Whether you’re about to bring a Yorkie into your home or you’ve had your Yorkie for awhile, it is important to know what and how to feed your dog.
We’ll go through
- Feeding your dog the first few days at home
- How often should Yorkies eat?
- How much should Yorkies eat?
- What food is best for a Yorkie?
- Is wet food or dry food better?
- What to do if your dog has an upset belly?
Feeding your dog the first few days at home
One of your most important tasks when bringing your Yorkie home is simply making sure that your puppy is actually eating. It might sound obvious, but when it comes to a Yorkie, it is very important and something you must carefully monitor.
Why? Because Yorkies are not food motivated, when they are put in stressful situations like transitioning to a new home, they might choose to simply stop eating. This is an extremely dangerous situation for a Yorkie because of their small size. If your Yorkie does not eat regularly, he can develop hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Hypoglycemia is easy to treat if caught early, but can be fatal if left untreated. So be sure to educate yourself on hypoglycemia in Yorkies.
The best way to make sure your new dog doesn’t get into this situation is to monitor his food intake for the first few days to make sure he eats.
If your puppy doesn’t want to eat, make the food more delicious. A great way to do this is simply by adding a little bit of water. If that doesn’t help, you can also warm the food slightly. The wet warm food will make the food more smelly and appealing to your dog.
How often should Yorkies eat?
Because of the Yorkie’s small size and small energy stores, they need to have food regularly throughout the day.
Yorkies are not extremely food motivated. They are not known to gorge on food. They prefer to eat small amounts of food throughout the day so free feeding is a great option.
Free feeding is simply giving your dog constant access to food throughout the day.
Free feeding your Yorkie is a great way to ensure that he has a constant supply of energy as he needs it.
Dog food will dry out if left out, so don’t put too much in the bowl at a time.
If free feeding doesn’t work in your house for whatever reason, make sure to feed your Yorkie 3-4x per day. (Puppies need 4x a day).
If you’re having difficulty potty training your Yorkie then switching to scheduled feeding times will help you. Dogs will need to go to the bathroom 10-20 minutes after eating. By knowing when your dog last ate, you will know when he has to be taken outside.
How much should Yorkies eat?
If you are feeding your dog a commercially prepared food, then you will find a feeding chart to guide you on the packaging.
Generally, this chart gives you the amount of food your dog needs to eat in a day based on his weight (or if he is a puppy based on his projected adult weight).
If you are giving your dog scheduled feedings, you should divide this daily amount by the number of feedings you offer during the day.
Make sure that you measure out the amount rather than just eyeballing it so that you can have an accurate picture of how much your dog is eating.
Keep in mind that this is a general recommendation. Some dogs may require more or less than this amount. The amount your dog needs will vary based on his personal energy needs.
By keeping an eye on your dog’s body condition (monitoring to make sure he is neither getting to thin nor too fat), you can determine if he needs more or less food.
What food is best for a Yorkie?
When you first bring your Yorkie home, make sure you know what food he has been eating. You can continue to use this food or you can slowly transition him to another food. Do not abruptly switch him to a new food.
If you would like to transition him to another food, slowly decrease the amount of his old food, while increasing the amount of his new food. This should be done over several days to a week.
How to Choose a Puppy or Adult Food
Everyone wants to know: what dog food should I feed my Yorkie?
The answer to that is slightly different for everyone. There are so many options out there. From kibble, to frozen, to raw, to homemade the options are endless…and the options within those categories are endless as well. You’ll meet people who have successfully fed a healthy Yorkie into old age with each of these options – so keep in mind there is not one perfect way. You need to choose a method you feel comfortable with and that fits your knowledge of nutrition (kibble for instance is a whole lot easier than ensuring you are providing a balanced diet with homemade food).
Whatever method of feeding you choose, here are some things to keep in mind.
Guidelines for Choosing Food for a Yorkie:
- Meat is the first listed ingredient: Read the list of Ingredients and make sure a MEAT is the first ingredient listed
- Do not choose grain free food. Grain free food has been associated with heart problems in dogs.
- Beware of allergens: Chicken is probably fine, but be careful – dogs can sometimes be allergic to chicken. If your dog seems allergic to the food, try going off chicken to see if that helps. (Allergies often manifest themselves with skin or ear problems).
- Appropriate life stage: food should be chosen for the stage of life your Yorkie is in.
- If your Yorkie is under 1 year old, make sure to feed him puppy food to meet the needs of his growing body.
- If your dog is over a year old, feed him adult food.
- If your Yorkie is over 7 years old, feed him a senior food.
- Small breed dog food: Choose food for a small breed. While you don’t need food specifically tailored for a Yorkie, the food should be designed for a smaller breed. You should not be feeding large breed dog food to your Yorkie. The kibble size and nutrition in dog food for smaller breeds will be more appropriate for your Yorkie.
Is wet or dry food better for a Yorkie?
Dry food is a better choice for most Yorkie because dry food is better for your Yorkie’s teeth and general oral health.
Dog teeth were designed for chewing hard things. The chewing of the hard kibble helps keep tartar at bay and can help prevent periodontal disease.
Of course, if your Yorkie is missing teeth or is unable to chew, nutritionally wet food is a fine option.
What to do if your Yorkie has an upset stomach?
Sometimes the stress of moving to a new home or transitioning to new dog food can cause your dog’s belly to become upset.
You can add a little bit of canned 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling) to your puppy’s food if his belly seems to be upset.
Pumpkin is helpful for both constipation and diarrhea.
Feeding your Yorkie the right food throughout the day plays a huge role on his health. With this information you can make informed decisions on the care of your dog.
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