Need Help with Food Choices, Please

[Rakaser1]

I have 2 female yorkie pups, 14 weeks old today. I have tried them on so many foods and I just don't know what to try next. If they don't get sick on it they scratch themselves crazy! I have tried Royal Canin for Yorkies (made them very itchy), Blue Buffalo Small Breed (made them extremely sick), Fromm (very soft stool & ate stool), Wellness Small Breed (made them sick and itchy), Orijen (semi-soft stool, a bit itchy & ate stool last night). For some reason last night they ate their poop and they were extremely sick, vomiting & diarrhea, poor babies. I am giving them home cooked chicken & rice for the next few days (which they love) and then going to try Holistic Select for small breeds. Their vet wants me to try HA which I have found is made by Purina and has no nutritional value whatsoever. I can't understand why she would even have this stuff. Not trying it. Does anyone have any suggestions on something that wouldn't make them so itchy? It seems I am about to run out of options here! I want to feed them dry so their teeth will be healthy.

Also, how much should I be feeding them? I feel like they may be getting too much food. Bella is the larger of the 2 and she just weighed in today at 3 lbs. Gracie is 2 lbs. When I got them at 12 weeks old they weighed (Bella) 1 lb 15 ozs & (Gracie) 1 lb 8 ozs. Bella is a little piggy and guilts me in to giving her more food almost every time. Bella is not quite as active as Gracie usually. She has her little spurts though every now & again.

Thanks so much for any advice! I will be happy when I can quit researching puppy food!!!

[Ellie May]

Is your vet sure this is a food issue? It is highly unusal for a puppy to react to so many things..and for it to happen to both. Have parasitic, infectious, and genetic issues been ruled out?

If it truly is the food (which I highly doubt), then I would be trying an rx diet at this point. What one you try is something that your vet or a veterinary nutritionist should decide. Most wouldn't be suited for long term use in puppies. and also, HA not having any nutritional value is not at all true.

I'd be getting a second opinion because this sounds more like a disease process and not a food intolerance.

[Rakaser1]

They had blood work run on them & fecals 2 weeks ago and everything was fine. Also, they had their shots today and she checked them out well, said everything was fine. When I got them we discovered they had mange, so they are being treated for that with Ivermectin. Do you think it has something to do with that? I don't know about genetics, but I hope I can find out. Poor babies, they have really been through it.

Thanks.

[LuvTaycieGirl]

Taycie has a horribly sensitive stomach. I have have wonderful success with NB Limited Ingredient Diets. Natural Balance has quite a few options and she does well on them.

Recently, I have decided to start to homecooking. Taycie was sick a couple of weeks ago and of course she ate chicken and rice. Everytime I feed this to her.. I LOVE the results. But, to do this long term and correctly you need to have a board certified veterinary nutritionist formulate a recipe. I am going through http://www.petdiets.com/

I am still getting my things together and will be making a switch. Good luck! I know how rough food trials can be. I know RX diets get a bad rap, but it may not be a bad idea to try it. There are alot of science behind them and I know they have helped many sick dogs.

[Ellie May]

Could the ivermectin be causing the GI upset? Are you sure the Royal Canin caused itching? It could have been the mites.

How do they do on chicken and rice?
Coccidea and giardia ruled out? How?

[sganow]

I fed all mine Nature's Variety. It is an all life stages food. We used the Prairie lines because they are more appropriate for young puppies than the Instinct line. Our dogs have all done very well on it. There is a "try it" coupon available on their website too.

[xoxodoglover89]

NB makes some great LID foods. TOTW may also be a good line to check out. I know of many members on here using that food and having great results with it. Plus, it's an all life stages food.

[Britster]

They are so young to be trying all these different foods out on them. That is A LOT of different foods in a short amount of time. How long have you had them? If they came home with you at the right age, it would be 12 weeks, so that's only 2 weeks and they've been on 5 different foods. You have to give each food a few weeks to see results from it. Their little stomachs probably can't handle all that changing. It's best to stick with the food the breeder had them on (even if it's not a good one) for at least the first few weeks and then transition to a new food.

Jackson eats Taste of the Wild and is doing fantastic on the lamb formula (Sierra Mountain). It's about 24% protein and 15% fat. He also eats Acana High Prairie occasionally in rotation. Both are all life stages food.

