I'm definitely far from an expert, Susan. I follow the advice of my veterinary nutritionist and her views on food because she has much more knowledge on the subject than I.

Thanks I will ask my vet we are scheduled for shots this week.

:thumbup: I too follow the same veterinary nutritionist's advice and I can say that she's the only person on this planet besides me who is going to decide what my dogs eat. I would rather go with the advice of a nutritionist with 30 years of experience who is in charge of the nutritional needs of 45,000 pets per year at an urban hospital than I would any lay owner or armchair nutritionist. She is worth every penny I pay her and then some. And, I could never thank her enough for keeping my dog alive.

With that being said, I recently asked her for a suggestion for a kibble for my dog Teddy who is a healthy dog aside from epilepsy. She recommended Royal Canin any small breed formula. I picked up the Yorkshire Terrier formula. I thought I might get the squirts or an upset tummy since my dogs have been on home cooked bland food most of their lives and that is all Teddy has eaten since puppyhood. He has firm stools that are compact, his breath is good, he does not have gas, and he likes the food. I will still be home cooking for philosophical reasons but having a kibble on hand is a convenience I need right now.

I like the Royal Canin food so far, I do not trust holistic companies and neither does my vet nutritionist. I would have selected another product based on ingredients but I've come to realize that she is right when she says there are things that are more important than "melodious sounding ingredients concocted by marketing gurus."

Ok. Am I behind the times here?

I thought Royal Canin was BAD and all the newfangled kibbles were GOOD.

How did I get out of the loop?

Currently, Lucy is on BB Senior and seems to be doing well, so I have no plans to change anytime soon. But I do need a lower protein kibble so I'm always on the lookout for that.

No you aren't. I've had a change of heart recently over the whole nutrition debate and have decided to stop believing what the general public writes in these articles and listen to an expert exclusively. Now I may see something interesting and ask her about it, but in the end nobody on the internet can really sit there and say X major company's food is bad because of XYZ. It's not that easy.

Dogs have a need for nitrogen and amino acids, not meat, so kibbles with higher meat content don't always appeal to me. I have to wonder how much harm we are doing with these newer foods because a very large % of dogs are in the beginnings of renal failure by middle age. It doesn't show up on bloodwork til much later. Feeding high phosphorus foods is probably not doing the kidneys any favors.

I think larger companies have a bit more of an advantage when dealing with quality control. I also like to see a vet nutritionist on staff. They are expensive to hire which is just it. Companies that want to pocket more money won't have one... I also see a lack of feeding trials for a lot of newer companies. A food can get AAFCO approved by nutrient analysis or a 6 month feeding trial. The former is about $100. The latter is about $20,000. Smaller companies don't spend money on it. Now it is only 6 months, but it does keep the worst foods off the market. And the thought that leather shoes and motor oil could pass AAFCO, theoretically true with a nutrient analysis, but a 6 month feeding trial..not going to pass when it becomes evident that digestion is way off. If no feeding trial, then the owners that feed the food are doing the trial for the company. Maybe not horrible, but I have hesitations about that.

I think it depends on who you ask and who you believe. My post sums up who I asked and who I believe. That's the person I'm going to listen to. She only recommends companies who allow her to tour their facilities, and most don't (which makes you ask why the heck not, seems it would be a good business decision to have ACVNs recommend their products). Anyway, as for my own experience here, as I pointed out, my dog is doing very well on this food, which really suprised me given the immediate switch from home cooked very bland food (main ingredients being chicken breast and rice; white fish and rice). He has firm compact low odor stools, he has no gas, his breath is good, and he likes the food. She called it right for my dog, that's all I know.

ETA: Meat in dog food is not a bad thing. High protein diets (31%+++) are questionable at best. I would not be opposed to feeding a food with more meat and no soy, but I don't think it's necessary. On average, I'm much more comfortable with SD or RC even if they do get their protein from plant sources. Any company can have issues and recalls, but I just can't trust small companies anymore.

