Our Yorkie, George, is eight weeks old on 20/4. We've had him for a couple of days now and are experiencing some difficulty in getting him to eat. The breeder gave instructions for Milky Weetabix am, Pedigree Puppy meat for lunch, and scrambled egg for tea. George eats little or nothing of any of these. He's only 2lb in weight and I appreciate he won't be able to eat much at all. We just don't want him to starve!
Perhaps all this is normal for the breed. Any views?
Bob

Bob I bought my Mother a pom and she would not eat . so my mother bought her the little tinfoil satchets of friskies cat meals. they are a few flavours and are in a jelly . which most dogs love , and the little shaker of crunchies . she wont touch anything elase now . I believe cats are very fussy and and wont eat dog food but the dogs eat cat food . I guesss that must prove that it is tastier. Worth a try . best wishes Mari

That reminds me, my cavalier king charles used to be a reluctant feeder when he was a puppy, so we fed him Cesar foil trays, which went down a treat. He also liked Hills and Eukanuba dry puppy food, and didnt have to eat huge amounts to get his daily nutrition as it is pretty concentrated.

Also it is very common for a pup to loose it's appetite for a few days. I know some breeders that advise only giving half rations for 3 days and gradually increasing it to encourage good appetite and avoid the little darling training the new owner into coughing up something different!

If the vet has checked him and he is otherwise bright and healthy, then don't make a rod for ypour baqck. to save on waste I would transfer him to a good quality puppy food, that comes in timey pieces. Pedigree puppy is easy to buy in supermarket! Remeber the amount recomended is likely to be on the generous side. At 8 weeks he ought to be on at least 4 meals a day, so split the suggested amount in four, then hlve the portion, and soak half of it in hot water for 10 minutes, if he eats this then offer as much of the half meal that is left dry.

Yorkies are renowned for having dreadful tooth decay, largely caused by being pandered to with unsuitable or sticky, soft food!

At 3 months he can go to 3 meals, 2 meals at around 6 months and keep to this for the rest of his life. You can opt for 1 meal a day, but a little dog like this will probably be better with 1/3 as breakfast and 2/3 as main meal. Try and feed his food dry once he is tucking in!

I could be totally wrong here but I thought I had read/heard somewhere that dogs shouldn't be given cat food because it contained too much salt

Can someone confirm or put me right ?

I cant confirm it at all claire , Ionly know what tia the pom eats . and she seems good on it . she is nearly 14 mths and has never been sick . my mother put a little pulped veg on as well . unless that absorbs the salt .
i dont use cat food . imagine all I would need :d 3 bullmastiffs one collie and a shar pei . I use the barf diet for mine , though Berry [the sharpei] is only half on it as yet . best wishes Mari

I wouldn't imagine it would be because of too much salt as I wouldn't think salt would be good for cats either. Cats need a far higher protein than dogs do and therefore cat food has a much higher protein level than dog food which is why it is not a good food for dogs. Using Cat food as a major part of a dog's diet may well lead to serious kidney and liver problems (as well as possible hyperactivity) so is not a good idea. A little occasionally won't hurt, and I am sure many dog owners have used it as a means of tempting a dog to eat with no ill effect but it shouldn't be used more than that.

Joan
Take the rough with the smooth

Well everyone I decided to investigate feeding dogs cat food as i was worried about moms pom. first I rang vet he said no not at all . it is no different from the dog food only richer in content. . the reason being . cats would not eat as much as dogs so would need more nutrition also it is more expensive. so I am here now reading a catfood tinfoil pack and a dog food tin foil pack . the ingredients being the same . fish deritives and some fish. meat deritives and some meat. jelly and vits. the meat content in the dog food %6 the meat content in the cat food %8 and so on . like I said he also recommended , veg pulp and some trace element powder. so I think pom will be fine best wishes Mari

The difference between cat and dog foods is that cats are carnivorous and dogs are omnivorous, with a carnivorous background (as opposed to humans who I believe are omnivirous with a herbivores background)

Christine

Personally I think this is a totally unsuitable diet, especially a whole egg a day for such a small puppy. Scrambled egg tends to bung them up, I always give one if my dogs have loose motions to bind them up. I this were my puppy I would cut out the weetabix and daily egg gradually, and continue with the puppy chum, and introduce a small sized complete puppy food like Febo, Pedigree advance, Arden Grange, or Eukanuba. Do this slowly though, say by mixing a little puppy chum with dry weetabix for a day or two for breakfast and then introduce a cereal spoon sized amount of whichever complete biscuit you choose to feed until after about 10 days he is on a complete diet but a little puppy chum in each meal. Dogs dont get bored with the same ingredients for each meal, though once he is settled in and his appetite and tummy are good, then you can introduce little variations sometimes, like sardines/pilchards or a little grated cheese, or an ounze of baked liver. A scrambled egg say once or twice a week is no detriment but not every day IMO. Dont worry too much if his appetite is poor as long as he is bright and lively with healthy looking poos, an eight week yorkie puppy is not going to eat very much per meal anyway, being so tiny. Puppies often have a poor appetite for the first week or two in their new home, its quite normal. I agree he should be on 4 or even 5 little meals a day, til he loses interest in one of them.