# What food should we go with?



## Dragonfly (Jun 6, 2010)

*Ok my helpful little Chi people! lol My girls are about to finish their LAST bag of Science Diet! :hello1: Yay! I had no clue this was bad for them until I came to this site (Thank you!) The vet praised SD to us and threw it in our face as this was the BEST food for Shayley & Kizzie. :foxes15: Now that we know that's not the truth I would like some suggestions on what we should go with next. Hard food and soft food? What do you use? Not going raw sorry lol can't handle that but what is the best dog food for them that you use? Any info would be so great! Thank you so much! 

Edited to say: We don't care about the price so don't worry about offering anything too high. Also I wanted to keep in mind that SHAYLEY is my picky girl (Yes there is a thing as a picky dog no I will not starve her until she likes something I just don't agree with that.) She actually eats SD which was a shock so hopefully she'll love the next food we get!!!*​


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## Amandarose531 (Aug 9, 2010)

I personally just switched to THK a few months ago and honestly, I can tell a HUGE difference in their coat texture/look and their smell. The big reason I changed was because Godrics tummy is SSOOOOOOOO sensitive that it blows him completely out of whack on ANY expensive kibble, so this is a great alternative for us.

Not everyone takes to it for certain, but I did get my friend to switch his cats - who were also mindlessly eating SD, and he says they love it and the only difficulty he's having is getting his regular free feeders onto a schedule.

Good luck with whatever you choose, there are great kibble brands, Orijen, Ziwi, etc. just do your research and figure out what's best for you!

*edited - cost aside i've found my dogs are very happy with their routine and if I get swappy with their food it makes them ill - but they're snacks and supplements I do change out, if it takes her a meal or two to get in the swing of things it wont bother them, dogs don't have any self harm in their brains, if she's truly hungry she'd eat. But - best of luck whichever route you choose!


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

If cost wasn't a consideration, I'd recommend ZiwiPeak. It's excellent. It comes in a bag like kibble, but is minimally processed.


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## Dragonfly (Jun 6, 2010)

Thank you girls. I wish I could get a sample of each good food and see which one Shayley would eat and ENJOY most. I understand it might take a few to get her actually interested in a new food but I really just want her to enjoy her food and not have to eat something she's not interested in. I'll have to look into getting a sample somehow. I don't think i'll have a problem with Kizzie she will eat anything and ENJOY anything LOL Again my picky dog is chunky and my I"LL EAT ANYTHING dog is thin! I don't understand it! lol


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

Ziwi Peak or Orijen, or Honest Kitchen.


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## N*T*M*4U (Nov 10, 2008)

Brodysmom said:


> If cost wasn't a consideration, I'd recommend ZiwiPeak. It's excellent. It comes in a bag like kibble, but is minimally processed.


ZiwiPeak is the best thing ever for our chis especially for my MoJie with sensitive stomach......


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## Dragonfly (Jun 6, 2010)

Thank you! I tried contacting Ziwipeak and Orijen but no answer. I'll email them next but I did get a hold of HK and they are sending me a sample for my girls yay!


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## Ivy's mom (Feb 15, 2008)

Ziwipeak, Ziwipeak, Ziwipeak! Dried, and canned


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## Dragonfly (Jun 6, 2010)

Ivy's mom said:


> Ziwipeak, Ziwipeak, Ziwipeak! Dried, and canned


Oh this has dried and canned? I like that! I was thinking this was all just dry food for some reason! I'm off to do some more research! lol:hello1:


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I think if you mail ziwipeak they will send you samples.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Everyone's already given the recommendations I would give  I would say Ziwi/THK are the best you can do without going raw...

My problem with kibble is the high amount of processing it goes though. Ziwi/THK aren't processed anywhere near as heavily, leaving more naturally occuring ingredients, vitamins and minerals in the foods. I call them "nutritionally available" lol. Plenty of dogs live long, happy, healthy lives on kibbles. But their bodies have to work much much harder to get the nutrition they need for them. If you think about it, you don't want that stress on your dog's internal organs. Keep in mind that's JUST my opinion, and I am not doggin' on kibble feeders, I think they take every bit as good care of their dogs as I do mine...  BUT since you asked for our opinions...there was mine hehe.

