Recommended dog foods??

Question

I have a seven month old female chihuahua. We've been feeding her Iams, but she doesn't seem to like it much. Should we change her diet? If we should, what food is recommended?

Answer 1

You should avoid ALL dog foods that you can find in Walmart and the grocery store, Iams, Purina, Beneful, Pedigree, Ol Roy, Science Diet etc. They are all crappy dog foods, with very little nutrition, and contain preservatives and ingredients that should not be in dog foods.
Check out something like Wellness, Canidae, Evo, There are plenty of good quality dog foods that are human grade, with litttle / no grains, and are preserved naturally.

Answer 2

The best foods for a dog are from Mother Nature. Chihuahua's in particular prefer chicken, which you can cut up in small cubes and add a selection of green vegetables with perhaps a small tomato. You can mix this by slightly stir frying or partly raw, add some boiled rice and allow the heat of the rice to seal the flavours and vitamins of the vegetables. Chicken is best cooked, but if you give raw meat, I suggest you mince it. Add fresh herbs and a little garlic as this is a natural flea repellent. It also strengthens the immune system. I use Wendy Volhard Holistic Diet for dogs as a guide. Raw meat actually contains all the natural vitamins a dog requires, but in today's world, we do not know if animals are innoculated or have been treated with chemicals of a kind, hence certain meats are best cooked. Vegetables OTOH you can serve raw, chopped in small pieces. Variety is the spice of life and the occasional scrambled egg goes a long way.

PS My sister is a great Chihuahua fan and currently I am looking after a Chihuahua who is 4 months old and she loves the food I give her. In the week she has been here, at first she was very withdrawn, she has gained some weight, her coat is shining and she is bouncing around like a rabbit on springs.

Answer 3

Animal Food Services
Canidae
California Natural
Innova Evo
Wellness
Timberwolf Organics
Solid Gold
Natural Balance
Nature's Variety
....

These are all brands I recommend and some of which I feed. Iams is not a good food; it's packed with fillers and byproducts (basically, floor sweepings from slaughterhouses) and is not recommended by TRUE professionals (vets not trained in nutrition don't count!).

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com

The reviews and ratings of all Iams products will show you why you should never feed one of their products.

Answer 4

Canidae
California Naturals
Innova
Blue Buffalo
Solid Gold

I'm sure there are a few others people will recommend. Just nothing from the grocery store, lol. Some food snobs might disagree and say it's crap, but I don't think Iam is TERRIBLE, but you can definnitely do better, esp with a dog that small, and there will not be a hugh price difference.

Answer 5

yes, i feed solid gold. there are others out there just as good. read the label on bag, and check the ingredients. meat should be the #1 thing, not...CORN!!! just use good judgment when choosing, check out websites that compare foods and choose 2 or 3 from it. gradually introduce to dogs diet, and if you like the results, and the dog likes the food, use that product. feeding raw is still best, but i can not due to time/job issues.

Answer 6

you should never feed any foods you can purchase from a grocery store.

Purina
Pedigree
Iams
Beneful
Authority
Ol'roy
Alpo
Friskies
Etc.

Also stay away from...
Eukanuba
Science Diet
Nutro
Royal Canin

All those foods listed above are manufactured in China and were involved in the recall. They all are made with cheap by-products, corn, wheat, and fillers and none serve any nutritional value to a dog.

The foods i highly recommend are...
Wellness, Core
Innova, Evo
Canidae
Merrick
California Natural
Azmira
Eagle Pack Holistic Select

Of those foods I'd go with the Eagle Pack Holistic Select. They make a food formulated for small breed dogs. I feed my dogs both Wellness and Eagle pack I switch off so they don't become bored with the same food all the time.

Rule of thumb always read the ingredients if it contains by-products, wheat, or corn don't feed it to your dog.

Answer 7

iams is a large commercial brand but famous does NOT equal good quality. It is full of preservatives and by-products and contains grains as fillers. Yes you should change the diet and you should try products
by nutura pet. Innova is what we use. They use whole products and is human-grade. It is expensive compared to commercial or grocery store brands (about 25$/6.6 lbs) but it will benefit and make up because you'll have less vet visits, and have a longer lived and healthier pet.

go to www.innovapet.com or go to www.naturapet.com to look at other hollistic brands such as california natura, karma, etc.


ps; look on the ingredients list for innova. very good ingredients

p.s.s; stay away from the 'evo' because its protein levels are too high for dogs taht aren't working dogs.

Answer 8

Smart dog...

Wellness
Canidae
Innova
Natures Variety
Orijen
Solid Gold

are a few of the best brands.

Science Diet
Iams
Pedigree
Purina
Eukanuba
and anything you can get at the grocery store is crap food, full of nasty byproducts, indigestible fillers, and chemical preservatives and dyes.

If you feed your dog a quality dog food you save money in the end, it's actually cheaper because you feed less because they get more nutrition and you spend less in vet bills. Less clean up, smaller and less frequent poops that dissolve in days.

http://spear-barkennels.com/Feeding.php
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

Answer 9

The person that recommended these is right on target imo.

Canidae
California Naturals
Innova
Blue Buffalo
Solid Gold

We actually feed raw diets to our dogs and cats. They do extremely well on it, but it isn't for everyone...

We have a Weimaraner, 2 Chi's and a Maine Coon cat.

Answer 10

Science Diet small bites is what i feed my seven month old female chihuahua and she loves it.