YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - My Experience Switching From Royal Canin to Artemis

MissBeebs · 09-07-2011, 01:04 AM

I thought I'd share my experience with switching between these brands. I'm still on the hunt for the healthiest option possible, and will soon be trying The Honest Kitchen, as I've heard great things.

For the switch, I began by adding a reasonable amount of Artemis 'Fresh Mix Small Breed Adult Dog Food' to Yorkshire Terrier 28 from RC. I will say that I've fed RC for years, and my furchild's coat has been shiny and silky and her energy levels through the roof. It wasn't until I read that the formula wasn't the best on this forum that I decided to look into other options. I had zero problems with Royal Canin.

What I've noticed: 1. Her stool is softer, but still healthy looking. On Royal Canin her stool was very dark, on Artemis, it's a lighter brown. 2. Her appetite seems to have been stimulated since making the switch- she's eating more frequently. 3. The kibble size (with Artemis) is far more suitable for a Yorkie under 5lbs. It's about half the size of Royal Canin's- so this may be part of the reason that she's eating more frequently. 4. Her coat doesn't seem to be as shiny as it was while on Royal Canin. I'm going to combat this by adding some fish oil to her kibble, 'Grizzly Salmon Oil' has great reviews so I'm going to try it. 5. Her energy levels seem to be the same, I haven't noticed a change. She's a rather happy little girl.

I have mixed feelings. I wonder how complete a diet of dry kibble can actually be for a dog? Proponents of raw feeding seem to have gorgeous, healthy dogs with amazingly clean teeth. Critics say it's harmful. The preservatives in dry kibble have to be causing cancer, as the instance of cancer in dogs has increased ten fold since dry kibble feeding became the norm. It makes sense, the same goes for people. We're a h*ll of a lot less healthy now than we were even 50 years ago.

Anyway, my two cents. Let me know if anyone's found a great brand.

09-07-2011, 01:04 AM	#1
MissBeebs Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA Posts: 27	My Experience Switching From Royal Canin to Artemis I thought I'd share my experience with switching between these brands. I'm still on the hunt for the healthiest option possible, and will soon be trying The Honest Kitchen, as I've heard great things. For the switch, I began by adding a reasonable amount of Artemis 'Fresh Mix Small Breed Adult Dog Food' to Yorkshire Terrier 28 from RC. I will say that I've fed RC for years, and my furchild's coat has been shiny and silky and her energy levels through the roof. It wasn't until I read that the formula wasn't the best on this forum that I decided to look into other options. I had zero problems with Royal Canin. What I've noticed: 1. Her stool is softer, but still healthy looking. On Royal Canin her stool was very dark, on Artemis, it's a lighter brown. 2. Her appetite seems to have been stimulated since making the switch- she's eating more frequently. 3. The kibble size (with Artemis) is far more suitable for a Yorkie under 5lbs. It's about half the size of Royal Canin's- so this may be part of the reason that she's eating more frequently. 4. Her coat doesn't seem to be as shiny as it was while on Royal Canin. I'm going to combat this by adding some fish oil to her kibble, 'Grizzly Salmon Oil' has great reviews so I'm going to try it. 5. Her energy levels seem to be the same, I haven't noticed a change. She's a rather happy little girl. I have mixed feelings. I wonder how complete a diet of dry kibble can actually be for a dog? Proponents of raw feeding seem to have gorgeous, healthy dogs with amazingly clean teeth. Critics say it's harmful. The preservatives in dry kibble have to be causing cancer, as the instance of cancer in dogs has increased ten fold since dry kibble feeding became the norm. It makes sense, the same goes for people. We're a h*ll of a lot less healthy now than we were even 50 years ago. Anyway, my two cents. Let me know if anyone's found a great brand.