[sandmama]

Hi!

I am currently feeding my Chi Nutro All Natural Lamb and Rice but was thinking of switching to a higher end holistic food like Innova or Canidae.

Do you have an opinions on the foods about? What do you feed your Chi right now and why?

Thanks for any input :wave:

 

[karis]

At the moment I feed Ella Pro Plan Puppy for small breeds because that is what the breeder had her on. When she turns 8 months old I plan on switching her to Royal Canine Chihuahua because of the wonderful reviews I have heard about from this message board!!!

 

[JOLIE'SMOM]

I feed Jolie Hill's p/d because my vet told me to for 3 days when she had an upset tummy and i just kept her on it. Boomer eats it too. My grown chis eat nutro max.

 

[TuckersMom]

Tucker eats Royal Canin Chihuahua. He ate Eukanuba Puppy food, then we switched to the Royal Canin at a year. I like the fact that it has Glucosamine and Chondroitin in it for joint health. Also, Tucker is a very picky eater and Eukanuba and Royal Canin were the only foods I could get him to eat.

 

[sandmama]

Thanks for answering!

I have heard something about the Royal Canin for Chi's also. Is it completely and specifically for Chi's? Do they make one for every breed? Did you notice a change in loss stools or being more thirsty when you first switched them to the Royal Canin?

I am still potty training and someone had told me their dog seemed very thirsty on the Royal Canin Chihuahua!

 

[amykate]

Josie gets Royal Canin's Sensible Choice Puppy Food. She absolutely LOVES it and never has problems being thirsty or anything. The breeder had been feeding her Purina Lil Bites and gave me a little bowl of it to mix with whatever food I planned on using. After trying the Royal Canin, Josie would pick the RC out of the mix and leave the Purina food!

I chose RC based on so many raves from people here and I'm glad that I did. That brings up an interesting question, though: how long do I continue to feed her puppy food before switching to the RC Chi type?

 

[Cooper]

I feed Cooper Natural Balance Reduced Calorie dry food and Wellness canned food. He only gets canned because OmaKitty does and he freaks out if he doesn't get some as well. He only gets a tablespoon of it, mixed in with the dry but I use that because it's human-grade and "better" for him than other mainstream foods. He didn't like the Wellness dry food, so I switched to Natural Balance. NB is made by Dick Van Patten (from TV's Eight is Enough) and we buy that because, once again, it's all natural and the bonus is that he donates a lot of money to animal welfare places. Cooper loves the food, too.

ROFL... I just realized the word filter caught D.ick Van Patten's name and changed it!! LOL

I know a large percentage of folks on here feed their chis Royal Canin and I considered switching but Cooper needs a reduced calorie food and Royal Canin diet has 10% more fat, 1000 more k-cals and, generally, isn't good for Cooper's needs. Plus, the feeding guidelines are 3 times what NB's are and I just can't see feeding him THAT much food when it's that much worse for him.

That being said, I want to know how all these Royal Canin pups are so skinny and Cooper is still a husky boy!! :lol:

 

[Chico's Mama]

I feed Chico Wellness. He absolutely loves it and I chose it because I think the ingredients are great. The Nutro Lamb and Rice you're talking about is a very good food, IMO. I fed Chico that as a puppy, but he got tired of it so I switched to the NutroMax puppy and he really liked that.

 

[sandmama]

Wow, thanks for such great info!

So...Royal Canin Chihuahua is for adult Chi's? But there is a puppy food too? Do they have a wheat free formula? Has anyone had any allergy problems with their Chi's while on Royal Canin?

Normally a puppy would be on the puppy formula for the first year. However, I have heard in certain breeds of dogs that they are not supposed to be on it that long because there is too much protein and causes their bones to grow too fast. Has anyone heard this about Chi's?

 

[Chico's Mama]

Wow, thanks for such great info!

So...Royal Canin Chihuahua is for adult Chi's? But there is a puppy food too? Do they have a wheat free formula? Has anyone had any allergy problems with their Chi's while on Royal Canin?

