Need dog food help please!

[february2003bride]

We adopted a rescue 9 year old Shih Tzu (Sophia) about 4 weeks ago. We love and adore her to pieces! She's adjusted so well to our family but we are having a problem with her food and poop.

When we adopted her, the rescue organization gave us a bag of Science Diet for older dogs. But the foster mom said she wouldn't eat it and would really only eat Cesar's wet dog food. We were feeding it to her until we went to the vet who said it was basically junk. The problem is, Sophia is very picky. She won't eat SC dry food, we found that she will eat Alpo canned but I feel like that's junk as well. Plus since she's been on it, her poop is diarreah.

So I'm at a loss. I don't want to keep messing with her tummy, so should I go back to Cesar's wet food? Ideally we would like her on a good, healthy dry food that she likes. Any recommendations on dry food? How about her tummy? She hasn't eaten today and had diarreah earlier

Thank you!

Feb03Bride

 

[TooPatient]

We use Orijens dog food. It is VERY good and the dogs love it.

Orijen's link


ETA: Getting a good food will help with tummy problems. Start with small amounts throughout the day to see how your new doggie is going to react.

 

[Autumnovember]

We use Grandma Lucy's....its awesome. Just add hot water

It even smells delicious to me! My vet doesn't recommend feeding dogs dry food or wet but he actually gave me the OK on this brand because its made up of a lot of natural ingredients and nutrients dogs need...it even smells delicious to me!

http://www.grandmalucys.com/retail/home.php?cat=6


Also here are some reviews:


http://www.petco.com/product/109892/Grandma-Lucy's-Artisan-Chicken-Grain-Free-Dog-Food.aspx#BVRRWidgetID

 

[soocool]

You should try to transition her slowly. Mix 3/4 old food with 1/4 new food , then after a few days 1/2 old and 1/2 new, a few days later 1/4 old and 3/4 new and she should be fine. Then if everything seems fine 100% new food.
Since she is 9 years old the softer wet food may be easier for her to chew/eat if she has any teeth issues.

I think that the dog food you serve depends on the breed as well as the age of the dog. I tried several before I found a winner. My dog eats Canidae lamb and rice dry food. One meat source is easier on the stomach and lamb is pretty easy on the tummy. Sometimes my dog is picky and I will add some warm water to the kibble and he devours it.

Just wanted to add that my neighbor had a Pomeranian who only ate cooked ham and oreo cookies most of its life and it lived for 20 years.

 

[lyra]

Our first dog was a shih tzu. We fed her Kibbles n Bits, we didn't know better. If she was fine with Cesar, I don't see a need to switch now that she's 9 years old. As long as she is healthy, her food is fine.

 

[davi_el_mejor]

At 9 her teeth may not be in the best of shape. So hard kibble may be too painful to eat.

I would suggest looking at 4+ star dog foods on dogfoodanalysis.com, research what food fits your budget. They even have a wet food analysis.

If you want to try kibble, I would suggest putting about 3 tbsp of hot water or low sodium chicken broth in it to soften it up. If you're going to do that find a food with no ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is found to increase chances of bloat in dogs when the food is mixed with liquids.

Pet nutrition is something I care a lot about and can't in good conscience recommend Alpo, Science Diet, Pedigree etc. I've done months of research on ingredients, ingredient sources, allergens and what ingredients are according to AAFCO.

If the only place you have to buy food is Petco, they sell Wellness brand food. Which IMO is the best you'll get from big chain stores. Wellness Core (grain free) is the top of line for them and that's what my dogs are on at this time. I switch up between Wellness Core, Orijen and Innova EVO.

As temp fix for the diarrhea go to your store, find plain pumpkin filling (no spices, just plain pumpkin) and give a tbsp once a day. It's great for diarrhea.

You can also plain boil chicken breast and rice for her. This is a very bland diet and good for settling an upset stomach.

