Switching from Solid Gold to Royal Canin, anyone else?
 

I have to switch from Solid Gold Wee Bits to Royal Canin Yorkshire 28 because we've moved overseas and Solid Gold is not sold here. I don't have a ton of choices and RC is the best I could find in my current location.

Has anyone else out there made this same transition? if so, how did you do it?

How much Royal Canin do you give a 3.5 pound, 5 year old yorkie? Right now my yorkie eats 2 rounded tablespoons a day of SG dog food (one tablespoon in the a.m. and 1 in the p.m.).

Thanks in advance :)

Sounds about right
 

My friend feeds her 3 lb Yorkie (which is actually Mimi's daughter) RC & she (CoCo) seems to like it alot. CoCo picks at her food & eats when she's hungry, so I would think give according to the package directions, but they are tiny, so just split the meals in two or even three. I feed Princess 4 lb (CoCo's sister) 1.5 heaping tablespoons of food 2 x's a day.

Hey, I just wanted to let you know that a lot of yorkies are allergic to RC, so if you have another option, you might want to try something else.

Really?? Thanks for that, but what are they allergic to & why? Coco does have major eye stains, could it be from the RC? I feed mine Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison & they don't have staining problems.

I've read that RC has corn and a highly allergenic type of gluten. I wouldn't have known either except that I switched Thor to RC a few months ago and he started scratching himself non-stop. I thought he had fleas. Took him off the RC, and he stopped scratching after one or two weeks. A lot of people here have had similar experiences. I'm not sure about the tearing.

I put Maddie on RC and she started scratching. I took her off of it and she quit. However, I know many on here feed RC and thier Yorkies do fine with it. I know Maddie gobbled it up, I just hated to have her itching all the time. You could give it a try, maybe your babies will do fine with it.:D

Unfortunately I'm in a small town overseas and my two choices are pedigree from the grocery store or Royal Canin from the vet's office. They don't sell anything else worth mentioning. So, RC seems to be the best option out of my choices. Hopefully my dogs won't be allergic, but we'll have to try it and see.

I'm still looking for an answer as to how many Tablespoons of RC I should give my 3 pound Yorkie?

mimimomo, You said that Princess gets 1.5 heaping TBSP of kibble twice a day. Is that kibble Royal Canin or another brand?

I read the package instructions, but I recommends much more food than I give my dogs when they eat Solid Gold. I understand that SG has many more calories per kibble so they don't need as much, but it's a big difference between the two and I don't want their tummies to stretch and get use to a huge meal twice a day.

any advice is much appreciated! THANKS!!:D

Can you do a conversion on the calories? I think both bags should have the # of calories per cup. You can check how many calories they eat now of SG, and then give them that amount of RC.

Thor is super picky, so I don't have to worry about him overeating. He'll always hold out for Cheerios. :rolleyes:

That's exactly what I did...a calorie conversion. If my calculations are correct then I need to give my dogs twice as much RC and I did SG. In order to check my math, I want to know how much kibble of RC other people give to their 3 pound yorkies. It just seems like a whole lot of kibble to me and I want to double check the amount before I switch them over.

Anyone else make the same transition...from solid gold wee bits to royal canin yorkie 28?

Thanks for your comments :)

Sorry, I guess I am not being that helpful, but I wanted to say how relieved I am to see this small amounts. I posted once that Thor ate MAYBE 1/3 cup of kibble per day, and all these people seemed shocked. Honestly, he usually eats a lot less than that, probably 2 tbps / day. That looks about in line with his weight, though. He's a 4lber who gets a lot of (healthy) treats.

My response in blue
 

After Momo got neutered (he's supposed to weigh the same as Thor), he gained so much weight, I can't feel his rib cage anymore...in fact, I can't feel any bones on his body & he's developed these rolls on his neck! Lol
My vet advised me to reduce their food by 1/3 (doesn't that seem like alot?). All 3 only get 1.5 tbsp (while Mimi gets 2tbsp), they still seem hungry after eating, but they're gaining weight.:confused: I have to cut their snacks I guess. I'm giving them Fruitables which have only 9 calories per treat. We also go walking everyday.

Wow, that does seem weird. How many Fruitables do they get? Try adding fifteen minutes of fetch every day, and see if that gets them skinny again. If not, I would be worried about something metabolic.

Honestly, I would take them off the RC and give them something with more protein. Fruitables must have a lot of sugar, no?

Thank You for the heads up on RC Thor's mommy.
 