When I feed THK, I ALWAYS mix in fresh raw ground meat of some sort, but you don't HAVE to. I know Paula feeds Pip & Roo THK without ever mixing anything in and they are just as healthy as can be and it's really helped them with itching and allergies they were having.

My dogs loved it at first, even the picky one. But not all dogs do. 

Since we feed more of a raw diet now, and just use THK in a pinch, I can't comment on long term success with it, but for the 4 months we fed it exclusively I saw many, many positive changes in my dogs including reduced doggy odor, healthier looking teeth and gums, and better coat/skin health as well as drastically reduced tearing/staining in Oakley.

It is EXCELLENT for sensitive tummies, too. 

Ziwi is what we feed when we travel, and it is a fabulous food. But bottom line I just cannot justify the cost on a daily basis when I can feed fresh raw foods for a fraction of the cost. That said, if I wasn't able to feed those fresh raw foods, I'd feed Ziwi over THK, even though THK is a bit cheaper to feed. 

I don't feed anything exclusively, and I disagree that dogs like routine. Mine LOVE and do super well on a HUGE variety of foods. They even get cheese, sweet potatoes and every animal from venison to aligator lungs to ostrich to whatever critter I can find for them...don't feel guilty about giving small bits of table scraps, either, if your girls can tolerate it. Bits of meats left from your dinner, bits of burger, chicken etc are all great. Our grandparents dogs grew up on a lot of table scraps and you never really heard much of dogs with cancer but now we hear it all the time and its heart breaking.

Now i'm just rambling...lol. Let us know what you pick!


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## Dragonfly (Jun 6, 2010)

Brodysmom said:


> I think if you mail ziwipeak they will send you samples.


Yes, I've emailed them already! Thank you! HK had a number to call and picked up right away! Very fast and nice too! Hopefully I hear back from the others soon! 



flippedstars said:


> Everyone's already given the recommendations I would give  I would say Ziwi/THK are the best you can do without going raw...
> 
> My problem with kibble is the high amount of processing it goes though. Ziwi/THK aren't processed anywhere near as heavily, leaving more naturally occuring ingredients, vitamins and minerals in the foods. I call them "nutritionally available" lol. Plenty of dogs live long, happy, healthy lives on kibbles. But their bodies have to work much much harder to get the nutrition they need for them. If you think about it, you don't want that stress on your dog's internal organs. Keep in mind that's JUST my opinion, and I am not doggin' on kibble feeders, I think they take every bit as good care of their dogs as I do mine...  BUT since you asked for our opinions...there was mine hehe.
> 
> ...


lol Kristi you're too cute! I love your opinion and thoughts no matter what they are! From everybody!! I feel like I need to be more up to date on this food than what I am...Raw sounds awesome! You all have amazing results it's so good I wish I could handle it because then I would so feed that to them but I truly think it is sick!! LOL!!! There was one post I actually could handle (Even though I know it's gross looking I enjoy looking at the pics just because it's so obvious how much the lil Chis LOVE their raw!) I think ONE DAY I will try but something that looks close to our food no real lil chicks or deer legs lol that won't fly for me! As for dog "kibble" I really HOPE I can find something that they really like....My girls can handle table scraps for sure! They love em! lol My girls get table scraps all the time I know some people don't agree with it at all but hey ho we don't all agree on everything lol It's not like the get a load of it or over the limit it's a normal amount that is fine for them. 
I will let you know what we go with! I'm excited for them to try something new!! :hello1:


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

If I wasn't feeding raw I'd be feeding Ziwipeak dry AND wet (dry as a standard & a spoonful of wet at every meal). Mari is actually on ZP right now because of some issues she's having & we are able to give her raw & ZP w/o issue. ZP actually consists of meat, organ, vitamins & minerals (as well as fish oils & such) so it's basically the same as feeding raw.  

