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Animal Nutritionist, question about dog food please?
by admin on Saturday, August 21st, 2010 | 9 Comments
Can you please tell me once & for all what a really healthy dog food would be? I have a 6-7lb chihuahua who isn’t picky but also doesn’t eat much. In the past she has been on Royal Canin and recently I switched her to Canidae. But she doesn’t seem to be liking it all that much? Maybe because it takes less of it to fill her up? Anyway, can you please rec. a good brand and also
Healthy chews for her. She loves to chew on things & I always give her the healthy edible bones, but ideally I would like something that takes her longer to get through. In the past she has had raw hide until I read they were bad for them. Plus the way they get all gooey makes me nervous she’ll choke on it? ADVICE PLEASE, thank you!!
Hello mom and little chi doggie! Yes, I can help you two..
The Canadae is better ingredients than the Royal Canin dog food.
I understand your chi is picky! I have a few ideas on things you can add to the Canidae to help along to process.
1. You can make this doggie meatball recipe – FREEZE it and just take out 1 meatball per meal – cut into 5 and mix into the Dry Canadae dog food.
At the bottom I will post the dog meatball recipe.
So good!
2. YOU can try mixing some SoJo into the dry dog food.
SoJo is a Natural mix that you add to fresh meats.
WE add sojo mix and some lightly cooked meats and we have a home made balanced meal. YOUR chi may eat the SoJo and dry food mixed. ( WE get the green BAG that is grain free feeding )
SoJo can be found in may pet stores or on-line here: and they offer free shipping to our front door.
http://www.sojos.com/index.aspx?affiliate=petnurse
3. You could add some NuVET supplement powder to her food.. NuVET makes a wafer but also a yum yum powder that can be mixed into the food. My chi MISS Priss and My Maltese take just 1/2 a teaspoon per day of this canine supplement…
see here: http://www.nuvet.com/81098
Here is the MeatBall home made dog food recipe:
DOG MEATBALLS-
Dog Dog Food Recipe by Michele, provided to her by her vet.
Ground chicken
Ground beef
4% small curd cottage cheese
2 cups quaker oats soaked in low sodium chicken broth
peas
string beans
2 tablespoons salmon or fish oil (health food store or break open capsules from grocery store)
2 eggs
2 boiled yams or sweet potatoes -this is great protein and helps keep everything moist.
Mix together and make into meatballs the size of your dogs portion. Bake them at 350 until they are completely done.
Freeze into bags and warm up in microwave until warm and serve. They should love it and it is all digested so there is very little waste and smell.
I hope this recipe helps.
** give 1 NuVET wafer per day …for an average sized dog .. ( see link above for NuVET)
Have fun making the dog meatballs-
More help and recipes here:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Alternative-Medicine-Pets-3721/
For a healthy and holistic treat, I recommended Zukes dog and cat treats.
Zukes.com
For food, I recommend RAW DIET, Canidae, Wellness, Evo, Innova, Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo and other high quality dog foods.
there are plenty on the market you just need to do the research and find out which one is right for you
First of all, since your dog’s "tank" is so small, I wouldn’t give her any edible chews at all – unless it is her regular food. The edible chews are taking up valuable space that should be occupied by something with some real nutrition in it – and they are not a balanced meal, nor is rawhide.
Instead, if she needs to chew, try getting her a Kong toy, soaking her regular kibble (the Canidae sounds fine, if she was doing well on it), stuffing the Kong, and then freezing it. There’s no reason she can’t spend time gnawing on her regular meals. She’ll get the chewing part, while only eating what she really should.
Well, since she doesn’t need to eat much, a bone could take up her whole meal. You can by ham bones from most stores, and you can also get bones from the butchers.
You could also buy a Kong toy, they keep the dog occupied for a while, IF your dog isn’t a fast chewer.
Some good quality foods are :
Canidae
http://www.canidae.com/
Wellness
Wellness CORE
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
Taste of the Wild
http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/
Blue Buffalo
http://www.bluebuff.com/
Solid Gold
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com
Innova
Eagle pack Holistic
Chicken Soup for the dog Lovers Soul
Orijen
Merrick
Avoderm
Natural Balance
Fromms
Artemis
Eagle Pack Holistic
Pinnacle
Never get low quality foods like :
Cesar, Ol’ Roy, Purina, Pedigree, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, BilJac, Nutro , Dad’s, Royal Canin, Mighty Dog
Or ANY grocery Store brand!
This website should be able to help you on picking out a good quality food. Stick on the 4-5-6 star range.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
Never get a dog food with Corn, Soy, and By-Products. But I would also suggest a wheat free dog food. When you change your dogs food to a better quality, you will notice these things :
Firmer Stool, Glossier Coat, and better overall health.
Just because it says "all natural" doesn’t mean that it’s good. ALWAYS check the dog food ingredients! Science Diet, Eukanuba, and Iams are almost ALWAYS recommended by Vets, but they are horrible.
Corn – A low quality filler that is in a lot of dog foods, most dogs are allergic to it.
By Products – Anything from Roadkill to euthanized dogs to cow brains! It does *NOT* qualify for a meat source!
Raw Feeding is also good, but it can be pricey. Learn more at:
http://barfworld.com/
http://www.raw-dogs.com/
http://www.rawfeddogs.net/
http://www.rawlearning.com/
Rawhide is bad. I would recommend Kongs, maybe. They are good for some dogs. http://www.kongcompany.com/ Or you could try the non-edible Nylabones.
Here are some of the best dog foods:
Taste Of The Wild
http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/
-
Wellness
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
-
Solid Gold
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
-
Blue Buffalo
http://www.bluebuff.com/
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All dogs are different, a food that works for one dog may not work for another. See if you can find small samples of three different healthy brands that you want to try, and see which one your dog likes best! If you need any additional help or recommendations that this answer does not provide, you can email me at oreos_are_magic_stuff@yahoo.com. Just put "Dog Food" in the subject line- and I’ll check it before anything else!
*-*-*-*-*
Stay away from these brands:
Ol’ Roy
Beneful
Purina ONE
Purina Pro Plan
Pedigree
Purina Dog Chow
Alpo
Eukanuba
Nutro
Iams
Science Diet
Dad’s
Royal Canin
Store Brands
Kibbles ‘n Bits
Mighty Dog
Eagle Pack Super Premium
Nutrena Loyall
If you are on a VERY super tight budget, these are good foods:
Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover’s Soul
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
-
NutriSource
http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/
*****************
***Vets will try to tell you to feed Purina, Iams, and Science Diet. But don’t feed them, they aren’t good for your dog. Vets tell you those lies because they are PAID to do so!!!! It’s sad, isn’t it?***
*****************
Here is a website that rates dog food. Go to it and enter the food of your choice. You will want a 4, 5, or 6 star rating. If the food of your choice has a 1, 2, or 3 rating that means it is usually prettycrappy food. The higher rating the better, the lower rating the worse.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
Also, another great thing to feed is the raw diet. Raw is completely safe and healthy. It’s what I feed to my dog. Here are two great links about raw feeding, the healthiest thing for your dog.
http://www.rawfed.com/
http://www.barfworld.com/
Good luck choosing a healthy brand of dog food that your dog thrives on!
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