I have 2 shih-poos. Spaz is 10 months and archie is 6 months.they are both about 4-5 lbs. I've been feeding them nutro max puppy, and i've noticed recently that spaz threw up a few times and both of there stool's are somtimes different. Never the runs but from solid and brown to orange and very soft. I might sound crazy but it doesn't seem that they even like it. They never worf down their food they pick at it. I talked to some lady at a petstore who was supposedly was " an expert" about food and she said it was perfectly normal the way my dogs are acting, and she thought i was nuts!! Anyway to make a long story short is nutro maybe to rich of a formula for them? Any suggestions since the dogs are very small?? Your input is very much appreciated =)
Need advice, food for small dogs
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My Bella (who is a shih-poo too) was on Nutro Max when I got her. She had constant diareah with it and threw up some too. I switched her to TOTW because I had heard how good it was but after a month she still had diareah on it too. I also tried Chicken Soup For the Puppy Lovers Soul but she did so so on it but had lots of poops and very volumous. So I gave up and tried her on Puppy Chow (I didnt have to drive 60 miles to get it). Her stools hardened up right away and she had no vomiting ever. I switched her over cold turkey, she liked it so much she was picking the pieces out of the rest.
Now that she is a year old I have her on Purina One. We have never had any problems with upset tummies or diareah. She is very healthy. Has not been to the vet except for a well checkup and shots. Her coat is shiney and thick. She is playful and her eyes sparkle. I know a lot of people dont care for Purina but I have nothing but good to say about it.
Now that she is a year old I have her on Purina One. We have never had any problems with upset tummies or diareah. She is very healthy. Has not been to the vet except for a well checkup and shots. Her coat is shiney and thick. She is playful and her eyes sparkle. I know a lot of people dont care for Purina but I have nothing but good to say about it.
I would NOT feed my puppy/dog anything by Purina. You never want to feed your dog a food with the first ingredient of corn, it's difficult to digest and has little to no nutrients for your pup. And just read the ingredients list...chicken by-product meal, animal digest, and added colors (red 40, yellow 5 and blue 2) ...yuck. I compare Purina to the same nutritional value as lets say eating... McDonalds for every meal. It's just not healthy.
If you want to read a great break down review on Purina Puppy Chow click the link below to go to dog food analysis reviews:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1842&cat=all
also Nutro Max Puppy may be upsetting your pup because one of the first ingredients is corn as well. My suggestion would be to try a grain-free or low grain food. I bought Innova Puppy food for my Papillon...although I can't really give you a review on it yet as I haven't picked him up yet. You may have to try a few different foods and figure out which is best for your dogs. I will give a few brands that I have heard are good foods...
Innova, Evo, Natural Balance, Chicken Soup, Wellness, Taste of the Wild, & Orijen. There are so many more but I hope this list helps.
If you want to read a great break down review on Purina Puppy Chow click the link below to go to dog food analysis reviews:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1842&cat=all
also Nutro Max Puppy may be upsetting your pup because one of the first ingredients is corn as well. My suggestion would be to try a grain-free or low grain food. I bought Innova Puppy food for my Papillon...although I can't really give you a review on it yet as I haven't picked him up yet. You may have to try a few different foods and figure out which is best for your dogs. I will give a few brands that I have heard are good foods...
Innova, Evo, Natural Balance, Chicken Soup, Wellness, Taste of the Wild, & Orijen. There are so many more but I hope this list helps.
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9 Posts
Hey, thanks for posting.
IMO
Nutro Max has fillers as well as nutrients, its half and half, if your dog is throwing up its not normal,
could have a sensitive stomach, or is just mal nourished.
i would recommend getting a food for stomach problems,
Bill JAcks is great for digesting, and is full of nutrients, not to mention it helps for a gas problem
Science Diet sensitive stomach is also great,
problem with that being your dog might not be too fond of it, but it is all nutrient based, vet recommend, and helps prevent the four leading causes of dog death.
