What do you feed your fussy 'Yorkie' ?

vicx

Having owned Yorkies for the past 18 year I know they can be fussy eaters but I have never known them be as fussy as my two 10 month old Yorkie's.

My Yorkie which passed away last year was fed on wet food, mainly because he had most of his teeth extracted and because I did not know what I know now about tinned food being processed food and full of crap - however, he was a very healthy dog and lived to the age of 15.

So after a lot of research I decided to feed my two on dry, they are the only dogs I have ever fed on dry food. I do give them wet food maybe every 3 days but they do not seem to enjoy either wet or dry. I don't know if it there is something in James Wellbeloved that is unpleasant to them. I have been feeding them on James Wellbeloved dry and wet since I got them as puppies so it not just a new food I have introduced. I have tried all the flavours in the food (turkey, fish, lamb and duck) I even add boiled water to give off the flavour and soften it but they do not seem keen at all. They go a few days without eating their meals then only pick at it.

They aren't keen on any treats either apart from the Royal Canin training rewards. They just bury biscuits or turn their nose up to any biscuits/treats so I just give them rawhide chews which they love.

I was feeding them on Royal Canin too which they seemed to enjoy alot more but I haven't fed them that for a few months as the ingredients are not great for the premium price tag and I know there is better.

I have now ordered Skinners ruff & ready as like Royal Canin 'Yorkshire Terrier' is it supposed to be great for fussy eaters. I can only hope. I am now looking for a good wet food which I can feed them a few meals per week. Any suggestions?

So the question is what do you feed your fussy Yorkie?

Rev

Have you tried tough love?

If you swap and change every time they turn their nose up you teach them that mummy will give them something better if they don't eat.

My dogs know if they don't eat what's put down, they go without, simple as that.

As the vets, put it down for 15mins, if it's not gone, take it up, and don't give so much as a sniff of food until next meal time, then do the same again, I was told to do this when mine tried the fussy trick at around 6 months.

It's hard, with the puppy eyes and everything but if you give up after a few days you just teach them persistence pays.

You need to show them that if they don't eat what you put down, they go without, dogs aren't stupid, they'll eat when hungry.

Skinners duck and rice is miles better than the rough and ready, but you may have more success with wet foods. Wainwrights from pets at home and nature diet are both great, 70% meat in both (proper meat, not derivatives). Don't buy into the dry is good for teeth crap, that's just what it is, crap. Would a ginger nut clean our teeth?

Get something like a stag bar or give a raw chicken wing a few times week and your dogs teeth will be sparkly.

krlyr

I would second the Wainwrights food. It's very similar to the Naturediet food (which is another option if you don't have a PAH nearby), much better quality than tinned foods. I used to add it to my GSD's kibble because she was fussy about eating it plain. I managed to wean her down to just a slither of it mixed in with biscuits, she would eventually eat the biscuits plain but showed much more enthusiasm for her meals with the slither of Naturediet so I just kept it up, I liked seeing her enjoy her meals and knew the food was a good quality anyway. You can microwave it for 30 seconds to make it really stinky and mushy which dogs seem to love! Comes in a variety of flavours as well, she absolutely loved the fish flavour though it was a special treat as it really stinks!

vicx

Rev wrote: »

Have you tried tough love?

If you swap and change every time they turn their nose up you teach them that mummy will give them something better if they don't eat.

My dogs know if they don't eat what's put down, they go without, simple as that.

As the vets, put it down for 15mins, if it's not gone, take it up, and don't give so much as a sniff of food until next meal time, then do the same again, I was told to do this when mine tried the fussy trick at around 6 months.

That is exactly what I do. I put it down at meal times and give them half an hour but they always hold out, sometimes for a few days then even then they will only pick at it and do the same again. They don't seem to enjoy it at all and they have had no different other than Royal Canin but that was a good couple of months ago when I used the last of the bag and haven't bought any more. I don't swap and change their food or give them something else if they don't eat it.

They have been on James Wellbeloved since I got them as pups. They are really terrible eaters. I can even put a bowl of chicken down and they'll just sniff at it. Vet has told me they haven't got a great appetite which is why I have ordered skinners Ruff & Ready. I want to ween them off the James Wellbeloved and keep them on something they will actually enjoy so I am hoping Skinners Ruff & Ready is great for dogs with fussy appetites like it says on the pack.

My dogs teeth are still sparkly white as they don't get fed junk and I will ensure they stay that way

Skinners Ruff & Ready

Skinner's Ruff & Ready with its variety of colours, aromas and textures keeps dogs interested for longer, making it a firm favourite with even the fussiest of eaters. Ruff & Ready is an appetising mixture of real meat, cooked vegetables, steam cooked flaked cereals and crunchy biscuits. These healthy and delicious ingredients are blended with protein pellets which contain fish meal for a glossy coat, and a full range of vitamins, minerals and nutrients to maintain peak condition. Finally, the mix is coated with wheat glucose syrup which gives the food added natural flavour and a distinctive succulent texture that dogs really enjoy.

krlyr

Have to say I personally wouldn't feed Ruff & Ready, take a look at the ingredients and especially note the glucose syrup (I believe the food is coated in it to make it more appetising - probably why fussy dogs like it but not a very healthy way to make a food more tempting!)
Ingredients
Protein pellets containing beef meat meal, wheat glucose syrup, cooked flaked maize, extruded wholewheat biscuits, cooked flaked peas, cooked wheatflakes, soya oil, vitamins and minerals.

