[angel_evans]

Hi all,

YT has been an invaluable resource to me for the past year or so, but i have not had the chance to post much, as it is not accessible at work (and it sure doesn't help that i work 100-hour weeks)..
I am yet again in need of advise..

I am going off to New York for an 8 week business trip next week, and will need to leave my babies (Charlie and Izzie) at my parents.

I am currently feeding them a mix between freeze-dried raw in the mornings, prey model at night and free feed kibble in the bowl during the day (as per vet's instruction as Izzy and Charlie are both under 4 oz and prone to hypoglecemic attacks)
My problem is Grandma and Grampa don't want to feed raw meats my babies as they have 2 yorkie pups who are on mix of kibble (artemis small breed puppy), canned (trippett lamb) and freeze dried raw (NV Chicken)..
I tried and begged to my parents so that they will feed my babies raw, but my dad doesn't want to appear to differentiate the four dogs who will be under his watch..
I did consider leaving them at a pet's boarding house, but they don't have the facility to store the Raw RMBs, so i am really out of options there..

In the past when i leave my babies with my parents they usually eat 100% freeze dried with their kibble laid out as an option, but the longest i've ever been away from them is 3 weeks..
Unfortunately:
1. This time around my supplies of freeze dried raw, their current free-feed kibble and their favourite canned food (which i occasionally give) will not last the whole 8 weeks, so i need to find an alternative, be that kibbl and stock up before i leave.
2. I live in Jakarta, so my choices are very limited. FYI - i usually buy my freeze dried online (paying more in shipping than the actual price of the products, or i stock up when i am on business trips)
3. My two babies are extremely picky eaters who get bored around a month or two into their routine (which is why i rotate their freeze dried and protein source and body part for their RMBs on a daily basis)
4. They will only eat tiny sized kibble refuse to eat normal-sized kibble
5. Charlie is very sensitive to corn, wheat, soy and beetroot pulp, he can tolerate some amount of grains, such as those contained in Artemis small breed puppy
6. Izzie has a sensitive stomach, when the food doesn't agree with her she will either eat her poop or have the runs (but the diarhea only seems to happen with certain canned food, although i can't figure out the commonality)

After scouring my favourite petshops and keeping in mind the list of food that they have tried below, my options are limited to:
- Artemis Fresh Mix Small Breed Adult (how does this compare to the puppy one?)
- Taste of the Wild (any suggestion on which variety?)
- Wellness Core (any suggestion on which variety?)

What would be your suggestions?
How are the kibble sizes? Izzie just refuses to eat large kibble..

Plus has anyone tried Trippett's canned green tripe??
How does it compare to fresh raw green tripe?
Charlie and Izzie will do anything and eat anything (even their icky herbal coat supplemets and omega oils) when mixed their fresh ground tripe, so i am thinking Trippett canned would be a good thing to mix with their kibble..

I am also open if you have any other suggestion based on what we have tried and discarded..



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I am listing here the food (kibble, canned or otherwise) that we are using or have tried in the past and its adverse affect (if any)
The freeze dried raw that i give them:
- Nature's Variety: Lamb and Chicken (Charlie hates the venison one)
- Stella and Chewy: any variety
- Honest Kitchen: Embark (they won't eat any of the others)
- Addiction: Perfect Summer Bushtail

Current kibble:
- Timberwolf: Wild and Natural

Canned:
- Merrick's Wingaling
- Wellness 100% Salmon, Beef, Lamb, Venison - added to their HK Embark

List of food that we have tried and liked, but i won't be able to source before i leave:
- Fromm's Four Star Kibble: Surf&Turf (Izzy's favourite kibble), Salmon, Whitefish (Charlie can't get enough of this one, and despite him always polishing off his free-feed dish, he didnt gain weight)
- Merrick canned: Puppy Plate (i think my parents have cleaned up the stock in Jakarta or thats what my pet shop told me)
- Wellness small breed kibble (i received a sample of this when i ordered my S&C and they loved it, too bad this is the one wellnedd variety that is not imported into Jakarta)

List of foods we tried and then discarded (please bear with me, this is a very long list, my picky eaters means that i am on a first name base with the dog pound manager):
- Orijen Puppy (they loved it as puppies, when we tried it again as adult dogs, Charlie gained more than half his original body weight he couldnt jump onto the sofa!)
- Artemis Small breed puppy (they loved it as puppies, when we tried it again as adult dogs, Izzie's weight almost doubled, she looked perpetually pregnant even though she wasn't)
- Orijen Six Fish (kibble was way too big for them, they wouldnt touch it even when pulverized and when they did eat it their poop stank to the high heavens, this is what prompted me to switch to raw)
- Instict Duck kibble (kibble was too large, and Izzie will eat her poop on this)
- Instinct Chicken kibble (Izzie itched like crazy on this, i still can't figure out which ingredient caused this, as she is fine with eating other chicken kibble)
- Instict Canned: lamb, chicken (Izzie had the runs on these)
- Addiction Canned: all variety (Charlie wouldn't touch these)
- Merrick Canned: any variety apart from the one above (either Izzie will eat her poop, or they won't touch it)
- NV Prairie canned: any variety (stinky poop means Izzie will eat it, even when Solid Gold's SEP is added)
- Wellness canned: any variety apart from the pure 100% meat ones will cause Izzie to eat her poop
- Old Mother Hubarb canned: all variety (Izzie had the runs on these)
- Chicken Soup for Puppy (Charlie gained a lot of weight on this)

- Royal Canine Yorkshire (they had this when they went to dog school and mummy forgot to pack their NV freeze dried, Charlie ended up itching like mad and had dandruffs and a yeast infection that took 2 weeks to clear!!)
- Royal Canine Baby dog (Izzie came with this, but went cold turkey on Orijen Puppy, which Charlie was on)
- Science Diet small breed puppy (Charlie came with this along with bad dandruffs and a yeast infection, turns out he is highly allergic to corn.
Just an offhand note, due to his allergies Charlie wasnt actually for sale, the breeder had intended to keep him as a companion
I was looking at Charlie's sister who was, but i fell in love with Charlie who looked so lovely, quiet, calm and very lovable.
After i told her that Charlie was dandruff and itch free when i switched him to Orijen, she switched her brood to a better food than SD (i think it was Eagle Pack Holistic)