AVODERM, its great for stomach, especially since it has real avocados.
now people will try to flame me on why avocado is bad, not true, avocado is good, the skin of the avocado is bad.
avocados contain vitamins A, E and C in abundance. They're also an excellent source of balanced nutritional essentials for your dog's skin and coat health-and good health in general. Avocados are high in folate, potassium, niacin, essential fatty acids, and many other nutrients. They have no cholesterol, very little sodium, and are high in monosaturated fats.
try giving it some pills too.
when switching to any food in particular be careful,
could upset the dogs stomach just by switching.
i would recommend
75% old food
25% new food for the first 1-3 days
then 50% of each the next 4-7 days
then finally after give it all new food.
best of luck friend!
P.909
IMO
Nutro Max has fillers as well as nutrients, its half and half, if your dog is throwing up its not normal,
could have a sensitive stomach, or is just mal nourished.
i would recommend getting a food for stomach problems,
Bill JAcks is great for digesting, and is full of nutrients, not to mention it helps for a gas problem
Science Diet sensitive stomach is also great,
problem with that being your dog might not be too fond of it, but it is all nutrient based, vet recommend, and helps prevent the four leading causes of dog death.
AVODERM, its great for stomach, especially since it has real avocados.
now people will try to flame me on why avocado is bad, not true, avocado is good, the skin of the avocado is bad.
avocados contain vitamins A, E and C in abundance. They're also an excellent source of balanced nutritional essentials for your dog's skin and coat health-and good health in general. Avocados are high in folate, potassium, niacin, essential fatty acids, and many other nutrients. They have no cholesterol, very little sodium, and are high in monosaturated fats.
try giving it some pills too.
when switching to any food in particular be careful,
could upset the dogs stomach just by switching.
i would recommend
75% old food
25% new food for the first 1-3 days
then 50% of each the next 4-7 days
then finally after give it all new food.
best of luck friend!
P.909
Avoderm makes a vegetarian dog food...that alone would make me avoid that brand altogether. Any company that thinks it's safe or healthy to feed a dog a vegetarian based diet is not good in my book. By the way I am even a vegan myself and would never feed my dog a vegan/vegetarian based dog food. I know they have meat dog foods as well, but just saying...
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9 Posts
Hi Lil Ollie,
thank you for voicing your opinion,
i'll be happy to answer that.
fact: some avoderm are vegetarians, not all.
AvoDerm Natural Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Formula Adult Dog Food
is an excellent source of chicken, good for actual muscle build up.
P.909
thank you for voicing your opinion,
i'll be happy to answer that.
fact: some avoderm are vegetarians, not all.
AvoDerm Natural Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Formula Adult Dog Food
is an excellent source of chicken, good for actual muscle build up.
P.909
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9 Posts
I dont support it either actually,
but some Parents apparently wish for it to have the same diet as them.
what can you do? build a vegeterian food. if i was a vegan( im not i love meat) i would just buy some protein pills they sell at your local pet store.
but some Parents apparently wish for it to have the same diet as them.
what can you do? build a vegeterian food. if i was a vegan( im not i love meat
) i would just buy some protein pills they sell at your local pet store.
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9 Posts
lol your right lil ollie.
good thing im not saying to feed them that am i?
Look, if you dont wanna support avoderm for there one veg. food its ok, but the rest of their other products are good, and an excellent source of nutrients.
like i said, i in no way support giving a dog a veg. based food, and ik you cant replace all the nutrients, but its your safest bet, in case someone has a stubborn mind to switch to a chicken based food. You can't change everyones mind, haha i deal with that everyday almost. You just have to offer the best solution that they can become satisfied.
Thanks for posting!
-P.909
good thing im not saying to feed them that am i?
Look, if you dont wanna support avoderm for there one veg. food its ok, but the rest of their other products are good, and an excellent source of nutrients.
like i said, i in no way support giving a dog a veg. based food, and ik you cant replace all the nutrients, but its your safest bet, in case someone has a stubborn mind to switch to a chicken based food. You can't change everyones mind, haha i deal with that everyday almost. You just have to offer the best solution that they can become satisfied.
Thanks for posting!
-P.909
Okay...also the science diet crap that you are saying is so healthy is way overrated as well. First ingredients in Science Diet Sensitive Stomach: Brewers rice, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, corn meal. That pretty much speaks for itself...
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9 Posts
Alright last post before i head off for bowling haha.
Your right, it starts off weak, but its not really overrated, it is a good food, the reason brewers rice and corn gluton is because it has a lot of antioxidants for the dog, so they really dont support the protein base, i mean, your dog isnt gonna get all big and buff of it. its meant to be light on the stomach so they list off those ingredients. the only reason its not a absolute good food i would say it the by product. thats pretty much it, i mean its the lower class of meat. but again its meant to be light on your stomach.
