GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!

I had a 10 lb maltese that ate Ceaser's mixed with dry rice and lamb and he lived to be 15, very healthy but the Vet thinks that he had a brain tumer.

I feed Royce a home made diet, never give him commercial dog food ( even what they claim is the best ) just go on the internet and do a little bit of research on commercial dog food andyou will understand how bad it is for your dogs . Royce is healthy ( touch wood ) never got sick, no skin allergies problem, he has an amazing shiny coat whenever i walk him people stop me to complement me and some ask ifhe is a show dog...feeding youryorkie a home based diet is more expensive as i buy top quality meat etc....and you need to bewilling to spend a bit of time in the kitchen cooking .:thumbup:

what do you put in your home made food? I am afraid that I will miss some important ingredient?
tks,
d

this has only 18% protein and is low in fat as well
 

I use California Natural (Lamb & rice lo cal dry food) http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B@id%3D%275%27%5D
Monday had tummy problems (so she needed a low fat food) even when on the Eukanuba canned low residue stuff and the Hills Science I/D canned ... when I switched to this dry food, all the problems (throwing up, diarrhea, blood in her poop) went away ... now for the last 1.5 years she is problem free ... to me that means a lot .... it broke my heart when she got sick.

I am not a breeder ... I only have one Yorkie, but she is the world to me. I am sure there are other great foods out there ... just read the labels.
http://www.naturapet.com/images/cali...-whiteline.jpg
Moisture 10.0 %
Protein 18.0 %
Fat 8.0 %
Fiber 6.0 %
Calories 1587 Kcal/lb
Calories 3490 Kcal/Kg
Calories 317 KCals/Cup

for his 2 main meals he will have cooked veggies ( i make a puree of veggies ) mixied with brown rice or cooked potato and i will include either red meat or chicken or liver . fruits and veggies for snacks . yogurt 3 to 4 times a weel, 1egg once a week , salmon once a week, oatmill, 3 times a week i put a bit of olive oil in his food ...I try to diversify as much as possible and remember what is good for your health is good for your dog's health also . I come from a country where they never heard of dog food, dogs eat what people eat and they never got sick or health problems and they lived up to 18 years of age ....there are a lot of posts about home made diets .

Thanks for your help, will check out making her food.
Donna

:aimeeyork I was reading this link with interest. I have had my dog on Royal Canin since I got her at 10 weeks. She was on puppy 33, and is now on the adult yorkie 28 formula. My vet sells Royal Canin products at her clinic, and says she feels it is one of the best brands out there. It is 28% crude protien, here is a link to check it out:http://www.royalcanin.us/dogfood/yorkshire.html

Both my vet and our dog trainer believe that unless you brush your dogs teeth afterwards, you should not feed them ANY wet food, because it sticks to their teeth and can cause teeth problems later.

But with that being said, if your dog is healthy and that is working for you then do what your instinct tells you is best for your dog.
I would just investigate labels better, just as I do my familys food, to be able to make the best choices for my dog to be as healthy as they can be.
What works for one person or dog does not necessarily work for another with allergies, tastes, costs, etc,

Michele & Bailey:aimeeyork

Vets sell dog food because they get a commission on every bag they sell .
and there is something I find extremely disturbing : when you buy dog food from the vet or any other shop they tell you you can return the bad if your dog doesnt like the food!!!what do they do with the open bag ? throw it? i dont think do . or may be because dog food is so cheap for the to make :mad:

I don't think that ALL dog food is bad. The dog food I feed Diesel is very good and there is nothing in it we couldn't eat. If all soft and puree dog food works for you thats great. Nothing but a soft diet here would do a number on my baby's system and teeth.

actually I took Royce for his annual exam and he was astonished by the condition of his teeth: white like milk and no tartar at all . But I do brush his teeth every singe night and i give him raw carrots to replace hard food

I don't purchase Bailey's food from my vet clinic, the bags are too big and I only buy one bag at a time so it is fresh. The clinic also only sells more specialized formulas, such as sensitivity, low calorie etc.
I do buy her food at Petsmart and you can return any pet product there, no questions asked for a full refund. They return it to the manufacturer for a credit.
When I have had food that my other dog didn't like, I just donated it to the local animal shelter.

Michele & Bailey:aimeeyork

I have a very picky eater...
 

(I posted this under a different thread about Cesar's):

My yorkie just turned 1 and it has been a year long battle trying to feed her. I have tried: Nutro, Iams, Science Diet, and Royal Canin for dry foods. For wet, I have tried Nutro and some sort of all natural canned puppy stew or something like that from Petco.

Do you know that Petco will take your dry food back with a receipt within 30 days? not sure if they'll give you a store credit or cash back but I think it's worth knowing. I found this out too late and now I have all these foods sitting in my garage.

I had limited success with Nutro Rice and chicken wet food and Royal Canin. My yorkie simply doesn't like the dry and I'm not sure if it's a texture thing?

I then met someone recently at a party who also had a picky yorkie and asked her what she fed her dog. She left and came back with a container of Eukanuba petite small breed dry food and a few containers of Cesars Grilled Chicken and Porterhouse Steak for me to try. She told me to mix a half container of the wet (mash up the wet real good with a fork) with a handful of the dry. Mix it up good and microwave for 10 seconds and serve. My yorkie LOVES it! I couldn't believe it! She actually wiimpers when it's time to eat now.

She's been on this diet for about a month now, twice a day. You can't imagine the relief I felt or feel now that she eats.

I highly recommend giving it a try.

Mine are picky eaters and love the Caesars too

Diesel loved Cesars but I managed to get him off it. It took me a LONG time to find soft dog food that he would actually eat and liked for that matter. He LOVES Lamb Natural Balance. He only gets it in the am and he prances all over when he sees me fixing it. I feed him the hard Innova. He seems to like that as well.