It doesn't even specify how much of the "protein pellets" are beef meat meal - remember that protein does not necessarily equal meat.
I would much rather add little "naughty" treats to their regular meals, e.g. a little Naturediet or some tinned fish, bit of raw tripe mince, etc. as a topper than switch to a food with those ingredients. Do they like fish, maybe a fish kibble could get their interest, they're often very smelly.

Another possibility to look into could be raw feeding, though you say they're not that keen on chicken. Something like the Prize Choice blocks could be worth a try as they're quite mushy and might be a good introduction to the taste of raw without the challenge of chomping through bones or big chunks of meat - maybe tripe or fish flavours would tempt their tastebuds.

Rev

vicx wrote: »

That is exactly what I do. I put it down at meal times and give them half an hour but they always hold out, sometimes for a few days then even then they will only pick at it and do the same again. They don't seem to enjoy it at all and they have had no different other than Royal Canin but that was a good couple of months ago when I used the last of the bag and haven't bought any more. I don't swap and change their food or give them something else if they don't eat it.

They have been on James Wellbeloved since I got them as pups. They are really terrible eaters. I can even put a bowl of chicken down and they'll just sniff at it. Vet has told me they haven't got a great appetite which is why I have ordered skinners Ruff & Ready. I want to ween them off the James Wellbeloved and keep them on something they will actually enjoy so I am hoping Skinners Ruff & Ready is great for dogs with fussy appetites like it says on the pack.

My dogs teeth are still sparkly white as they don't get fed junk and I will ensure they stay that way

Skinners Ruff & Ready

Skinner's Ruff & Ready with its variety of colours, aromas and textures keeps dogs interested for longer, making it a firm favourite with even the fussiest of eaters. Ruff & Ready is an appetising mixture of real meat, cooked vegetables, steam cooked flaked cereals and crunchy biscuits. These healthy and delicious ingredients are blended with protein pellets which contain fish meal for a glossy coat, and a full range of vitamins, minerals and nutrients to maintain peak condition. Finally, the mix is coated with wheat glucose syrup which gives the food added natural flavour and a distinctive succulent texture that dogs really enjoy.

Skinners rough and ready ingredients

Protein pellets containing beef meat meal,
extruded wholewheat biscuits, cooked flaked maize, wheat glucose syrup, baked wholewheat biscuits, cooked flaked peas, cooked wheatflakes, oils,
vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

God awful food.

Skinners duck and rice

Whole rice (40%), duck meat meal (20%), naked
oats, peas, whole linseed, sunflower oil, beet pulp,
vitamins and minerals.

Pure food, not amazing but for £20 you wont find better.

Your dogs teeth are sparkly because they're pups, I don't mean to be rude so please don't take it that way, if you feed anything at all with carbs in it will stick to their teeth, dogs clean their teeth by pulling meat from bones in a floss like action. They get plaque from carbs sticking to their teeth from their food. Skinners rough and ready is basically meat flavour fillers, really bad fillers too. You need to give them something to clean their teeth properly. A stag bar or raw chicken wings a few times a week will do the trick.

vicx

I was looking at the Wainwright at Pets @ Home last week. I have one nearby which I have been wanting to take both dogs to to speak to a nutrition advisor and find the best food for them. I will probably be taking them tomorrow when I will have someone with me as I wouldn't be able to manage both dogs on my own.

I have a bag of fish James Wellbeloved kibble but they will not touch it, yet they like fish.

I have only purchased a small bag of Ruf & Ready to see how they do. I was debating on ordering Skinners 'Field & Trial' but noticed it stated for working dogs and I have gone for the one that is for fussy eaters.

krlyr

I think you may make things worse for yourself by feeding the Ruff & Ready to be honest - like giving a fussy kid a taste for McDonalds, it may get them eating but you're going to find it even harder to convert him to eating his vegetables once he's had a taste for junk food, the healthier stuff will taste a lot more bland. Up to you but I'd try to return it or just bin it myself.
I wouldn't say that there's any particular need to take the dogs in to speak to a nutrition advisor - neither would I hold much stock in the job title. I, myself, got a certificate for nutrition advisor when I worked in a petshop. I'd done a 2 page questionnaire supplied by one of the food manufacturers we used and got issued the certificate within days of doing it, it certainly wasn't rocket science and the learning material was very bias to their own brand. I would say you'd get better, more varied advice by joining a dog forum - I'd recommend somewhere like Dogpages or Dogsey, lots of people quite savvy on nutrition from personal experience, research of their own, or nutrition-based studies at actual learning establishments/distance courses.

