I am only clarifying this statement:

"Originally Posted by Nancy1999 http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/ima...s/viewpost.gif
Chicken meal is meat with the water removed. So it's pure meat."

Oh I see, I get so many complaints to keep it simple, I was trying to do that. :)

Gizmo is on Royal Canin, but it's the prescription rabbit and potato formula. Seems to like it, and haven't had any problems.

I said AT LEAST THE FIRST THREE ingredients should be meat. Not just one. A good food has a high real meat content, which is why I chose Acana Ranchlands. The best food is raw, as long as your dog's stomach can handle it and you know how to do it.

Royal Canin is on the bottom of my list when it comes to the high quality foods. But it's not the worst food by any means. There's Ol' Roy, Purina, Iams, SD, etc all junk in my eyes. I just gave my opinion that's all.

Why should the first three ingrediants be meat, that doesn't even make sense to me.

Why should it not?

I don't think it's necessarily bad when it doesn't -- but just wondering, I don't see how it doesn't make sense for more of the protein to come from meat sources rather than rice and corn.

Why would a food be better if it contained chicken, pork and turkey? That's three kinds of meat. Why would a food be better if it contained dehydrated chicken, chicken meal, and wet chicken? Chicken protein is chicken protein. Anyway, I would be glad to read the sources that say this is much better and why, but it’s not making sense to me.

I guess I prefer the best of the best for my dog. Prey Model Raw would be ideal to me, or some type of raw. We do seasonal venison, and I LOVE IT, does wonders for Maci and Leon's coat/teeth/energy/etc.

I would rather feed my dog a food with majority meat/veggie/fruit content vs. rice/grains. I feed acana ranchlands in the A.M. banana/oranges in the middle of the day as a snack, then venison at night. I make sure there is a 12 hour period between Raw/Kibble feedings.

This is just my opinion based on experience and reading other forums with other opinions on the same topic. I try to keep my dogs food as close to the natural diet as possible... you think rice and grains are natural for dogs?

also by dehydrating meats and etc you loose a lot of the nutrients. same with cooking.
which i why i love the idea of straight up raw

Hi. My Nikki's been on RC for pass two years and no problems.

I'm glad you found a food you enjoy, but you made a statement of fact, “I said AT LEAST THE FIRST THREE ingredients should be meat.”, you didn’t say this was an opinion, but even if it is just an opinion, there should be offered some type of reasoning behind it based on solid evidence. The problem with intuitively deciding things based on science, is you’re going to be wrong so much of the time. That’s why we have science, we can test for certain things. I really believe it's a mistake to spread the word you found out at other forums unless you have facts behind it. I do give Joey a little fresh meat now and then, I don’t think it’s necessary, but I do think he enjoys it, although truthfully he really enjoys his kibble too.

When you say what's natural, you imply that is always the best. This isn't necessarily true. Furthermore, it's also almost impossible to duplicate nature. In the wild, dogs eat the whole animal, including the stomach contents and it often contains grain. In the wild, dogs nibble on all sorts of vegetation, and if we were to feed our dogs only what they could kill in the wild, we'd only be feeding them very small birds and an occasional slug.

I'm not knocking prey model, there are a lot of advantages; the disadvantages outweigh them for me, but that doesn't mean it's not the best choice for you. I just think it’s too high of protein and fat content for Yorkies, that's an opinion based upon reading several scientific studies on how athletics react to cholesterol vs couch potatoes. In other words, breeds like grey hounds would do much better on prey model than a more docile dog. This is something that we would know more about as the dog reaches old age. Remember, dogs are not true carnivores like cats. They are more like humans, opportunistic carnivores.

I agree with Nancy's above post. Many times, we want to feed our dogs what's best (and we compare it to what we would need from our diet) and many times hear loads of holistic/organic/raw food propoganda from the media.
IMO it just depends what your dog does best on. Gizmo has been on a range from Orijen to Science Diet. Each did different things to his system. But, what it came down to is Gizmo has alot of food allergies and RC RX is what seems to be working best for him, for now.
However, I pray those who are fixated on the holistic food band wagon or raw band wagon never have a dog that has high sensativities (whether it be allergy or to protein/fat).
What it comes down to is you know your dog, you have your own beliefs on what is best, and that's what you need to base you decision on. Because when it comes down to it, you'll end up on a debating merry-go-round with regards to what's best to feed your furbaby.

