5 - 5.5 Yorkie is 7.5 or 7.8 lbs.

[Diane Stanley]

How much food do you feed your small Yorkies? My little dog should weight 5 - 5.5 lbs. I've been giving her 1/2 cup of food daily - Royal Canin - Dry and the tiny can but it's a total of 1/2 cup of food total. I feed her twice per day. I have tried to reduce her food but she is coming to get me that she wants food. She is hungry. We went out of town for a day once and so I left all of her food for the day out because we would be getting home later. When we had returned home, she had already eaten everything. She doesn't even chew the kibble, she inhales it. I thought that she was going to pop.

Any suggestions?

[Bluebells]

Question: Has your vet told you your yorkie is two pounds overweight? Or did you just want/expect her to be in around five pounds?

If she is truly fat/overweight, then your vet should be able to give you advice on a diet & exercise regime to get her weight to where it should be for her frame.

However, it’s not at all unusual for a perfectly healthy and fit yorkie to be over seven pounds. If her weight is correct for her frame, you need to feed her accordingly.

[Diane Stanley]

Originally Posted by Bluebells

Question: Has your vet told you your yorkie is two pounds overweight? Or did you just want/expect her to be in around five pounds?

If she is truly fat/overweight, then your vet should be able to give you advice on a diet & exercise regime to get her weight to where it should be for her frame.

However, it’s not at all unusual for a perfectly healthy and fit yorkie to be over seven pounds. If her weight is correct for her frame, you need to feed her accordingly.

My Vet just said that she was overweight. Her little knees were starting to slide which she said that she needed to loose a little weight to protect her knees. She wants to eat like a large dog. I give her 1/4 cup total of Royal Canin Satiety kibble and a few pieces of the small can of soft food. She eats some of it in the morning and then I give her some of the kibble throughout the day. I do the same at around 5: 30 p.m. It's too much food to give her at one time. I have been trying to reduce that amount of 1/2 cup total per day. Her little belly gets so big. She is so cute and comes to get me when she's hungry. I don't want to not give her food if she is hungry, but I don't want her to get too much. She's the best watch dog!

[ladyjane]

That is a lot of food for a 5 lb pup. I don't give my 8 lb pup more than 1/4 cup kibble twice/day with a Tbs of canned in it.

BUT, that said, you really should speak with your vet about what her ideal weight should be and how you can get her weight down if it needs to be.

They will beg for more as long as they have a person willing to give them what they want! LOL Sounds like she may have you trained well.

[Diane Stanley]

Originally Posted by Bluebells

Question: Has your vet told you your yorkie is two pounds overweight? Or did you just want/expect her to be in around five pounds?

If she is truly fat/overweight, then your vet should be able to give you advice on a diet & exercise regime to get her weight to where it should be for her frame.

However, it’s not at all unusual for a perfectly healthy and fit yorkie to be over seven pounds. If her weight is correct for her frame, you need to feed her accordingly.

The Vet didn't tell me exactly how much food but my gut was that I was giving her too much. The 2nd Vet (same office) wasn't to concerned about her weight at the time. I was glad to see that others don't feed their Yorkies as much as I have been feeding mine. Mine does have me trained very well. I just didn't want her to be hungry. She starts on me after her second feeding every night the very minute I sit down in my chair. She gives me the stare and wolfs until I get up and give her a few kibbles. She could also be more active. The breeder had informed me that she was the runt of the litter weighing 1.5 oz at 10 or 12 weeks. She was so cute!!She would make her bed every night and back up those little legs like a big dog. I'm going to give her a little less food and she has a Vets appt Feb 4th.

Thank you everyone for responding as it has really helped me. I don't want her having knee, diabetes or weight issues later.

