Any owner of a miniature yorkie, as well as those who are still just dreaming of a little four-legged friend, is concerned about what to feed the Yorkshire Terrier at home. The breeder or veterinarian will tell you about the proper rational feeding of the animal.
It is important to know that Yorkies are prone to allergies, their sensitive stomach, unbalanced poor-quality feeding can cause irreversible effects in the delicate digestive system of a small dog. It is necessary to strictly follow the recommendations of nutritionists and veterinarians. This will prevent the appearance of diseases, stunting, improper development of the pet. It depends on you how the dog feels, the appearance of the dog and the condition of his teeth.
An obligatory requirement is the inadmissibility of feeding york with food from the owner’s table, food for the baby must be prepared separately. For this purpose, special food sold in pet stores, or natural food will be suitable.
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Yorkie food: how to feed?
Raising a dog, it is necessary to teach from puppy age the right behavior and attitude to food, which will protect the animal and its owner from many troubles and worries. Terriers are incredibly charming. Pampered by the attitude as a toy, they quickly get used to feeding from hand to hand. Having developed a bad habit, they become demanding, capricious.
It is necessary to accustom the animal to patiently wait for his portion during cooking, to start eating with the permission of the owner, not to take a meal from someone else’s hands, not to demand food from the family table, not to pick up food for a walk. Having taught the animal the subtleties of dog etiquette, you will get an obedient healthy pet, will cause admiration and affection from the outside.
Overfeeding, forced giving food is prohibited. Refusal to take food is not always a sign of illness. Sometimes, the body of a terrier needs to be unloaded.
How Much to Feed a yorkie ?
Yorkie – a small dog of decorative breed, weighing no more than 3.5 kg. Meals are provided at the rate of 20 g per kg of weight and is 60 g of food. The cost of food is small. But a full set of important components must be selected for a small amount of product, so the food is made repeatedly after an equal interval of time. It is important that the food is given in a permanent place. Feeding should be done two hours before or in half an hour after the walk.
Each dog is unique, the character of the animal is reflected in the external condition: mobile temperamental Yorks are tight, skinny, slow, and phlegmatic terriers, often suffering from lack of action, risk getting obese.
Cheerful disposition, thick shiny wool, well-developed muscles testify to a properly composed diet. Loss of weight, dull coat of the dog, long licking of the bowl, constant peeping at the table is a sign of imbalance, inferior menu.
By knowing the permitted and prohibited foods to feed your Yorkshire Terrier, you can create the right diet.
Yorkie food: what to include ?
- Turkey, rabbit, beef in boiled form (raw food is prohibited);
- by-products (not more than once a week): liver, heart, stomach;
- water boiled cereals: buckwheat, rice, occasionally wheat, and, with care, to avoid allergic reactions, hercules;
- fermented milk products, nonfat cottage cheese;
- boiled vegetables: pumpkin, zucchini, beet;
- prunes (improve metabolism);
- gutted, boneless sea fish (boiled);
- once a week you can mix an egg yolk, preferably quail;
- fruits as a delicacy: watermelon, melon, apple, banana;
- The addition of olive oil will contribute to good digestion
What should be excluded:
- pork, lamb meat;
- bones, except sharp, hollow, especially bird and fish – the intestine is perforated, for sharpening teeth and games are allowed large;
- milk;
- fatty cheeses;
- pearl grits;
- yeast and other flour products;
- citrus fruits;
- chocolate, tea, coffee, alcohol;
- eggs, raw fish;
- raisins, grapes;
- smoked products, pickles;
- cat food (lots of fats, proteins);
- onions in any form, mushrooms.
Some of these products on the list may look strange to use on the dog menu, but there are known cases where feeding them has caused severe poisoning and death. The reason for this is foolishness and ignorance of the owners.
Types of Yorkie food: what to choose?
When choosing food for a home friend, it is important to know that there are two types of food for the Mini Yorkshire Terrier: natural food, industrial dry and wet food (canned food).
Natural Yorkie food
Straight girl does not contain chemical flavors, dyes, is more familiar to us. But the preparation of dishes creates inconvenience in traveling, traveling out of town, requires experience, information
Nutrition of Yorkshire dogs with natural food includes: fresh, well scalded, finely chopped beef, long cooked by-products, some cereals, raw chopped vegetables, sour milk drinks, cottage cheese, eggs. The problem of natural food Yorkshire Terrier is easily solved by owners who have a lot of free time for cooking.
Some owners prefer to honey the dog with their food, threatening the health of their pet. Because of products containing a lot of sugar, salt, spices, there is a loss of the pet’s sense of smell, kidney and liver diseases, and allergies often occur in Yorkshire terrier.
Dry yorkie food
Ready-made feeds are convenient, get rid of constant cooking. Easily selected any breed, take into account the activity of the dog, age category. They contain the right minerals and vitamins, and are suitable for busy people
Is dry food dangerous? There is a reason for suspicion. Imported food of dubious quality, imported decades ago, caused a negative attitude, but they were replaced by modern brands of premium products of firms with impeccable reputation.
How to choose dry food?