I'd like to see the sources of this evidence, because i can site sources that say otherwise. This is a statement greatly disputed within the barf and prey model community.


Did these scientific studies evaluate the effects of raw animal fat/protein on "small breed dogs" within a raw diet?. it's a big misconception that raw meat is very high in protein. Also you cant compare the protein in kibble to the high quality complete protein available in raw meat.

Why do you say that? What correlation does a person who feeds a holistic dog food or raw diet have between making choices to better their dog with allergies?. All because a person prefers to feed raw/holistic doesn't mean they won't explore other avenues if that means their pet will benefit. Specifically with raw it would be much easier to start an elimination diet to find the specific protein causing the allergies, there are much less ingredients involved and far less factors. Also we are not "fixated" on these diets. These are the diets we chose to feed because we feel that it is best for our dogs and have done the research to support that. Just like i wouldn't say you are fixated on kibble.

Let me just clarify that many foods that are labeled "holistic" are pretty low in quality.

Wow... I'm not saying that raw or kibble is the best or worst to go. First off, so don't get your knickers in a twist.
With regards to allergies, I need to ask you if you have ever had a dog that the vet cannot pinpoint a specific protein or grain/non-grain allergy? Or a dog with IBS? Or any other gastro issue? If not, then I wouldn't be the first to put down foods like SD, RC, or Iams (like other posts have stated in this thread) that's not pretaining to anything you have posted, just a statement in general.
I also, never once stated that those that support RAW or kibble feeding wouldn't explore other avenues. Once again, I was referring to a post above that stated the first three ingrediants must only have meat.

I never said you said either diet was better:). I was simply clearing up a few things that stood out to me in your post. You're asking me if i ever had a dog with allergic issues the answer is no. Do i know many? yes, including ones that are raw fed. Do i need to have one to understand the difference between a high quality food and a low quality food? no. I can simply turn the bag around and read the ingredients.

I think if you were referring to that specific "3 meat" statement then you should have made that a little more clear because your post came across quite vague and seemed like a blanket statement.

If it came out vague, that was intentional. I, in no way, want to target anyone's beliefs for dog food. Becasue, once again, it's what works best for you, your pocketbook, and your pup. If you want RAW and have found the articles that support it, then rock on.

My post was an IMO because there are those die hard RAW just like there are those die hard SD, RC, Orijen, Acana, etc.

However, I always try to warn those who are stuck in their ways, and this is a general reference, circumstances change when it comes to the health of your pet. Heaven forbid a liver shunt occurs, then one's opinions for a food change drastically.

I guess you should have anticipated a response like mine then since it was your intention to come across that way. You referred to only raw and holistic in your initial post and that's the only reason i spoke up.

I do agree with the bolded portion of your statement :)

What is "normal'??
 

My pup is also on RC yorkie puppy. She is doing fine, but we are beginning to wonder what is 'normal' for daily bowel movements? After reading all of the posts, I'm wondering we should switch foods since she goes #2 approx 5 times a day if not more!! Can someone give us an idea of what is normal for your yorkie? Also, what would be good to switch to if we decided to switch - hard food only, please. Thank you!

5x a day is a little excessive. Did you just switch her to RC? How much does she weigh and how much are you feeding her?

Hi - she is 6 months old and has been eating RC since she was about 15 weeks. We leave the food out all of the time, but she only eats about twice a day, maybe 1/2 cup at a time - maybe. She is somewhere between 2 and 3 lbs. Thanks!

at 2-3 lbs and half a cup twice a day is alot of food. Gizmo gets a 1/4 twice a day and he's 5.3lbs. So it may be a combination of too much food and the free feeding that's causing alot of extra bowel movements.

Thank you - maybe I'll try to cut the food back and measure it more accurately. Lorie

Ok - after some reevaluation, we only give her a 1/4 cup at a time - and that lasts her for about a day. So, I don't think she's eating too much. Lorie

Dogs who are free fed often have more bowel movements. They eat more often, so they have more frequent bowel movement, but I'm assuming they are pretty small? There are lots of advantages to free feeding; dogs usually don't become food obsessed when you free feed.

My Bella is a Morkie...she is 13 weeks...I would say she eats 1/4 - 1/2 cup of food a day. I free feed her but she normally eats once a day, sometimes twice.

She does not like snacks so we don't give her any.

She poops 2x a day pretty regularly. 5x seems a lot.

I love Royal Canine
 

All my girls love the food there stool is solid no vomiting pricy but great.