New Yorkie owner, but he won't eat?
 

Hi, just a few days ago we adopted a 3 yr old yorkie from some friends, they are truck drivers and had left him in the care of people they trusted but learned they weren't takeing care of him. All they fed him was table food! we have tried both wet and dry dog food and he wont touch it. We don't want to just leave him on table food but we dont know what to do? I have scoured the net and found this site (Thankfully) and I am looking for any helpful advice i can get. I dont want him getting sick or malnurished. We also took him to the vet for a check up since we just got him and he is doing ok, health wise he just has all of his teeth, his "baby" teeth were never reabsorbed. Will this effect what he can eat? Does it hurt him physically when he eats? We are getting his doggy dental work done asap, but in the mean time i am worried about him eating/ not eating enough. What is a normal amount for a dog his size to eat (he tops the scales at 4.8lbs, the vet said that was perfect for him)? I'm just worried about him.

Welcome to YT and congrats on your new little adoptee. :) For the food, if he was always on table food, you may have to transition him to the food you choose (I would highly recommend researching thoroughly, premium pet foods, and also raw diets for canines before choosing) You could boil plain white chicken breasts and white rice (plain) and mix in a little kibble at a time to entice him to eat. And remember small dogs eat small meals :)

Also, remember he is in a new place and might be experiencing a little fear and unsure about his whole new world or be missing his other people, which could cause him to not want to eat. But you need to keep him hydrated and some nourishment as these little guys can decline quickly.
He still has all his baby teeth at three years old, this can affect how his jaw formation develops/developed and can defenitely be a source of pain. Hopefully you are having them all removed during his dental. (Be sure to ask your vet about pre -procedure blood work)

as a point of reference, my dog who is 4.7 lbs and is active and healthy, eats approx 1/2 to 3/4 cup per day.
This varies a lot depending on so many factors, weight, proper weight, activity level, health status... etc. You can also look on the bags of kibbles for general references of how many kcals per lb of body weight they should consume (these are only very general references)
Hope some of this helps

Hi and welcome to YT! So glad you are taking good care of this sweet boy:) I would try plain boiled chicken, white rice, apples ( cut into small pieces no skin) plain yogurt and add a little bit of kibble. That way he is getting food he may be used to but it's better for him. If he isn't eating the dry kibble mix the ingredients above with wet. His teeth might be bothering him. What's his name? would love to see pics:)

Welcome, glad you found YT:D

It does sound like his teeth may be bothering him. It can cause lots of problems when those baby teeth stubbornly refuse to fall out. The sooner this gets resolved, the better for his overall health.

Would love to see pics, we love pictures here:D

:thumbup::thumbup:

thank you all so much for the overwhelming responce, he likes to eat meat (steak, chicken ect) and now that i have read he will generally only eat about 3/4 of a c of food a day I do feel less worried, I am used to big dogs lol. We have the Old Roy Naturals, it doesnt hve any gmo or corn/corn meal in it.
I tried making him so rice/chicken and chicken broth, and he wouldnt touch it lol. He looked at me like i had lost my mind. His name is Toto (Todo) and he is really cuddly and fun, he likes to play some but mostly he likes to jump up in our lap and just use us as a licking post. I will try and post pics asap..i just need to find my camera.
We are working on getting his teeth worked on soon, we have been to one vet and it just wasnt a good fit for us (is that normal?) and we are looking for another. THankfully I live in a city where there are several vets.