# What food do you feed your Chi?



## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

Hi!

I am currently feeding my Chi Nutro All Natural Lamb and Rice but was thinking of switching to a higher end holistic food like Innova or Canidae.

Do you have an opinions on the foods about? What do you feed your Chi right now and why?

Thanks for any input :wave:


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## karis (Oct 2, 2004)

At the moment I feed Ella Pro Plan Puppy for small breeds because that is what the breeder had her on. When she turns 8 months old I plan on switching her to Royal Canine Chihuahua because of the wonderful reviews I have heard about from this message board!!!


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## JOLIE'SMOM (Jul 15, 2005)

I feed Jolie Hill's p/d because my vet told me to for 3 days when she had an upset tummy and i just kept her on it. Boomer eats it too. My grown chis eat nutro max.


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## TuckersMom (Jun 29, 2004)

Tucker eats Royal Canin Chihuahua. He ate Eukanuba Puppy food, then we switched to the Royal Canin at a year. I like the fact that it has Glucosamine and Chondroitin in it for joint health. Also, Tucker is a very picky eater and Eukanuba and Royal Canin were the only foods I could get him to eat.


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## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

Thanks for answering!

I have heard something about the Royal Canin for Chi's also. Is it completely and specifically for Chi's? Do they make one for every breed? Did you notice a change in loss stools or being more thirsty when you first switched them to the Royal Canin? 

I am still potty training and someone had told me their dog seemed very thirsty on the Royal Canin Chihuahua!


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## amykate (Jul 6, 2005)

Josie gets Royal Canin's Sensible Choice Puppy Food. She absolutely LOVES it and never has problems being thirsty or anything. The breeder had been feeding her Purina Lil Bites and gave me a little bowl of it to mix with whatever food I planned on using. After trying the Royal Canin, Josie would pick the RC out of the mix and leave the Purina food! 

I chose RC based on so many raves from people here and I'm glad that I did. That brings up an interesting question, though: how long do I continue to feed her puppy food before switching to the RC Chi type?


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

I feed Cooper Natural Balance Reduced Calorie dry food and Wellness canned food. He only gets canned because OmaKitty does and he freaks out if he doesn't get some as well. He only gets a tablespoon of it, mixed in with the dry but I use that because it's human-grade and "better" for him than other mainstream foods. He didn't like the Wellness dry food, so I switched to Natural Balance. NB is made by Dick Van Patten (from TV's Eight is Enough) and we buy that because, once again, it's all natural and the bonus is that he donates a lot of money to animal welfare places. Cooper loves the food, too.

ROFL... I just realized the word filter caught D.ick Van Patten's name and changed it!! LOL

I know a large percentage of folks on here feed their chis Royal Canin and I considered switching but Cooper needs a reduced calorie food and Royal Canin diet has 10% more fat, 1000 more k-cals and, generally, isn't good for Cooper's needs. Plus, the feeding guidelines are 3 times what NB's are and I just can't see feeding him THAT much food when it's that much worse for him.

That being said, I want to know how all these Royal Canin pups are so skinny and Cooper is still a husky boy!! :lol:


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## Chico's Mama (May 22, 2005)

I feed Chico Wellness. He absolutely loves it and I chose it because I think the ingredients are great. The Nutro Lamb and Rice you're talking about is a very good food, IMO. I fed Chico that as a puppy, but he got tired of it so I switched to the NutroMax puppy and he really liked that.


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## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

Wow, thanks for such great info!

So...Royal Canin Chihuahua is for adult Chi's? But there is a puppy food too? Do they have a wheat free formula? Has anyone had any allergy problems with their Chi's while on Royal Canin?

Normally a puppy would be on the puppy formula for the first year. However, I have heard in certain breeds of dogs that they are not supposed to be on it that long because there is too much protein and causes their bones to grow too fast. Has anyone heard this about Chi's?


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## Chico's Mama (May 22, 2005)

sandmama said:


> Wow, thanks for such great info!
> 
> So...Royal Canin Chihuahua is for adult Chi's? But there is a puppy food too? Do they have a wheat free formula? Has anyone had any allergy problems with their Chi's while on Royal Canin?
> 
> Normally a puppy would be on the puppy formula for the first year. However, I have heard in certain breeds of dogs that they are not supposed to be on it that long because there is too much protein and causes their bones to grow too fast. Has anyone heard this about Chi's?