Also, I wouldn't particularly worry about dry food keeping the teeth very clean. Essentially, dogs eating dry food, keeps their teeth as clean as humans eating pretzels would. Just keep up with daily brushing and there are other teeth products out there (I use Petzlife and ProDen Plaqueoff) as well as bully sticks and other chews.

[chloeisabella]

My puppy is 8 months old and she has been scratching and biting herself a lot since May. At first I thought it was from fleas (I saw one flea on her). She is on sentinel but it doesn't kill fleas so I also put her on Frontline Plus. However, she continued scratching and biting. So, I thought maybe it was food allergies. I had her on Artemis for small breed puppies and Innova canned food but also made her boiled chicken and rice for a week after she got spayed 2 months ago, as well as giving her dried chicken snack a few times a day. I heard that dogs can be allergic to different types of protein so maybe I thought I've been feeding her too much chicken. Even Artemis and Innova was made up mostly of chicken. So, I tried switching to Pinnacle Trout and Potato formula but she did not like it at all. I also wanted to give her Holistic Select for Small breed puppies but it also had chicken in it. So, finally I decided to try California Natural for puppies (lamb and rice formula) which has very limited ingredients and she seems to like it better. She is still scratching and biting but I heard that it can take up to 6 weeks to notice any improvement. I am hoping that she will get better with this.

As for how much to feed, follow the direction on the package but adjust as needed (if your puppy gains too much weight or loses weight).

[mandab385]

I've had a few trials with my Yorkie, Bambi and my Papillon, Magic. They are both currently on Nature's Balance - Limited Ingredient Diet formula. There are grain free ones to avoid allergies.

Bambi has been very good with food, I know a lot of yories are finnicky. She eats everything and looks for more! When I got her she was on Royal Canin. I wasn't pleased with it because it seemed greasy to me. Magic was on Proplan. He did well on it but we did have some anal gland issues. Then Bambi went on Innova, again it was ok but she had anal gland issues, lucky me right! She had diarreha every once in a while and had me worried! She's so little to be sick like that!

We finally landed on NB - LID. Both my munchkins love it! There several "flavors" in Small Breed varieties. I get mine from Petco.

I agree with an earlier post mentioning it seems to be a lot of changing for such little ones. But you'll find a food for them I'm sure.

[Farleys]

How are your puppies doing? You have to keep your puppies on 1 food ONLY, for 6 weeks before you will know if it helps with itching! You cannot know if its the food causing the problem, or if a food is helping if you have not done a trial period. During that time, NO other treats are allowed unless the are the same as the food. ALso, for the diarhea and vomiting, that needs to get under control before you can keep find a food that works. They must be very sensitive! Poor little puppies, sounds like they have had a rough couple weeks.

[Rakaser1]

Yes, I agree, I've tried too many foods on them. The only ones they had more than 2 meals of were the Orijen and the Royal Canin. I had them on chicken & rice for 1 week and I believe they are allergic to chicken. Bless their hearts, they broke out all on their bellies and scratched even worse. They are now on a lamb & rice diet and have been for about 2 weeks now. Seem to be doing better with most everything until Bella ate a mum bloom outside night before last and she is sick. She went to the vet yesterday and they gave her a shot and kept her all day. She seemed better, had a solid stool last night, but about 5 am she got sick again and has had diarrhea. She is on rice water, pedialyte and stage 1 baby food bananas. I did give her a few kibbles at supper time tonight. She was just so hungry, which is a good sign, right? If she is not better by tomorrow I am taking her to the vet again. She hasn't thrown up anymore today, but still has a little diarrhea. Should I give her some Supplical to make sure she doesn't have a blood sugar drop or will the bananas suffice? It seems like I take 1 step in the right direction and then 3 steps back! I am determined these babies are going to be better soon! Oh, and they are almost 18 weeks old now. Thanks for all the info and for the scoldings too. You guys rock!!!

[skylyn777]

You might try health extension for toy breads. My yorkie puppy loves it. She is 4 months old. My friend has a dog that will not eat anything but homemade chicken....and she loved this food. Her picky pup eats it without anything on it lol. It is holistic and not too expensive. I feed my baby twice a day, but she gets small healthy treats throughout the day.....so she eats a little all day.
Good Luck