Anyway, I also think Honest Kitchen is a good food (Embark & Force I'd prefer since they are grain free but I've also fed Thrive **which only has quinoa which is technically a seed**) as is Stella & Chewy's. I actually add all 3 of these recomendations to our raw rotation at the moment. hehe  

Good luck & you're going to be SO happy with one of these foods!! :cheer:


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## Dragonfly (Jun 6, 2010)

MChis said:


> If I wasn't feeding raw I'd be feeding Ziwipeak dry AND wet (dry as a standard & a spoonful of wet at every meal). Mari is actually on ZP right now because of some issues she's having & we are able to give her raw & ZP w/o issue. ZP actually consists of meat, organ, vitamins & minerals (as well as fish oils & such) so it's basically the same as feeding raw.
> 
> Anyway, I also think Honest Kitchen is a good food (Embark & Force I'd prefer since they are grain free but I've also fed Thrive **which only has quinoa which is technically a seed**) as is Stella & Chewy's. I actually add all 3 of these recomendations to our raw rotation at the moment. hehe
> 
> Good luck & you're going to be SO happy with one of these foods!! :cheer:


Thanks Heather! I really am sooo excited to try a new food for them!! If Shayley wasn't so picky I'd go out and just buy it but we've wasted so much money on food we've been pleased she actually likes SD...even though that was before we didn't know it's not the best! At least all that wasted money on dog food went to animal shelters :hello1: lol! SO hopefully this new food samples we get will not be a problem! 

And I just have to comment that your Mari is just TOO dang cute! She LC right? I'm more of a SC Chi but Mari really makes me want a LC! She is beautiful! (They are all adorable though hehehe lol)


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## Pinkchi (Nov 21, 2008)

If I could afford it I would feed Ziwipeak since we cant get THK over here.
Louie is loving his Orijen though 
Orijen, Acana or Taste of The Wild if you want kibble

THK or Ziwipeak if you dont going on others recommendation x


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Yes, Mari is LC. She doesn't have a real full coat like some do which I like. I never was a fan of LC's myself until I got her. I was more excited she was chocolate in color. hahaha Funny enough she didn't stay chocolate so I didn't get my chocolate OR my SC! But that's ok...I think she's gorgeous & she's made me very VERY fond of LC's. I'd love another someday. 

I really don't find ZP all that expensive to feed compared to some kibbles. It costs me a total of around $30 a week to feed my six ZP (and that's counting in a bit of wet as well). The 2.2lb bag of ZP (which lasts us a week) is $25. You could feed one average sized Chi ZP for approx $25 every 6 weeks. VERY reasonable IMO considering the quality. 

And for me I totally find the grain free (Embark & Force) HK formulas cost about the same amount as the ZP costs. And I think Stella & Chewy's cost around the same as well. From my calculations on what it would cost to feed my lot anyway...they all average out to be about the same interestingly enough. I love that I can feed any of these foods & still have great poos w/o any GI troubles at all. Just goes to show how gentle they all are on the system!


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Dragonfly said:


> Oh this has dried and canned? I like that! I was thinking this was all just dry food for some reason! I'm off to do some more research! lol:hello1:


Yes, they have wet & it is GREAT!! Not like other canned food at ALL! I've fed the canned as a meal a few times when I've been in a pinch & there were no diarrhea like there would have been on other wet foods. It's more expensive ($3 something a can) but I'm very lucky to have a store that sells it for $2.75 a can locally. I've never seen it that cheap online. But you may want to try some stores in your area & perhaps you'd get lucky as well!


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

If cost is no concern then I'd go for Ziwipeak as well. However it's always good to have some variety, even with Ziwipeak as good as it is you'll still want to change up their diet routinely. It's never a good idea to stick with one thing only no matter how great it is. There are a lot of options as far as dehyrated and freeze dried raw such as The Honest Kitchen, Addiction, Grandma Lucy's, Sojos, and Stella & Chewy's. All of them are good options that would make an excellent part of a rotation diet.

I can't afford to feed Ziwipeak so I feed The Honest Kitchen mixed with a variety of things including raw, cooked meats, various grain free kibbles, canned foods, and most recently I started using Stella & Chewy's.

If you prefer a kibble I would go with Orijen or Acana.


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## LDMomma (Mar 28, 2009)

Ziwipeak, then Honest Kitchen.


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## Dragonfly (Jun 6, 2010)

Thank you all! Wow Heather you're lucky you can get it that cheap near you! We live in a small town so everything near us is going to be extra expensive I'm sure.....IF they even carry this stuff! We only have a Walmart and Orscheln's near us! lol How fun!


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