 

[sctsbride09]

At 9, Im not so sure I would go messing with her diet too much. She is at an age where dry food may be too difficult for her to chew, but if you do want to try I would ditto the others that said to add a bit of water or chicken broth to it to soften it for her. We feed our dogs Canidae, and they love it, but when they start to age I will slowly switch them to a homemade diet. Meat (chicken/lamb) + carb (rice or oatmeal) +veggies (sweet potatoes, carrots,peas,etc), I have done this with all my dogs as they age, and it really seems to help. If you cant get her to eat the dry food, may I suggest the home cooked route? Its very gentle on their tummy, and its pretty cost effective actually(if you get the meat on sale), AND if you make a huge batch once a week and freeze in portions, its not too difficult. Just a thought. Hope you find something that works for you and your pooch.

ETA- I have to agree with the pp about the quality of alpo, and in fact all dog food sold at grocery stores. The quality is very poor, and does not take into account what a dog actually requires nutritionally. For example, most dogs are allergic to corn, yet what is the first ingredient in dry food? Usually corn products. If a dry food does not have MEAT as the first listed ingredient, put it down and step AWAY from the dog food.

 

[JewelFreak]

All the feeds recommended above are good. There's also Wysong, Eagle Pak & a few others. Some are too much for some dogs -- Innova gave my Siberians diarrhea, for instance. You do have to make the change slowly -- I do it over about 10 days, starting w/just a little new stuff, increasing bit by bit. I mix dry food with a few tablespoons (less for a ShihTzu nuked ground chicken or turkey, sometimes pieces of breast, and enough water to lubricate it a little.

As far as not liking some foods, dogs have their preferences as people do. However, if it's a good quality food w/what she needs, I make mine eat it or go hungry. No pandering to picky appetites -- they'll train you if you let 'em. They'll try to make you think they're gonna drop at your feet but it's surprising how fast they decide to like it. (I'd make sure yours is all healthy & built up first.) Next time you take her to the vet, have her teeth looked at -- if the mouth is ok, I'm pretty strong on crunchy foods for dogs.

If you have a holistic pet supply store nearby, you might talk to them. I really wish there were better sources on dog nutrition -- vets in general don't know a lot, it isn't a big part of their curriculum; each dog health food store I've been to has different (strongly-held) opinions, often based on the latest fad without scientific evidence; and how do you sort all the internet stuff out? Some of what each source tells you makes sense, some is wacky.

Bless your heart for taking in a 9-yr-old!!!! Haloes & gold stars for you.

--- Laurie

 

[TooPatient]

One of our dogs is 12 years old (or so -- could be as old as 14/15) and still does fine with cruchy foods. Her teeth aren't the greatest but she doesn't have trouble with it.

A benefit to the dry food is that it can actually help keep a dog's teeth clean so you can reduce the amount of build-up and minimize the possibility of having to do a tooth cleaning for an older dog. Good pet supply stores also carry tooth cleaning stuff that you can give dogs to prevent build up (even in a dog who won't let you brush). We're using something now (just the last couple of weeks) that we give to our older dog every night before bed and it coats her teeth as she eats it and softens the tartar/plaque build up so that when she eats her dry food the build up comes off. (slow process but I'm seeing progress and she might not have to go in for a tooth cleaning if it keeps going like this!)


Anyway, my whole point here is that you should look around for a high quality pet supply store and see what they have. It usually costs a bit more but you actually feed smaller portions (since it has better nutritional value) so it actually isn't that much more expensive. The ladies (or men) who run these shops are very often a great source of information and have other great products that you may find useful too.

 

[Haven]

We're transitioning our new Shih Tzu (8 yrs old) from some crappy kibble diet that he was getting in his last home to Nature's Variety raw food patties. He's so tiny that he only needs four patties a day--the same amount that we feed our biggest cat! I'm not sure if you're open to feeding a raw diet, but for a tiny dog it is super easy when you feed them the tiny patties!

I think we'll need some pictures of your new pup to help you make the right decision, though!

 

[Autumnovember]

We're transitioning our new Shih Tzu (8 yrs old) from some crappy kibble diet that he was getting in his last home to Nature's Variety raw food patties. He's so tiny that he only needs four patties a day--the same amount that we feed our biggest cat! I'm not sure if you're open to feeding a raw diet, but for a tiny dog it is super easy when you feed them the tiny patties!

