Dog food for a Yorkshire Terrier
A Yorkshire Terrier's food needs are shaped almost entirely by their size rather than anything specific to the breed's temperament or history — this is a toy breed with a fast metabolism, a genuinely tiny mouth, and a build that makes both overfeeding and underfeeding easier to get wrong than with a mid-sized dog.
Feeding a Yorkshire Terrier
A toy breed
An adult Yorkshire Terrier typically weighs up to 3.2 kg, so a healthy Yorkshire Terrier eats a small amount — often under 100g of dry food a day compared with other breeds. Every feeding guide on a bag is written per kilo of body weight, not per breed — start there, then adjust to the dog in front of you.
Life stage
A toy breed is usually done growing at 10–12 months, which is roughly when a puppy food has finished its job. With a typical lifespan of 11–15 years, there is a long adult stretch in the middle; switch to a senior food when your vet thinks it is worth it rather than on a birthday.
Small mouths, crowded teeth
Smaller breeds get dental disease more often than big ones, largely because the same number of teeth are packed into a shorter jaw. Kibble size is worth checking, and a dental chew counts towards the daily 10% of calories from treats.
How much should a Yorkshire Terrier weigh?
Adult up to 3.2 kgfully grown at 10–12 months
| Age | Stage | Typical weight | Of adult size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 weeks | Just home | 0.6 kg | 18% |
| 3 months | Young puppy | 0.9 kg | 30% |
| 6 months | Growing fast | 1.9 kg | 59% |
| 10–12 months | Fully grown | 3.2 kg | 100% |
A guide, from the same rule of thumb our puppy growth predictor uses — each age is that share of the way to maturity for a toy breed. Puppies grow fastest early, so a real puppy usually sits a little above the middle rows. Weigh yours and ask your vet if the number worries you.
Complete dog foods that suit a Yorkshire Terrier
Complete foods from our range, matched to a Yorkshire Terrier's size band and what the breed typically needs. Stock levels and delivery dates are live on each product.
Pedigree Can in Jelly Puppy 6 Pack
Complete Pedigree puppy food in jelly with chicken, lamb and poultry recipes
£10.15
Forthglade Cold Pressed Natural Turkey
Cold-pressed turkey kibble for dogs from 2 months, soft enough to mix with water for young pups
£45.99
Forthglade Cold Pressed Grain Free Chicken
Cold-pressed grain-free chicken food with fruit and botanicals, in three bag sizes
From£16.99
Forthglade Complete Meal Lightly Baked Chicken
A grain-free complete dry food for adult dogs, lightly baked and built on 50% chicken
From£12.49
Forthglade Cold Pressed Small Dog Turkey
Cold-pressed grain-free dry food for small dogs and puppies, built on turkey
£16.99
Forthglade Complete Meal Lightly Baked Lamb
A lightly baked complete dry food, 50% lamb, for adult dogs of any breed
From£12.49
Forthglade Cold Pressed Grain Free Turkey
Grain-free cold-pressed turkey kibble for dogs, gentle on sensitive stomachs
£69.69
Forthglade British Classics Chicken Family Lunch
Complete Forthglade wet dog food with 75% chicken in a 395G tray
£2.45
Harringtons Puppy Turkey & Rice
Complete turkey puppy food with 30% protein and feeding bands by adult weight
£6.49
Harringtons Adult Dog Turkey Veg
Complete dry food for adult dogs with turkey, chicken and salmon oil, 21% protein
From£3.39
Harringtons Just 6 Dry Dog Food Lamb
Grain-free lamb dry dog food in 2KG and 12KG sizes, with size-specific formulas
From£13.99
Why a toy breed's metabolism changes the maths
Smaller dogs burn energy faster relative to their body weight than larger breeds do, which is why toy and small-breed formulas are typically more calorie-dense per gram than food designed for a bigger dog — a Yorkie needs more concentrated nutrition in a smaller volume of food to meet their actual energy needs. This also means portion accuracy matters more for a Yorkie than it would for a larger dog, since a small measuring error is a much bigger proportion of their total daily intake.
Very small and toy-breed dogs, Yorkies included, can be more prone to hypoglycaemia — low blood sugar — particularly as puppies or if they go too long between meals, which is one of the reasons small, frequent meals are commonly recommended for the breed rather than one or two large feeds a day.
A genuinely small mouth changes kibble choice
Standard-sized kibble pieces, built for a dog many times a Yorkie's size, can be awkward or off-putting for a toy breed to pick up and chew comfortably. Small-breed formulas use smaller kibble pieces specifically for this reason, which also encourages proper chewing rather than a Yorkie attempting to swallow pieces closer to their own head size.
Dental crowding is a genuine issue in the breed, since Yorkies often have a fairly standard number of teeth packed into a very small jaw, which increases the risk of tartar build-up and dental disease. A dry kibble diet supports dental health somewhat better than an entirely wet diet through the mechanical action of chewing, though it doesn't replace proper tooth brushing and regular veterinary dental checks.
Getting the practical side right
Weighing food accurately, rather than eyeballing a portion, matters more for a dog this small, where even a modest miscalculation represents a larger share of their daily calorie needs than it would for a bigger breed. As Yorkies move into their senior years, recalculating their calorie needs against reduced activity, and switching to a senior formula if appropriate, helps avoid the weight gain that a much smaller frame struggles with proportionally more than a larger dog's would.
None of this means Yorkies are difficult to feed well — it just means the margin for error is smaller, quite literally, than it is with a mid-sized or large breed, so getting the basics of portion size and kibble size right matters more than any other single choice.
Common questions
- Why does kibble size matter for a Yorkshire Terrier?
- A Yorkie's mouth is genuinely small, so oversized kibble pieces designed for larger dogs can be awkward to chew properly and may encourage gulping rather than chewing, which a small-breed formula's smaller kibble is designed to avoid.
- How many meals a day should a Yorkshire Terrier have?
- Small, frequent meals are commonly recommended, particularly for puppies and very small adults, partly due to their faster metabolism and the risk of low blood sugar if meals are too widely spaced. Your vet can advise a schedule for your individual dog.
- Are Yorkies prone to dental problems from their food?
- The breed is prone to dental crowding and tartar build-up generally, given a standard number of teeth in a very small jaw. Dry food supports dental health somewhat better than wet food alone, but doesn't replace brushing and regular vet checks.
- Is it easy to overfeed a Yorkshire Terrier by accident?
- Yes, more easily than with a larger dog — a small measuring error is a much bigger share of their total daily needs, so weighing food accurately rather than estimating portions matters more for a dog this size.
Related
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.