My yorkie stopped eating

[spudlys mommy]

My yorkie is about 1 1/2 years old and he has been a pickey eater since we got him. He seams to get sick of the food and treats i get him verry quickly, he eats canned and dry food, he has access to dry food all the time but he seems to only eat when someone is in the room with him. He is about 6lbs but he seems thin, is this normal ? What can i do.

[Nancy1999]

Yorkies are notoriously picky eaters. Many people believe in free feeding and I think it's great, but you dog will never be as excited about food time as the dog who eats twice a day. I don't think this is such a bad thing though. It's healthier to be a wee bit thin, than carry too much weight, and this is especially true if you dog has joint problems. Has your vet said he's too thin? Dry kibble has to be stored properly, and a food left our all day, may develop a staleness to it, also if you buy big bags, be sure and take out any air and store in a dry cool place. I use to free feed Joey, and he always acted like he could take or leave his food, it was unimportant to him. After a tricks training class, he gained a whole pound, and he had to diet, with twice a day meals. All of a sudden he became much more food oriented, and loved mealtime, and pretty much any food. I kind of miss the days when he self regulated his diet. Now, I think if I left out the whole bag, he'd eat it at one sitting! For dogs who really are too thin, there are some meatball treats made up of raw hamburger that people have recommended for their breeding males, who often lose weight when a female is in season.

[Maximo]

Welcome to Yorkietalk. How long has your Yorkie boy been with you? Has he has a wellness check recently with the vet? Any other changes in behavior?

The best way to gauge proper weight is to check the ribcage. You should be able to feel his ribs easily. If the his ribs are sticking out, he may be underweight.

I believe the best way to combat picky eating is to reduce or eliminate treats, do not give table food, and have scheduled feeding times. Put the bowl down at the given time and leave it down for 20 minutes. If he doesn't eat, pick it up until the next meal time. A healthy dog will not starve itself. Do not continuously offer food alternatives, otherwise you are training your dog to hold out until he gets "good stuff."

Sometimes a food change is required to find the right one. However, constant changes, in my opinion, can encourage picky eating.

[ElenaAndMika]

Hello! I agree with everything written above.

My baby Mika is a perfect little York) She eats well,doesn't mind eating human food once in a while, but never refuses her own. But I still can understand your worries. I also have American Staffordshire Terrier, and he is a PICKY-PICKY eater. When he was a pup I used to hand feed him. Plus it was a good bonding prosecute)) And while I was hand feeding my husband stood next to us - not moving. Our Staffy required all the attention he could get during the meal time. And it didn't matter to him if I gave him dry food or boiled chicken! Than, one shiny and beautiful day I was sooo tired of his attitude, that I just told him:"Either you eat what I give you, or you starve." and I began leaving him with his food for some time. It took him almost a week of half starving to understand that he is a big boy, who can eat himself. But I still stood close to him, although not hand feeding him.

When he was 1,5 years we brought home our baby girl Mika. She was so exited about his huge food! Always trying her best to chew it, and she almost didn't have teeth! She was just 7 weeks old. Anyway, Rocky became really jealous, that some little monster eats from his bowl. So je began eating and eating and eating, dropping little pieces of food on the floor, where Mike (tiny vac cleaner) was finishing it!

Than is our small family tal, on how a huge dog learned from a little baby to eat without questions))

PS! I think if we didn't get Mika, Rocky would learn to eat himself eventually.

[Maximo]

^^^I have to admit, when Maximo was younger, I did a lot of handfeeding. It was half game, half training. Like Nancy, I used kibble from meals for training. I worried Maxman was going to develop hip problems from performing a sit for each kibble. Adding a second Yorkie changed everything. Max started eating all of his meals on his own, without interruption.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Maximo

^^^I have to admit, when Maximo was younger, I did a lot of handfeeding. It was half game, half training. Like Nancy, I used kibble from meals for training. I worried Maxman was going to develop hip problems from performing a sit for each kibble. Adding a second Yorkie changed everything. Max started eating all of his meals on his own, without interruption.

I make Joey run or catch! He loves the running part, and then he shakes the heck out of his prey, turns it over to me, and gets one lousy piece of kibble!

[Tangie]

I agree with Nancy1999. When I started feeding my picky Prince twice a day, he started eatting his food. Think about it, if you are cooking a big meal and are constantly tasting and eatting as you cook, by the time the meal is done, you really are not hungry. So, if you leave his food sitting out all day, he grazes on a kibble here and there all day, then he really isn't hungry.

Another suggestion that worked for my Prince was plenty of excercise! I got him a playmate (Princess) and although she is only 4 months, she keeps him on his toes!!! I let them out in the backyard and they chase each other none stop! Even before I got Princess, I started letting him run around the backyard and he would get hungry and tired! That way, he wasn't so hyper when me and hubby tried to watch movies.

Best of luck!

[FlDebra]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Welcome to Yorkietalk. How long has your Yorkie boy been with you? Has he has a wellness check recently with the vet? Any other changes in behavior?

The best way to gauge proper weight is to check the ribcage. You should be able to feel his ribs easily. If the his ribs are sticking out, he may be underweight.

I believe the best way to combat picky eating is to reduce or eliminate treats, do not give table food, and have scheduled feeding times. Put the bowl down at the given time and leave it down for 20 minutes. If he doesn't eat, pick it up until the next meal time. A healthy dog will not starve itself. Do not continuously offer food alternatives, otherwise you are training your dog to hold out until he gets "good stuff."

Sometimes a food change is required to find the right one. However, constant changes, in my opinion, can encourage picky eating.

Excellent post! We have never had a report of a dog that has truly starved himself. I think we cater to them to the point we teach them to be picky. I know we love these little ones so much we want to do whatever will make them happy, but sometimes the best thing is just holding fast with what we are doing and not changing a thing.

A healthy yorkie does appear on the thin side to most people. My vet has described my dogs as lean and I asked him about it -- he said they are PERFECT! Lean is healthy and means longer lives. I am trying to cut back with Ben right now as he gained a pound after neutering. He is no longer "lean" and I want to keep him around for a very long time -- so he gets his treats micro-sized.

[Presto]

presto can be picky sometimes with eating but if he doesn't eat a meal i give him a teaspoon of plain yogurt, he loves it after that usually he will eat his kibbles!! you can try mixing a little bit of rice with it also. Each yorkie is different and i guess you have to figure out their favorite food items in order for them to get to eat right

[spudlys mommy]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas, i will give them a try and post back on how they work..