[Bluebells]

Many Yorkies are food hogs, and it does sound like she has you pretty well trained to feed her addiction. On the other hand, it doesn’t sound as though she’s quite as overweight as your thread title would suggest. What I mean is, if the first vet said she was overweight but didn’t spend much time addressing it, and if the second vet wasn’t concerned about her weight ... then (unless she’s gained quite a bit since she saw the second vet) it doesn’t seem likely that her weight is two and a half pounds over a healthy weight for her frame. Two and a half extra pounds on a dog who should weigh five pounds is a whopping 50% over her healthy weight — that’s like a person who should weigh 150 pounds weighing 225 pounds ... seriously obese.

So, you probably have good reason to question your vet more closely about her most healthy weight and then pay more attention to her diet and exercise to get & keep her at a healthy weight ... but it doesn’t sound like you need to be overly worried yet.

Also, you didn’t mention her age, but that plays a role in your decisions too. You don’t want to put a puppy on low calorie food, because it won’t have the nutrients she needs. And even the best and most honest breeder can’t guarantee the adult weight of a twelve week old puppy, because outliers can occur in any genetic line, and runts sometimes exceed all expectations in the growth department. So be sure, in making decisions, that you go by what the vet tells you is a healthy weight for her, not what the breeder projected her adult weight would be.

[Bluebells]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

That is a lot of food for a 5 lb pup. I don't give my 8 lb pup more than 1/4 cup kibble twice/day with a Tbs of canned in it.

BUT, that said, you really should speak with your vet about what her ideal weight should be and how you can get her weight down if it needs to be.

They will beg for more as long as they have a person willing to give them what they want! LOL Sounds like she may have you trained well.

Perhaps I’m misreading the subject line, but my impression is that her dog weighs between 7.5 and 7.8 pounds when she believes she should weigh between 5 and 5.5 pounds. That’s why I suggested that her vet tell her a healthy weight for the dog. There’s a big difference between a vet telling her that a 7.8 pound dog should only weigh 5 pounds and her believing her 7.8 pound dog should only weigh 5 pounds (possibly because that’s what the breeder told her to expect). I hope that makes sense ... sometimes my thoughts get muddled on their way to my fingertips.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Diane Stanley

The Vet didn't tell me exactly how much food but my gut was that I was giving her too much. The 2nd Vet (same office) wasn't to concerned about her weight at the time. I was glad to see that others don't feed their Yorkies as much as I have been feeding mine. Mine does have me trained very well. I just didn't want her to be hungry. She starts on me after her second feeding every night the very minute I sit down in my chair. She gives me the stare and wolfs until I get up and give her a few kibbles. She could also be more active. The breeder had informed me that she was the runt of the litter weighing 1.5 oz at 10 or 12 weeks. She was so cute!!She would make her bed every night and back up those little legs like a big dog. I'm going to give her a little less food and she has a Vets appt Feb 4th.

Thank you everyone for responding as it has really helped me. I don't want her having knee, diabetes or weight issues later.

I can see her now. Cute.

Keep us posted on how things are going. Would love to see a pic!

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Bluebells

Perhaps I’m misreading the subject line, but my impression is that her dog weighs between 7.5 and 7.8 pounds when she believes she should weigh between 5 and 5.5 pounds. That’s why I suggested that her vet tell her a healthy weight for the dog. There’s a big difference between a vet telling her that a 7.8 pound dog should only weigh 5 pounds and her believing her 7.8 pound dog should only weigh 5 pounds (possibly because that’s what the breeder told her to expect). I hope that makes sense ... sometimes my thoughts get muddled on their way to my fingertips.

She is going to the vet on the 4th, so she can get clarification from the vet then. Regardless, I was merely saying I don't feed my 8 lb pup that much food.

[Diane Stanley]

Originally Posted by Bluebells

Perhaps I’m misreading the subject line, but my impression is that her dog weighs between 7.5 and 7.8 pounds when she believes she should weigh between 5 and 5.5 pounds. That’s why I suggested that her vet tell her a healthy weight for the dog. There’s a big difference between a vet telling her that a 7.8 pound dog should only weigh 5 pounds and her believing her 7.8 pound dog should only weigh 5 pounds (possibly because that’s what the breeder told her to expect). I hope that makes sense ... sometimes my thoughts get muddled on their way to my fingertips.

