What Are Yorkie Foods to Avoid?

A proper diet is an important provision to give your dog because it goes a long way to ensure it stays healthy now and in the coming future. This also means a happier dog and minimal medical costs to you. So now, what foods should Yorkies avoid?

What Foods Should Yorkies Avoid?

There are various foods that you should avoid giving your Yorkie. They include fruits such as avocados and grapes, sweets, especially those with unnatural sweeteners, and human foods like taro. These foods may be good for me, even healthy; however, when given to your dog, they might be harmful.

Knowing what your Yorkie should or should not be eating is essential for you, a dog owner; this could be the difference between an unpleasant vet visit and an active satisfied pet. They say you are what you are; the same goes for your doggie.

Tan and black colored Yorkshire terrier wearing black dog collar walking on gray asphalt

Foods That a Yorkie Should Avoid

Yorkies belong to a category of dogs called ‘ toy breeds’ as they are small-bodied. This means they are easily affected by toxicity if they eat unsuitable food. Just to be safe, offer your dog proper home-cooked meals to avoid commercial feeds that have additives, preservatives, and flavors added to them.

Harmful foods include the following:

Avocado

Ironically healthy fruit and a favorite to many. However, it may cause diarrhea and vomiting in Yorkies. Avocados also contain persin, which is toxic, affecting the heart, pancreas, and lungs, causing respiratory complications. What’s more ironic is that some common African dogs survive on the same fruit during drought spells.

Sugar-free Sweets and Gum

A sugar-free substitute found in sweets called xylitol, even when consumed in small amounts, is deadly for your dog. It causes the overproduction of insulin from the pancreas causing a condition called hypoglycemia, followed by seizures, liver failure, and death.

Chocolate

Theobromine and caffeine contained in chocolate make it bad for your Yorkie. Both work to stimulate the heart and nervous system; however, a dog’s body can not digest them. This may lead to vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, and higher heart rates than usual.

Raisins and Grapes

Here is one delicious treat you don’t need to share with your doggie. Doing so may lead to kidney failure due to its toxic effect on dogs.

Taro

A root tuber that goes well with tea should be avoided from the list of foods for your Yorkie. Taro leads to the following:

Poisoning
Gastrointestinal issues
Vomiting
Oral irritation ( burning of mouth, tongue, and lips)
Vomiting
Kidney complications

Black and tan Yorkshire terrier sitting on green grass and gray asphalt

Unripe Tomatoes

Ripe tomatoes may be good for them because they contain less toxic solanine. However, feeding your dog with unripe ones is a big no and should be avoided.

Hot and Spicy Foods

In the same way, spicy foods could lead to a stomach upset in yourself, and so could it affect a Yorkie. Because your dog cannot gauge its food’s limit of spiciness and relies on you, an underestimation of this level in food will unintentionally harm your pet.

Alcohol

Whether it’s beer or wine, as long as it falls under the alcoholic category, don’t give it to your dog to induce a lost or excited state. Dogs are naturally happy, and every time, especially with you, is a good time for them. So limit alcohol consumption to humans to avoid accidentally poisoning your pet.

Macadamias, Walnuts, and Hickory

These three nuts are toxic for dogs and, like macadamia nuts, may cause weakness of the body, vomiting, and immobility. Hickory may cause stomach upset and bowel obstruction to your Yorkie. Lastly, walnuts can lead t pancreatitis and gastrointestinal issues.

Garlic and Onions

With all their health benefits to humans, they are not food to give your doggie. A range of effects, like gas and lack of appetite, are mild to severe, such as damage of red blood cells from disulfides and thiosulphates. Due to the difference in your metabolism as compared to your dog may cause the following:

Heinz body anemia
Hemolytic anemia
Methemoglobinemia

Food and Chemical Preservatives

Both cause damage to the liver and kidneys, cancer, hypersensitivity, allergies, and behavior issues like restlessness resulting from food dyes.

Coffee and Tea (In Huge Quantities)

Coffee and tea in high doses cause restlessness, rapid breathing and heart rate, tremors, bleeding, and possible death.

Uncooked Eggs

Uncooked eggs contain avidin in egg whites, decreasing biotin absorption and triggering skin and coat problems.

Raw Yeast Dough

This leads to painful stomach bloat and life-threatening gastric torsion.

Sugary Snacks

Yorkies are prone to suffering from dental problems. Giving them food with high sugar content is not good for their health. This is because it can lead to diabetes, dental problems, and obesity.

Black and tan-haired Yorkshire terrier wearing a gray collar while sitting on a green grass

Foods That Are Suitable for a Yorkie

Suitable foods for a Yorkie belong to the following food group: organs, fish, boiled chicken, lean hamburger, bison, venison, liver, and kidneys for protein requirements. Also, carbohydrates comprise about half the diet from brown and white rice, potatoes, and pasta.

Your Yorkie also needs some vitamins readily available in fruits and veggies like apples, beets, carrots, green beans, and sweet peas. For fats, give them wheat germ oil making up 5% of their diet. This is good for health and helps keep its naturally shiny coat.

Conclusion

There is a wide range of common and simple foods that your Yorkie finds comfortable eating. As long as these foods meet their dietary needs, feed your Yorkshire terrier without fear of being monotonous to stay safe and keep your doggie healthy and fit.