Look at Evangers. They lied about the type of meat in their food.
Merrick is just one big recall.
Go killed dogs.
Blue had nutrient issues and was recalled.
Diamond had major issues.
Menu can't recall a food fast enough.

So I have a hard time believing that these foods are safer and better for pets.

Thanks so much. I have tried so many other foods and my dogs do well on it for a little while then problems start to arise, like stomach issues..vomiting, diareah, gas, low energy, exteme eye tearing, itching and the list goes on. SD is the only brand of food that all my dogs have seem to be able to tolerate but because of their bad rep. I have stayed away from them. I should of just listen to my dogs..:rolleyes: As far as protien and fat goes I have to stay low..I have two dogs, (sheltie and my yorkie mix) that cant have anything over 28 percent so I was pushing the limit with this food. They all are doing well so far but Im pretty sure after this bag Im going back to SD.

Merrick is just one big recall

But wasn't merrick recall on treats and not their food.

Purina had a recall on cat food last week, and some of their livestock feed.

I wish there was just one company that was safe, never change their food, why is that so hard?

I am just loving all of this information about the kibble choices. Currently, I am feeding Natural Balance but have also given Evanger's in the past until the recalls. There is a small dog boutique that I sometimes go to that sell those frozen raw medallions and at one point had even considered it. But after seeing a owners with sick dogs decided to just stay with that seems to be working. It's pretty shocking to see some of the raw feeders and how opposed they are to kibble feeders and those of us who feed DEATH NUGGETS :eek: Can you believe I actually read on another forum this is what they call kibble feeders.
Personally, I have never had any issues with my NB but have considered trying the RC. But my motto is "If it aint' broke don't fix it". So unless NB changes formulas like they did once before I will probably just stay put for now.
I'm so glad to hear positive input regarding the RC. At least I know others on the forum that are having success with this food

Yup, it has been their treats and canned food. 5 or 6 times? It's a fairly new company and that is a lot of recalls for the amount of animal food they produce. Also, when dogs were getting liver failure from Go dog food, it is thought that it was being manufactured at Merrick.

Unfortunately, they will all have recalls. I think the larger companies can test for more issues and such. And they have more at stake if something were to happen.

It's a never ending battle to find the right food.
I do not feed the higher protein, my dogs even the outside ones are not that active.

I learn from my horse a higher protein can cause him to go crazy or hyper, lower protein he some what better, just on pasture he's perfect. he's is 30 yrs old.

Excellent post! This is also one of the main problems I have with people who brag that their dog food brand does no testing on animals! This makes no sense to me, if the company doesn't test, then the dog owners are testing, and to me, this is horrible!

I really never thought I’d see a thread such as this on Yorkietalk. Every time I have written that I use Royal Canin, I’ve been lambasted as being an idiot and buying into what the dog food companies tell me. I’ve been told I’m wasting my money, and I must not love Joey very much. I’ve tried another brand, but he had massive amount of eye drainage within a couple of days. I waited till the tears were clear and tried it again and same thing happened, so I’m sure it was the food. Let me just say, RC is the main food Joey gets, I use it for our training so there’s no need for “treats” he thinks it’s a treat. He has no gas, no vomiting, diarrhea, no itching, abundant beautiful shinny hair, good smelling mouth and his teeth are in excellent condition. I agree with Jodi, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but I’ve got to say, all the negativity about RC has made me wonder if I was doing right by Joey.

I've believed everything in these articles without running it by a professional. Now I look back and I'm like..oops. lol. A big one for me was thinking an unbalanced, homecooked diet was okay because that's what other people were doing. I soon learned that Missing Link can't possibly balance it out. Waste of 20 bucks.

Of all things, a Purina product is working for Ellie and I really don't care what people think of that because it's not their dog that was going downhill quickly over ingredient intolerance. Her body is doing best on hydrolyzed soy and corn starch this month? Ok, that's what she'll have!

I think thats the best advice of all, listen to your dog!

