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Originally Posted by DOCTORS  I have a 5 lb. Yorkie, and I am so stressed out about how to feed him. He is appx. 5-1/2 yrs. old, not sure, the couple before me had him 4 yrs., and wasn't told his age when they got him. When I got him, took him for teeth cleaning, the Dr. pulled 14 of his teeth. He cannot eat the thumb size T.D. she told me to feed him. A friend gave me a recipe which the same Dr. approved for her Yorkie-Poo, so I have been cooking it, and he loves it. However, I don't know if it has all the nutrition he needs. Also, I wonder if it is okay to vary his diet instead of the same meals all the time. I was cooking a whole chicken, deboneing it, and cooking brown rice, brocolli, cauliflower, tiny bit of potatoes, carrots, and green beans. I wonder if I could replace the chicken for beef once in a while, and can Yorkies have fish. Or is it better for their system to get the same food all the time. I heard it's not good to change dog food which you buy. I was giving some treats from the store, puparoni, beggins, etc. A few weeks ago, he got pancreitus from having too much fat. The Dr. then said feed him just chicken breast and white rice. Now that he is well I'm paranoid about getting any fat in his diet. But, it seems that he must need some. Also now, all he gets is the chicken with brown rice and veggies, but I only cook chicken breast. He eats some dry I.D. Also, the only treats he gets is milk bones, and white rice cakes. Any suggestions. Sorry this is so long. Doc's Granny |
Wow, if Ellie's vet said to feed chicken, rice and veggies long-term with no supplements I would not be happy. If you are going to homecook long-term (longer than maybe three weeks) you have to supplement. It is absolutely not an option. If you don't your dog won't get nearly enough of what he needs. I started out homecooking without supplementing also, but that vet didn't give me the recipe...it wasn't her fault.
Dogs also need a source of linoleic acid. We use olive oil or canola oil here.
Here is Ellie's recipe:
1 ounce meat (boneless skinless chicken breast or WHITE meat turkey with absolutely no skin or fat)
88 grams cooked carbs (peeled and cooked sweet potato or brown rice or noodles or barley or peas)
60 grams cooked mixed vegetables (choose from peeled carrot, bell peppers, celery, squash, broccoli, cauliflower)
1 teaspoon oil (olive or canola)
Supplements
Mix together.
This was formulated for Ellie who is 5.8 pounds but I end up feeding her 50% more per day.
The supplements are the hardest part for most people.
I would suggest talking to a nutritionist.
This diet is about 24% protein and 18% fat.
I gave beef instead of chicken or turkey and Ellie got pancreatitis around that time, so I don't recommend any form of beef for pancreatitis patients. I would be careful with the turkey because while most dogs can handle white meat and Ellie does and the pancreatitis is not recurring, it might have a bad effect on some dogs. Fish would be good but since it is lower in fat I don't know how it would fit into this recipe.
Be careful about feeding too much broccoli or cauliflower.
Ellie also had periodontal disease and nine of her teeth were pulled.
She is much better now and never went on TD.
I brush her teeth daily and use OraVet once a week.
She gets all homecooked and raw vegetables to snack on.
It works well for us.
I would not recommend feeding Science Diet DRY food unless you absolutely have to. Most of it contains ethoxyquin. The wet prescription foods don't.