Eating/Feeding Issues

[Trynita72]

I have a 4lb 12oz 10yr old, soon to be 11, male Yorkie. I rescued him just shy of 1 yr ago and he seems to have a serious aversion to eating. Since we adopted him, he has gotten healthier, but it is a CHORE to feed him. First, he has a sensitive stomach and requires a limited-ingredient food, and he has had 12 teeth extracted, leaving less than 10 teeth, and most of those are not as sturdy (says the vet). It seems that I can only get him to eat by hand-feeding him. When we put the food in a bowl or plate, he just stares at it. When he feeds by hand, it's usually a fight because he DETESTS the food. We are using Blue Basic limited ingredient and if we're lucky, Sensi-Bites. He LOVES 'treats' but won't even eat plain chicken and rice. We've gone through just a few different foods in almost 1yr and none of them seem to work. Any suggestions on how to get him to eat from a bowl or plate AND a 'dog-friendly' smelling food that won't hurt his stomach !?

[Maximo]

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. Sounds like you have a big challenge.

What kind of treats does he eat willingly?

Is he active physically?

His preference to be hand fed might have a little to do with being relatively new to your home, being adopted a year ago. When Max was a puppy, I practically hand fed him first year. Maybe your boy is enjoying the attention. Do you know what kind of circumstances he came from before you adopted him?

[capt_noonie]

You may want to try hand feeding while doing trick training at the same time. This was what we did with Uni when she was a pup and most of her tricks came easily for her, since she didn't get "treats" and only kibble during meal times, which was also trick training time.

Normally I would say first guess was teeth hurting, but seems like the vet already took out the ones that were bad. And I' surprised he won't even eat chicken, that's usually a favorite.

Have you looked into Honest Kitchen? They are freeze dried/dehydrated (can't remember which one) food and they have one variety that doesn't come with meat, you add your own. So it's kind of like home cooking but a bit easier. You can add in canned salmon from Trader Joes (it's ONLY salmon, nothing else) and that would be a balanced diet.

I too wonder what are the treats that he loves to eat. Are they "junk food" treats? That may be why he wants the treats and not the healthy food. Most people are the same way, but it's not healthy to live off of junk. Plus he's already 11, so he has to get healthy food if he's to live a long life.

[Wylie's Mom]

I would try sprinkling Parmesan Cheese (from the green can) on his food as that can be very enticing / appetizing for dogs.

Otherwise, have you tried frozen raw or freeze dried raw? May be worth a try...