Help with food decisions
 

Hey everyone,

Piper was on Science Diet (YUCK!) with her breeder. I slowly transitioned her to Flint River Ranch however, when I had to abruptly leave my husband...he trashed all of her things and since it was a special order food...I had to once again feed her the Science Diet since she was used to it and it was readily available.

Now that I'm in a more secure place I want to again get her off of the icky SD and put her on something organic, holistic, etc. I do like the Flint River but here so many people talk about other brands. I'd like some feedback from you all on what you use, how much it costs, where you get it from, etc.

Thanks so much in advance,
Shannon

Oh and I'm not interested in BARF diets or the raw meat/bone diets. I do give Piper fresh fruits and veggies a couple times a week mixed in with her kibble. Thanks.

I'm really liking the Orijen. What do I like the most about it? I love how enthusiastically Kaji will eat it! We had a problem with Evo, he gained an extra 1.7 lbs. :( He's lost .7 lbs on Orijen!!! :)

I feed my little one (Tashi) Evo Small Bites, the chicken formula . I rescued her about 6 months ago .. I've seen a tremendous improvement in her skin and coat since I've had her . When I got her she weighed was 18 months old and weighed 3.5 lbs, I have her up to 5 lbs now and shes healthy and good at this weight :)

I fed my cats Evo too , before I let my ex boyfriend have them when we parted . An 8lb bag of the Evo lasts for about a month :D I love it .

I'll be watching this thread , though , to see if anyone has any suggestions they think are better than Evo .

Just my experience, but I don't trust Evo.
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ur-advice.html

I can't recommend Orijen highly enough! :thumbup: Levi has been eating Orijen Adult since the beginning of the summer and he is doing wonderfully on it. They have puppy formulas too (I can't remember how old Piper is), and I believe the 6 Fish formula is an all-life stages food. There are plenty of places in Charlotte that sell Orijen. You can do a store search on the website to find one close to you: Orijen

I occasionally mix in a bit of grain-free wet food as well (I use Wellness Core), just to add a little flavor. Sometimes if we are traveling, he is hesitant to eat, so I use the wet food mixed in then to encourage him to eat. Works like a charm.

When we were switching his food, I let him try both Orijen Adult and Acana Grasslands, and he seemed to prefer the Orijen. You can buy small bags for $2.50 each.

Thanks for sharing everything so far. I think I'll stay away from the EVO for us. I can't stand P&G and think it sucks they were sold to them.

So sounds like so far Orijen has a resounding lead. I'll look into them. Being that Piper is 5 months old, I should feed her the Orijen Puppy correct? What other types do you all feed your Yorkies that are on Orijen. Do they have small kibbles for our babies?

I saw someone posting about feeding some raw and some kibble. I might incorporate that, but I prefer the frozen or "sausage" like ways of feeding raw as opposed to be buying a chicken and giving it to Piper or grinding things myself. I'd love suggestions on that as well.

I've read that Orijen and Arcana are both wonderful. I've also heard great things about Life's Abundance.

i feed both raw and kibble, my dogs seem to like the variety, i use stella and chewy raw, and primal, they like both i rotate flavors and use the dehydrated raw when we travel or if i forget to defrost, they also eat orijen, acana, ziwi peak, endurance by go, sometimes before grain buffalo, and taste of the wild. Most people say that change food slowly, my 2 guys have neber had an issues and seem to like the change. if you email the compaines most of the time they will send you a sample.

I can't say enough good things about Champion Pet Foods :thumbup: Acana and Orijen are AMAZING! Jackson's favorites are Acana Grasslands and Orijen Regional Red. Check out the video on their official website Champion Petfoods | Home... my dog eats better than I do! ;) lol. They have a great "White Paper" as well which explains a lot of their beliefs.

If I had to shop at a Petsmart/Petco, Wellness would be the way I'd go! Wellness CORE is great and I've even considered adding it into his rotation since we got a sample of it once and he loved it. Also, Go! Endurance (made by Petrucuan pet foods) is an excellent food!

Food
 

I had both of my babies on Origen. They liked it but they kept diahrrea while they were eating it. I think that they just could't handle the high protein. I have since switched to Holistic Select for small and mini breed puppies and they love it and are doing great.
I can get it from my vet but you can also order it from K9 cuisine. They are a internet store but they are GREAT. I usually order from them when I need cat and dog food and I get free shipping. It always arrived in 2-3 days.
As far as the protein thing goes, I think sometimes depends on you particular dog.

You may have been over-feeding. It's VERY easy to overfeed on Orijen. The calorie count is high so feeding is less. Most of the people I see that their dogs get the runs on it are over-feeding. Jackson is 15lbs and only needs 1/2 cup of Orijen per day.

Wow really? My kiwi is on acana right now. At her age she's supposed to be taking 2/3 cups per day but I find that she can't even finish her food. I feed her twice a day now and 1/2 cup per day instead of the 2/3 cup and she STILL doesn't finish her food. Is it because I am still feeding her too much?? She's almost 9 months and weighs about 2lbs.

Wow! 1/2 cup per day seems a lot for a 2lber for sure! My 15lb boy eats 1/2 cup per day, he also gets a bit of wet food mixed in and treats throughout the day but still. The fact that she is still a puppy, it might be okay but if she's not wanting a full 1/2 cup, then she probably doesn't need it.

Yes, with foods like Orijen you really don't need to feed much at all, so that would most likely be the reason for her stomach upset.

You need to take into account a dogs energy level, body type, etc, when deciding how much to feed. I never go by the bag. Jackson is a very active dog! Dog park 1-2x per week where he generally runs for 2 hours straight. Visits to my dads home where he also runs with their dogs alot! Walks every day from 30 minutes-1 hour. In the summer, he swims all summer long. He's in agility classes once a week, etc. If he's super active for the day, I will give him a bit more, maybe up it to 3/4 cup per day. I base it off whether he's acting hungry, interested in food, or had more exercise for the day.

But honestly, your girl is so tiny. It sounds like a case of simple over-feeding to me! :)

How is she doing on Acana? It's a great food, IMO.

Okay friends so I'm going to switch Piper to Orijen and see how it goes. I found a store here that carries it, if they have any in stock of course!

Any suggestions on feeding for a 5lb, 5 month old? I know I'll be gradually adding it into her existing food over the next two weeks. I've done that before. But once she's on Orijen how much to feed her?

Shan