My Yorkie won't eat!!!

[myjgunter]

I have 2 Yorkies, Spike and Bella and a labrador. They used to all share kibble and fed on demand. I don't feed them table scraps. My lab had surgery and for the rest of his life he has to eat that disgusting smelly mushy canned food. I can't leave kibble laying around or he could die. The problem is I can't get Spike and Bella to eat! I have tried nearly everything I've seeen here and they just smell it and walk away. One day they might eat some and then the next day they won't eat at all. I've given them kibble, then I've tried kibble with broth, theny canned dog food mixed with the kibble...there is NOTHING that is enticing them to eat. Any suggestions for tasty wet food?

[CarolineH120]

Hey
I would try your Puppy on Sweet potatoe and small bit off Goats natural Cheeses. My Sister Yorkie loves it when she gets a sore tummy or with not eat.
Just cook the sweet potatoe in the mircowave for 10mins pick it with a fork first. and then put a small bit of Goats cheeses thou it.
I hope this with help.
Let me know
Caz

[CarolineH120]

Hey Everyone
my wee yorkie died in jan 2010 well to cut a long story short
we have cassie sister poppy still, we always wondered with over vacs and top brand pet food do they have a role to play in loads of sickness or even death.....
Well i started looking on the net researching different brands and seeing loads off news papers reports about things that where going into theses Foods, I found this website Called Pets Kitchen this is a well known Vet in UK that has started looking into better and healthier food for our pets.
Hes also started this Campaign to get people to join, its a campaign for Real Pet Food.
Here the site
Pets Kitchen - Experts in natural pet food, developed by Joe...

[BlueBelle]

I read recently that you have to be very careful with babyfood as they sometimes add onion seasoning which is toxic to dogs.

[cdf816]

my 7 month old yorkie doesnt CHEW her food properly.... she swallows it down.... like its water... she'll eat within 30 secs of putting her food in her plate.... why is that?

[jazzalyn]

Hi,Sounds as if it could be a natural guarding instinct, In a litter its survival of the strongest.
I have great trouble coaxing my little yorkie girl to eat I asked someone who had come to see me to pick up her bowl and pretend to eat her food, now she will sometimes eat when she knows someone is at the door, if she does not want to eat it, she will stand by it to guard it.
After she has sniffed the food in her bowl and walked away I sometimes put her food on the floor, then I gently shuffle my feet which often makes her eat because she feels threatened someone else will get it.
Obviously there can be lots of reasons for a dog gulping their food. I am not a vet but have always been interested in dog psychology.I wonder if a starting place would be to move your dogs feeding place to somewhere she feels really safe,a nice undisturbed corner, this might make her feel less anxious.It may take a bit of time.
Would she overeat if you left food down all the time,leaving it down may take the apprehension she feels about food away.
Does she trust you to take her food away and put it back,I feel that you should be able to do that with toys or food, the dog then knows that you are leader of the pack and will look to you and feel safe. Good luck.Jazz

[Teddybears Gram]

My daughters 5 mo old yorkie hardly eats at all. We have got him all times of hard puppy or dog food. He might eat 4 pieces and that's that. So we started with the soft putty food. He licks it a little , might eat 1/2 teaspoon and walks away. So we tried soft dog food. Same thing. We tried yummy people turkey gravy. Nope. Cheese on top, 2 times, nope. He will eat Alpo biscuit treats . Poor thing weighs 3 lbs now. The vet is upset. Thinks we aren't feeding him!! My daughter actually cries now. We have tried bowls and plates. Hand feeding. We tried eating with the other 2 dogs. Nothing helps.

[kyarah]

Originally Posted by Teddybears Gram

My daughters 5 mo old yorkie hardly eats at all. We have got him all times of hard puppy or dog food. He might eat 4 pieces and that's that. So we started with the soft putty food. He licks it a little , might eat 1/2 teaspoon and walks away. So we tried soft dog food. Same thing. We tried yummy people turkey gravy. Nope. Cheese on top, 2 times, nope. He will eat Alpo biscuit treats . Poor thing weighs 3 lbs now. The vet is upset. Thinks we aren't feeding him!! My daughter actually cries now. We have tried bowls and plates. Hand feeding. We tried eating with the other 2 dogs. Nothing helps.

hey what happened with ur puppy i have the same problem with my two yorkies i just got 4 weeks ago. one is really under weight.

[My lil friend]

Originally Posted by CC's

2 suggestions....

Try putting the food directly on the floor. Some Yorkies don't like to eat from a dish. I don't know why. LOL

You may also ask your vet to do a chem. panel and bile acid tests for Liver shunt. Just to be on the safe side. This can be a symptom of LS.

Good Luck

I have put food on the floor when Mina wouldnt eat and it really does work.
I believe that I read on YT that a puppy needs to be 14? or 16? weeks old be fore a bile acid test can be run,but you would need to ask your vet.

