Still trying to find the best dry food for my yorkie puppy
 

We have had our puppy for a little longer than a month. When I got him from the breeder he was feeding him a combo of bil-jack and innova Evo. When I got the puppy home he really didn't eat so I started mixing his dry food w/some lean cooked hamburger meat at night and a piece of a cooked egg in the morning. I received a number of samples from a pet store and he really didn't like them, including canidae, cal natural. I fed him raw instinct this morning but later this afternoon he had diarrhea. I am not sure if it is related to the raw instinct. 4 days ago he had a bout (only lasted 1/2 day) w/diarrhea and I didn't change his diet. I did give him some canned pumpkin when he had the diarrhea. I thought I should add some brown rice in w/the ground beef but I really don't think that helps. Does anyone know if too much protein can upset a yorkie and cause diarrhea? I really would like to find a balance dry food he would eat any suggestions? I was thinking of trying canidae again. I do grind some of it up and serve him some whole. I am not sure why he occassionaly gets diarrhea. He is eating, drinking and very active.

the diarrhea is probably because of how often and quickly you are changing his food. It can be a little tough on their small tummies and usually need 7-10 days to make a complete change to a new food. The ground lean beef and egg and rice a great.. why not home cook?? sounds like that is his favorite! add a veggie, general suppliement and calcium suppliement and you are all set!!

Our girls have always been finicky eaters being only 5 lbs each but finally after 10 yrs of trying different brands, going thru recalls, etc. they FINALLY settled on Wellness Senior5Mix without hesitating to eat it.I just add a little water with the kibbles and its gone like they inhaled it. Before they really didn't like mealtimes but now they are begging like clockwork and always want more. You might try Wellness brand dry food for puppies. Good Luck and I hope your little one is feeling better real soon.

Lacey :aimeeyork & Lindseys :aimeeyork Mom

Large amounts of protein are really not good for puppies. I would take him off the EVO ASAP and wait until he's an adult to feed that food. The California Natural & Canidae are both EXCELLENT foods! If I were you, I would keep him on one of those and keep adding homecooked items to supplement.

Or, if you want to continue trying samples, any of the foods on this list are excellent for yorkies.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...page/24/sort/8

The 6-star foods are WAY too high in protein for yorkies, especially yorkie puppies.

Otis's tummy is very sensitive with changing food even now (he's 3). I would think it would be harder to get them to eat dry kibble after having yummy hamburger meat!!!!! Good luck, hope the diarrhea gets better.

Dry puppy food
 

I would just like to ask this thread; why exactly is high protein bad for a dog and why is it bad for a Yorkshire Terrier? Why is it especially bad for a puppy?

Thanks everyone for your replies. The problem is I am almost out of what the breeder gave me. I would use canidae or california natural but he really didn't like them. He really doesn't eat the mix the breeder gave me either unless I mix egg, chicken or hamburger in it. He loved raw instinct and ate that dry. I thought I found a good dog food but as I said he did get diarrhea and I thought it might be too much protein for his size. So when I go to the store do I mix the raw instict w/another lower percent protein food from natures variety or just move to canidae and keep adding chicken, burger etc.

I too would like to know why high protein is so bad for puppies? I just bought the innova evo and am working on the switch from Nutro Natural choice. I am confused about the best food for my yorkie. She is 7 months old.

Yorkies are known to have a difficult time digesting high amounts of protien. after long exposure to high protein food it leads to problem (with the liver i believe... someone correct me if i am wrong!!)

My pups are so picky, they will only eat Royal Canin (puppy, small bites) and Eukanuba (also the small bites). We tried all the different brands, and their food would sit there for days and that worried me. So we went back to use what they liked.

Protein
 

How can an ideal diet (high protein) cause liver failure? Where to people get this notion from? Let me guess! Some well meaning prescription food pushing Vet or worse, some kibble company label! Or how about just somebody who wants to make money selling "cook books" for dogs!