My Yorkies are on Natural Balance Sweet Potato & Venison (my friend is the one feeding RC, but I emailed her, letting her know.) Fruitables has no sugar, it's 100% natural w/pumpkin & different fruits, also oatmeal w/molasses. I give them one maybe every other day.
It doesn't help that my parent's give them treats: yogurt drops, wellness jerky treats, kona's chips, but very small amounts & not all in one day.
I guess I'm giving them too much kibble.:confused:
Momo has an appt w/his vet later this week, so I guess we'll discuss his weight gain further then. He's very active & plays w/Mimi's pups all the time...running (never walkin) around everywhere.:)

Hmmmmm, maybe your parents are not being completely honest about their snacking habits??

Keep in mind that molasses and fruit do have sugar, so maybe they shouldn't have that if they are having trouble managing their weight. That really seems like a tiny amount of kibble. Let us know what your vet says.

so confused ;(
 

I've been reading old posts about dog food all day long (it's night time for me now). From everything I've read it looks like EVO Small Bites is the favorite among a lot of posters. Wellness is another popular brand that I keep coming across. Several people also mention Royal Canin, but they say to be careful because of the corn gluten. Out of the 3 foods mentioned above, my vet only sells RC. the other two are not available and I would have to ask a family member to buy them for me and ship them overseas. Is it worth it or should I just buy the royal canin from my vet down the street?

My dogs are 3lbs yorkies, 5 years old, currently on Solid Gold Wee Bits. But it's not available here either and I'm on my last bag. I have 3 choices:

1. switch to royal canin and buy it from my local vet
2. ask someone to ship Solid Gold and continue as usual
3. switch to EVO or Wellness and ask someone to ship it to me

If I buy the EVO or Wellness in bulk will it spoil? Solid Gold has an expiration date so I can only buy 1 bag at a time since it takes my dogs several months to finish 1 large bag.

what would you do?

Are you going to be overseas for several months, or longer? This would be a moot point for me because it takes Thor so long so get through one bag.

If you have someone who is willing to do it, why not ask them to ship Solid Gold to you, as long as it's not too expensive? If you can surf the web from where you are, you could probably find good deals on shipping every few months.

I don't know if you have to worry about expiration dates too much, I mean, the food is already dry, right? As long as it's sealed? I'm not sure.

Anyway, I would consider a backup plan I guess, because even if you go with RC, your dogs could end up allergic, and then you'll need to figure out shipping anyway.

I'm sure you could email customer service of Wellness & Evo (and SG) and ask about the expiration dates, if they have them. I imagine they all do.

What a dilemma!
 

Do you think your vet can get other foods besides RC?

Keep in mind that Evo 'red meat' has 40 something % protein & is not recommended amount for Yorkies. High protein levels are not good for them, keeping it at 20 something % is the norm. (sorry I'm not accurate on the #'s) I think they have other formulas & is a good quality food.
I know all dog food has an expiration date, it's usually up to 3-5 years. If stored in an airtight container away from the sun, it'll last longer.

1. I personally would not downgrade food.
2. If your Yorkies are doing well on SG, I would keep them on it.
3. Yes, I would try to find the closest online place that wil ship to me or have family members ship the food.

[QUOTE=QuickSilver;2737548]Are you going to be overseas for several months, or longer? This would be a moot point for me because it takes Thor so long so get through one bag.

Great question, I'll be here (The Emirates) for at least 2 years,maybe 3. You're absolutely right about needing to have a back up plan in case the RC doesn't work out. I'll look at shipping rates, if they're too expensive then I might be able to ask other expats to bring me a bag in their suitcase when they fly home. (there are people traveling to/from the states all the time). I don't know if it's realistic to rely on people to "pretty please" bring me a heavy bag of food for the next 2 years though. especially now with airlines tightening their reigns on excess baggage....i'm babbling!:p You have great points....but I still don't know what to do :confused:

Hm, maybe take minimomo's suggestion, and buy some HUGE bags with an exp date of three years. That would seriously be like one big bag of food for Thor. Can you calculate how much you'll need?

Also, it's not like they will DIE on RC, so even if people were inconsistent about bringing you the food, they could be on it for a week or two here or there. ??

Solid Gold is ok...
 

mimimomo - My girls are doing ok on the Solid Gold. They itch a little, but I don't know if it's from the food or the shampoo (Buddy Wash). I could continue on the Solid Gold, but if I have to ship it here anyways, why not ship a superior product? I got the feeling that Wellness is Superior to SG...correct me if I'm wrong? If they're the same, then that knocks out option #3! (and gives me less to be confused about :) )

Yes, you've answered part of your dilemma! Lol
I personally would choose Wellness over Solid Gold & I've read on YT that most Yorkies like Wellness. It does have sea salt & garlic, I believe in the ingredient...but also read that in small amounts, it's actually beneficial.

tee hee!
 

you're so right! ok, so it sounds like I'm switching to Wellness, having it shipped, and relying on Royal Canin from the vet if I'm ever in a bind. I'll contact Wellness to find out the details on expiration dates.

