topic Re: Best dog food for yorkie in Community Chat

Best dog food for yorkie

MrsDoily — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 08:23:50 GMT

Eleven days ago we adopted a yorkie Maltese mix. He is four years old and the Humane Society sent us home with a Purina puppy food that he was eating there. We want to upgrade the food and after doing research I discovered there is specific dog food for yorkies. Any suggestions as to a specific brand?

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

qualitygal — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 11:04:08 GMT

Always check with your vet first. We feed our 2 yr old Iams, small bites. She loves it.

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

CamilleP — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 19:32:58 GMT

I am liking what Solid Gold Wee Bits formula is doing for my 10.5 year old Scottie girls. I was feeding them the Solid Gold senior formula, Holistic Blend, but they weren't losing weight on it, even though it's very low fat and moderate protein. They love the Wee Bits (pink bag with a Westie on the cover, for easy recognition) and both are losing weight on it. I applaud your decision to adopt a shelter dog, and also very much applaud your decision to move away from the food the shelter was feeding. There are many human-grade dog foods now available that are far better for your dog. Best Wishes!

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

Another new name Sue — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 23:24:00 GMT

I don't have a Yorkie but do have a terrier and feed him Merrick because it is sourced and manufactured in the US. I'm not telling you that is the best food; it's just what I do. There are lots of good foods in the pet stores. There is also a website you can visit to look up the food you are thinking of feeding. It's dogfoodadvisor.com

Congratulations on your new pet. May he enrich your family life.

Many dogs thrive on Purina, but I would upgrade too.

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

MrsDoily — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 15:39:31 GMT

I've submitted a reply twice to thank all of you for your advice and it never posts on the page - don't know if I'm doing something wrong.

The vet did not give an opinion about any specific dog food. Thank you for telling me that Merrick is made in the USA - that is very important to me. We've noticed that the dog is scratching his back on the rug and wondering if it's the dog food.

How I wish the Humane Society would get information from the dog's original owners. What type of food, etc. Our little dog is four years old so he is used to a set routine. The first few days we had him, he would stand on the landing by the stairs and keep looking up at 9:00 p.m. That is the time he must have gone to bed and he seemed to be looking for his owners. One day my daughter took him upstairs to show him there was no one there. We felt so sorry for him.

But now he has bonded with us and is a happy little boy!

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

Havarti — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 22:10:41 GMT

I have a 5 pound Yorkie and a 5 pound poodle - both are puppy mill rescue dogs aged 5 and 6 years old. I feed them Stella & Chewy raw freeze-dried patties. They each get half of the patty (I cut it up into smaller pieces) mixed with warm water for breakfast and the other half half for dinner (one whole patty per day per dog). I buy a variety of flavors so they never eat the same flavor every day - helps prevent allergies from forming. When they are so small they need really good nutrition but also need to not pack on added weight - especially since mine are lovers more than they are active dogs.

For treats I give them Merrick lamb lung and/or beef lung. Both the food and the treats are all top quality natural foods with no additives and they are made in the USA (Merrick in TX and Stella & Chewy in Wisconsin). I also let them chew on Merrick's Flossies because they are natural, not treated with chemicals like most similar items (I cut them in half to make them smaller) Be very careful about feeding anything from China - that is where nearly all of the recalled food has come from and many animals have died from eating it.

I get the best price for Flossies and Stella & Chewy on www.chewy.com and the best price for Merrick lung treats on Amazon. They love their food & treats and it helps make quality poop that is easy to pick up, so we are all happy!

It is amazing how they know their schedule and seem to know how to tell time and what is suppose to happen at a specific time. I had a dog that took medicine at a certain time every day. The medicine was kept above the refrigerator and she would sit at the refrigerator door every day waiting for her medicine (no food came out of the refrigerator for her so it was not like she was waiting for a treat). She just knew the time and the place for her medicine. They are so smart!

Good luck to you and your new fur-baby. Wishing you many healthy and happy years!

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

Kachina624 — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 01:23:10 GMT

There are a number of websites that rate the quality of dog food. I also use Merrick. It's highly rated and affordable which is a big deal if you're feeding 3 big dogs. A four year old dog should not be eatting puppy food. It's too high in protein and fat and will lead to obesity.

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

cndkrick — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 05:47:31 GMT

Feed that baby raw food. It's what God intended.

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

NickNack — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 14:10:15 GMT

I feed my Japanese Chin Wellness Super5 Mix Small Breed. It comes in chunks small enough for your puppy. My dog loves it. They make puppy, adult and senior food. It's always rated highly on the websites that rate dog food.

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

JLLH358 — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 22:55:54 GMT

On 3/8/2014 Go Pokes! said:
Feed that baby raw food. It's what God intended.

I completely agree. The sad thing is that most people consult their vets thinking they will know what is best to feed, but the reality is that vets do not get nutrition in vet school -- except for maybe one course, and that uses the materials supplied (and written by) the big names in the pet food industry! Holistic vets, on the other hand, usually HAVE studied nutrition and here is what one very knowledgeable vet has to say about "breed specific food":

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/04/01/raw-food-diet-part-1.aspx

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/12/22/breed-specific-diet-for-dogs.aspx

Bottom line: think "species-appropriate" not "breed specific".... Hope that helps!

