Best food for a Yorkshire Terrier puppy
A Yorkshire Terrier puppy is best fed a complete puppy food made for small or toy breeds, offered in several small meals a day rather than one or two large ones. The two things that matter most are kibble size — a Yorkie puppy's mouth is genuinely tiny — and calorie density, because a toy breed puppy has very little fat reserve and can drop blood sugar quickly if a meal is skipped or too small.
Why size and frequency matter more than any single ingredient
Toy breed puppies like the Yorkshire Terrier are prone to hypoglycaemia — a sudden drop in blood sugar — in the first few months of life, far more so than a puppy from a large breed. It shows as sudden weakness, wobbliness or lethargy, and it is one of the few genuine puppy-feeding emergencies. The practical answer is small, frequent meals rather than a single big bowl, especially before four to six months old.
A small-breed puppy formula is built around this. The kibble is sized for a mouth that will barely grow past a couple of centimetres wide, and the recipe is more energy-dense per gram than an adult or large-breed food, so a small stomach can still take in enough calories across the day without needing to eat an unrealistic volume.
What to actually look for on the bag
Look for a food labelled complete for puppies, ideally with 'small' or 'toy breed' on the front rather than a generic all-breed puppy formula — the kibble size is usually the giveaway even before you read the label. A named meat as the first ingredient and a clear feeding guide by weight are both worth checking, since a Yorkie's adult weight is a fraction of most feeding charts' assumptions.
Wet food and pouches work just as well nutritionally as dry kibble for a toy breed, and some owners find a soft food easier for very young or small-mouthed puppies to manage. There is no requirement to feed dry alone — what matters is that whichever format you choose is labelled complete for puppies of a small or toy breed.
Introducing a new food
Whatever you choose, introduce it gradually over several days alongside whatever the breeder or rescue was already feeding, rather than switching overnight. A toy breed puppy's digestion is easily unsettled, and a sudden change is one of the more common causes of a bout of loose stools in the first few weeks at home.
If your puppy goes off their food, seems unusually quiet or wobbly, or is not gaining weight steadily, that is worth a call to your vet rather than simply trying another brand. A puppy check-up in the first few weeks is the right place to ask about weight, feeding amounts and anything specific to a toy breed.
What we stock for this breed
Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.
Pedigree Tasty Minis Puppy Treats Chewy Cubes with Chicken
Soft chewy puppy training treats with 13% chicken and added calcium, 125g
£2.25
Forthglade Complete Puppy Chicken with Liver Grain Free — 18 x 395g Trays
Sold as a case: 18 x 395g trays. A complete grain-free wet food for puppies, built on 71% chicken and 4% chicken liver
£35.89
Harringtons Puppy Turkey & Rice
Complete turkey puppy food with 30% protein and feeding bands by adult weight
£6.49
James Wellbeloved Grain Free Puppy/Junior Dry Dog Food Turkey & Veg
Grain-free turkey and potato kibble for puppies and junior dogs, evenly balanced recipe
£12.75
Wagg Puppy Treats
Puppy Treats in a 120G pack, with 23.2% protein and 7% fat and full label detail
£1.49
Burns Puppy Junior Original Chicken Rice
A complete puppy and junior food with dried chicken 31% and controlled fat at 15%
From£14.99
Lily's Kitchen Puppy Chicken Recipe — 6 x 400g Tins
Sold as a case: 6 x 400g tins. Complete 400G wet puppy chicken recipe with 67% fresh chicken
£22.79
Pooch & Mutt Puppy Bite Size Beef Jerky
Bite-size beef jerky training treats for puppies, scaled by dog size
£3.99
Whimzees Puppy
Softer dental chews for puppies over three months old, grain free and gluten free
£7.99
Burns Grain Free Puppy Duck Potato
Grain-free duck and potato puppy food with a prebiotic, for starting a new litter on a novel protein
From£16.49
Lily's Kitchen Puppy Recipe Chicken — 10 x 150g Trays
Sold as a case: 10 x 150g trays. Complete 150G puppy chicken recipe with 67% chicken and salmon oil
£16.89
Common questions
- How often should I feed a Yorkie puppy?
- Most breeders and vets recommend three to four small meals a day for a toy breed puppy under about four months old, dropping to two or three as they grow. Frequent small meals help guard against the blood sugar dips toy breed puppies are prone to, which matters more here than with a larger breed.
- When can a Yorkie puppy switch to adult food?
- Toy breeds generally reach their adult size faster than large breeds, and many are ready to move to an adult small-breed food from around nine to twelve months old. Your vet can advise on the right timing at a routine check-up, since it varies a little between individual dogs.
- Is wet or dry food better for a Yorkie puppy?
- Both can be nutritionally complete, so the choice is mostly practical. Dry kibble sized for small or toy breeds is convenient and can help with dental wear, while wet food or pouches are sometimes easier for a very young or small-mouthed puppy to eat comfortably.
- My Yorkie puppy is a fussy eater — what should I do?
- Stick with one consistent food rather than switching repeatedly, which can make fussiness worse and unsettle the stomach. If your puppy is genuinely not eating, seems lethargic, or is losing weight, treat that as a reason to see your vet rather than a feeding preference to work around.
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Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.