Originally Posted by SirPeanut (Post 2187445)

The vet recommended us Purina for puppies. I don't really trust Purina but my husband thinks that only what the vet says it's good all the time. I made a list of other puppy food based on what I saw here. I just don't know which one is the most trusted. Peanut's vet said that because his breed is so special and needy we should avoid meat as much possible and feed him food based on vegetables mainly. Well, I checked with Pet Smart and everything has meat in it. I wish I knew which brand is best so I could stick with it - my husband is already angry with me that I keep on doubting Purina.

Thank you all again for the advice. Noted!

Originally Posted by SirPeanut (Post 2187949)

YES! I am very serious! He did say that to us when we took Peanut for the very first time in 48 hrs after we picked him up from the breeder.

Now I don't really understand why he would want us to feed him food that contains more vegetables than meat - because of his respiratory infection from the plane ride (the breeder said it's very common for Yorkies to develop this health problem) or just because he's a Yorkie. My puppy is seen by the military vet on base. I hope he is not that of a :thumbdown vet.

I am very happy to be here - it's a wonderful support website for Yorkies and all information here is very valuable to me. I started to understand my puppy a lot better since I joined.

Originally Posted by jadecomputergal (Post 2187981)

I'm completely baffled about a vet talking about primarily vegetarian diets for a dog. I'm more baffled about that than I am about a vet recommending something like Purina, a sub-standard, off-the-shelf food.

If it's a Yorkie, his breed is not "special." (Everyone else please hear me out before you start throwing things at me.)

Yorkies are the one of the most widely bred and owned dogs in this country. They're "special" to us because we own them, but they're certainly not uncommon, and they're carnivores like any other canine.

Respiratory infections aren't "common" in Yorkies. I'm not sure from what you're saying if he had Bordetella or an allergic reaction. It could be either, but whichever it was, I very strongly agree with Wylie that you should find a new vet.

As far as hygiene goes, we trim ours under their tails. We don't have problems with diarrhea other than with one of ours, but that's because of a medication she's on for a chronic illness. We have a routine with a sticker on our wall calendar of HeartGard/FrontLine/bathing/etc. The bathing usually includes trimming bangs, nails, butt hairs. I'm not sure how groomers do this, but my DH and I do it together. We won't get scissors near the dogs without one of us holding them and the other doing the trimming, whether it's the face or the butt. They tend to wiggle, so it's much less stressful for all of us if we have one person holding the dog and the other doing trimming, even with the blunt scissors.

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 2188217)

Wow. So, since it's a military vet - are you sort of obligated to go there, then, bc it's discounted? If not, I cannot recommend highly enough that you seek another vet asap.

Purina - in a nutshell - is chock full of fillers, allergens, and poor quality ingredients - that in the end could potentially result in overall poor health in your dog. Which could cause all kinds of health problems (and the vet bills that might follow). I guess the question to the hubster might be, "if you had kids, would you want them to live on junk food?" - bc that's what Purina is, basically.

A good, quality dog food is really inexpensive and for yorkies, lasts a long time bc they're so small. Some brands to think about: Natures Variety Instinct, Canidae, Wellness Core. Taste of the Wild has some good ones.

I would just move your baby off of that Purina asap. Again, so glad you found us! :D :D :D

Originally Posted by SirPeanut (Post 2188442)

Now I feel like the worst Yorkie owner ever :cry8:

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom (Post 2189090)

You are a GREAT Mommy! Look at you on here, gathering all this information for your furbaby - that's what great Mommies do :D! Don't be hard on yourself, you're learning about good foods - and we've all been there! :)

If you're going to Petsmart to buy food, you won't find Natures Variety - so I'd probably recommend Wellness if Petsmart is your only option. Petsmart also has a lot of crap food, so if you're not sure or can't find Wellness, come back on here and there are a lot of folks who can give advice. :)

Originally Posted by SirPeanut (Post 2189338)

My husband went to Pet Smart with that Purina junk and he said they don't have any of the food I listed for him from here. You are right!

However he traded the Purina stuff for Nutro Natural Choice. I hope that's not worse than Purina cause I'll go nuts soon.

I hope this one will be good for Peanut at least until I can convince my husband to buy for him one of the premium food you listed earlier.

Thank you for the re-assurance. I hope I'm doing enough for my little puppy. I love the little guy so much.

Originally Posted by Ellie May (Post 2189567)

You are a great mom.

I would absolutely positively not allow Ellie to eat Nutro.
There are lots of reports of illness in dogs that eat that food and even death.
The company won't recall it.

Petco should have Natural Balance and that is a better food.
If you have a Pet Supplies Plus, they carry a few okay foods like Canidae.

Originally Posted by SirPeanut (Post 2189837)

I am so disappointed in myself and my husband. All we know is Pet Smart and Walmart about dog food. I will try to convince my husband again to change his food asap.

Originally Posted by Ellie May (Post 2190100)

We will help you figure this out. Please don't be upset...it is a lot to learn.

Ann, have you heard anything terrible about the "By Nature" company?
They sell it at Petsmart and it appears to be fair.

I looked through their list of foods and didn't see Wellness.