[Brownie]

Hi,

I've been feeding my Dog (Long Coat Chihuahua) Royal Canin for the last 8-9 mos Specifically Royal Canin Mini Chihuahua 28. Before that he was on Science Diet for Puppies (almost a year). I stopped the SD because it had corn in it and that made his skin itch.

I've read on http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ that this is only a 2-star dog food and maybe I should mix up his diet some. I stuck with the Royal Canin because of their "Breed Specific" marketing. I don't want the dog having a soft stool or putting his nose up at some fancy dog food. So far the only dog treat he has refused to eat are OLD MOTHER HUBBARD treats by Wellness which is brand pretty hyped up by board members here....

Anyone else with a Chihuahua or similar small breed feed their dog RC? What one of the mulit-star dog foods do you recommend? I want a food that'll not only be "good" for him, but I want him to like the taste of his food.

Thanks!

I also give him a tiny bit of Pedigree Weight management canned food, he loves it wasn't one of the recalled foods from a while back, but this is more of a treat and not the major portion of his diet.

 

[bellamicuore]

I have an Italian Greyhound named Bella and I currently feed her Fromm Surf and Turf in the morning and Honest Kitchen Force (dehydrated raw) at night. I'm trying her on the new Merrick grain free. So far she doesn't like the Buffalo. I've also fed her Flint River Ranch, Solid Gold, Merrick, and Timberwolf. All are good foods.

 

[BoxerMommie]

Just an FYI the Royal Canin breed specific foods are 100% pure marketing gimmick, there is NOTHING different in those foods to make them "breed specific" over other foods of the same ingredient panel. So you're paying a whole lot of money for a very low quality food that really has nothing to do with Chi's. Dogs are dogs regardless of breed. And yes Royal Canin is very low quality food as is Pedigree (read the ingredients).

I agree with the above, there's also Wellness, Chicken Soup, Canidae, California Natural, Healthwise, Innova, Evo, Artemis, Blue Buffalo, Blue Wilderness, among other foods. Seems like you already went to the dogfoodanalysis website, it's ideal to feed at least a 4 star food preferably 5 or 6 star foods so choose something from there that is in your area that's what you can afford. All of the high end food companies have a 100% satisfaction guarantee no questions asked so if your dog won't eat it, you can return it for a full refund. Heck I'd used a good 85% of the bag of Canidae and they still gave me a full refund on it.

Good luck.

 

[rannmiller]

Also, a lot of the boutique stores will have samples of all the foods they carry so you can just bring home free samples and try those out, might be faster and easier.

But yeah, as BoxerMommie said, RC is pure marketing gimmick so try to go for something with better ingredients and definitely steer clear of any Pedigree products, even if it is just a treat every now and then. Any of the brands she listed are great, so you're set there!

 

[BoxerMommie]

Also, a lot of the boutique stores will have samples of all the foods they carry so you can just bring home free samples and try those out, might be faster and easier.

I didn't know that. I know many of the companies will send you free samples and/or coupons if you e-mail them, didn't know stores had the samples there. Good to know.

 

[bellamicuore]

It's true about the samples, but Merrick doesn't have samples.

 

[BoxerMommie]

It's true about the samples, but Merrick doesn't have samples.

CA Natural doesn't either, they give coupons, but they're pretty good sized coupons. I got a sheet with (3) one for $5 off and 2 for $3 off, plus it's a 100% money back guarantee food so it was a good deal IMO.

 

[rannmiller]

Wow that is a good coupon! I've gotten CA Natural samples from Scraps Dog Bakery (boutique store).

 

[BoxerMommie]

Wow that is a good coupon! I've gotten CA Natural samples from Scraps Dog Bakery (boutique store).

If you go through their website they say they don't do samples anymore as it usually takes dogs more than 1 serving to like or dislike the food as well as for the food to help the dog or not help the dog (which is very true) so they prefer to send coupons instead. I was a little miffed at first, but then after thinking about it and receiving samples from other companies and finding how true it was I was glad I got the good coupons instead to be honest.

 

[rannmiller]

Come to think of it, I did only get a cat food sample from them.... Guess that makes sense.

 

[domari]

Just an FYI the Royal Canin breed specific foods are 100% pure marketing gimmick, there is NOTHING different in those foods to make them "breed specific" over other foods of the same ingredient panel.

I agree. Just for a laugh I wanted to write to them and ask what we should feed out six mixed breed dogs and see what they'd say.

Our dogs are lab/husky, boxer/pit bull, newfie/lab, chow/GSD, anatolian/chow/akita, and one basic black dog that nobody has a clue about (probably lab/pit bull).

Do they sell "large mutt" formula?? Or would I have to buy a dozen bags of their food and mix it all together?

 

[Brownie]

Thanks for all the Input everyone!

I picked up some Innova for both the Cat and the Dog. This must be some good stuff 'cause the Cat was trying to claw into the bag for some of it as soon as I brought it home (except he was after the Dog Food and not the more $$ Cat Food LOL stupid cat).

The local store only carried Wellness and Innova of the brands recommended here. I opted for the Innova over the Wellness only because my dog hated the treats made by Wellness (The ingredient list looked pretty close on both). They also carried Nutro at that store but I haven't heard it mentioned here.....

 

[BoxerMommie]

Thanks for all the Input everyone!

I picked up some Innova for both the Cat and the Dog. This must be some good stuff 'cause the Cat was trying to claw into the bag for some of it as soon as I brought it home (except he was after the Dog Food and not the more $$ Cat Food LOL stupid cat).

The local store only carried Wellness and Innova of the brands recommended here. I opted for the Innova over the Wellness only because my dog hated the treats made by Wellness (The ingredient list looked pretty close on both). They also carried Nutro at that store but I haven't heard it mentioned here.....

Nutro's been under some controversy on possibly killing animals with their food on consumer reviews and is a lower grade food. Innova is a great food, as is Wellness, but between the 2 I'd go with Innova personally.


Good luck!

 

[rannmiller]

Good job making the switch! Either of those foods are really good, my dog was not a big fan of Innova when I was switching her off of Purina Dog Chow, but she sure does love her Wellness now. So does my cat, I've never seen her so excited about food before I brought home a sample of Wellness. Of course they're all going to raw soon anyway, so then brand won't really matter as much.

 

[LoveMyLilDogs]

I have a chihuahua and a mini daschund and I feed them Addiction Wild Kangaroo and Apple as there Kibble with Ziwi Peak added as a supplement. The kangaroo is a great alternative protein and the ziwi peak is an air dried raw meat that i sprinkle into there kibble. I also add dehydrated peas and carrots and apples. Then as a canned food in the morning they get a scoop of mulligans stew.

Royal Canin is such a marketing ploy. They feed into the fact that people see a picture of there dog on the front and they think its great for there dog. Its not a bad food but not the best.