[Eddie]

Okay, well before I tell you why let me introduce myself. My name is Eddie and I am the proud daddy of a 7 year old short haired princess named Chica Morena aka Chica The Moose aka Chica Montwa aka Butt aka Butter aka Big Booty Judy aka Chi Moose aka etc etc etc lol...


Moving on, I have been having a hard time finding the right food for Chica as of lately and luckily I think I have come to the right spot for help. Allow me to explain. Chica was raised on Science Diet small bites for puppies, and then just regular small bites. As she got a bit older she got kinda fat (she is a huge pig and acts like she doesn't get fed!) so I switched her to the light. For a few years that was great but she started to have some allergy issues and just didn't seem too interested in the food anymore. Since then we tried the Science Diet lamb and rice and some other things but I really want to get a food that has a great reputation with no recalls, small bites, maybe a lighter food, and that is grain free!


I am looking through your forums and I have read a lot of good and bad things about a lot of food and I am certainly going crazy. Can any of you point me in the right direction on a good dry food for my baby? She really deserves the best and I just can't seem to put my finger on it.


Thanks!

 

[susan davis]

Alot of people on this list feed ZiwiPeak. They have canned and a frozen food I think. I feed a little bit of canned (good premium stuff) and kibble; also good premium food. I think others will be able to help you more! Sue

 

[michele]

I feed ziwi P ,and Accana

 

[Blue Chi]

Do you want to stick with a kibble or are you willing to branch out into something a little different?

I used to do Science Diet too. I believed it was top of the line. Especially since vets sell it! I know better now. My last chi died from kidney failure complications and I really believe it was because of her diet that I believed to be a "good" one. Well before she was diagnosed with kidney failure, she completely quit shedding and her coat started looking dreadful. It sounds like you are well on your way to improving the health of Chica/Butt/Booty Judy/Moose! LOL

As for dry kibble, I tend to go with Taste of the Wild, Wellness Core (the core version is grain free) and Blue. And I've started adding water to it (to protect those sweet kidneys!). Those all get high rating on Dog Food Analysis and I can find it locally. With that being said, I'm now branching out into premade raw. I'm waiting on an order of Stella and Chewy's, Honest Kitchen, and Ziwipeak right now. We'll see how that goes. So maybe those are some thing for you to consider?

 

[20887]

I thought Science Diet was a good food at first, too! It is hard with all of the labels that make it seem healthy.

I fed my dogs Acana kibble for a while, and now they eat a mix of raw and ZiwiPeak/Stella & Chewy's. Ziwipeak is a small square food, it looks like squares of jerky. SC comes in patties either freeze dried or frozen.

 

[Eddie]

I really appreciate all the help thus far! Blue Chi, I really want to stay on kibble but I want the best of the best. I want it to be like I said small bites if possible, lighter, grain free, and low carbs. The vet recommended lamb and rice or duck and rice but I am finding it hard to find everything I want and when I do I hear something bad about the company here. Even if it's one thing it throws me off. I know I'm being anal and it's impossible to find a food that everyone agrees on but I am trying!

What do you guys think of "Blue Basics Small Breed Turkey And Potato Recipe" BLUE Basics — Small Breed Turkey dog food, a limited ingredient diet ? It looks pretty good to me.


I am also really sorry to hear about your last baby, that sucks.

 

[Blue Chi]

The turkey meal ingredient concerns me a little. I think meals are supposed to be a no no. It should be just straight up turkey. Or straight up chicken. Etc. But with that being said, I think what you linked to would be a waaaaay better choice than Science Diet. My new fella is actually on Blue right now. When he came to me he was on Eukanuba. His eyes teared all the time and his coat was amazingly dull. Because he's gray, I thought maybe gray is just naturally dull. After he adjusted to his new home I switched him over to Blue Small Breed Puppy Chicken and Oatmeal (I just checked. It has deboned chicken and chicken meal). After about 5 weeks or so, his coat has shine to it! His eyes still tear a little so I wonder if the oatmeal isn't working for him. But it's obviously better than what he was on.
I say give it a try. See how it goes. I think it's a way better choice than SD.

 

[Tanna]

I feed pre made raw primarly Stella and Chewy's before that I was feeding Wellness small breed with some wellness core grain free toppers. If you have allergy problems and are set on staying with kibble, I'd try a grain free Kibble like wellness core.

 

[jesuschick]

Use this unbiased ratings site to get detail on any food you wish to try. Search by brand or by stars. Since you want best of the best (and don't we all really?) I'd look for 5 stars.

Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings

 

[woodard2009]

I love The Honest Kitchen, ZiwiPeak and Acana kibble. This food has done wonders for my chi who used to eat the Science Diet crap too until I found out. I found out too late as she developed severe allergies and I strongly believe it was because of garbage food.

 

[LostLakeLua]

IMO the best kibble (before upping to a dehydrated raw) is Innova Evo. They have a small bites formula; and is considered a "6 Star Food."
Dog Food Reviews - Innova EVO (Small bites) - Powered by ReviewPost

Although it doesn't appear cheap initially; the feeding requirement is so much less than the crappier foods because they're loaded in useless fillers; whereas Evo is nutrient packed.

Taste of The Wild is also very good and would be my second choice, in the High Prairie formula.