You know what may have spawned this? Some sort of bizarre equivocation
of human biology with dog biology. I *have* heard from reputable
sources that *HUMANS* can get serious liver/kidney problems if they go
on extremely high to all-protein diets (this came up with all the
recently high-protein low-carb diets). How much you want to bet that
some quick-thinking pet food marketer started spreading that as being
applicable to dogs and cats as a way to try and keep people from
questioning the high grain content of most commercial pet foods?
A Yorkshire Terrier is not an individual species, he's a dog! A small dog, yes, needing less amount of food but non the less has the same nutritional requirements as any other breed! If a dog got "sick" on high protein kibble that was probably due to the fact that carnevoirs were not designed by nature to eat grains or vegetables, fruits or dairy, or cooked meat for that matter!
I have looked into it and base my assertions on facts rather than the nonsense that has been passed down on the breeds lists. Studies show that reducing protein in large and small breeds (or any growing puppy) is harmful, in fact is detrimental to growth and health...... pedigreebreeder.com.au"Protein nutrition is obviously still not completely understood, however it is an essential part of every dog's diet. You can't give too much protein inyour dog's diet; however quality not quantity makes the difference." purina.com "Dietary protein requirements are much higher for growing puppies than for fully grown dogs. In addition to supplying the protein needed to support protein turnover and normal cellular metabolism, protein is needed to build growing muscles and other tissues." "Research at the Purina Pet Care Center and at other facilities has shown that puppies fed inadequate protein do not grow as well and are more susceptible to health problems than those fed nutritionally complete diets.At the Pet Care Center, English setter puppies that were fed a low-protein diet showed stunted growth compared to puppies fed higher levels of protein.However, when the protein level was increased in the puppies at the Pet CareCenter, the deficiency was corrected." The research also confirmed that dietary protein did not have detrimental effects on liver and kidney functioning." So the conclusion of the above referenced research stresses the need for high quality protein to achieve the best growth and immune systems. No proof was found that protein amounts affect skeletal growth in any adverse,except when using too little or too poor quality. Additionally, while protein does not cause orthopedic problems, other nutrients can. www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu "In addition to excessive calcium intake, researchers have shown that over nutrition can also initiate these disturbances in skeletal maturation and growth. An excess protein intake, without an excess of other nutrients revealed NOT to influence skeletal maturation and growth in growing

woah.. easy there... we are just trying to help by passing on what we have read and heard. no one has to take it for fact, and you are always welcome to use your own judgement. we are not giving "non sense" information, just tips and helpful information. clearly you do not subscribe to this point of view which is fine but please don't insult those of us who do and are just tyring to do the best for our dogs, like you are i'm sure

A natural diet for a dog is ALMOST 100% PROTEIN. Unless there is some underlying disease, high protein is fine. If you do a lot of research, you'll conclude that statements to the contrary are myth.

Evo is just fine, don't worry. You'll find a lot of opinions on here, and you'll soon develop your own, I'm sure. LOL.

To whoever feels offended by high Protein
 

That high protein causes liver problems in dogs is nonsense, plain and simple! These are NOT my personal opinions, these are FACTS, backed by science, as you could read off the quotes! To recommend someone to feed a growing puppy a diet NOT high in proteins is reckless! Anybody can feed their dogs whatever they like, but why not take in consideration that what you "heard" about protein might be wrong! My comments were not directed at anyone in particular or meant to offend anybody. It was meant as general fact based info for people looking for answers regarding protein. To find out that one might have been feeding the wrong food all of these years hurts! The truth hurts! I've been down that road! I fed low quality kibble for years! I used to believe everything my Vet told me! I used to buy into that nice picture on the kibble bag showing happy healthy dogs alongside cuts of meat, veggies and grains! I switched to high quality, grain free, high protein kibble and then to home cooked. I used to buy an army of supplements and cook books! And then I stumbled upon information that changed my life! I'm a raw feeder now. The information that I gave here does not make me the enemy! I have two Yorkies, I love them and care for them with the upmost intesity! I want what's best for them!
I gave fact based quotes! Where are the facts to the contrary? Which medical source has said that high protein is bad? How is this theory backed up? Have studies been done? If yes, where are the results and what did they show? I'd wish my dogs were meant to eat "cute" foods like yoghurt and berries and honey and oatmeal and green beens and all of that human food. Would make life a lot easier for me, believe me! But I decided to be a guradian to DOGS and I choose to feed them acording to nature- not my own wishes.......