When I brought my baby home she wasnt very interested in food. This was her feeding routine and it seemed to work pretty well.
Morning and evening. 1T wet puppy food,a little kibble,a little warm water,stir it all together. If she refused to eat,I sprinkled just a tiny bit of parmesian cheese on and stirred it in, my husband refers to this cheese as puppy crack. Mina would eat cardboard if I put it on it. Try to make eating time pleasant and quiet,I used to take mine to a separate room away from everyone else,we have a very full house.
Changing things around by feeding boiled chic or part of a scrambled egg,no butter,salt or pepper. Works sometimes too. If you are doing 3 or 4 feedings you might do two with kibble and two without just long enough to get some food in your baby.
Mina at 9months still picks at her food sometimes,but she usually eats well at least once a day.

Let us know how things are going.

[yorkielover2003]

Help!!

My 8 week yorkie is not eating a lot. I have heard of Hypoglycemia and i am worried. She ate 1/3 of a hand for the whole of today in the morning. She has been drinking in the morning but ow in the afternoon she is not drinking. She is sleeping alot.She has been sleeping for 3 1/2 hours straight can you give me any advice

[maallen53]

Originally Posted by crowmtn

I have a 11 week old yorkie puppy. He is very healthy and of a normal weight. However, he doesn't choose to eat. I have tried canned food, dry food, cat food, even baby food. He simply won't eat it. I have been basically forcing the food down. I simply wipe a small bit of canned food onto the roof of his mouth so that he has to eat it. He does have the ability to eat both canned and dry food. He will occasionally eat very small bites independently (like once a week). I have taken him to the vet, they tell me to just keep trying. I thought he was just been spoiled and I decided he would eat when he was hungry, he didn't. He had a hypoglycemic induced seizure. The breeder told me if he doesn't eat every 4 hours to force him. I have been doing this for almost 3 weeks. Any ideas?

My Tea Cup 6 pound yorkie... Coco Chanel is 5 years old this june. She has always been a very picky eater just like described here. We tried every dog food. We even bought 5 dollar cans of food from a local fancy pet food store and no way. She will eat braunswager (not a good idea but she loves it) and lately I just gave up and feed her Budig lunchmeat of roasted turkey breast. She eats hell out of that and the only treat she likes is Beggin Littles Bacon flavor. Wow now we have a dog sick all the time with irritated bowels and diareah. She loves pork and that is not so great... her gas smells so bad when she eats pork. We are a senior couple and every night we have dinner we make her a plate too. Long story short we are seeing this having a very negative effect on our dog. She will turn to dry food if we starve her. But we are so worried about it we can't seem to stop feeding her when we eat with people food. So... we have bought a very very good quality dry food with wild game in it. She loves string cheese and tolerates lactose well. So now we are giving her a string cheese all cut up small when we eat and thus she is turning more and more to her dry food. I have researched and see she has symptoms of fiber deficiency in her diet so the dry food is helping that. I know it can be very hard but... don't do as we did by giving her people food for so long. Try string cheese and if your dog is intolerant to cow milk try goat cheese as a treat and try to get them a really good quality dry dog food and other than small amount of cheese a day try to get the dog to eat the dry food. Goat Milk and Goat cheese is a good way to provide the protein they need and well tolerated by their tummies. We tried chicken breast with brown rice and that made her sick as well.

[maallen53]

Originally Posted by BenjaminsMom27

I just got my little Benjamin on saturday. He is a 10 week old teacup. He doesn't seem to want to eat unless i hand feed him..
The breeder gave me these sweet liquid vitamins to give him and he licks it all up so one day in a rush i put it on the plate with his food... now its the only way i can get him to eat... The vitamins will be gone soon.. i suppose i'll have to try some of these techniques...

Good luck

Try some goat cheese and/or goat milk but be sure to encourage the dry nibble... buy a good quality dry food. we have a great specialty dog food store by us and Coco is enjoying a dry food made of game birds and good fruits and vegs. She is starting to really like it. Also she loves only Purina Beggin Littles bacon flavor. Try that because she loves it... she won't eat any treats but that.

[maallen53]

Originally Posted by SJK1113

Have you tried hand feeding him some of his dry dog food? Sometimes when they're little, they will eat that way. I would try some boiled chicken or rice or maybe a little cottage cheese.

Coco tolerates cows milk and loves bits of string cheese but goat cheese or milk is easier for a doggy to digest.

[maallen53]

Originally Posted by Teddybears Gram

My daughters 5 mo old yorkie hardly eats at all. We have got him all times of hard puppy or dog food. He might eat 4 pieces and that's that. So we started with the soft putty food. He licks it a little , might eat 1/2 teaspoon and walks away. So we tried soft dog food. Same thing. We tried yummy people turkey gravy. Nope. Cheese on top, 2 times, nope. He will eat Alpo biscuit treats . Poor thing weighs 3 lbs now. The vet is upset. Thinks we aren't feeding him!! My daughter actually cries now. We have tried bowls and plates. Hand feeding. We tried eating with the other 2 dogs. Nothing helps.

Try goat cheese