I think we'll need some pictures of your new pup to help you make the right decision, though!

Can you tell me more about these patties and where I can find them?! We feed our dog a raw food diet along with Grandma Lucys.

 

[kelpie]

I sometimes make my own dogfood and it's a big hit. It starts like stew with browned meat then add water, 10 min brown rice, veggies (usually fresh carrots, spinach, frozen green peas/beans and sweet potato). I usually add eggs too so they get some protein in every bite. I often add flax seed too. The resulting ratio is 1/3 meat, 1/3 veggies, and 1/3 starch and is the texture of a rice pilaf. You must never feed them mushrooms, grapes, onions, or garlic though. A large stew pot makes enough for 2 small doggies for a week. I started doing it because my dog had induced liver damage in himself by eating onions and the vet said they wanted him on science diet liver diet which is $60 a bag and I frankly did not think the ingredients were high quality so after going through one bag of that I just started making the most wholesome food I could.

 

[soocool]

We're transitioning our new Shih Tzu (8 yrs old) from some crappy kibble diet that he was getting in his last home to Nature's Variety raw food patties. He's so tiny that he only needs four patties a day--the same amount that we feed our biggest cat! I'm not sure if you're open to feeding a raw diet, but for a tiny dog it is super easy when you feed them the tiny patties!

I think we'll need some pictures of your new pup to help you make the right decision, though!

Can you tell me more about these patties and where I can find them?! We feed our dog a raw food diet along with Grandma Lucys.

Autumnovember: I think you told me you live in PA. I've seen these at Dogs and Cats Rule in Newtown (near the Acme) and at Pet Valu (also in Newtown - Genuardis shopping center, near Five Below)

 

[Autumnovember]

We're transitioning our new Shih Tzu (8 yrs old) from some crappy kibble diet that he was getting in his last home to Nature's Variety raw food patties. He's so tiny that he only needs four patties a day--the same amount that we feed our biggest cat! I'm not sure if you're open to feeding a raw diet, but for a tiny dog it is super easy when you feed them the tiny patties!

I think we'll need some pictures of your new pup to help you make the right decision, though!

Can you tell me more about these patties and where I can find them?! We feed our dog a raw food diet along with Grandma Lucys.

Autumnovember: I think you told me you live in PA. I've seen these at Dogs and Cats Rule in Newtown (near the Acme) and at Pet Valu (also in Newtown - Genuardis shopping center, near Five Below)

Yep, I'm right in Holland

I know where both are, perfect! Thank you so much. Do you just serve them as is? Or do they go in the freezer or something?

PS...have you tried the spicy tuna pizza at Otaya yet?

You live in New Hope, right? SO wants to buy a house there in a few years but they're so expensive

 

[Haven]

Hey Autumn!

Sounds like you already got some info about where to find them. We keep the bags of the medallions frozen and only refrigerate what we'll use for two days' worth of food.

My husband did all the raw diet research so I could be wrong with this, but I think it is bad for dogs to feed them a mixture of cooked and raw meat. I'm not positive, but I believe that's what he told me. Just in case Grandma Lucy's is cooked food.

(And I PROMISE to share those Apple Fest pics, soon! My camera died at the orchard, and my second battery turned out to be a dud, so I have to wait for my BIL for pictures from our house.)

 

[Autumnovember]

Hey Autumn!

Sounds like you already got some info about where to find them. We keep the bags of the medallions frozen and only refrigerate what we'll use for two days' worth of food.

My husband did all the raw diet research so I could be wrong with this, but I think it is bad for dogs to feed them a mixture of cooked and raw meat. I'm not positive, but I believe that's what he told me. Just in case Grandma Lucy's is cooked food.

(And I PROMISE to share those Apple Fest pics, soon! My camera died at the orchard, and my second battery turned out to be a dud, so I have to wait for my BIL for pictures from our house.)

