We have only recently been on royal canin. I think it has been two months now? Lilah is nearing 2 yrs old and is 4.5 lbs and I feel she is a bit skinny for her stature -the vet said yes a bit skinny but nothing to be scared about and she is maintaining her weight and has been consistent with it so we are good, I have had her at the same vet since she joined us at twelve weeks old. We are on rc puppy even though she is over a year because honestly we tried royal canin as sort of a last ditch effort. I work in the pet food industry and I didn't like the label. I am more inclined to a grain free diet, I have participated in raw feeding and I have spent a lot of time decoding labels and learning about ingredients. Her breeder used rc, so many yt members wholeheartedly endorsed rc, it is long standing brand and I had tried so many different foods with lilah! I mean it to, I could order from a vast variety of options. Natural balance, first mate, Zignature, honest kitchen, we raise farm animals and have home fresh raw- the girl wouldn't finish a can (yes! A can of wet food!) before turning up her nose (not a freshness issue) if she would even take the first bite, sigh. We couldn't make it through a four pound bag without tossing it, couldn't finish a can without passing it to the barn cats. Just thinking about the stress I felt wishing my dog would eat something is...well, maybe almost enough...to forget how nasty offal is even though we processed chickens here last weekend. When lilah got her first bowl or royal canin she was so happy, she crunched it all up like childhood puppy memories were wrapping her in a hug. I wondered if this gusto would continue on to the next meal...it did. I know the bags are 2.5 lbs but she finished the first bag of food she has ever finished in her life. And then we got another. I was thinking that since I had gotten her to eat the puppy food maybe we would move up to adult- it is actually making me sad and nervous to see...well, like yorkie mom hesitating. Dangit! I know those ingredients are 'crap', I can read a spread sheet and I know that is what that means but man...it was so well endorsed by my peers as to see my girl eating! Wow, that has made me smile. Yes more poo and softer poo but no other adverse effects thus far. I don't think I can see her go off her feed again...when animals attack my livestock they eat the insides out first, maybe by product meal isn't the villain that high end grain free pet industry has said that it is?...idk mark, rc has felt like a godsend for us but things that seem too good to be true often are....
__________________ Alyssa and Lilah    |