She just turned 5 years old this month. A Vet that examined her 2.5 years ago suggested that I put her on the Royal Canin Satiety dry food. I also give her just a few pieces of the Royal Canin 3 oz can of wet food along with the dry food. When she goes to bed at night, her belly is totally full and looks to me to be too big. I have just been reducing the amount of food a little bit for the last three nights. I think it's like several of you have stated that she's got me trained. The Vet also suggested that the last time I was there. I need to work with her on more exercise too.

We took a day trip once where we left early a.m. and were going to return later past her dinner time. So, I put out her morning food and left some for evening plus extra just in case we had an accident and did not make it home. She had eaten every bit of it by 6:00 p.m. as we were getting home. So I can't do that anymore. This is my first Yorkie so I was so glad to get some responses so that I would know about what they sometimes do. She's my "best little bud".

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Diane Stanley

She just turned 5 years old this month. A Vet that examined her 2.5 years ago suggested that I put her on the Royal Canin Satiety dry food. I also give her just a few pieces of the Royal Canin 3 oz can of wet food along with the dry food. When she goes to bed at night, her belly is totally full and looks to me to be too big. I have just been reducing the amount of food a little bit for the last three nights. I think it's like several of you have stated that she's got me trained. The Vet also suggested that the last time I was there. I need to work with her on more exercise too.

We took a day trip once where we left early a.m. and were going to return later past her dinner time. So, I put out her morning food and left some for evening plus extra just in case we had an accident and did not make it home. She had eaten every bit of it by 6:00 p.m. as we were getting home. So I can't do that anymore. This is my first Yorkie so I was so glad to get some responses so that I would know about what they sometimes do. She's my "best little bud".

BTW: Welcome to YT and the wonderful world of being ruled by a yorkie

[Bluebells]

One more thought on this topic. (I’m not sure why I didn’t ask before.)

What does the “Feeding Guide” on your package of dog food recommend?

I doubt all dog foods are the same in nutrients and feeding recommendations. Just for reference, I feed Jax (16 months and almost exactly five pounds) Hill’s Science Diet Small Paws kibble. The feeding instructions on the bag say:

2 lb dog 1/4 cup daily
5 lb dog 5/8 cup daily
8 lb dog 3/4 cup daily
10 lb dog 1 cup daily
And on up through 30 lb dog

Now, obviously this is a guideline and has to be adjusted based on the individual dog’s health, ideal weight, activity level, etc.... However, it is a starting point. Jax is not a food hog. I put his kibble down in the morning, and it’s not unusual for him to ignore it until mid or late afternoon. He rarely eats the full 1/2 cup per day indicated by the package guideline.

Since the vet recommended the food to you, he/she should be able to comment on how much to feed in addition to ideal weight and exercise.

[Bluebells]

Originally Posted by Bluebells

One more thought on this topic. (I’m not sure why I didn’t ask before.)

What does the “Feeding Guide” on your package of dog food recommend?

I doubt all dog foods are the same in nutrients and feeding recommendations. Just for reference, I feed Jax (16 months and almost exactly five pounds) Hill’s Science Diet Small Paws kibble. The feeding instructions on the bag say:

2 lb dog 1/4 cup daily
5 lb dog 5/8 cup daily
8 lb dog 3/4 cup daily
10 lb dog 1 cup daily
And on up through 30 lb dog

Now, obviously this is a guideline and has to be adjusted based on the individual dog’s health, ideal weight, activity level, etc.... However, it is a starting point. Jax is not a food hog. I put his kibble down in the morning, and it’s not unusual for him to ignore it until mid or late afternoon. He rarely eats the full 1/2 cup per day indicated by the package guideline.

Since the vet recommended the food to you, he/she should be able to comment on how much to feed in addition to ideal weight and exercise.

Oops, sorry. I meant that Jax rarely eats the full 5/8 cup per day indicated by the guidelines. He usually eats less than 1/2 cup per day, although if he’s had a particularly active day, he might eat a bit over 1/2 cup on that day.