Many people have pets in their homes. Some prefer small dogs of different breeds. Today we will talk about Yorkshire terriers, and specifically about how to properly feed such animals.
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This breed of dog is prone to severe allergic reactions. In addition, their digestive system is more sensitive compared to other species.
Poor or poor nutrition can cause various diseases of the digestive system. It can also lead to disturbances in the growth and development of your pet. Bad food also harms the teeth of an animal.
Remember that Yorkshire Terriers are categorically not allowed to be fed from the owner's table. All food for them should be prepared separately.
All about natural nutrition and diet
You can feed the Yorkshire Terrier with special feeds or natural products at home. Many owners are inclined to natural nutrition, as it allows you to easily enter the individual components necessary for the dog or remove harmful products from the menu. Also in this case, you can independently monitor the quality of the individual components of the diet.
For the Yorkshire Terrier, natural meat is a great option. It is recommended to take chicken, turkey, beef or rabbit fillets. It is better to introduce offal in the menu: lung, liver, heart, stomachs (give no more than once a week). Filet can be used every day along with boiled cereals or vegetables (beets, cabbage, carrots, pumpkin).
A great option would be almost any greens and vegetables of green color. Sometimes you can give animals a small amount of sour-milk components: cottage cheese, kefir or fermented baked milk. They can be used every day, but not more than once and in small portions.
A good option would be fruit. In this case, it is better to give preference to plums, apples, melons, watermelons or pears. You can use fresh eggs. And it’s worth taking chicken and quail products. But you can give them only once a week.
Sometimes you can enter the menu and seafood. But you need to turn them on no more than once every 8-10 days. Vegetables, fruits give only in raw form; hearts, stomachs, lungs, liver should be previously boiled. Meat products can be both cooked and raw. Food is necessarily cut into small pieces. Vegetables should be grated.
The menu must include cereals (buckwheat, rice). They are boiled separately, and then mixed with other products. Cooked food can be lightly sprinkled with olive or sunflower oil. It is occasionally permissible to give hercules, but in minimal quantities.
Meat, offal, boiled cereals, vegetables should be given to the dog in the morning and evening. For lunch, it is better to give the pet kefir, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese with chopped apple or with boiled unsalted fish that does not contain bones (it is strictly forbidden to give raw fish fillet). In the middle of the day you can use bran, but too often they should not be introduced.
Once a week terriers can be given an egg yolk. But it’s better to take quail eggs. Adding olive oil is also great, as it promotes good digestion.
In small quantities, prunes and dried apricots can also be added to the menu. These products contribute to a good metabolism in the body.
Overview and selection of finished feed
Currently There is a considerable amount of ready-made feed for the Yorkshire Terrier.
- Orijen. This dry food is produced in Canada. It has a maximum content of meat products.
- Hills. This food is premium. The basis of such nutrition is natural meat and rice.
- Acana Food is based on meat. Offal in its manufacture are not used at all. This food also contains fruits, vegetables and berries.
- Brit care. This Czech brand produces food for dogs based on poultry or lamb. Also included are rice grains, dried beet shavings and salmon oil.
- Belcando. The main component for the production of such feed is rice. In addition, the composition includes meat and herbs. This food is rich in various vitamin and mineral supplements.
- Monge. In the production of such feed, chicken meat comes first. It contains rice grains and corn. Food does not contain offal and aromatic additives.
- Trainer This Italian brand produces rice and rice protein diets. Only after these components is meat coming. Most often, duck fillet is used for cooking.
- Nero Gold. The main component is chicken meat. The composition also includes maize, rice grains and chicken fat.
Before you buy the right food, pay attention to some things. So, be sure to check the class to which the diet belongs. For Yorkshire terriers, a super-premium class is suitable, economy class food is not recommended. It can harm the digestive system of the Yorkshire Terrier.
It is also necessary to pay attention to the composition of the menu. It is better to choose food with the maximum content of meat products and rice. A diet with vegetables and fruits or berries is also an excellent option for this breed of dog.
If you decide to give preference to ready-made purchased food, then keep in mind that they contain too little water, so sometimes it is worth injecting wet food.
You can start feeding a York puppy with wet food, and then gradually transfer it to dry food. But at the same time, veterinarians advise to buy ready-made food of one brand.
High-quality feeds from specialized stores have the right ratio of proteins, fats, minerals, carbohydrates and vitamins necessary for the dog. Dry varieties of nutrition help maintain healthy York teeth. They do not cause tartar or plaque.
What should not be given?
Some products are strictly forbidden to give Yorkshire terriers. These include sugar and other sweets, citrus or citrus juice, because these components can cause a strong allergic reaction in your pet.
The diet should not include foods containing too much seasoning or salt. TThese dogs should not be given saltwater fish, salted broths, legumes or tubular bones.
Flour products - bread, pasta, pastries - should also not be included in the dog’s menu, as they can provoke dermatitis or diarrhea in the animal. Smoked products - cheeses, sausages, sausages - are not given to pets, because they can lead to diseases of the liver or pancreas.
