Mickey is Over Weight and Won't Eat His Nuggets
 

I posted her a few weeks ago regarding Mickey's diet. I am getting more concerned now because he has been panting a lot more. He is so picky and stubborn. I was feeding him EVO dry food however he hardly EVER touched his nuggets maybe once a week. I contribute his major weight gain to his wet food intake. I did not want him to starve so I was feeding him once a day wet food Three Dog Bakery. He was on that for about a year and some nights wouldn't even want that. I tried to mix in his nuggets with the wet food, but he would just pick out the nuggets and put them on the ground. Well this is what he is doing again. The vet recommenced a low fat dry food and to try a different brand. I bought him Natural Balance Ultra Reduced Calorie. He suggested mixing in some boiled chicken. I did that, however once again Mickey would just eat the chicken and pick out the nuggets. He said to not feed him canned food right now until he loses weight as he is 15 pounds. I don't want him to starve and be miserable. He is already rebelling and crying a lot. I am finding myself crying because I feel bad for him and I don't know what to do. Please help! I am very over protective of my baby boy and I just want the best for him. I want him to be happy and right now he isn't :(

Do you happen to have any stores near you that give out samples? Perhaps you can find a lower calorie/fat food he enjoys eating (although depending on how picky he is that might hard.)

Have you tried re-hydrating his dry food a bit? Might make it a big more palatable for him. You can also try heating it up a bit (the hydrated stuff that is). Heating helps bring out the smell in the food and it might wet his appetite.

Does Mickey eat vegatbles? Carrots? String beans? While not exactly ideal, if he enjoys some of the healthy ones you might be able to mix some of it in his food to entice him to eat. (If he'll eat the veggies but not the food, you might try taking fresh/slightly steamed veggies with some water and pureeing them. Would add the flavor to the dry food while not allowing him to eat around it since it would be on it.)

If you are really dedicated, you can try cooking his kibble a little bit in lowfat chicken broth. You could add some crushed garlic in too, to make the food smell more. OR you could try Raw, 99.5% of dogs seem to love that.

You can try working on the other end of the equation and exercising him more.

Or... you can wait him out. He will eat the food if he gets hungry enough. Just like humans, taste buds will change, and while he might never love the kibble, he'll appreciate it.

Remember, you have the big brain, and you need to make the good choices for him. It might take him a few weeks to adjust to his new diet, but you are putting years back onto his life.

I assume since you've talked to the vet, he's been checked out thoroughly? A lot of yorkies are picky, but I read that extreme pickiness can be a sign of liver problems.

Also, you could get a non-diet kibble, like Solid Gold, but feed him a reduced amount.

I was feeding him a raw diet but I guess I wasn't doing a good enough job. :( He loved it though but it wasn't providing enough vitamins for him either.

Hm.... would you want to try raw again? A lot of people here could give you good tips on how to do it properly.

How overweight is he?

Remember, being hungry isn't the end of the world! :) He will adjust.

How about weaning him off wet food to dry by introducing the Natural Balance Dog food rolls? Its not exactly wet, or dry...

I give my yorkie a handful of pre-cut up chunks in the mornings. He likes the lamb and turkey flavors. He used to NEVER touch dry food when he was a baby, but now he loves the organic formula of the same brand dry food. Dick Van Patten Natural Balance..its a yellow package. He eats those crunchies so fast, its shocking.

How old is he?
If he has a "pot belly" and is panting often, you might need to think about Cushing's Disease - or at least consider the other symptoms you might see w/ it to make sure he doesn't have it. So, are there any other symptoms? Excessive drinking/peeing? Fur loss? Skin/ear infections?

Just something to consider as weight redistribution and panting are flags for Cushing's.

Btw, does he eat veg and do okay on it? If so, you could feed veg like green beans or something to help him feel more full.

