PLEASE HELP!!! Questions about food!

[annah1043]

I just got home from buying my yorkie Solid Gold Just a Wee bit. I was excited about getting her a new good quality food, and I googled it, and I've read some terrible things about it! She is only 3 lbs full grown so I worry about the protein content, etc. Some people said great things, others said terrible things about UTIs, digestive problems, etc. I am very frustrated because I've been through food after food with her and I really want to settle down on one. She is allergic to chicken, and small, so I have to buy a kibble that's small and poultry free! She won't eat it if it's big or even medium sized. I just took her off of Natural Balance, which she liked- but her allergies were still bothering her. The lady at the store told me it could be because she was on Duck and Potato, and since it's still bird, duck could bother her as well. I don't care how expensive the food is, I just want a good one that I don't have to worry about anymore! I was considering raw, but I am in medical school, and to be honest I have very LITTLE time to feed myself!! (I'm joking, just trying to make a point of how busy I am). I just don't think I can commit to that at this time, but I wan't to do whatever I can for my little girl.

Please give me some feedback! I posted on here a few days ago about if I should switch from Natural Balance and got NOTHING back!

PS- I'd love to try Wellness, but the pieces in the bag felt bigger than what I think she will eat. They offered smaller bites, but they had chicken. Also liked Taste of the Wild, which was bigger.
Please post!

[Fatalivy]

Hi, my 2 yr old yorkie has been on solid gold for 2 yrs. and has had no problems. he did get bored with however, so i recently switched to acana grasslands and he gets so excited to see me getting it out. he never did that with solid gold. every dog is different, so the reviews you read, doesn't mean it'll happen to your dog.

[Fatalivy]

one more thing....i've tried wellness as well and the kibbles are bigger than solid gold, but it was not difficult for my dog to eat.

[annah1043]

Thank you for a response! I am worried about Millie getting bored too- which I think she was starting to with the Natural Balance. How often is okay to be switching foods? She LOVED the Solid Gold just now, but she usually likes anything new.

So Wellness was not too big? The small bites I felt seemed small enough, but it was chicken flavor. Any of the other flavors were too big. Hopefully I'll see some good results with Solid Gold. Thank you again for the response!

[princessizzy]

I totally understand where your coming from... we went through lots of dog food.. if the kibble was to big I just put some in a gallon ziplock bag and broke it up with a rolling pin.. I free feed Orijen kibble and Primal raw in the morning to Izzy. It's been the best combo for her. Hope this helps

[My Sophia]

Have you thought about some type of raw diet? I've got my two on Stella and Chewie's raw beef formula. It's a freeze dried, comes in patties about the size of a hockey puck. it crumbles up very easily and you can either add water to make it moist/soft or just crumble it up and serve as is. With two, it also works great for me for portion control. i know Soph, my little skinny girl, is getting enough, and i know that my little chunky monkey Gulliver isn't getting too much. And best of all they absolutely love it, go nuts when they know it's time for breakfast and supper. With one as small as yours, she'd only need one patty/day so a bag would last around a month I think. There's also honest kitchen, primal, nature's variety, loads of other raw diets that might work for you. some like S & C are frozen or freeze dried and ready to serve, others are dehydrated and you either add just water or add water and your own protein source.

[annah1043]

Good idea about breaking it up in a ziplock! Never thought of that- this Solid Gold is tiny, so if she does well with it hopefully it won't be a problem!

Where do you buy the frozen raw diet? That sounds easy enough, but I'm not sure we have anything selling it around here.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Commercially prepared frozen raw food is very easy to feed. There are many good brands available (Stella and Chewy's, Nature's Variety, Primal, etc). They are supplied in bags of pre-measured medallions, so you can measure the amount to feed just by eye-balling it.

One meal for my three small dogs is 5 medallions. When I open a new bag, I just divide the bag into individual ziplock bags containing 5 medallions each. Then, each day, I just move the amount they will need for the next day from the freezer to the fridge for thawing. I spend far less than 5 minutes per day feeding them, and they eat it really quickly, so feeding commercially prepared raw is very quick and easy.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Originally Posted by annah1043

Good idea about breaking it up in a ziplock! Never thought of that- this Solid Gold is tiny, so if she does well with it hopefully it won't be a problem!

Where do you buy the frozen raw diet? That sounds easy enough, but I'm not sure we have anything selling it around here.

What part of SC are you in? Are you close to any major cities?

[annah1043]

I am closest Columbia. There is a really good pet store in Columbia that may carry it- I have never asked. Thank you very much! I will call them and ask about the brands you've named.

[OwnedByJezebel]

Here ya go:

Store Locator Results | Nature's Variety

Primal Pet Foods: Store Locator

Stella and Chewy's doesn't list any retailers in that area, but you could certainly find an online retailer. There online stores that ship frozen raw, but I would personally feel uncomfortable with that. But the S&C freeze dried would certainly be a good option if you want to shop online.

[Walt]

Solid Gold made my puppy sick. He's 4 months and 3lbs. He was on a different high quality food and that made him sick so I asked the pet store owner what could be a different food would be good for Walt and he recommended Solid Gold. It gave him an upset tummy and he had blood in his stool. The poor thing, I could hear his little tummy grumbling and the vet told me to give him stomach meds. The first 3 weeks I had him we were at the vet 4 times because every food we tried (only 2) made him sick! So after lots of stress, a sick puppy and lots of tears we have him on a perscription food for puppies with sensitive tummies.

But I hope your puppy does well on the food!

[Shorkielover]

I feed my dog Wellness Small Breed which is perfect for him. You are correct though when you said it has chicken in it. If you like Wellness they now have Wellness Limited Ingredient which has one protein source such as fish, duck or turkey I believe. It might be worth trying a limited ingredient. I'll be honest I don't know the kibble size. . . sorry!

[BabyGirl Rosie]

I use Wellness small breed also and I am very happy with it. I know that Wellness carries something for dogs with allergies because my mom's dog just switched to it. Can't remember the name; however I know the bag is blue and white. And it still says Wellness on it.

Also, if you will contact Wellness they will send you samples. When I was switching foods they sent me three different samples to try. I emailed ten companies and they are the only ones who did send samples. And a coupon!

Good luck on finding a new food!

[MaddiesMommie]

I bought Solid Gold and had to return the bag, Maddie sniffed it and would not even try it. We feed TOTW and they have been on it for almost a year now and still lovin it.