Pleasure talking to you lil ollie!
i will respond once i come back. Tootles.
P.909
Your right, it starts off weak, but its not really overrated, it is a good food, the reason brewers rice and corn gluton is because it has a lot of antioxidants for the dog, so they really dont support the protein base, i mean, your dog isnt gonna get all big and buff of it. its meant to be light on the stomach so they list off those ingredients. the only reason its not a absolute good food i would say it the by product. thats pretty much it, i mean its the lower class of meat. but again its meant to be light on your stomach.
Pleasure talking to you lil ollie!
i will respond once i come back. Tootles.
P.909
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6,232 Posts
Brewer's rice is a cheap by product. Corn gluten is a cheap protein source. What antioxidants could possibly survive all this stuff has gone through?
"Brewer's Rice: the dried extracted residue of rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid portion of malted grain) or beer and may contain pulverized dried spent hops in an amount not to exceed 3 percent.
Corn Gluten: that part of the commercial shelled corn that remains after the extraction of the larger portion of the starch, gluten, and term by the processes employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup."
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Ingredients.htm
Dirty Paw, hope you find a food your dogs like. Good quality canned food plus the kibble you choose would probably be better recieved than plain kibble. Large soft stool can be from overfeeding. I always thought dogs would just get fat but sometimes they just poop it right out. So if the poop isn't all it should be and your pup isn't losing weight try cutting back on the food for a couple days to see if it helps. Dog food companies list far too much food per pound for most dogs on the label.
"Brewer's Rice: the dried extracted residue of rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid portion of malted grain) or beer and may contain pulverized dried spent hops in an amount not to exceed 3 percent.
Corn Gluten: that part of the commercial shelled corn that remains after the extraction of the larger portion of the starch, gluten, and term by the processes employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup."
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Ingredients.htm
Dirty Paw, hope you find a food your dogs like. Good quality canned food plus the kibble you choose would probably be better recieved than plain kibble. Large soft stool can be from overfeeding. I always thought dogs would just get fat but sometimes they just poop it right out. So if the poop isn't all it should be and your pup isn't losing weight try cutting back on the food for a couple days to see if it helps. Dog food companies list far too much food per pound for most dogs on the label.
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49 Posts
I would either stay with the Chicken Soup or TOTW, and add a tablespoon of plain low fat yogurt to the mix each night. This will really help with the food switch AND it will really cure A LOT of stomach problems in dogs. You have to give the belly a few days to adjust, but you would not believe how a little yogurt will really help.
Also, pure 100% canned pumpkin added to the food usually clears up diarrhea very, very quickly. I would put pumpkin in the AM food and yogurt in the PM food for 3 days and see how the belly adjusts. Especially with TOTW, I feed quite a bit less than the bag recommends, so you may be overfeeding. I have 2 JRTs about 20 lbs. each and they eat only 1 cup a day and they get a TON of exercise.
You will see the benefits of a good kibble, you just have to give the dog time to adjust. A can of pumpkin and a tub of yogurt cost about 3 dollars, and will last a week and pretty much cure any tummy condition that is not caused by parasites. Just give the dog some time.
Also, pure 100% canned pumpkin added to the food usually clears up diarrhea very, very quickly. I would put pumpkin in the AM food and yogurt in the PM food for 3 days and see how the belly adjusts. Especially with TOTW, I feed quite a bit less than the bag recommends, so you may be overfeeding. I have 2 JRTs about 20 lbs. each and they eat only 1 cup a day and they get a TON of exercise.
You will see the benefits of a good kibble, you just have to give the dog time to adjust. A can of pumpkin and a tub of yogurt cost about 3 dollars, and will last a week and pretty much cure any tummy condition that is not caused by parasites. Just give the dog some time.
Thanks everyone for all the good advice. I went to the store and ended up buying blue buffalo they didn't carry wellness, innova ....i gave it to them saturday morning and let me tell you the difference!!! My dogs love the food!!!!! Perfect stools and clean carpet no puke!!!! Yay!!!! When i open the bag their tails start wagging they can't wait to eat!!! Thank you so much everyone for the great input!!!
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