Mickey
 

Hi
I know the feeling well, something that might work, an old trick, Green beans and Fiber One Cereal mixed with a little bit of whatever regular food he likes to eat. The Cereal and the green beans full them up and they usually like it. Once you get him back in weight, be very careful to measure his food to keep him in weight. Always give veggies as treats:)
Also have you had his thyroid tested? Yorkies can have a problem with that
GOOD LUCK:animal36

Sparkling Blu Yorkies:)

Doesn't Fiber One have a sweetener though...not sure if it's the dangerous one for dogs, but it does have a fake sweetener... just keep in mind...

Fiber
 

I have show dogs and have been using this for Many years and have had no problem .I have been a CVT for many years also( too many to say)
I would start with a good blood panel and then a good food and cut the amount he eats with the green bean (Frozen, no canned) and Fiber One Cereal.
You usually see results with in a week or so, Remember a slow amount of healthy wieght loss and exercise!
Good Luck

Sparking Bly Yorkies:animal-pa

What are "nuggets"

To the OP, just fyi - Fiber One contains Aspartame...not sure if you're comfortable w/ that or not, but now you have the info. :)

Hi,

I hope you can get to the bottom of this! Here is a link to Susan Davis that does phone consultation (and office visits if you're close). My baby has chronic Pancreatitis and IBD. The vet couldn't help him but she was able to. Perhaps she could help your baby too! She comes highly reccommended by other YT'ers (that's where I learned of her). Anyway, here is her link. Holistic Veterinarian Pet Nutritionist Holistic Pet Care Please keep us posted! My advice is to do what YOU feel is right. Stress will cause the weight to stay on. You're mom and you know how your baby is reacting or NOT reacting! Good luck and please keep us posted!!! :)

Ok I am getting scared now I don't want my baby to be sick but he is acting fine other then his picky eating habits. I blame myself for this though as I spoil him and let him get away with murder. After doing hours of more research I am not happy with his new food as there is to many fillers and corn starch ect... I really liked EVO but he did not enjoy it at all. He was on EVO small bites and he just never enjoyed it. So after reading here I chose to switch him over to a raw diet. However he gained weight from me doing this. I am guessing I added to much rice. So I switched from white rice to brown rice. I boiled chicken cutlets, frozen carrots, green beans, peas and broccoli. However my Vet said that he was not getting enough vitamins? I am so confused right now and he is not a active dog either. So this is another reason why he gained weight. Recently I mashed up carrots and green beans and added it with the new dry food and he still didnt like it. So last night I chopped up his dry food very small and mixed it with the mashed up carrots and green beans and he ate it but wasn't 100% happy. So my question is do I find a new dry food or stick with the raw diet? I do give him a vitamin every day. He got his heartworm test back and it came back negative. He just got all his shots and is up to date. :confused: I am farily young (26) and new at this but he is already going to be 5 and I feel like I am failing as a mother :(

Do you know if this diet is properly balanced? Like, is the cal-phos ratio balanced etc.? Dogs really need a specific diet that is geared toward the canine. Where did your recipe come from?

If the panting is excessive, and he has other symptoms (does he?)...then a trip to the vet for some blood work might be good. :)

Aside from possible serious health concerns, why don't you try pre-made raw (we use Primal). I cannot imagine a dog turning it down, and it is already a balanced meal so no need to supplement. I have found that the raw puts weight on the ones that need it and leans up the tubby ones.

I could be totally off base here, however, the panting might not be caused by the weight. It could be congenital heart failure. Is all his weight in his belly? Has his mood changed? Is he more aggresive than usual? All these issues are signs of CHF.
I would get him to the Vet asap and ask questions about heart size and lung capacity. Good luck!

i agree; you can try the honest kitchen preference and add some white fish to it; The Honest Kitchen : Products : Food Comparison
this should be pretty low and calories; and you can limit the portions; feed smaller portions more often; that will keep him satisfied. i feed mine the honest kitchen force formula and so far so good; i feed her 1/8 cup 4 times daily; that's 1/2 cup a day in total; good luck