[mariecrossley]

My little yorkie is 12 months old, I love him to bits but hes just so picky about his food.Ive tried dry, wet, both mixed. Ive taking it up after 15 mins. Im at my wits end. Food can be down he sniffs it walks away then starts whining and scratching cupboard doors. Any advice greatly apprieciated.

[angiesample]

i would try an all raw diet. I have a VERY picky eater on my hands too. i tried 5 different foods and she would barely eat anything. the raw diet is the ONLY thing that has worked for my Ella. not only that she is sooo healthy!!! check it out. i thought it sounds so complicated but once u get the hang of it, it is super easy!

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by angiesample

i would try an all raw diet. I have a VERY picky eater on my hands too. i tried 5 different foods and she would barely eat anything. the raw diet is the ONLY thing that has worked for my Ella. not only that she is sooo healthy!!! check it out. i thought it sounds so complicated but once u get the hang of it, it is super easy!

I also think a raw diet sounds best (with home cooked next best). You will need to study though to make sure your dog is getting all necessary nutrients and in the right proportions. And best to add a few supplements too like Omega 3 oil (Be aware that fish oil depletes vitamin E so may want to add that too).

Here is a good link to start with: BARF for Beginners - Most Frequently Asked Questions Go to top of page in this link here!

[lagrena]

I had a picky eating Yorkie too, he lived for 18 years and once I tried a mix of Omega and natural cooked food and vegitables he ate everything.

[cigwyllt]

Has he had a health check from a vet recently? If you have established that he is well then you need to make a decision about his diet and stick to it.

What is the longest time you have let him go without eating? A healthy dog will not starve itself if offered appropriate food. By all means try him with a raw diet - not plain meat - you need to add a variety of fruit and veg as well to create a proper nutritional balance - and see how he goes with that.

But I've a feeling this is more of a behaviour/control issue than a dog who is fussy about his food. If he hasn't eaten for 24 hours what do you do? I'm guessing you feed him something from your cupboard or your fridge and that is why he scratches at your doors! You have taught him that if he doesn't eat what he is given he will be given something else.

Time to be tough and not let yourself be controlled by a mini tyrant! Don't forget at the end of the day he is a terrier and as a terrier he is an extremely intelligent dog. When he scratches at the cupboards tell him off. You need to take charge because no matter how small or cute he is inside there is a very clever little boy who will exploit any weakness in you

[lagrena]

cigwyllt I said I had a Yorkie for 18 years, he passed away and is growing the most beautiful roses now. His health was great all those year on that food

[cigwyllt]

I think though that this sounds more like a behaviour issue than anything else. There are plenty of dogs that have been used to manipulating their owners who will still be picky on raw or home cooked. There is no "one size fits all" diet. Personally I am a little sceptical about the modern kibble diets - my old dogs lived on whatever food was cheapest at the time. The two terriers lived to be 18 and 17 and our retriever lived to 15 all at a time when there was no readily available research on the benefits of low protein or which grains are good and bad.

But the point was that our dogs were not given an option to be fussy!

[Marc]

I know I'll get some flack for this but, when he gets hungry enough he'll eat it. Just make sure it's a healthy food for your little one and stay consistent with your choice.

[cigwyllt]

I couldn't agree more. A healthy dog will not starve itself if it is given appropriate food. A dog can for days and days without eating but will eventually give in.

My parents' friend had a peke who had been allowed to be fussy. Her owner would cook for her - she was fed better food than her owner made for herself and she would turn her nose up at it. But if my parents were looking after her she would tuck into whatever our dogs were eating without any problem.

Choose a food - kibble, raw, home cooked - and stick with it. Give nothing else other than the meals you have decided upon. The dog will soon learn.

[nattiej1976]

ill 3rd cygwillt and marc................a fussy dog is not a hungry dog. I do agree with the other posters too, a BARF diet is a very good diet path to head towards, however you are going to need to be tough, like cygyillt said, a healthy dog will not refuse to eat unless it knows its going to get what it wants eventually anyway.

[cherylmartin]

My thoughts are that you should make sure he is healthy and that nothing else is going on with him.

JMO but if healthy and they are not eating the dog food you give them and you give in to them with something else just so they will eat, you have created another way of them getting your attention. Try getting samples of other dog food, add warm broth to it and BTW, mine have always preferred boiled chicken and rice, but I don't plan on cooking that everyday for them.

And choose one food and stay with that.

[Yorkie Mommy]

I had to take the treats away from my yorkie because that is all she wanted to eat. It was a hard to do, but when she went to where the treats were, I would give her a small piece of dried food and she did not like that at all. However, she did finally start eating her food and forgot about the treats. All that said if the treats are in that cabinet, might stop giving treats.