I'll admit it too that I was looking for dogfoodadvisor's 4 plus star dog foods. But what it came down to is Gizmo hated it, was losing weight, and he pooped too much. And I couldn't get mad at him if he went in the house, I mean if the food is too rich and I don't think he should have to go so often, then a dog's gotta do what a dog's gotta do.

After talking to Crystal and Cathy, I finally got over the holistic hump and listened to what Gizmo's belly had to say. When I got him from the petshop, he was on Royal Canin and I tried to swtich him to more "healthy" or better wording "holistic" foods. All I met was and upset tummy, and a pup with an empty belly.

I have Gizmo on Royal Canin Yorkshire Terrier Puppy and so far, granted this is only day 2, he scarfs it and his pooping has already decreased, more firm, and not so deathly stinky. He doesn't have watery eyes, and he's more entergetic.

So, am I saying that RC is the best food ingrediant wise? No, but it's like with humans, although nuts are good for humans, I can't have them because they'll hurt me. So far this is working, and if it continues to, then so be it. My puppy is excited to eat, it's a good feeling.

I like purina the 5 military dogs are on purina one, my 3 horses on purina healthy edge, yorkies and JR are on merrick turducken (I know bad) but they are doing good right now on this. also taste of the wild salmon their choice, I just keep a close eye on the recalls and go from their.we have had some problems with the horse feed but the purina rep and feed store made it right. they stand behind what they make.

Isn't this funny. I could not get Lucy off Purina Puppy Chow FAST ENOUGH when she first came home because that's what the breeder had her on.

She ate it dry with no problem . . . but I could NOT leave well enough alone. I felt so guilty with her eating that 'crappy' food and Ringo was eating TOTW at the time.

I transitioned her over to TOTW (higher protein) - then gave her the canned beef that a well-meaning neighbor had given me . . and that's when we found out about her liver problems!

If I had left her alone and not tried to feed her the high protein . . . our downward chain of events might not have started.

Interesting and food for future thought.

But right now ~ I'm going with . . . if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Don't feel bad I did the same thing with my first yorkie Ichabob and I really believe I was the cause of him being a diabetic at such a young age, with all the high fat treats and good food.

Just wondering what food you ended up getting and if it works? I have the same problem with Moses...he's on Nutro and only eats it if he's starving. I ordered a bag of Fromms, but it won't be here for another week! Moses had Innova but didn't like that either....I am not used to this! Our previous dog was a Lab who ate ANYTHING!

Lucy finally found a food she liked - a good brand - but not overly high in protein. It's Blue Buffalo Senior version. Due to her mild liver issues - we do have to be careful with the protein.

It's not one of their higher rated foods.

But, she eats it (plain) in the morning; her coat looks good; she has good energy.

I'll be sticking with this for a while.

My little ones are eating Wellness Just for Puppies Small Breed. They are tiny bites and seem to really work. When I first introduced it, they picked it all out of the bowl and left the old stuff. Did not upset their tummies at all.

They tend to play all the time, so sometimes to encourage them to eat, I put a little bit of peanut butter on a few pieces and that helps get them eating. I bought the Kong peanut butter tube (pricey compared to a jar) and squeeze out just enough so I can touch the puppy food and a piece will stick to it and then offer it to the pups. They love it and after about 5-10 pieces they will put their head in the bowl and eat on their own.

I have also tried adding a teaspoon on plain lowfat yogurt to their food. They like that too!

We have Daisy and Teddy on BB Lamb and rice and it seems like now they have more drainage from their eyes, they are licking and biting at their paws and they have huge poops. I noticed they have clear runny noses a little too. I thought it was from summer allergies but now I am wondering if it is the food. They don't have any gas.

We had them on NB Lamb and then Cal Natural and didn't notice the problems but we wanted to switch from those foods.

I think Daisy is allergic to chicken (she itched like she was covered with fleas when I started cooking chicken for them) and she has a little weight problem. We have cut down on treats and they are both losing a little weight.

and Teddy seems to have a sensitive stomach.

Any suggestions on a good food for them. Daisy will be 8 on Aug 9th and Teddy is 7 1/2 so a senior food might be good.

Thanks for any ideas.