When deciding in favor of industrial dry food, it is important to remember that the water content of the product is small, preferably use wet canned food. When buying a puppy, ask the breeder what the baby was feeding. Change the type or brand of a familiar product by mixing in a new one and gradually removing the old food.
It is more habitual to start feeding with wet food – by nature, it is not typical for dogs to eat dry. Over time, canned food with a moisture content of 80%, is replaced by dry food of the same brand, designed to feed small dogs. The water is negligibly low, so a bowl of liquid should be present at all times.
High-quality food from well-known manufacturers are not cheap, but they have the right ratio of vital proteins, fats, carbohydrates, mineral, vitamin supplements. Shelf life is long, you can buy it for a month. Dry food takes up little space, you can take it with you everywhere.
Hygienic properties of products allow the animal to stay clean, untainted. Chair dog, eating dry food, becomes formalized, regular, no longer liquid. The unpleasant smell of faeces disappears. Dogs that eat dry food are deprived of tartar and plaque.
Features of natural yorkie food
When honoring a tiny pet straight, you can be sure of the freshness of products, quality, less harm, lack of chemical components, better digestibility of food.
The choice of natural food is diverse. But it will be necessary to make a competent menu that includes a large proportion of protein, equal parts of fiber, carbohydrates. For the full development of the pet it is recommended a careful introduction of vitamin and mineral supplements. Excess contributes to the fragility of young dog bones.
The list of permitted natural products is large. The weekly ration includes at least three changes of dishes. Adult animal is fed once or twice a day. The volume of food is about 1 tablespoon for every half kilogram of dog weight.
Table of approximate menu for the week:
Menu
- Monday. Raw vegetables with meat and sour cream. Dairy “Hercules” porridge with grated vegetables.
- Tuesday. Vegetable soup with herbs, chicken. Nonfat cottage cheese, diluted with kefir.
- Wednesday. Boiled by-products mix: liver, kidneys, tongue with vegetables. Rice milk porridge with pumpkin.
- Thursday. Raw pieces of meat and boiled vegetables. Omelette and buckwheat porridge.
- Friday. Boiled, sliced chicken stomachs. Bread soaked in kefir.
- Saturday . Porridge ” Hercules” and boiled fish. Yolk of quail egg and half a teaspoon of sea cabbage.
- Sunday . Boiled rice with meat and vegetables on the meat broth. Biokefir and low fat cottage cheese. 2.
Features of feeding during yorkie pregnancy
Pregnancy is a special stage of an animal’s life. During this period, it is important to observe the correct regime of feeding, to make a balanced diet. Good nutrition is the key to a successful pregnancy, successful birth, healthy offspring.
It is important that the bitch has a good shape before being knitted, not skinny and weakened. The number of puppies, their viability and development depends on the mother’s reserves and food. Overfeeding and overweight, threatening to miscarry, is no less dangerous. Excessively fed bitches are not always able to give birth on their own, so we have to resort to a Caesarean section.
From the second month, with more obvious manifestations of pregnancy, the need for good nutrition increases. They eat more often, 3-4 times a day. The volume of food is increased every week by 10%, preventing overeating. The dog is offered beef meat, skimmed fermented milk products, cottage cheese with whey.
Easily digestible carbohydrate products: sugar, flour products, rice – are eliminated completely, fat is reduced to half. This food will allow the dog to stay in good shape, the puppies – get everything they need.
On the expected day of childbirth in the morning, moms are given to eat ground beef mixed with curd or raw quail yolk.
Making a choice in favor of industrial food, the bitch is given products intended for pregnant and lactating dogs, then the same food begins to feed the puppies. The food is offered fractionally to avoid obesity, vomiting, digestive disorders. Vitamins are not needed now, they begin to be added after childbirth. It is possible to offer baby food. If mommy refuses to eat, you should feed her by force.
Feeding after pregnancy
In the period of lactation and feeding of offspring, the lack of certain components leads to irreversible consequences. The need for proteins, fats and carbohydrates in a nursing dog increases significantly. If there are 2-3 puppies, the dog needs to eat several times more than it was necessary before delivery, even taking into account the passive lifestyle. But it is necessary to focus on the appearance of the pet. If the dog is active, has a good mood, appetite, shiny coat, shining in the sun, expressed muscles, this indicates a responsible, careful attitude towards the pet.
It is important to maintain water balance in the dog’s body. For this purpose, tea with milk is good. It is useful to add glucose to restore the energy reserve.
On the quality and quantity of food pay great attention. Often a yorker’s stomach is weakened after childbirth and diarrhea begins. In the first week, it is useful to eat nutritious, not too fatty food to allow the digestive system to recover.
If the dog constantly comes to the kitchen in search of food, lick the dishes for a long time, lose weight, the coat is dull, it is necessary to optimize the diet.
Nutrition for the feeding dog is difficult because of the tiny size. The owner will have to choose the best products, because Yorkees are so small that a small portion of food should contain all the nutrients for the life support of the animal.
If your mini terrier before pregnancy was not familiar with dry products, now is not the time to experiment. It is better to leave the dog on its usual natural feeding with additional introduction of vitamin and mineral supplements.
Proper nutrition, selected taking into account the needs and individual characteristics of the animal, will allow him to stay healthy, beautiful and long to please the owner with his cheerful temper.
