please help! underweight yorkie!

[steph_bella]

everytime i have been to the vets since bella was born they keep telling me shes underweight! they sia dyou shouldnt be ablt to feel her spine or ribs but you can i started off feeding her dry royal caninn (if thats how you spell it) and she just wouldnt eat it all

so i switched it too wet cesar and a bit of mixer sometimes she polishes of the lot somtimes she sniffs it and just walks away its really annoying cux she hasnt put anyweight on and im just worried she seems fit and healthy plays alll the time shes is full of energy and loves to go on walks and stuff its also costimg me money cuz with wet food if they dont eat it i have to throw it away and im wasting money any ideas help ? i did try wetting the dry food still no progress! i do not feed her human food either ! big rule in my house

[AlicetheYorkie]

Well, without seeing her I can't tell you if she's underweight or not, nut I will tell you I disagree with your vet on how you can tell if a dog is at a good weight or not. You SHOULD be able to feel the ribs BUT not see them, does that make sense? Now, will Yorkies, you won't see ribs through all the hair, but I'll tell you, my Akita is the perfect weight, per more than one vet and based on body condition scoring, and I can feel her ribs and spine, but they're not protruding out by anymeans. Alice is a thin little girl, you can easily feel her ribs and spine, but my vet explained to me that she's not necessarily "under weight", just on the low side of normal, not unhealthy at all though (it's actually easier on their joints to be trim).

As far as the food, I wouldn't use Royal Canin, it's not good food since it's full of corn and other fillers. I completely know where you're coming from as far as the whole sniff and walk away thing lol. I've tried quite a few different brands of food with Alice and she really seems to love the Nature's Variety that we're using now and going to stick with. Something "grain-free" tends to be more appealing to them, so look for something like that. Either NV, Orijen or another holistic brand. Before I found that she likes the Nature's Variety (kibble canned and raw) I did find that she really liked Evenger's canned food and would eat the Orijen kibble if I mixed it with that. You can also try mixing smoe shredded plain boiled chicken breast in with a good high quality canned food (there's many to choose from).

Good luck - post a full body picture if you can

[steph_bella]

Originally Posted by AlicetheYorkie

Well, without seeing her I can't tell you if she's underweight or not, nut I will tell you I disagree with your vet on how you can tell if a dog is at a good weight or not. You SHOULD be able to feel the ribs BUT not see them, does that make sense? Now, will Yorkies, you won't see ribs through all the hair, but I'll tell you, my Akita is the perfect weight, per more than one vet and based on body condition scoring, and I can feel her ribs and spine, but they're not protruding out by anymeans. Alice is a thin little girl, you can easily feel her ribs and spine, but my vet explained to me that she's not necessarily "under weight", just on the low side of normal, not unhealthy at all though (it's actually easier on their joints to be trim).

As far as the food, I wouldn't use Royal Canin, it's not good food since it's full of corn and other fillers. I completely know where you're coming from as far as the whole sniff and walk away thing lol. I've tried quite a few different brands of food with Alice and she really seems to love the Nature's Variety that we're using now and going to stick with. Something "grain-free" tends to be more appealing to them, so look for something like that. Either NV, Orijen or another holistic brand. Before I found that she likes the Nature's Variety (kibble canned and raw) I did find that she really liked Evenger's canned food and would eat the Orijen kibble if I mixed it with that. You can also try mixing smoe shredded plain boiled chicken breast in with a good high quality canned food (there's many to choose from).

Good luck - post a full body picture if you can

thanx for all your help made me feel better makes me feel like i starve her when they say shes underweight and she seems prefectly fine! shes doing so great and i dont feel like im doing anything wrong! i just want to do my best for her because i love her so much! http://i51.tinypic.com/15o9sih.jpg thants the only pic i have of her full bodied but you cant see the ribs you can just feel them when i tickle her belly or feel for them

[AlicetheYorkie]

Originally Posted by steph_bella

thanx for all your help made me feel better makes me feel like i starve her when they say shes underweight and she seems prefectly fine! shes doing so great and i dont feel like im doing anything wrong! i just want to do my best for her because i love her so much! http://i51.tinypic.com/15o9sih.jpg thants the only pic i have of her full bodied but you cant see the ribs you can just feel them when i tickle her belly or feel for them

She looks good to me in the pic. Honestly, I have no idea why in the world a vets office would tell you that you're not supposed to be able to feel the ribs. If you CAN'T feel them, the dog is OVERweight. It's definatly better for a pet to be on the thin side vs. the "chubby" side and if she's active and healthy, she's fine and they really need to stop pestering you about it. would it hurt her to put on say 1/2 a pound or so, no, that would be fine, but I don't think they should be making you feel like she's unhealthy. If it was me and they kept bringing it up, I'd find a new vet cause that would really get on my nerves lol. Here's a chart from a vet university's web site, I copied the 3 out of 5 for a body condtiion score which would be just right. Notice is says that ribs should be palpable:

3 = Moderate

Ribs palpable without excess fat covering. Abdomen tucked up when viewed from side.
http://vet.osu.edu/assets/images/hos...oderateBig.jpghttp://vet.osu.edu/assets/images/hos...oderateBig.jpg

The pics aren't great and sorry the cat is in there too, but just to show you what is stated as "normal" from a reliable source here's another one I found that uses the 9 point BCS scale (the one I'm more used to) that has a bit more description:

BCS 3: Underweight. Ribs easily palpated and may be visible with no palpable fat. Tops of lumbar vertebrae visible. Pelvic bones becoming prominent. Obvious waist and abdominal tuck.