The Royal Canin Chihuahua 28 formula is for adult chi's, but royal canin does make a puppy food (not a chi puppy formula, but a MAXI puppy formula for big dogs and a MINI puppy formula for small dogs) 

The Royal Canin puppy foods are the MINI Puppy 33, which is for small breed dogs up to 20 pounds. There is also the Royal Canin MINI Babydog 30, which is also for small breed dogs up to 20 pounds. Then they have a Royal Canin Natural Blend Puppy which is a holistic blend. The other Royal Canin puppy foods are for medium and large dogs.

As for the amount of time to be on puppy food, it all depends on the dog and you. Some people have switched their chi's over to adult food at 8-10 months or around there. I had Chico on puppy food until he was a year old. Puppy food is very rich, so if you're not sure when to make the switch, I'd ask your vet. I hope this info helps you


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

Cooper switched to adult food at 4 months per the vet's suggestion. Just thought I'd throw that "morsel" out there. (I'm so punny!)


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## Kioana (Mar 1, 2005)

when i gave jamoke Royal Canin Chihuahua he didn't really care for it so i gave him purina puppy chow. and he loves it 
jemini came with her own food from the breeder and when she tasted moka's food he didn't eat her food any more


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## Alli (Jul 21, 2005)

Hi - I feed my 6 month puppy Innova Puppy food. It's a really great product...I have no complaints, except that the pieces are not very small, but fortunately he likes to crunch them up. He goes crazy for it, so much so I can also use it as treats to bribe him. It's more expensive than most brands, but considering how much chi's eat it's really not bad. I just feel really good he's getting such quality ingredients. Their website is excellent <www.naturapet.com> it compares all the other brands to theirs. There are no by-products, fillers, or corn, and everything is human grade. When he's around 10 months, I think I might switch him to the Innova Evo (the raw version). Hope that helps!


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## labtestedchi (Jun 29, 2005)

right now we are feeding Diamond Lamb and Rice kibble..mixed with cooked rice and boiled hamburger. For snacks or treats they get raw bones and fresh veggies.


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## LittleMagicChihuahuas (Aug 11, 2005)

*Hi*

*Hi there, well I feed my dogs the Royal Mini Chihuahua*


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## chimommy (Jun 29, 2005)

I fee Royal Canin Mini Puppy right now and will be switching Angel to Mini Chihuahua formula when the time comes. Angel and I are both really happy with RC.


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## amykate (Jul 6, 2005)

I checked the description on the RC Chi food on PetsMart.com and it says that it's for Chis 8 months and older, so I suppose that would be a good time to change from puppy food to adult food.


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## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

Thanks for all this great information!

My Chi eats the Nutro fine and I do supplement with some meat and veggies and fruits now and again! But I knew there were better foods out there.

I went to Innova's website Natura.com and it is so great. You can compare all the different brands and it is easier than going to the store and trying to look on the actual bags.

Innova seems to be the one with real meat as their top 3 ingredients and they have apples, carrots, tomatoes, cottage cheese and lots of other good stuff in it. There is a store right down the road that carries it. I think I will go and get a bag today and see if Chewy likes it!

I am a little worried about how much it is but since Chi's eat so little anyway the 5 pound bag couldn't be too much more than the 9.99 for the Nutro.

Thanks again for all the GREAT responses!

Chi slobbery kisses to everyone


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## Alli (Jul 21, 2005)

Unfortunately nobody carries Innova where i live so I get it shipped to me, and I definitely think it's well worth it. I'm sure you'll be really happy with it!


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## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

Alli, he gobbled it up like crazy. I mixed just a little in with his Nutro and he picked out all the Innova pieces and left the rest. He didn't get the runs so I guess I am going to not mix it if he is going to pick it out!!

I feel great about giving him such a wonderful food. I do give him fresh meats and fruits on the side but now I know all the bases are covered!

Thanks :wave:


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

Wow... that's good to know. I might try switching Cooper since their low-cal forumla has less calories and fat than the Natural Balance.

I was on their site all night last night, comparing and contrasting. LOL I felt like a spy!! 8)


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## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

Cooper,

When I went to the feed store I took my list that I printed out of the 3 top foods I was interested in off the natura website. People were looking at me funny, but the ingredients are VERY important to me. Someone finally came and asked me for help and I showed them my list and asked what they thought!

Evolve and Wellness also had ingredients similar to Innova with the added veggies and dairy and fruit. But Innova was the one that had the top 3 as real meat ingredients!

A man that worked at the store says he used Nutro for his big dog's but that's because they don't like veggies. 