Thank you for the info Haven! Grandma Lucy's is just grain free food that is freeze dried and gets all soft and mushy when you add hot water =]

I was JUST going to harass you again about those pictures, hahaha

Also, UMDNJ got my application and now I'm waiting to find out the decision. I think of you every time I think about my application

 

[soocool]

We're transitioning our new Shih Tzu (8 yrs old) from some crappy kibble diet that he was getting in his last home to Nature's Variety raw food patties. He's so tiny that he only needs four patties a day--the same amount that we feed our biggest cat! I'm not sure if you're open to feeding a raw diet, but for a tiny dog it is super easy when you feed them the tiny patties!

I think we'll need some pictures of your new pup to help you make the right decision, though!

Can you tell me more about these patties and where I can find them?! We feed our dog a raw food diet along with Grandma Lucys.

Autumnovember: I think you told me you live in PA. I've seen these at Dogs and Cats Rule in Newtown (near the Acme) and at Pet Valu (also in Newtown - Genuardis shopping center, near Five Below)

Yep, I'm right in Holland

I know where both are, perfect! Thank you so much. Do you just serve them as is? Or do they go in the freezer or something?

PS...have you tried the spicy tuna pizza at Otaya yet?

You live in New Hope, right? SO wants to buy a house there in a few years but they're so expensive

Excuse the threadjack! Haven't tried the spicy tuna pizza yet. Trying to convince DH to go. We bought land here over 20 years ago and built our own home (not in a development) when it was pretty cheap. The building boom started here about 14 years ago and that is when prices soared so we did pretty well for ourselves. You could look for older homes in New Hope or Pineville, Wrightstown, Wycombe, Penns Park and do what a lot of people are doing, fixing them up and expanding the homes. I consider these areas the cream of the crop when it comes to land and privacy.

 

[Haven]

Also, UMDNJ got my application and now I'm waiting to find out the decision. I think of you every time I think about my application

I didn't want to ask you about it in case you didn't want to think about it, but you should know I'VE been thinking about it and sending dust your way! Can't wait to hear the good news!!!!

 

[Autumnovember]

We're transitioning our new Shih Tzu (8 yrs old) from some crappy kibble diet that he was getting in his last home to Nature's Variety raw food patties. He's so tiny that he only needs four patties a day--the same amount that we feed our biggest cat! I'm not sure if you're open to feeding a raw diet, but for a tiny dog it is super easy when you feed them the tiny patties!

I think we'll need some pictures of your new pup to help you make the right decision, though!

Can you tell me more about these patties and where I can find them?! We feed our dog a raw food diet along with Grandma Lucys.

Autumnovember: I think you told me you live in PA. I've seen these at Dogs and Cats Rule in Newtown (near the Acme) and at Pet Valu (also in Newtown - Genuardis shopping center, near Five Below)

Yep, I'm right in Holland

I know where both are, perfect! Thank you so much. Do you just serve them as is? Or do they go in the freezer or something?

PS...have you tried the spicy tuna pizza at Otaya yet?

You live in New Hope, right? SO wants to buy a house there in a few years but they're so expensive

Excuse the threadjack! Haven't tried the spicy tuna pizza yet. Trying to convince DH to go. We bought land here over 20 years ago and built our own home (not in a development) when it was pretty cheap. The building boom started here about 14 years ago and that is when prices soared so we did pretty well for ourselves. You could look for older homes in New Hope or Pineville, Wrightstown, Wycombe, Penns Park and do what a lot of people are doing, fixing them up and expanding the homes. I consider these areas the cream of the crop when it comes to land and privacy.

Ahhh...you must, you must

That sounds amazing (buying land). I found some houses I really liked in Yardley, so thats a possibility too. Thanks for all of the suggestions, SO really love those areas because of the privacy and peace

Sorry for the threadjack!

 

[Autumnovember]

Also, UMDNJ got my application and now I'm waiting to find out the decision. I think of you every time I think about my application

I didn't want to ask you about it in case you didn't want to think about it, but you should know I'VE been thinking about it and sending dust your way! Can't wait to hear the good news!!!!