Normally a puppy would be on the puppy formula for the first year. However, I have heard in certain breeds of dogs that they are not supposed to be on it that long because there is too much protein and causes their bones to grow too fast. Has anyone heard this about Chi's?

The Royal Canin Chihuahua 28 formula is for adult chi's, but royal canin does make a puppy food (not a chi puppy formula, but a MAXI puppy formula for big dogs and a MINI puppy formula for small dogs)

The Royal Canin puppy foods are the MINI Puppy 33, which is for small breed dogs up to 20 pounds. There is also the Royal Canin MINI Babydog 30, which is also for small breed dogs up to 20 pounds. Then they have a Royal Canin Natural Blend Puppy which is a holistic blend. The other Royal Canin puppy foods are for medium and large dogs.

As for the amount of time to be on puppy food, it all depends on the dog and you. Some people have switched their chi's over to adult food at 8-10 months or around there. I had Chico on puppy food until he was a year old. Puppy food is very rich, so if you're not sure when to make the switch, I'd ask your vet. I hope this info helps you

 

[Cooper]

Cooper switched to adult food at 4 months per the vet's suggestion. Just thought I'd throw that "morsel" out there. (I'm so punny!)

 

[Kioana]

when i gave jamoke Royal Canin Chihuahua he didn't really care for it so i gave him purina puppy chow. and he loves it
jemini came with her own food from the breeder and when she tasted moka's food he didn't eat her food any more

 

[Alli]

Hi - I feed my 6 month puppy Innova Puppy food. It's a really great product...I have no complaints, except that the pieces are not very small, but fortunately he likes to crunch them up. He goes crazy for it, so much so I can also use it as treats to bribe him. It's more expensive than most brands, but considering how much chi's eat it's really not bad. I just feel really good he's getting such quality ingredients. Their website is excellent <www.naturapet.com> it compares all the other brands to theirs. There are no by-products, fillers, or corn, and everything is human grade. When he's around 10 months, I think I might switch him to the Innova Evo (the raw version). Hope that helps!

 

[labtestedchi]

right now we are feeding Diamond Lamb and Rice kibble..mixed with cooked rice and boiled hamburger. For snacks or treats they get raw bones and fresh veggies.

 

[LittleMagicChihuahuas]

Hi

Hi there, well I feed my dogs the Royal Mini Chihuahua

 

[chimommy]

I fee Royal Canin Mini Puppy right now and will be switching Angel to Mini Chihuahua formula when the time comes. Angel and I are both really happy with RC.

 

[amykate]

I checked the description on the RC Chi food on PetsMart.com and it says that it's for Chis 8 months and older, so I suppose that would be a good time to change from puppy food to adult food.

 

[sandmama]

Thanks for all this great information!

My Chi eats the Nutro fine and I do supplement with some meat and veggies and fruits now and again! But I knew there were better foods out there.

I went to Innova's website Natura.com and it is so great. You can compare all the different brands and it is easier than going to the store and trying to look on the actual bags.

Innova seems to be the one with real meat as their top 3 ingredients and they have apples, carrots, tomatoes, cottage cheese and lots of other good stuff in it. There is a store right down the road that carries it. I think I will go and get a bag today and see if Chewy likes it!

I am a little worried about how much it is but since Chi's eat so little anyway the 5 pound bag couldn't be too much more than the 9.99 for the Nutro.

Thanks again for all the GREAT responses!

Chi slobbery kisses to everyone

 

[Alli]

Unfortunately nobody carries Innova where i live so I get it shipped to me, and I definitely think it's well worth it. I'm sure you'll be really happy with it!

 

[sandmama]

Alli, he gobbled it up like crazy. I mixed just a little in with his Nutro and he picked out all the Innova pieces and left the rest. He didn't get the runs so I guess I am going to not mix it if he is going to pick it out!!

I feel great about giving him such a wonderful food. I do give him fresh meats and fruits on the side but now I know all the bases are covered!

Thanks :wave: