My little 8.5 months yorkie we feed him the 1/4 cup Royal Canine Puppy food. We spread it out in 3 meals, it is on a timer. And I started giving him little treats too. He is 3 lbs and 2 oz as of yesterday.

I am lucky that they are not picky eaters. So I switch them to different food every once in a while. As I myself don't like to eat the same food forever, I talked to a lot of people and they said as long as the animals tolerate it and do well. It's ok. So right now, I am starting the older dogs on FROMM's duck and sweet potato. I just got them off canidae.

Geesh, with everyone saying the weight of their yorkie, I feel like my Lola is gigantic for her age. Shes 12 weeks and weighs 3.83 pounds. Her dad was 3 1/2 pounds and her mom was 5 pounds. I hope she stays small and doesnt get what they call "teapot" size.

sweet apple
 

What do we spruce with? LOL :aimeeyork

I am so sorry you are having trouble with your baby. Before getting another baby to take care of, I would try to get this little one on track.;)From my experience, the more I changed Maddies food, the pickier she became. Find a food you feel comfortable with and trying sticking with it for a while, see what happens. You may even want to mix safe extras to help encourage the appetite: carrot bits, cheese, yogurt. (Make sure you research safe treats for yorkies.)
As for the biting, that could be related to food or environment allergies. This may be hard to figure out. I would start with a limited ingredient food such as California Natural or Newmans Own.
:eek:Did I understand you are using 2 flea treatments? IF so Why? That seems to be too much, especially for such a small baby.

Jennzy, just had a minute and looked at your answer and got a laugh. Shame on you for not learning from your dad, but you have years ahead of you to spend in the kitchen. Yes, my pups are lucky because I learned the hard way. I have had previous dogs that had "runny tummys" and it was a battle to find the right food for them. This batch I have now is pretty hearty but I stick with their routine. Just read the comment after mine by the person who wants to buy a tea cup yorkie. Difficult choice! They are hard to feed and care for as they are just so delicate. Good luck with your puppy. Enjoy it but keep your eyes open...

4 Month Old Male, "Bruiser"
 

My yorkie's name is Bruiser and is already 7 lbs. at a little over 4 months. His mother is 4 lbs. and his dad is 6 lbs. I am concerned about him gaining too much weight.

He goes for a run with my son every day after school, and we play fetch throughout the day along with training about 3 times a day.

I feed him Iams® ProActive Health™ Smart Puppy Small & Toy Breed 3 times a day 6 am, 1 pm, 6 pm and don't leave the food out for him. If I use low fat treats or his dog food for treats during training I skip the 1 pm feeding. I put out approx. 1/8 cup of food each time and sometimes give with carrots and apples. When he doesn't eat, I simply take the food away after 30 minutes and try at the next meal.

He does go poo approx 30-60 minutes after his meals, this is why I do not get concerned when he doesn't eat.

He doesn't appear to be overweight and is quite tall for a Yorkie, although I haven't measured him. The vet says he is very healthy.

On a good note potty training seems to be taking after I had him neutered approx 10 days ago.

Thanks!

My Toby, who is 5.5 mos., weight about 6#, eats 2-3 times daily. We give him total of 3/4 cup a day. When I get his food, he knows that he's about to be fed so he goes to his bed and sits there until we give him the command to come get it. Most of the times he would go over right away and eat all up or sometimes he waits for about 5-10 mins. He LOVES looking for bugs and play or eat them up...depends on what kind. I don't know what is behind my cabinets or walls but he would sniff it and starts scratching on it. Paints are coming off some places...but he's so darn cute and bad. We tell hiim No-No and he would stop but later on he would go back. Will he do this all the time? I want to leave him running around in the kitchen when we're not home but I'm afraid he might tear the wall up...He's potty trained. He would go to the door and scratch.

My Emmylou still won't eat out of a bowl. I have to put the food on the floor and sit with her. She has to have her wet food rolled into very small balls and seems to have a problem chewing the kibbles. She only eats about 1/3 cup a day. She weighs 5.5 pounds. So all together most days I can get her to eat about 1/2 can wellness puppy wet and 1/3 cup puppy chow.
To much work. Any suggestions? I have tried grated cheese, yogurt, an chicken. She will eat chicken breast meat by itself.:mad:

My 7 month old weighs 2 pounds and she eats Royal Canin. She really only eats about a few kibble pieces twice a day. I dont have much luck getting her to eat anything!

[QUOTE=MicaDixie;2427063]Dixie is 10 months and weighs about 2.5 pounds, give or take. She's never been a big eater. When I first got her the breeder and the vet both said about 1/4 cup of food (Royal Canin mini) for her size. Sometimes she doesn't even eat that much. It this ok? She usually goes #2 about twice a day (morning and afternoon) and is happy and healthy. She just doesn't seem too interested in food...
How much does your pup eat a day?

Thanks in advance!
Mica[/QUOTE
I would. Not worry about the amountjy