[Babz]

Hello and greetings.

I got Mocha 2 months ago from a home breeder. She told me she feeds all her dogs Science Diet. I checked out the brand on the internet and it seems fine, so I continue feeding her this. But the more I go around, the more I hear unpleasant things about it.What I would like to know is:

1. Is science diet really, REALLY bad for my yorkie? Is there better food out there that costs about the same? Please bear in mind that I live in South East Asia, so I might not be able to get less popular yet very good brands.
2. How much to feed her a day? Mocha is 6 months old and she's about 4.5 lbs.
3. The instructions on the bag says 3/8 cup a day.. but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how much is 3/8 cups supposed to be.
4. I would like suggestions on healthy treats. Is jerky alright? I have difficulty finding dog cookies so for treats i feed her small bits of jerky instead. What about natural treats? I feed her a piece of carrot between meals as I have read that it makes a good snack. Is there any other opinion on this?
5. The breeder told me to feed her calcium supplements such as Suregrow. Is this advisable?

Off topic, but I would also love some input on shampoos that will not break my wallet. Mocha has white flecks coming off her skin, and I changed shampoo. Much better now but she still scratch a little excessively in my opinion. My shihtzu however, has no problem with both shampoo. I know it's not a good comparison, but I was just trying to get a "reading", so to speak.

I realise I have been very ignorant with my dogs. Quite ashamed at myself actually. The vet didn't say anything bad about science diet, I see his work, he seems to genuinely care about dogs, so I don't know if this is a bad thing or not.

Please help. I would like Mocha to live a long, healthy life as she is just the happiest most active dog there is.

Thank you beforehand.