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

Kachina624 — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 23:05:49 GMT

Just recently read a warning to people who feed their pets raw food. If the food is contaminated with bacteria, which would normally be killed by cooking, there is an excellent chance the bacteria could be passed on to those whom the dog licks. This could be especially dangerous to children. I figure dog food companies spend millions on research to assure their products are nutritionally balanced and I prefer to take advantage of that research. I do give my dogs raw knuckle bones I get from a butcher shop.

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

JLLH358 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 01:08:13 GMT

On 3/12/2014 kachina624 said: Just recently read a warning to people who feed their pets raw food. If the food is contaminated with bacteria, which would normally be killed by cooking, there is an excellent chance the bacteria could be passed on to those whom the dog licks. This could be especially dangerous to children. I figure dog food companies spend millions on research to assure their products are nutritionally balanced and I prefer to take advantage of that research. I do give my dogs raw knuckle bones I get from a butcher shop.

Ah, yes, the infamous "AVMA resolution". No science to back that up, of course, but lots of fear-mongering! The AVMA ignored the elephant in the living room which is kibble, and decided (at the behest of the therapy group which pushed for the "resolution", and which group, incidentally, had a board member from Purina on it), that raw was the problem. Yet, funny thing -- the ONLY kind of "food" documented to have caused illness from salmonella (as one example), is kibble. Hmmmm..... no raw food in ALL of the many, many years that animals have been eating it as nature intended -- has ever been associated with documented reports of illness, but kibble?? Plenty!! (By the way, dogs already have salmonella in their systems naturally, and shed it all the time -- even kibble-fed dogs!!)

Re: the supposed "nutrional balance", you would be shocked at what is allowed into pet food. Shocked. The FDA allows all manner of 4 D (downed, diseased, dying and dead from means other than slaughter) into "pet food": http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/ComplianceManuals/CompliancePolicyGuidanceManual/ucm074717.htm

Furthermore, the ingredients they use are the cheapest so the profit margin can remain at the highest. http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/02/28/commercial-pet-food-fillers.aspx

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/03/09/nutrition-the-fifth-vital-assessment.aspx

And how dry kibble is processed -- making "nutritional kibble" a bit of an oxymoron:

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/19/the-mainstream-pet-communitys-new-take-on-cat-and-dog-foods.aspx

Raw food, on the other hand, not hard to balance at all -- and there are numerous commercial raw companies which have already balanced the raw. (BTW, the raw food of commercial raw companies is produced in USDA facilities and inspected relentlessly for pathogens. As for kibble ....not so much -- which is why they are recalled ALL THE TIME. Witness the scandal in Spain from a large pet food company -- when pentobarbital from dead animals was detected in the kibble. Yes, they were using dead cats and dogs in their "food":

http://truthaboutpetfood.com/the-worst-horror-of-pet-food-confirmed-in-spain. Better have a strong stomach if you check that story out -- no graphic pics, but the story is well-documented and I recommend every defender of kibble/"pet food" read it for their own edification.)

One of the latest "crazes" to hit the "pet food" market -- "feather meal" -- yum!! Can you imagine anything better for your cat or dog than feathers??? How nutritionally sound!! As for their often touted "studies" -- if you consider 6 months of feeding an animal a food and seeing that they didn't die from it a "study", well, then, I guess you've got me, but the public has been hoodwinked big time into believing the emperor has a full set of clothes on. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.....

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

TootyJane — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 04:45:57 GMT

My son's boss has a Yorkie. They started her on a raw food diet. She is now 13 and they swear by this food! My son wanted to try the raw food diet on our cat. We went to a local pet store that specializes in raw food diets and bought a small bag. We tried, in vain, to get him to eat the food. However, he wouldn't have anything to do with it. I honestly believe he does not like "wet" food. We decided on Merrick, which is grain-free. Our cat loves it and he has dropped a little bit of weight as well.

Re: Best dog food for yorkie

JLLH358 — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 04:55:05 GMT

On 3/12/2014 TootyJane said: My son's boss has a Yorkie. They started her on a raw food diet. She is now 13 and they swear by this food! My son wanted to try the raw food diet on our cat. We went to a local pet store that specializes in raw food diets and bought a small bag. We tried, in vain, to get him to eat the food. However, he wouldn't have anything to do with it. I honestly believe he does not like "wet" food. We decided on Merrick, which is grain-free. Our cat loves it and he has dropped a little bit of weight as well.

Cats get "addicted" to what is in their food, and they will starve themselves before eating new (which is very dangerous for cats because it can bring on Hepatic Lipidosis/fatty liver disease). Raw is great for cats, but most cat owners have to go very slowly and some have to take up to a year to transition their cats. Sadly, dry food has been linked to a lot of health issues in cats (crystals, urinary tract issues, and more). Holistic vets warn against feeding dry to cats and recommend a wet food, preferably raw, but at least wet. You can find more under "cat nutrition" on the website below (littlebigcat). Here's some info. on switching foods if you decide to try again from holistic vet Jean Hofve:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/nutrition/switching-foods/

(and from holistic vet Karen Becker):

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/03/10/how-to-transition-your-cat-to-raw-food-diet-part-1.aspx

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/03/17/how-to-transition-your-cat-to-raw-food-diet-part-2.aspx

And on a study recently done re: raw fed cats:

http://www.littlebigcat.com/blog/study-supports-raw-meat-diet-for-cats/

http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/03/16/protein-in-real-meat-are-better-for-cats.aspx

ETA: Our oldest dog will be 15 in May and acts like a pup. No one can believe she's almost 15 -- no obesity, no crippling arthritis, no regular medicines and she still wants to play.