# Changing Diet



## SoggyWaffles (May 18, 2020)

Hello everyone, new to this forum after running into some pages while researching new foods for my chihuahuas. 

My main concern is that Sophie licks her paws a lot. I have not confirmed a food allergy, but when she went from a chicken diet to a different brand salmon I BELIEVE the amount of licking was reduced. 

My vet recommended a senior diet from either royal canin, purina pro plan or hills science. 

So here are some of my questions/concerns:

1. Is a “senior diet” really needed? Since I am leaning towards purina pro plan they have a small breed bright mind diet. This is a chicken diet. 

2. An alternative for the bright mind diet that I’m looking into is Purina pro plan focus sensitive stomach and skin. This is a salmon diet. And lastly, there’s also hills science senior small bites. I like that like royal canin senior, it mentions heart health. 

3. A vet on JustAnswer said I should feed her a limited ingredients diet. Preferably the hills science prescription skin diet, but I’ll be honest and say that’s a bit out of my budget. Second choice was Natural balance with venison, but this is grain free and I’m trying to get away from grain free (she’s been on taste of the wild for 2 years). So should I consider a LID?

4. With her licking in mind. Would royal canin be something I should look at? I heard it’s very good and I saw a bad for Chis specifically at petsmart, there’s just not thousands of reviews on them like purina pro plan or hills. I assume because of the price. 

5. In regards to 5, I would ideally like my mom to feed her two chihuahuas the same diet Sophie goes onto since she visits there often and I notice she a runny poop within a day of being there (mom feeds them blue buffalo). To my knowledge, her chis do not lick like Sophie does. 

I know it’s a lot of information but I’m going crazy here. Just want to do what’s best for Sophie and hopefully help Niko and Brownie in the process. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!


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## CuddlesMom (Feb 22, 2014)

I would check into environmental allergens, such as grass, too.


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## CuddlesMom (Feb 22, 2014)

I really like how my dog is doing on Royal Canin. Now that you mention paw licking, she hasn't really been licking her paws much since she started it. This is a little TMI, but her poops have been much smaller since switching (she was on a grain free food before that), which means she is digesting most of her food. Royal Canin is one of the most researched foods as far as dog nutrition goes.


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