wont eat from bowl

Question
Ihave a 4 month old male yorkie teacup. Recently he suffered a hypoglycemic episode and now is ok, but he will not eat from his bowl.  I tried other bowls and plates, but nothing.  I give him nutri-cal three times a day and have been force feeding him.  The kennel where I bought him has been feeding might dog food. Now he is very picky about as well. I tried some chicken and he likes it. I have mixing the chicken with the mighty dog he'll nibble a little but I just don't know what to do.  I don't want him to go through another episode.  The first one broke my hear.  Please help.

Answer
Mom,

How do you know that the attack he had was a hypoglycemic episode?  Did you take him to a vet?  What did the attack look like?  The reason I am asking is because small dogs are prone to seizures and teacups are more susceptible than other small dogs.

My concern is that he is not eating because he is sick and that the attack was a result of a seizure and not a hypoglycemic attack.  If you have not already taken him to the vet you need to do so as soon as possible.

If he is not eating because he is picky and not because he is sick then there is something you could try.  Get some puppy chow and put some in a bowl.  Pour hot water over the puppy chow so it is just covered.  Wait a few minutes (usually about five minutes) and when the water has completely soaked up into the puppy chow it should be mushy.  Take some chicken and mix it with the puppy chow.  You will have to experiment at first to get the mixture right.  Offer it to your little boy while it is still warm.  If he won't eat it wait about ten to twenty minutes and then take it up.  Wait two hours and repeat the process.  Over time put less and less chicken in the mixture until there is just puppy chow.  At that point you should start to put less and less water in the puppy chow until you have reached dry puppy chow.

I usually do not recommend feeding puppies canned dog food because I feel that it is too rich for their systems.  I know that some canned dog food is made for puppies but I have never had a good experience with it.  I can't say for sure but I think that whatever is used to process and preserve canned dog food in a soft state does not agree with the digestive systems of some puppies.

Because puppy chow is a hard dog food soaking it in water gives your little boy the consistency he is used to (soft dog food) but not the preservatives that aggravate his digestive tract.  By gradually cutting back on the water you can eventually arrive at hard dog food that he will eat.