Not Eating

[Debra]

I recently purchased a 7 month old Yorkie. The problem is she won't eat her dog food. Only cooked chicken. What can I put on her food to entice her to eat. Won't drink her water, either. Dips her tongue in the bowl 3 or 4 times a day.

[flyndog]

Hi Debra, sorry to hear your Yorkie isn't eating dog food. There are lots of reasons why she may not be eating his food - from teeth problems to just thinking cooked chicken tastes better! What kind of food are you feeding her? Dry or canned? The same food as she was getting from the previous owner? Were you feeding chicken before she stopped eating dog food? Is she drinking water? How long has she not been eating her food? How is your dog's breath? Your vet would be the best person to talk to. If she's a tiny little yorkie (under 4 or 5 pounds) it's important that she eat to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Sometimes Yorkies don't lose their baby teeth before the adult teeth start coming in at about 6 months.
Good luck with your little girl.
Kit

[Rip's Girl]

What are you feeding her?

My guy won't eat kibbled or canned dog food either... You can make gravy to put on her food. (Low-sodium, though)

There are a lot of options. You can try a different kibble, give her a homecooked diet, give her a raw diet, feed canned dog food (I personally will not feed canned dog food 'cause of its effect on the dog's teeth) or a variety of foods.. Some dogs are just picky, like mine, but I was never able to find a dog food that he liked.

Is your girl underweight?

[stardust]

if all else fails.. take her to the vet...

[Rip's Girl]

Also, little dogs don't tend to drink much. Ripley goes to the water bowl 3 or 4 times a day and just laps up a tiny bit of water. (He's raw-fed, though, so he gets his water through his food as well) How much does your yorkie weigh?

[P1nay]

My fiance's dog wouldn't eat her dog food either. He would add a table spoon of wet dog food into her kibble to entice her to eat her kibble. The only other way she'd eat her kibble is if i fed her by hand.... and as much as i love her, drool all over my hand isn't want i look forward to when i wake up in the morning. This might work if your dog food is kibble. Try adding a lil cooked chicken into the kibble to entice her. It just adding something she likes into the kibble, and slowly reducing it.

[Owned by Lucy]

My dog did this when we first got her. We put her on a strict schedule as outlined below. She didn't eat for 3 meals and then she final got that she was not gonna get anything else. That 4th meals she ate completely and ever since then she eats regularly. She will occasionally still skip meals but it isn't a big deal.

You should put the food down for 20 to 30 minutes and whatever is not eaten at the end of that time should be put away until the next feeding time. With a small dog you should offer food 2-3 times a day. Do not give any human food, snacks or treats in between meals until she is realiably eating at every feeding time. At the next feeding time put down only the food that she didn't eat the time before. Only when the bowl is empty do you add more. Your dog will not starve herself she will eventually eat as long as you do not give in and give her people food or in between meal treats. Do leave water out for her though.

[Debra]

[Debra]

Thanks everyone! Took her to the vet. She didn't seem too concerned. Zoe is just under 3 pounds. Doesn't have much to spare. I've tried "lacing" the dry food with cottage cheese, gravy, treats, mashed carrots, chicken. No luck. But, she is interested in a baked puree of chicken, carrots, cottage cheese, rice & egg.

[Rip's Girl]

Oh, Debra... A 3lb dog's stomach is about the size of a ping-pong ball... She's not going to eat or drink much anyway...

[Carrie]

I think her stomach is smaller than a ping pong ball. Our stomachs aren't much bigger than 2 ping pong balls when empty...LOL until we fill them up.

But Flynndog is absolutely right about the hypoglycemia. Out stubborning her would be dangerous. You can only play that game with bigger dogs.

I guess I'd try that Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul. I think it tastes good to the dogs, I've found. It may be the veggies that are in there and several meats. I'd put water on it to soften it as she may be teething and hurting. If you want, you can add a little cottage cheese, just a dab and/or sprinkle a tiny bit of fresh parmessan chese and mix it in. That stuff smells strong and my dogs love it.

But such a tiny dog, remember isn't going to be eating very much at all. It's important that she gets a few bites 3 times a day but my little 5 LB Chi eats about 1/3 of a cup of kibble a day divided into two meals, sometimes a little something mixed in. She's bigger and older and 2 meals seems to be enough, plus they get "cookies" here and there.

If it doesn't inconvenience you and you're not worried about making her more finicky, you can add stuff from your dinner on top of her kibble, like a few tiny specks of meat, green beans, a little sweet potato or yam (dogs seem to love that and it's good for them.) My dogs like the water (and the beans) that the green beans come in from a can. The can probably doesn't do a whole lot for them, but they like it. Just don't use very much at all of this stuff as she might get diarrhea from too much....just a speck of this and that. I did that with my Chihuahua who use to be a non eater, but now she'll eat her kibble plain or with goodies mixed in. But it IS very common to produce a more finicky eater giving all that stuff, but on the other hand, if you don't mind doing it, no problem and they do love it and it's good for them. (if it's foods that are good for dogs) Not that you give them just any ole thing off your dinner plate.

Good luck. She'll get over this if she's anything like my Chi. My girl did start to get hypoglycemic when I went away. She was being cared for by my niece and she wouldn't eat for 3 days. My niece had to take her to the vets and he gave her a shot and some special food that she couldn't refuse. It is a life threatening situation that you want to avoid no matter how much you have to "spoil" them.

Carrie

[Barrett]

My mini dachshund gets 1/2 cup a day devided into two meals. She also get a tiny scoop of canned food every night as a bedtime snack.

[flyndog]

FYI, I keep Karo syrup (the clear kind) around in case of hypoglycemia.

[echo]

this is what i did. my jrt stopped eating for 2 days. i ask some people who have dogs and read books about this problem. it comes down to stress,teeth, and/or other health problems. so before i call my vet. i put her old dog food away and put down a free bag of nutro dog food in the bowl. she gobble it up so fast. i went to the store and got her a new bag of nutro.
she still sometimes dosen't eat her new dog food when i put down for her food. so, i go back to her old dog food and she will eat that again. so i switch back and fourth.

[flyndog]

You're right, Echo. Stress can be is a factor. When we travel, I sometimes have to add water or semi-moist food (icky, but easy to travel with) to entice Cozy to eat. Sometimes, chewing is just toooo much effort.
Kit