BCS of 4 or 5 is Ideal
http://www.morgantownamc.com/sites/s...5704e4e0a1.gifBCS 4: Ideal, slim. Ribs easily palpable, with minimal fat covering. Waist easily noted, viewed from above. Abdominal tuck evident.

BCS 5: Ideal. Ribs palpable without excess fat covering. Waist observed behind ribs when viewed from above. Abdomen tucked up when viewed from side.

Right now, I'd give my Alice a 3.5 (and so did my current vet), thin yes, but not dangerously underweight or anything I'm concerned about. My Akita is right at a 4 and that's where she's staying to avoid joint issues.

[Britster]

I swear, sometimes I think vets are so used to seeing overweight dogs that a healthy good weight one looks "underweight" to them. I'd rather see a dog a *bit* underweight or lean (but not unhealthy) than overweight.

She looks fine to me but it'd be easier to tell with a picture from above or the side.

You ARE supposed to be able to easily feel their ribs (but not see them like totally sticking out or anything).

Here is a picture of 16lb Jackson and I may be biased but I think he's in great shape

[Ahmzz]

I've heard a dog weight is normal if you CAN feel their ribs but can't see them. Underweight means you can see and feel their ribe, overweight means you can't feel or see. If you can't see her ribs I wouldn't stress over it

[capt_noonie]

I went through this exact thing with Uni. She was really skinny and everyone who saw her would comment. She was still active and healthy though. For a 5 lb yorkie gaining or losing a full pound is 20% of their body weight! So before I found YT I went on yahoo groups asking and they were no help, saying one pound to gain is no big deal

But you ARE supposed to easily be able to feel ribs and see a waist from behind or sideways when they are wet during a bath is easy to tell.

Now let me ask you, is your baby spayed? After Uni got spayed it was like someone turned on her hunger switch, and now it is SO easy to feed her, in fact she lets me know when she's hungry, like a dog should! I feed her the same food before and after her spay, and her appetite is much better now. But now I have to make sure she doesn't overeat. LOL

I have to say Cesar wet food is much worse than Royal Canin. It's equivalent to junk food. I feed Honest Kitchen, it's a dehydrated raw food with human grade ingredients, nothing you can't pronounce. It's got the consistency of oatmeal after you rehydrate it, and they have several formulas. They sell sample 1oz packs for $1 which is about a full days worth of food for one yorkie. Check them out here: http://www.honestkitchen.com

Also check out other types of dog foods here by rating. Check out Cesar, Science Diet (listed under Hill's), Kibbles and bits, just for fun, or perhaps not so fun. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by steph_bella

everytime i have been to the vets since bella was born they keep telling me shes underweight! they sia dyou shouldnt be ablt to feel her spine or ribs but you can i started off feeding her dry royal caninn (if thats how you spell it) and she just wouldnt eat it all

so i switched it too wet cesar and a bit of mixer sometimes she polishes of the lot somtimes she sniffs it and just walks away its really annoying cux she hasnt put anyweight on and im just worried she seems fit and healthy plays alll the time shes is full of energy and loves to go on walks and stuff its also costimg me money cuz with wet food if they dont eat it i have to throw it away and im wasting money any ideas help ? i did try wetting the dry food still no progress! i do not feed her human food either ! big rule in my house

Try adding a bit of plain yogurt to her food as this has worked for me in the past when I have had a finicky eater. Make sure you mix it in well & don't use nonfat & be sure there is NO xylitol in it.

[107barney]

My dogs have never been fat. I can easily feel their ribs and spine. Next time you give her a bath check while she is wet because sometimes the hair can make them look heavier than they are. If your vets are telling you that the dog is underweight, she probably is. I would suggest that you try a different brand of dog food that is higher quality than Cesar and hopefully it will be something she likes.

[mscat]

I had the same problem with my shih tzu. She is smaller then our yorkie. And I thought she needed to gain weight. I did not like feeling her spine and ribs so easily. Choose a high quality kibble, I chose Evo red meat small bites and mixed it in with their regular food. it did not take long for Suzi our yorkie to eat more then she should> It helped out shih tzu though and it toook a month , then I stopped the EVO . EVO is pricey but loaded with protein. Anther really good food is the Wellness Organic, canned food. That is high protein too, and is pricey. But worth it. When you feed canned you have more control over how much to feed then if you are only feeding kibble .
Our shih tzu looks better now, and Suzi well, I do think she gained a pound herself . She was 7 pounds last time she was at the vet, but even when we pick her up we can tell the difference. I am actually glad that Suzi is not a picky eater, but, she does not need to gain anymore weight.