Having to hand feed and weight issue

[stl]

Originally Posted by kjc

Yorkies are good at refusing their dog food to wait for table food, or treats. I would put any thing extra in with his food. Too many fruits and vegies could also make him feel full.

To get him eating kibble again, sometimes I try this: feed a 50/50 mix of plain chicken and rice (same as fed for dogs with tummy issues) and gradually add kibble to the mix until he's eating mostly kibble.

Probiotics with digestive enzymes may help, they help to break down the food after he eats it. You can also add a few sprinkles of Parmesan cheese to the food... it will entice him to eat and add some extra fat and calories.

Have you ever fed him canned food? These have more nutrition than kibble and may help to add some weight on.. Feed him a mix of kibble and canned food twice a day when you're at home, and leave the plain kibble down when you're at work, just in case he gets hungry.

Yes, we've tried canned food and he loves it! much better than kibbles, he will be eating just canned food then, ignoring kibbles alltogether.

[stl]

Originally Posted by GeorgiesMomma

He is so cute and looks good to me! We have hand fed Georgie since he was having issues with his luxating patella in 2008. He has just now started to eat without being hand fed but doesn't eat out of his bowl anymore. He can be so finicky! I would suggest plain boiled chicken...I haven't met a furbaby yet that can refuse that Also yogurt with probiotics helps give the food flavor and is great for his digestive system As long as the vet says he isn't underweight I wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks. Teddy loves plain boiled chicken too, I used to feed him lots of that, but the reason I stopped is that he won't eat anything but chicken. So we switched him back to kibbles, as I am worried he still lacks lots of other vitamins eating just kibbles. He's so stubborn, I swear he can go days without eating anything.

[kjc]

I feed mine kibbles, soaked in boiling water and mixed with canned food. I mix about 3 days worth at a time. By then the kibble has softened up and is similar to the canned food, lol. Plus the extra water never hurts either. I warm it up prior to feeding them.

Did the vet have a look at his teeth? Some dogs who refuse hard food have a good reason....

[stl]

Originally Posted by kjc

I feed mine kibbles, soaked in boiling water and mixed with canned food. I mix about 3 days worth at a time. By then the kibble has softened up and is similar to the canned food, lol. Plus the extra water never hurts either. I warm it up prior to feeding them.

Did the vet have a look at his teeth? Some dogs who refuse hard food have a good reason....

I tried soaking them in water from boiled chicken (which was for him too). But he doesn't like it. Our vet said Teddy still had one baby tooth, but he hopes it will fall out eventually without him involved. We're still waiting on that. Other than that, he's fine.
We stopped giving him vegetables and it seems to work better. He ate more yesterday than normal. But he still had to be handfed!

[kjc]

Does he come to you when he's hungry, or do you initiate his feed times?

[stl]

Originally Posted by kjc

Does he come to you when he's hungry, or do you initiate his feed times?

He has a bowl filled with kibbles ready all the time, but he rarely touches it, but I guess when he feels hungry he will go there. He doesn't go to me, unless he sees me with a bag of treats or if I am eating something. Normally whenever I am home from work, I play with him a little and then I feed him. He eats better when he is playful mode.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by stl

He has a bowl filled with kibbles ready all the time, but he rarely touches it, but I guess when he feels hungry he will go there. He doesn't go to me, unless he sees me with a bag of treats or if I am eating something. Normally whenever I am home from work, I play with him a little and then I feed him. He eats better when he is playful mode.

I would measure the food you leave out for him. That is the only way to tell exactly how much he is eating.

When you play/feed him, try tossing a piece of the kibble towards him or slightly past him, so he has to go get it... make it fun to chase the kibble. The goal here is to get away from the 'your hand to his mouth' pattern, and teach him to eat the kibble he finds on his own.

If you want him eating more kibble, also you may have to completely eliminate feeding him any kind of treats or anything you would normally feed him by hand. These pups are very smart and they learn quickly to wait for different food when they know it will be available to them. An intermediate step is to put anything extra you want to give him in his bowl, and mix some kibble in with it, or hide it in the kibble.

One last suggestion: Does he like this kibble or would he do better with a different brand? I used to mix two different brands together for mine... just to eliminate boredom...