Hi all,

I have a 7 month old chihuahua LC. Since we brought him home we have always had him on Royal Canin XS Junior as this was what the breeder had started his litter on and recommended.
I also brought up his food with my vet and she was happy with this too!

Benny is a blue tri LC chihuahua and I had read previously on forums that when their adult coat develops they can tend to have problems with dry skin!

Recently we had a few issues with him refusing to eat his kibble (now solved) however post that
he has been scratching ALOT lately, regardless of the fact that he was up to date with his frontline spot on and worming. (A visit to the nurse at the vets confirmed it was not fleas and she suggested adding vitamin E capsules to his food available from all good pet shops)

So into my pet shop I went and asked the kind lady for vitamin e, she asked me what food Benny was on and I explained Royal Canin . She continued to tell me that it's basically rubbish and filled with fillers! And suggested I try Symply instead.

I haven't heard of this make before has anyone else? Could anyone recommend any other good dog foods for dry coat problems?

I'm in two minds because royal canin seemed to be supported by both my vet and the breeder (who is KC accredited)? But when comparing the ingredients I was a little alarmed at what royal canin consisted of?

Thanks!!




Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

RC isnt a great food and is full of fillers, I used to feed it for a while when I got my first chi and she was very itchy on it

If he has dry skin I would use something like Yumega or Salmon Oil

I havent heard of Symply until recently, I feed mine Eden but have a look on whichdogfood.co.uk they rate and review most of the dog foods available in the UK

__________________

www.teclo.co.uk

Best thing would probably be to try to narrow down the source of the itching. It's easy to say "its full of 'nasties'" but what counts as nasty is subject to huge disagreement! It's like when people talk about "toxins" in people; there's a danger of drifting into hand-waving and anecdotes, you know?

Royal Canin has wheat (I think), and chicken. Both are known allergens (research suggests dogs are more likely to develop allergies to proteins than anything else). If you cut out wheat and the problem stops, it's probably a wheat intolerance. If it doesn't, try cutting out chicken.

I started Edie on Royal Canin and she was always scratching, turns out she can't handle chicken in kibble. Now she has fish, Burns lamb kibble and the occasional apple core (don't ask, she loves them!).

Thank you for the reply!! Yes I'm in the same position as you were Benny is my first chihuahua so this is all new to me!

A friend suggested I join this forum as she is on a different breed forum for her dog! Its V. Helpful!

I'm going to have a search on that website now!

Thanks again! X


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

Regardless of whether he has allergies/intolerances, RC is a mediocre kibble, that is carbohydrate based and very overpriced. There are much better quality kibbles available for similar money.
Lots of people here feed a raw diet, either DIY or pre-made, or ZiwiPeak, which is an air-dried raw food, a bit like squares of jerky.
Eden is a good kibble, as are Orijen and Acana, imported from canada, and Fromm imported from america. I don't know Symply, but look for named animal based protein sources, and a low amount of grains/cereals, many foods offer a grain-free version.
If you try a limited ingredient product you can start to work out what doesn't work for your dog. Just swapping to a better quality food may relieve the symptoms he has.

__________________

When I first got Chloe she was on rC and I thought the same as you! I quickly learned it was a mediocre food and because Chloe ate so little I wanted her to have the most nutrition possible! I switched her to ziwi peak and primal. They are both raw, but I do t have to prep myself. I used www.dogadvisor.com to check out food and I was always surprised to what I found. Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

__________________

Thanks for all your tips!!

I've ordered a sample of Eden dog food, going to give this a try and see if anything improves!! I will update with his progress!!

Just one other thing if anyone had any views on deer antlers being given as chews?

Benny is a bit of a chewer! (More recently taking a liking to the ends of my make up brushes having got bored with his toys!) I saw these in the pet shop thought I'd give them a try as they were advertised as an organic chew for dogs, they seemed to work a treat! He will chew them for ages very satisfied with them and I've not noticed any changes in toilet time etc.

I read an article saying they could cause problems later on... Has anyone had any bad experiences??

Don't know if I'm being over paranoid because he's my first chihuahua!

X


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

I agree RC is rubbish. It is great that you are finding a new food with better ingredients. Jaxx had always been itchy until we switched him to Ziwipeak. I love that it isn't filled with junk.

Deer antlers are great and bully sticks are good too. Jaxx loves both of them. We use bully sticks for special treats because Jaxx can go through one of them in a day. Jaxx always has a couple antlers though.

__________________