Sounds like a plan! Thanks everyone, for helping me work it out.

Last question; Since my girls are only 3lbs, I'm going to get the Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed Adult Health Dog Food. I'm not familiar with this line of dog food, so am I right in assuming that this is the only type of Wellness dog food they qualify for due to their size?

Lol, I know...grandma & grandpa always giving them snacks as a way of showing love.:rolleyes::D That's true, molasses & fruit have natural sugar. Sure will keep you posted on what the vet says. Momo & Princess has gained 3 ozs ea. They have such a good appetite.
Yes, that's the one I was thinking of.:)

I would stick with Solid Gold unless you are having problems. After going through a lot of different foods (all ultra premium or holistic) Acana and chicken soup for the puppy lovers soul have been the best. RC has a lot of fillers, high in fat and sugars (which are both to get the dog to eat it). But Acana is good for picky eaters (but the kiddle is bigger). IF you prefer little bites Chicken Soup, Fromm Family, earthborn, Artemis. All good and have small bites. Things to watch out for in ingredients Wheat, Corn, Soy, BArley (high in sugar), and white rice. Brown rice is great, rye is good ... But WHEAT CORN and SOY ... alllllll bad!!! Plus you will notice a HUGE difference in their coat. Wee bits is a pretty good affordable food. I hope I can help. I'm a health nut with my pets (I wish I was the same with myself LOL).

bad news from vet
 

Thanks for the help everyone. I called the vet today to see if I could get them to import the dog food of my choice under their license. When she said "no" (it was worth a try!) I asked her if I should have it shipped via UPS or get someone to bring it over for me in a suit case. Here's what she said, "If you order online from a petshop in the US or somewhere else then you'll end up with customs duties and will need an import permit from the Ministry here...big deal..." So we'll have to rely on friends to bring us bags of food... If they have too many bags customs will take them away b/c they think you're selling it illegally. not an ideal situation. I could ask people to help once or twice but I can't keep asking for the next 2-3 years (that's how long we'll be here). The easiest solution, and the thing that makes the most sense is to put them on Royal Canin for the next few years, then switch to a high quality food when we return to the states :( I'm not happy about it... but it just makes for sense for our situation.

What are your other choices? Where are you overseas if you dont mind me asking?

I'm in The Emirates (near Dubai). The choices are Purina small breed, eukanuba Naturally Wild, Royal Canin Yorkshire 28

I feed RC and have had no problems. I put 1/2 cup in the bowl in the morning for the 5lb yorkie and the 4lb poodle to share. There is usually some food left the next morning. I free feed because the poodle is getting older and needs a bit more flexibility in her schedule now. So each dog is eating less than 1/4 cup (4 TBL) a day.

I feed Joey 4 Tablespoons of RC a day, the package says at 5 1/2 pounds he should get more of it, but so much depends on how much exercise a dog gets and their individual metabolism. After a trick training class, Joey put on a lot of extra weight, and the vet said to reduce his food by a third, and add a few green beans, to help fill him up. He gradually lost the weight, and looks trim at his present weight. We've been extremely happy with RC and had no tearing at all on it, but wanted to switch to a food that had potatoes instead of corn, and Joey developed extreme brown tearing and gunk in his eyes from the new food, so we switched back to RC. Most of the problems I've heard with RC is due to the corn content, and the allergy displays itself with extreme itching, corn is not the first ingredient of RC as it is in many dog foods, most dogs don't have a problem with corn, but you'll probably know if your dog starts scratching itself all the time. RC is supposed to have an ingredient that helps reduce tartar, and at 3 Joey's teeth are looking really good, we also do other things for this too, but since tartar is such a problem with yorkies, and many start losing teeth at 3, it's something to think about.

I can see your dilemma, and I think there's a good chance the RC will be fine. However, you might want to ask yourself (again), what will you do if they start itching constantly? It's not something they'll be able to put up with for years on end. Will you go to one of the other brands the vet has? Start cooking?

Also... they must have dogs in the UAE, right?? What are they all eating?

Finally, can you just buy three years worth of dog food and send it to yourself now / check it? How many cups do your babies eat per day?