Have you experimented with the way you feed them, rather than just what you feed them? There's nothing to say dogs must be fed from a bowl twice a day, mix things up and make meal times more interesting. If they like toys, try feeding them from an activity ball, you could put their whole morning meal into one and it may keep them occupied for quite a while. Alternatively, hide little piles of biscuits in various places in the room and have the dog "go find" - start with an easy challenge (perhaps the dog watching where you hide them at first) but get more and more difficult, e.g. shutting the dog elsewhere while you hide the food.
If they like to chase things, turn mealtimes into a game of "catch the kibble" by rolling the biscuits across the floor for them to leap on.
Make puzzles out of food by hiding kibble under one of three cups - the dog has to paw at the right cup to guess where the food is, and gets the kibble as the reward.
You could ditch set mealtimes altogether and use their daily food allowance (weigh it out into a tub/bag each day) as treats and make them earn every last scrap.
http://pawsitivedawgs.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/enrichments/

As a side point, have you tried using a different bowl? Some dogs don't like the smell, feel (e.g. cold steel) or noise certain bowls make and changing bowls can help cure 'fussy eaters'

vicx

The problem is my dogs have a very poor appetite and it's not like I am giving in to them and swapping changing their food because I am not, I know that can make a dog fussy and they will hold out for better. As I said above, I leave their food down at meal times and pick it up after half an hour if they haven't ate it. They don't get anything else. They can hold out for days then even then they will only pick at it.

I was going to order the Field & Trial until I noticed Ruff & Ready for fussy eaters not realising the ingredients are worse. I just need to find a food they will actually enjoy.

The only wet & dry food I know to stay away from are those you can buy in Supermarkets such as Bakers, Butchers, Cesar etc.

krlyr

I can understand that it's tough, I had a fussy dog myself and I'm glad that the Naturediet seemed to fix the problem - I did have to kickstart her appetite with about 3 days of sitting on the floor feeding her from a fork - she was a growing pup like yours and literally hadn't eaten for days when I tried the "tough love" method so I really do get where you're coming from. But there are far more foods I would try before feeding something as poor quality as Ruff & Ready. I know it's hard to know which foods to go for - I only know because I worked in various petshops for about 5 years and have taken a personal interest myself as well as being on various forums, so I'm not criticising that, but now that you have been made aware of the issue I would suggest rethinking it before feeding. The main reason that it appeals to fussy dogs is because the food is sprayed with sugar - to be honest I'd rather roll JWB biscuits in a glucose solution if that solved the problem, at least you'd know that the food was a good quality even if it was coated in sugar! Whereas the Ruff & Ready is not only coated in glucose but, underneath that, a poor quality food that will be poorly digested (dogs don't digest cereals that well and they make up the bulk of this food - even the meat is diluted with who-knows-what to form "protein pellets", I think it's quite telling that they don't call them "meat pellets")

I assume they have had thorough checks at the vet to rule out health issues? If not, it may be worth some in-depth diagnostics, e.g. blood tests, perhaps even testing the thyroid. Would be unusual as it's a behaviour they both display but could be worth ruling out.
Have you tried anything to stimulate their appetite? Once health conditions have been ruled out, the vet may be able to help - for example, a short course of steroids could increase their appetite. Some gentler methods could be somelike like Nutrical - a high calorie food supplement that's also meant to stimulate the appetite. A herbal option, Gentian, is supposed to be good - I used it when hand-raising a litter of pet rats, the babies were feeding quite poorly so I added some Gentian to a bit of the milk and got them to take a few drops of them 5 minutes before feeding time. They did seem to get a better appetite but I don't know if it was definately the Gentian that helped

vicx

krlyr wrote: »

I assume they have had thorough checks at the vet to rule out health issues? If not, it may be worth some in-depth diagnostics, e.g. blood tests, perhaps even testing the thyroid. Would be unusual as it's a behaviour they both display but could be worth ruling out.
Have you tried anything to stimulate their appetite?

They have both had checks at the vet including blood tests and there is no known health issues. The vet just told me to keep doing what I am already doing, lifting the food up when they don't eat it and don't give them anything else until the next meal. I haven't made them fussy myself, they are just so stubborn. I know Yorkies are fussy eaters but I have never known them be this fussy. I was worrying at first when they were going days without eating but I know a dog wouldn't starve itself - they'll eat when hungry. My mam keeps telling me to take them off the dry as she 'has never known Yorkies be fed on dry food', she doesn't like the idea of dry food and keeps saying they are starving and wants to buy them anything she sees in supermarkets like butchers and cesar! (Yes she really is irritating). I wouldn't ever let her feed them on that food but I know they would more than likely just turn their nose up at that too.

If one starts eating the other will go over to their bowls too so I think they kick start each others appetite at times. I have tried adding bits of chicken to their kibble to make it more appealing but it doesn't really help as they still don't eat properly at meal times.