Why won't my teacup Yorkie eat her vet-prescribed urinary diet?

Small dogs like Yorkies are notoriously picky eaters especially when human food is offered. The best advise is to offer a small sized kibble and leave it in the bowl without offering any table food. You can soften the kibble with a little bit of water if that helps. Dogs typically won't starve themselves so he should eat it eventually. I would also have his teeth examined by a veterinarian to make sure he doesn't have dental disease making it painful to eat.

I would recommend just feeding normal dog food rather than using human food until you can discuss it with your vet. You may even be able to just call the clinic and ask for a prescription for another brand of dog food. Sometimes you have to dry a couple different prescription dog foods to see which one your pet will prefer. Hill's and Royal Canin also have similar prescription dog foods that you could try. Good luck!

It can be tricky when our pets are picky eaters! I recommend talking to your vet about this, as there are many different possible urinary prescription diets that can help prevent her from getting future stones. If she doesn't like her current diet, there are many other brands with equally good urinary foods, and perhaps she'd find a different food more palatable. I cannot offer specific recommendations without knowing what types of stones she has a history of developing, but I'm sure your regular vet would be happy to talk to you about other prescription foods you could try. Even if they don't regularly keep the foods stocked in their clinic, they could provide a prescription for you to buy the food either online or from another vet clinic. I *do* strongly recommend keeping her on a prescription food - as you said, you don't want to risk a recurrence of stones or chronic UTI's. Hope this helps!

That discharge is concerning for an infection. I recommend to have Belle examined by her veterinarian. The doctor will collect a urine sample and check it for abnormalities. Finicky eaters are a common problem in small dogs. Here is a link that may help: https://www.petcoach.co/article/my-pet-is-a-finicky-eater/ Try to continue to get as much of a commercial diet in her as possible since this is balanced and fortified. Many pets like the brand Royal Canin and Purina Pro Plan. You may select one or two brands and rotate between them as long as it does not upset her tummy. I hope this helps.

You might consider trying canned food if you aren't doing so already. If you have, I would continue to keep trying other brands. You can also consider taking any brand of dog food and mixing in some chicken or scrambled eggs to spice things up. Just realize that if you do that you will be doing it forever since Jake will never want to go back. Also you will need to monitor Jake's caloric intake carefully since he is a small breed dog. Calories from chicken and eggs will add up quickly and can result in an overweight dog. As far as medication, obviously whatever you need to do to get the medication down is fine. I tell my clients that are having trouble to use sticky things like peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, cream cheese, so on and so forth. Given that Jake is a dog prone to coughing (I don't know anything about his medical history) it will be especially important to find something that he doesn't fuss about too much in order to avoid getting him into a fit of coughing or possible aspiration of materials into the lungs. Hope this makes sense. Let me know if I can assist you further.

I would try her on a dry food for small dogs. The pieces are small and easier to chew than the dental diet, and usually tastier also. There are several excellent small breed foods now so check out ones that are available in your area. Giving some caned with the dry food is fine. Chewing on sterilized dental chews may be all she needs to minimize any future dental problems. I've used them and they really keep down the tartar buildup and dogs love chewing them. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Molly.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sometimes antibiotics can cause a deceased appetite and anorexia. If that was the cause then she should start getting better in the next day or so. If no improvement, have her evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck! I hope she does well!