2-3 weeks! *keeping my fingers crossed*

 

[lliang_chi]

Dunno if you decided on a type of food. But with the diarrhea now, probably best to put her on bland diet (ask any vet office for Hill's ID or bland diet). Put her on that for a few days. Any of the better brands that were recommended sound good. I feed my dog Flint River Ranch, also one those premium brands. They have a "mix with water to make food" type as well.

Good luck.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

At 9 her teeth may not be in the best of shape. So hard kibble may be too painful to eat.

I would suggest looking at 4+ star dog foods on dogfoodanalysis.com, research what food fits your budget. They even have a wet food analysis.

If you want to try kibble, I would suggest putting about 3 tbsp of hot water or low sodium chicken broth in it to soften it up. If you're going to do that find a food with no ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid is found to increase chances of bloat in dogs when the food is mixed with liquids.

Pet nutrition is something I care a lot about and can't in good conscience recommend Alpo, Science Diet, Pedigree etc. I've done months of research on ingredients, ingredient sources, allergens and what ingredients are according to AAFCO.

If the only place you have to buy food is Petco, they sell Wellness brand food. Which IMO is the best you'll get from big chain stores. Wellness Core (grain free) is the top of line for them and that's what my dogs are on at this time. I switch up between Wellness Core, Orijen and Innova EVO.

As temp fix for the diarrhea go to your store, find plain pumpkin filling (no spices, just plain pumpkin) and give a tbsp once a day. It's great for diarrhea.

You can also plain boil chicken breast and rice for her. This is a very bland diet and good for settling an upset stomach.

We feed our dogs Wellness CORE (and my cats too, though obviously for cats), and Before Grain which is also now at Petco. I like both a lot.

Our old dog that died last November was the same - he would only eat Kibbles n Bits and Cesar's wet food. We didn't know then that those two were junky - I wish we had. The key is to transition slowly - mix the new food with the old one and slowly wean the dog off the old food.

 

[JewelFreak]

Admire you who make your own food -- it takes a goodly amount of research to get the right nutrition in it. I'm always afraid I'd do it wrong -- just putting in what would be a balanced human diet can be really bad for dogs, who need different minerals & vitamins, etc., in different proportions. Especially when I have a dog who is sick -- my little female Siberian currently has a liver infection we can't get a handle on, frustrating as heck -- I'm tempted to try it but don't trust myself to do it well. So I leave it to to good manufacturers. I'm gonna take her for a long fast walk right now!

--- Laurie

 

[audball]

I have a cat and a dog and we feed a kibble/raw combo. To help keep they're teeth strong (since Darwin doesn't chew/play with toys) I give them high quality kibble for breakfast, and their raw food for dinner. Darwin (10 lbs) gets 4 oz of food/day, 2 oz kibble for breakfast, 2 oz raw for dinner. Molly (12.5 lbs) gets 5 oz of food/day, 2 oz kibble for breakfast, 3 oz faw for dinner. They both adore their food.

For raw:
We've tried both Nature's Variety (already mentioned) and Primal (feline forumula for Darwin the cat, and canine formula for Molly the dog). Both come in indivdually frozen 1 oz pieces (called medallions for Nature's Variety, and nuggets for Primal). Both of my pet's seem to have a preference for Primal, it's a bit more expensive, but I like it better too having fed both.

For kibble:
We've done a lot of research here and several mentioned are very good foods. Personally, we use Halo Spot's Stew (again feline formula and canine formula). Very good, high quality food. Merrick is another good one that can have water added like many of the other types mentioned to make a softer gravy like food.

FWIW, our vet thinks science diet is crap (which it kind of is, if you read the ingredients), and won't carry it despite the kickbacks they offer vets to recommend and stock it.

Goodluck! They are ALOT of really good options for food available and it can be very confusing. Scout your local pet stores (try to find non-chain stores, they tend to carry more holistic, GOOD foods) and see what you can get locally. If selection is poor, try online to order and have it delivered to your house. Both Merrick and Spot's Stew (the kibbles we use) also have very good high quality canned wet foods available if kibble is difficult for your new baby to chew