[Cleo's_Mommy]

Hello everyone, my name is Amy, and I have a ten month old yorkshire terrier poodle mix named Cleo, and I love her to pieces. I have a question about her food:

Recently, I switched Cleo's food from 'California Natural' to a brand called "Wellness." I transitioned it the way the package said so as to not upset her tummy. I give her the 'Wellness' super 5 mix chicken dry food. Cleo is a very small dog, (8 lbs) and the size of the kibbles in the 'Wellness' food are quite large. I found that she practically swallows her food whole, hence, she usually threw it all up. So, I started mixing the food with warm water, and then giving it to her so that she would slow down. It worked for a while, but now she vomits more often than not after eating. I was wondering if it would be better for me to switch to a brand of food that offers smaller kibbles, or maybe one made for small breeds? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Amy and Cleo

[GSD lover]

My guess would be too start mixing it with warm milk and if she still gets sick I would get her the smaller sized kibble for smaller dogs. My mom has a chihuahua and that poor thing will throw up anything that isn't very small kibbles. I guess it's just harder for them to digest the larger kibble.

[retriever crazy]

my guess would be to switch back to your old food.

[dj360]

i wood also suggest mixing in warm milk, or water, and letting it set, and then maybe mash it up a bit, so it goes down easier.

[puertovallartafish]

yea I agree with retriver crazy go back to your old food

[squirt1968]

I was told not to give my dog milk. Is that not correct?

[diggitydog]

Right--milk can cause diarrhea but a little bit might not hurt. Was there a particular reason why you switched from the original brand? If there were no problems with the other brand I would recommend sticking to that one too--there may something else about the new brand that just isn't agreeing with her.

[Ginny01OT]

I would not mix kibble with either milk or water. Kibble expands in water (put some in water and watch)--it will also expand during digestion; therefore, I wouldn't exacerbate the process by adding a liquid--particularly milk (or water for that matter). I do not know how often you are feeding your dog but toy breeds can be feed at that age about 3 times a day. Perhaps the food isn't agreeing with her and you need to try something else but definitely do not add a liquid to the kibble and perhaps increase feeding times and decrease the portions to accommodate the additional feed (for instance, if you were feeding 2 cups of kibble over two feedings, it is a cup per feeding but if you were going to feed the dog 4 times in a day it would be 1/2 cup per feeding).

[Captbob]

Canidae is an excellent food with small kibbles. http://www.canidae.com/

[poodleholic]

Don't mix the kibble with warm milk, or even with water.
You could try mixing with canned Wellness, however, it may be the food itself that is making her vomit. (Mine were on Wellness for a long time and did very well, until they changed the formula - then we had gastrointestinal problems.)

California Natural is a good food, so if your puppy had no problems on it, switch back.

[mookie]

I'd opt for something in smaller pieces.

[Ragmop53]

I changed my dog to Canadia and it has small kibble just right for my corgis. Maybe check out some smaller kibble. Also sit down on the floor with her and hand feed her from her bowl, take your time and see if she throws up after that.
Ragmop53

[Ginny01OT]

My sister has to hand feed her chihuahua too.