It is not recommended to give the dog milk (if the dog is older than four months). It can lead to disorders of the digestive system of the pet. Fatty meat - pork or lamb - is also not a suitable product for this breed, its use will lead to a large load on the liver.
Exclude mushrooms and onions from the diet of your York. Raisins and grapes may also not have the best effect on a dog’s health. Cat food is also not suitable for terriers.
How to feed puppies?
Remember that the first weeks of the Yorkshire Terrier puppy should be fed mother's milk. At the same time, it is recommended to periodically weigh it in order to track the increase in the mass of the pet.
If the puppy does not begin to gain weight at all, then you will have to additionally feed him. To do this, you can buy a ready-made special mixture in the store or make it yourself at home.
Currently, there are a considerable number of different ready-made mixtures for feeding puppies. These include products of the Dutch company Unilac. This mixture contains in its composition everything necessary for the normal growth and development of animal matter.
Esbilak puppy formula is also in great demand today. It looks like a powder of snow-white color. This product includes trace elements, mineral and vitamin supplements that help strengthen the puppy's body.
For newborn puppies, feeding should be done every two hours. If the animal is a little older, then the mixture can be given to him once every three or four hours.
If you want to make the mixture yourself, then you should use cow or goat milk. It is better not to take a store product. To make food as useful as possible for your pet, chicken yolk is added to it. All components must be thoroughly mixed together. If you are going to feed even very small puppies, then vitamins A and D are also added to the mixture.
When the animal is 3-5 weeks old, it is additionally fed with cereals of liquid consistency. As a rule, they are prepared from buckwheat grains or from oatmeal. It is during such a diet that puppies are taught to eat food from a bowl.
Monthly pets can already begin to give chopped beef. You can give it both raw and pre-cooked. You can also gradually introduce hot liquid foods (soups) into the menu.
When preparing soups for feeding puppies, it is necessary to include in it a little cereal, which you use for porridge, chopped or finely chopped meat (turkey, veal or beef). You can put a little cabbage or carrots.
Additionally, it is better to introduce special vitamin supplements in the diet for the normal development of the puppy. As them you can use fish oil. First, two drops are administered, and then gradually increase to 20 drops.
Two-month-old puppies can already be gradually transferred to special feeds. At 2 months, you can give the dog a little boiled fish fillet.
Puppies under the age of two months should be fed six times a day. It is permissible to feed pets up to four months five times. Half-year-old animals are already given food four times, and then three.
Features of feeding adults
After a year of the Yorkshire Terrier, you can feed only twice a day. You can give meat, fish, cooked cereals, some fruits and vegetables. But before that, you need to calculate the portion size. For 0.5 kilograms of dog weight, one teaspoon of food.
There are some feeding considerations for nursing and pregnant Yorkshire terriers. You can’t change the dog’s diet too radically and abruptly in such a period. This can cause severe stress to your pet.
If you fed your dog food before pregnancy, then you need to buy a special food for the animal intended for pets during lactation. It is not necessary to transfer them to natural nutrition.
If your dog was originally on natural food, then it is recommended to include more dairy products in it. All servings of food should be slightly increased.
An excellent option for pregnant and lactating terriers will be milk porridge. Do not forget that during this period the dog needs a large amount of clean filtered water.
After giving birth, the dog will urgently need a large amount of protein and carbohydrates. If 2 or 3 puppies were born, then a nursing pet needs to eat several times more food per day than before birth.
Pay attention to the amount of fluid consumed. For nursing York, milk tea is a great option. To fully restore energy, it is permissible to add a little glucose.
Recommendations
If the Yorks are brought up incorrectly, they can get used to taking food from the hands of a person, so dogs should be trained in a bowl from an early age. At the same time, it is better to give food always in the same place in the house. Also, it is better to immediately teach them how to wait for a serving.
Correctly bred animals will only eat after permission from the owner. Better to teach York not to take goodies from the wrong hands.
You also need to immediately teach your pet not to pick up food on the street during a walk and not ask for food from the family table. Proper education will allow you to raise a puppy obedient and healthy.
Remember that the animal must not be overfed. Also, do not force Yorke to eat. After all, representatives of this breed can have reduced appetite, not only because of diseases, but also because of the unloading of a sensitive organism.
It is recommended to develop a certain diet of the dog. Remember that you need to give her food either 1–2 hours before the walk, or 30 minutes after the walk.
Watch your york's food intake. If the dogs of this breed are more active and often go for walks, then they will be a little thin and fit. If they are calm and do not like active games, then they may become obese. Some individuals are completely lacking a sense of proportion when eating.
Give your pet only quality and fresh food. Poor food can cause severe poisoning of the sensitive organism, and in some cases even death of the animal.
Remember that when creating a menu of natural products you need to choose the optimal ratio of nutrients. Most should be proteins. Fiber and carbohydrates should be in equal proportions. Do not forget that the menu for the week should be made with food shifts (at least three shifts).
Watch the appearance of the dog. If she is fit, she has a shiny smooth coat, then the diet is correctly composed and the dog receives all the necessary substances. If the coat becomes dull and stiff, the pet begins to lose weight, then you definitely need to make another menu.
See how to feed the Yorkshire Terrier in the next video.