These were the kibbles we fed before switching to Prey Model Raw.

 

[mooberry]

I wish I could recommend a kibble but I was on the same baot as you were. I fed Royal Cannin Chi puppy wasn't too happy with it, so made the switch to prey model raw. I know you said you wanted Kibble but perhaps a browse into raw could give you a more rounded perspective of all the possible diets for your chi.

ps. PICS

 

[liss77]

I agree with Kat, EVO is the way to go if you want a premium grain free kibble, we never had any problems on it and the dogs coats and teeth looked fantastic. I did try other grain frees and our pups turned their noses up at them.

We also used EVO for our late ragdoll cat Lou who had renal issues and he did well on it.

Ay the moment we are feeding raw, but I am finding the prep a bit much for me and am looking at going to a premade like BARF (this is locally made in Australia) or Ziwipeak as so many on here recommend it.

Good luck finding something that works for you and you princess

 

[flippedstars]

The turkey meal ingredient concerns me a little. I think meals are supposed to be a no no. It should be just straight up turkey. Or straight up chicken. Etc. But with that being said, I think what you linked to would be a waaaaay better choice than Science Diet. My new fella is actually on Blue right now. When he came to me he was on Eukanuba. His eyes teared all the time and his coat was amazingly dull. Because he's gray, I thought maybe gray is just naturally dull. After he adjusted to his new home I switched him over to Blue Small Breed Puppy Chicken and Oatmeal (I just checked. It has deboned chicken and chicken meal). After about 5 weeks or so, his coat has shine to it! His eyes still tear a little so I wonder if the oatmeal isn't working for him. But it's obviously better than what he was on.
I say give it a try. See how it goes. I think it's a way better choice than SD.

Turkey meal, chicken meal, beef meal, etc. are actually the DESIRED ingredients in dry foods, if a food is listed as just 'chicken' or 'turkey' it means it includes moisture. Moisture has to be removed to make a dry food. Therefore once moisture has been removed, there is MUCH LESS of the ingredient in the food than where it appears on the ingredient list. A meat meal is simply the meat with moisture removed so it is a more accurate representation of the actual amount of the ingredient in a product that is dry.

 

[Smith]

If you are sticking with a premade kibble food, I'd vote for ZiwiPeak. No grains, uses exotic meats (venison) and most dogs really like the taste. It's about as close to raw feeding as you can get, without actually raw feeding.

 

[Blue Chi]

I just used Ziwipeak for the first time yesterday. It's actually very easy to use. As easy as kibble. Just put it in the bowl. Add water if you want. So don't let that concern be a factor in your choice to try something like that.

 

[EmberLuvu]

Wellness is a wonderful food for all dogs, as is Natural Balance, as is Taste of the Wild, as is Blue Buffalo, and so on and so on.

However, science diet is horrible.

But if you can't afford those brands at the top of this post, then I reccomend going with a food that has something like "chicken meal" or another meat meal as the top ingredient, and some kind of meat as the second, and it needs to have both fruits AND vegetables, artificial flavors and preservatives are no-no's.

And Blue Chi, meals are good. See, if it's just straight up "Chicken", that's bad. Chicken contains 80% of water. So once processed, it is very little meat. However meals are drained of the water, they use alot more therefore making it mainly meat instead of mainly water.

Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble

I reccomend you go there.

 

[Eddie]

WOW! I went away for a day or so and I have all this stuff to look at! I am going to be reading all the posts now and will get back to you guys. Thanks

 

[rms3402]

Since you said you want to stick with kibble, I HIGHLY recommend Fromm (members on here recommended it to me). They have all different kinds and they even carry grain free. Here is the website Fromm Family Foods - Four-Star Gourmet Dog Food. I will never change kibbles, because IMO this is one of the best . Others really like Acana and I have heard Orijen too. I believe those two are kind of similar.

Check out the dog food analysis websites, like the one Karen (jesuschick) gave you up there. Make sure to aim for a 5 - 6 star food.

I think you would like it if you tried pre-made raw like Stella and Chewys. You can get frozen or freeze-dried patties. They are so simple and easy and dogs LOVE THEM! ZiwiPeak is another good one. I'm not sure what your budget is, as this one can get a little pricey, but dogs love this too.

Roxy is on a bit of a rotation between her Fromm, Stella and Chewys, and ZiwiPeak. She loves all of them, but would die for her Stella and Chewys. She scarfs that down like someone is waiting to steal it from her EVERY TIME! Definitely check them out. Even if you try it only once, it's worth it. You can make them last a while.

 

[Eddie]

Okay, I think I have decided on Wellness! But I don't know which to pick! Super5Mix, Simple, or Core?! Since Simple is for allergies is that grain free like Core? AHHH!!!


I am sure if she does well with this I may try some of the premade raw stuff but for now I am just focused on getting her out of the Science Diet type food lane.


Also, I hate to be a pain but what do you guys think about those Dingo bones? She is obsessed with them. I can't even say or spell the word "dingo" without her going nuts". If you think they're terrible what do you recommend for chewing? What about treats?


I am so sorry for asking so much and having so little to give but I am new to this and I just want the best for her. I really appreciate every answer you all are giving and the time it takes you to type it. We both are. I feel terrible and guilty for being in the dark all these years that I am trying to rectify it ASAP!