Yorkie will NOT eat her dog food!
 

Gracie is an extremely picky eater, and refuses to eat her dry dog food. I've tried multiple different brands and she doesn't seem to like any of it. I fed her canned dog food once, and she ended up having diarrhea, so I don't like the idea of feeding her canned. I have tried mixing in yogurt, baby food, chicken broth, and parmesan cheese. She liked the baby food at first, but it's been 2 weeks and now she won't touch the food anymore. I tried putting little bits of boiled chicken in with her dog food, but she would just pick around. Then I tried crushing the kibble so she couldn't pick around and she refused to touch it.
I've tried sitting there and hand feeding her kibble, but she'll just spit out.

We use to not feed her any people food, but now I feel so guilty I occasionally give her people food and more treats so she has something in her. I'm hesitant about trying all homemade meals, as I want her to get all the benefits kibble has.

I'm at a loss here and I don't know how else to get her to eat dog food. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Thanks in advance!

Welcome to YT. Seems most yorkies are fussy, picky eaters and it can be frustrating. Seems you prefer dry kibble after the diarrhea of canned.
Have you tried adding a little warm water to the kibble just to soften it a bit, pour off the water after letting it soak for a minute or two, then offer it to her.
I am sure other members will chime in with their advise, suggestions and their experiences with picky eaters.

My boy thankfully will eat anything, I have been blessed lol.

Have you tried Royal Canin? It seems to be good for picky eaters. The canned food probably messed with her tummy because it was change not because it was canned food. You could mix dry with canned food and see if that works. Have you made sure to rule out any health issues?

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Royal Canin is worth considering. You might ask for a sample from your local store, or ask if they have a return guarantee if your dog doesn't like it. Whatever food the breeder had the dog on when you purchased it sometimes works, too. Wellness Core Grain Free Small Breed works well for our Bella because it has a small kibble size. (Royal Canin has a small kibble size too.) Consult with your vet. If you end up having to go to home cooked meals, please be sure that it is one approved by a veterinary nutritionist and contains the appropriate nutritional supplements. www.balanceit.com is a good place to start for home cooked meals--they have hundreds of recipes, they sell the appropriate supplements, and they have veterinary nutritionists on staff. Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress!

We have had many dogs over the years but Gracie was the first dog that either of us ever had that refused to eat dog food. We tried everything. She just rejected even the best brands of dog food. I bought flavor enhancers and even tried soaking the food in chicken broth. We were getting desperate because she would not eat. Finally I found recipes for home made dog food and learned how to cook for her and she was good with that. Then I bought her a freeze dried commercial raw dog food called Stella & Chewy's which she loved more than anything she had ever eaten. It can be kind of expensive so mixing it with homemade food is another option. That is how she has always eaten and when we got another dog we just fed him the same way. Gracie is now 7 years old and still will not eat traditional dog food. After reading about how traditional pet food is made and what they put in it I can understand why. She has never had a health issue and is a happy healthy little dog as is her brother, Buster. They may have more exotic tastes in food than some dogs but they sure enjoy their meals.

I have to add that if you Home cook it must be a recipe from a vet nutritionist and it must have supplements or it could actually harm your dog.

Somehow Gracie has remained healthy eating the food we have chosen to prepare for her. There is a lot of information out there. Vets do not even agree on what is best to feed our pets. There are hundreds of pet foods out there that claim to be "vet approved." Our vet is happy with our dog's state of health. Gracie still even has beautiful clean white teeth without having to have them cleaned every year.
There are some basic nutritional needs that our pets have. It's not rocket science. When I feed them only home prepared food they get an all natural food based nutritional supplement in it. I was able to raise healthy happy children without a human nutritionist having to tell me how to feed them. You learn basic nutritional facts and go from there. Just like with the dogs people have basic nutritional needs. We have found that the closer to the original form a food item is - the more natural nutrition is still in that food item and the easier it is for the body to assimilate that nutrition. The synthetic vitamins and minerals that are being put in many foods (human and pet) to make up for what is lost in processing are not able to come near to matching the nutrition derived from food in its natural state so using food based supplements instead of synthetic is important.

Grateful
 

For those of us who are not Canine Master Chefs, I'm grateful for companies like www.balanceit.com who have recipes and human food grade supplements tailored to specific breeds and health problems, such as kidney disease, diabetes, allergies, and weight problems: https://secure.balanceit.com/info/videos_diseases.php

I can follow recipes, so I'm grateful for the years of scientific research and expertise that go into creating these recipes and supplements.

I'm also grateful for dog food manufacturers such as Royal Canin and Wellness who have veterinary nutritionists on staff and create healthy kibble products for those who don't have time to cook for their dogs.

And I'm grateful that good nutrition and veterinary care allows dogs to live longer lives than ever before, rather than the one or two years that they live in the wild eating natural foods and dying of endemic diseases.

*from https://news.nationalgeographic.com/...raydogs_2.html

We went over some of the effects of not having a balanced food in my vet assistant classes. Dogs are much different then humans and require different things. When dogs aren't getting everything they need it can cause significant bone loss. I have seen dogs with jaws that just break, weak dogs and dogs who have lost many many teeth because they aren't getting the right supplements to keep them healthy. Balance it is a great site because they give you free recipes from vet nutritionists and you can buy the supplement there. If you have a dog with health issues they also can help you but you have to pay and they talk to your vet.

I love balance it I tried a few recipes when Callie was an only pup but she didn't really like them so we went back to dog food and then she got IBD without Royal Canin Hydrolyzed protein she would probably be to weak to do anything or dead. Joey will only eat dog food hes a bit weird lol hates human food. I'm so grateful for Royal Canin pretty much saving Callie's life.