Originally Posted by MyTrixie143 (Post 3276223)

I feed mine the Fish and Sweet Potato recipe. They do great on it and boy do they love it. I use to feed them the chicken and rice formula but they would get soft bowels with that and started chewing their feed so I think the chicken was bad for them as in the case for some yorkies.
The Fish and Potato formula also has a lower protein which I like and has the smallest kibble besides the small breed formula.

I personally would never feed mine the Wilderness Formulas, they are too high in protein for my liking. It's better to stay with a lower protein with yorkies.

Originally Posted by BanditSocks2 (Post 3278094)

Maybe you could consider California Natural? It's also limited ingredient and I believe has more meat.

Does anyone remember if BB is the food that a lot of pups eat the life bits out of or if they eat around the life bits? I remember reading something about this before on a different thread but couldn't remember if it was this particular food.

Originally Posted by stanziog (Post 3278096)

i remeber reading that alot of pups do throw out the life bits from BB but i must say Rocco eats every last morsel..

Originally Posted by Furbaby Friend (Post 3276117)

All,

I am now thinking about putting Rylie on the Natural Balance L.I.D. Potato and Duck small bites formula for small breeds:
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Potato & Duck Formula

It is similar to what Suki (my kitty) eats and she's done very well. It is also grain free and hypoallergenic. :) Also, I'm hoping since that both would be eating duck based that neither of them would be tempted to eat the others food :P I do plan on putting Suki's food on a high counter, which only Suki can get to, in order to keep Rylie away from the cat food as I've read in Yorkies for Dummies that cat food can cause health/digestive issues. Suki, on the other hand, would be able to access Rylie's food and so she might be tempted if it was chicken/fish flavored anyway and we really didn't pin-point what exactly she was allergic to. I just assumed it was the grains, but it could have been a protein source who knows.

It also meets all the protein percentage requirements I mentioned earlier. I know Britster mentioned that protein content can be an iffy matter, but it is kind of nice it adheres by the book. It puts my new mama mind at ease. Perhaps if I was more experienced I would feel more comfortable.

All in all, it seems this food fulfills basically the same requirements as Blue Buffalo and has some bonuses:

1.) It is *slightly* (but not by much) cheaper

2.) It is sold in the same place as Suki's current food since it is the same brand. I will have to double check that my specific store carries the small bites version though!

They also made a point on their website that puppies and adults don't need special formulas, so they only have the one for all growth stages. Is this accurate? Their reasoning makes sense: that the pups wouldn't eat something different from the parents in the wild, they'd just eat different amounts. It sounds like solid logic to me.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your input. I really appreciate it.

P.S. I'm sorry for being so indecisive, but I just really really want to be a good mama to my Rylie. I want so much to do everything right for her and I've already experienced the heartache and worry that goes with a poor diet via Suki. I don't want to put Rylie through that. I was uninformed with Suki, as all our prior cats did just fine on the "normal"(::cough::subpar::cough::) food.

Originally Posted by ajcstr (Post 3278221)

OK, just a couple things

First, you can probably argue how much protein should be in dog food till the cows come home and never get an agreement, even among experts so all the research in the world won't give you a definitive answer.

Second, Natural Balance is a quality product and you the jump from Hills to Natural Balance is definitely a move in the right direction.

But .... Though I'm sure its fine for all dogs, I aways thought the LID formulas were for dogs with allergies hence the limited ingredients. Also, as the name of the product implies the main ingredient is potato, not duck. If you want to go with Natural Balance, consider the Ultra Premium formula which has a little more protein, from several sources, and also comes in a small bites form. (though I just reread what you said about the cat getting into the food so that may be enough to sway you).

I know I go CRAZY figuring out what to feed. I think there is a lot of crap out there and as long as you stay clear of that I really think the differences between one quality brand and another are probably small. One additional thing I do is rotate a couple different foods because I have read that it reduces the risk of the dog becoming allergic to a particular protein. What I am saying is you don't have to settle on ONE food.

Finally, I always thought puppies needed more protein to support growth but there are a lot of "all life stages" food out there so who knows.

Originally Posted by Furbaby Friend (Post 3278675)

I know the protein argument really has no right answer, but being a new mama I'd rather stick to the resource I'm following if I am able (e.g. Yorkshire Terriers for Dummies). :) Maybe once I'm a little more experienced I'd feel more comfortable diverting from the protein guidelines.

Originally Posted by ajcstr (Post 3278692)

What protein guidelines do they give?