Alice White
If you find yourself on this page, most likely, you can be congratulated either on one of the most important acquisitions in life, or to prepare you as much as possible for it. By purchasing a Yorkshire Terrier, you become the owner of a loyal and reverent friend. And you need to take care of your friends. First of all, this means they need to think over the diet and diet of the dog.
Important Points
Yorkies can be called quite demanding guys. This applies to both attention and food addictions. Be sure to keep in mind that all responsibility for the health of the baby lies with you. It is from your right or wrong choice that his appearance, the condition of his teeth, and even his mood will depend.
Yorkies are selective, this is not a dog that you can feed on the table and not think about drawing up a special menu. This can harm the dog in varying degrees, from digestive problems to death.
Moreover, Yorkshire terriers often refuse to eat on their own and wait for the owners to hand feed them. This is an example of wrong parenting, everything is in your hands.
Of course, every dog is different. Even its appearance will depend on the character of your pet. Playful and lively Yorkies remain skinny, but phlegmatic dogs who do not know the measure in food risk becoming obese.
The owner’s task is to track all the features of your Yorkie in time. If he is prone to uncontrolled overeating, limit him in portions, if he is inactive, regularly take him out for walks and put him on a diet.
Newborn Care
The Yorkie puppy spends the first days and months with his mother. The life of tiny babies weighing from 80 to 120 grams depends entirely on the amount of milk in the mother. The sucking reflex in babies is innate, however, if you notice that the Yorkie cannot cope on its own, gently hold it near the fullest nipple.
In general, there should be no problems at the stage of natural feeding. The first two weeks are very revealing, so puppies need to be weighed daily. Normal weight gain is considered to be at least 5 grams per day, after a two-week milestone – at least 10 grams per day.
If suddenly a situation arises when the female cannot independently feed the puppies, it is necessary to introduce her milk substitute into the diet and feed them every 1-2 hours. It is desirable that the puppies feed on colostrum for at least a day, otherwise, they may not survive with a high probability.
How can you help your baby? Prepare milk mixture from cow or goat milk, one-yolk, cream, 40% glucose solution and oil solutions of vitamins A and D. Be sure to heat the mixture to 30-35 degrees.
What Should a Nursing Female Dog Eat?
The health of the puppies directly depends on the nutrition of the mother. During lactation, the animal requires a special approach to its nutrition. A nursing dog eats up to 4 times the normal amount.
Monitor the quality of your products carefully. The diet for the first days should contain fermented milk products (low-fat), cereals, and a large amount of water.
Further, the dog should eat as usual: either dry food or natural. Among dry food, you can choose a specialized food for lactating females During feeding, the number of meals is increased up to 6 times.
Food for a lactating female dog must meet the following criteria:
- nutritional value;
- the percentage of protein in the composition – from 24 to 28%; high content of minerals and
- vitamins.
Feeding the Puppies
Starting at the end of the second week, you can start thinking about introducing complementary foods. Add one food to your diet once a day.
Goat’s, sheep’s or cow’s milk (warmed up), kefir, and fresh cottage cheese are perfect for starting complementary foods. Literally a teaspoon. After making sure that the complementary food is well absorbed and does not cause problems in the dog’s digestion, increase the number of complementary foods to 2-3 times a day.
Important! Remember that calcium is essential for a baby’s development and bone formation. Monitor the amount of food you eat carefully.
Starting in the middle of 4 weeks, you can diversify your diet with meat intake. Chop the raw meat finely, add a little warm water and give the puppy a sample. After a couple of weeks of such food, you can give boiled meat several times a day.
By the end of 6 weeks, the puppy’s nutrition will look something like this: 2 milk meals, 2 meat meals, and 2 more with mother’s milk.
It is important to approach your dog’s diet correctly. It directly depends on the age of the puppy.
From 3 to 6 months – 4 meals a day.
From 6 to 12 months – 3 times a day.
From one year old and older – 2 meals a day.
Dry Food or Natural Food?
This is the eternal subject of controversy among all veterinarians, breeders, and owners of Yorkshire terriers. We invite you to make a choice yourself, having familiarized yourself with all the nuances of various food options.
Industrial feeds are divided into 2 types: canned food and dry food. Many of you have probably heard about the dangers of dry food and all kinds of kidney diseases in dogs that eat this way. Most likely, this opinion is a greeting from the past, when substandard goods flooded the markets. Currently, dry food is considered a good choice due to its balanced composition, which provides all the necessary vitamins and nutrients.
An additional plus to the choice of dry food: there are foods on the market that offer a feeding system for dogs of different weights and ages. They already include everything you need for the proper development of the Yorkie and you do not need to worry about the correct nutrition.
Most owners tend to favor dry food for a number of reasons.
- Free sale availability.
- Ease of use: Pour feed into a bowl in less than a minute.
- Convenient to use when traveling.
- There is no need to buy additional vitamins and supplements, everything you need is already included in the composition.
- Long storage time.
Breeders are often among the supporters of natural nutrition. They motivate their choice with the following factors:
- Less harmful.
- Big variety.
- No chemical additives.
- Easily absorbed by animals.
A significant disadvantage for a busy Yorkie owner will be the need to devote time to cooking separately for the pet, as well as the need to find the necessary complex of supplements and vitamins with a veterinarian.
Natural Food Ration
If you decide to feed your Yorkshire Terrier natural, then give preference to the following products:
- Boiled meat. Yorkies love chicken, turkey, beef. 50% of their diet should be meat.
- Cereals: rice and buckwheat. They must be cooked until tender. The use of wheat and millet porridge is allowed.
- Ryazhenka, kefir and yogurt.
- Low-fat cottage cheese. Please note that it is better to breed it with fermented baked milk or kefir so that the dog does not choke.
- Small amounts of boiled vegetables: carrots and zucchini.
- Fruit: Apples, banana, melon, and watermelon are acceptable.
- Boiled sea fish once a week.
Feed the Yorkies at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 500 grams of animal weight. You need to cook separately for the dog; food from your table will not suit her.
What is Strictly Forbidden to Feed a Yorkie?
In no case should you mix dry and natural food? You must choose one path and follow it all the time.
Remember the list of these foods forever and never give them to your pet to eat:
- Sweet. No cakes, pastries, or sugar. Even if he asks very much. Never, in any form, if you do not want to treat a sick liver, diabetes, or teeth.
- Salt. Do not add salt to the feed. Dog salt is pure poison. Spices and other strong-flavored spices can take away your dog’s scent.
- Yeast dough and bread.
- Lamb and pork are too heavy meat for Yorkies.
- Bones. Yorkie is not the kind of dog to be allowed to chew on a bone. Except for toys from a special store.
- Grapes and raisins harm the kidneys.
- Raw fish is extremely life-threatening for a dog.
- Onions in any form.
- Any seeds and seeds due to the possible content of cyanide toxin in them.
- Alcohol.
And most importantly, do not forget that there should always be a full bowl of water next to the bowl of food. Drinking plenty of fluids is essential.
Treat your dog’s diet responsibly, feed him quality food or food, and avoid eating prohibited foods. Don’t feed Yorkies too hot or cold food.
Allow your dog 15 minutes to eat, then remove the bowl. Don’t worry if he hasn’t eaten in those 15 minutes, just offer again in a few hours.
If you are in doubt, consult with breeders or veterinarians, and then your dog will be well-nourished and healthy.
