Please Help Me My Yorkie does not like dog food

Question
Please may you tell me a good dry dog food my yorkie will eat I have tried mixing dry and moist food together to try to get her to eat but nothing works.vet says she will eat when she gets hungry enough. she is losing weight I am getting worried.
I give her boiled boneless chicken breast about once a week and she loves that but i don't think thats healthy for her.please help

Answer
Hi Leah,

There's a saying amongst dog trainers: "Finicky dogs are made, not born".

Dogs are natural scavengers, and not choosy eaters by nature. At this point, after trying several foods, and by trying to accommodate your dog's tastes, you've essentially trained her to be ever more finicky, and to hold out for something better.

Your vet is correct, a healthy dog will not starve herself. How much weight has she lost? If she was over weight to start with, weight loss is a good thing. You also didn't say how many treats your dog gets during the day. Just like a child, a dog that gets too many treats during the day probably won't want to eat it's dinner.

You need to select a healthy dog food that you can afford, and stick to it. That means you put down your dog's food bowl at mealtimes, and walk away. No hovering, or standing around trying to coax your dog into eating. Give your dog 15 minutes, then pick up her food bowl, even if she hasn't eaten, or if there is food left in her bowl.
Don't give your dog ANY treats during the day if she doesn't finish her meal. Repeat this process at the next scheduled mealtime. This will teach your dog to eat when it is dinnertime.

When a dog has learned to become a finicky eater then a "tough love" program with food only at mealtimes will teach the dog that there is no benefit in finicky eating.

Feed reduced amounts of kibble at the start of this "program".  Increase the food until your dog is eating the normal amount of carefully measured food per meal. Ideally, the dog should be eating her regular amount of measurable food in 3 to 4 days.

Boiled chicken once a week as a treat is a nice treat, but you're right, it's not a healthy diet by itself. While you're training your dog not to be finicky, you should hold off on treats.

You can expect your dog to turn up her nose at a few meals. You've trained her to be finicky, remember? If you stick to your guns, you WILL win this battle of wills. Give in, and you've taught your dog nothing, and the endless cycle of trying new foods will continue.

You should give your dog an extra leashed walk, or longer walks (or other exercise) during each day to help increase her appetite, so she'll be good and hungry when mealtime rolls around. If you have a back yard, letting your dog outside by herself does not count as increased exercise.

You could make a homemade diet for your dog, if you prefer. There's no guarantee that your dog will become finicky with that over time, either.

You should talk to your vet, or get a couple of books about canine nutrition before you jump in, and potentially make some mistakes with a homemade dog diet. You need to learn to distinguish scientific facts from pop diet theory. So much of what's on line is just incorrect. A home cooked diet that uses too much fat or fails to supplement correctly can be a disaster for your dog.
Books to look for are:

The Healthy Dog Cookbook, by Jonna Anne, Janet Tobiassen

Dogs: Home-Cooked Recipes for the Health and Happiness of Your Canine Companion, by Donna Twich Roberts

Better Food for Dogs, by David Bastin, Jennifer Ashton

The Natural Pet Food Cookbook, by Wendy Nan Rees, Kevin Schlanger,  Troy Cummings

Best of luck,
Patti