The three mentioned above are the only ones I could really find that had more than just meat and added vitamins and minerals or extracts of the fruits and veggies! I didn't want extracts, I wanted the real thing.

They gave me a sample baggie!!! If you go to your local petstore, not Petsmart or Petco, and ask for samples of any of the ones you are interested in, they should be able to give them to you. When I opened the Innova sample Chewy practically jumped in my lap to see what I had for him!


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## Soon2bechiowner (Apr 25, 2005)

I feed all my dogs a "natural" diet it consists of raw meat vegetables vitimins and all kinds of stuff.


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## ChioxerMomma (Aug 3, 2005)

*i feed mine*

Iams puppy food. When we got our new puppy the adult chi wanted her food so i just am feeding them all iams puppy food for now.


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## Cooper (Jun 15, 2005)

Thanks Sandmama... Cooper used to eat Wellness.. well, I bought one bag for him and he didn't like it at all so that was a bunch of money wasted. LOL Good thing I work at the shelters ... I just took it up there with me and threw it in with the dog's treats and the raccoon's dinner at the wildlife rescue.

I'm going to the family petstore near me tomorrow on the way home from the chi meetup and grabbing a sample of the Natura food. I called and the lady (I call her "granny" but I know she must have a name) told me if she doesn't have samples, she'll open a bag for me and let me take a little.

I was going to go today but, with the heat index, it's 116 degrees outside and, well, I don't think I'm stepping foot outside today. :shock:


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## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

That is really great that you called and they are wanting to help you! I don't know what wellness or evolve taste like but Chewy loves the Innova! The 6.6 pound bag of Innova down the road equals out to the same price as the 5 pound bag of Nutro at Petsmart!

Every dog is different and has different tastes just like us! Good luck and you'll have to let me know what Cooper thinks of the Innova!!


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## ZimaBadBaby (Jul 30, 2005)

Performatrin Ultra Holistic Pet Food









http://www.performatrinultra.com/index.htm


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## jec582 (Jun 17, 2005)

I feed my Pixie Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul Food. She loves it. It is made of all natural fresh chicken, turkey, salmon, potatoes and other veggies.


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## Effylicious (Jul 31, 2005)

My Cheech gets Science Diet for puppies! Judging from my research, it seems to be the best dog food I've seen. We've been feeding Science Diet to our other dog, a yorkie, for some time now, and he's very healthy.


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## mizz (Aug 13, 2005)

My Wiz is 7 weeks and the breeder actually sent him home with Pedigree. The vet gave me Science Diet and I mixed it in and Wiz much prefers it, actually picking out only the Science Diet pieces.

I intend to switch him to Royal Canin after he turns a year old because I've heard such great things! I'm way too afraid to switch him to their puppy formula now because he's had much too much change in his life already!


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## Pismo (Aug 2, 2005)

Has any one given their chi Innova canned food? I got some as a treat for all my dogs (usually don't give canned), and mixed a very small amount with their Eukanuba kibble, and Royal Canin for Mo. My older dogs both got the runs, even with this small amount.

The ingredients looked so good I thought it would be a good thing, but it definitely made my two big dogs sick. I guess their systems are just too use to the Eukanuba after all these years. I have given them canned food in the past and it never had this dramatic of an effect, although it does tend to upset their systems a bit. That's why I only give small amounts. I did notice it said it had garlic in the Innova food, and I thought this was a no no for dogs. Maybe that is what made them so sick?

Mo however did OK, I even caught him with a licorice stick (a la Gadget, but red this time) and he must have eaten half the stick when I caught him. He was in raiding the pantry with the cat. :roll: No ill effects from that... yet...I'm still expecting some though. :?


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## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

When switching to a holistic food USUALLY a dog will get the runs. So even adding a little bit of the canned Innova which is really rich would have done that. If they seemed to like it you could wait it out a few days or a week and their poo will go back to normal!!

As for the garlic, most of the holistic food do have garlic in them. It is not much, usually at the bottom of their ingredients. I haven't heard about not giving dogs garlic before but maybe they mean raw garlic or the holistic dog food companies process if differently, not quite sure, but many of them have it!


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## Pismo (Aug 2, 2005)

Thanks for the info on the Innova. I hadn't read that it normally causes the runs when adjusting to it. I don't know if we can tolerate the adjustment or not. I gave them very small amount (1/4 of a small cat food sized can) and my Keeshond had an accident in the house...she NEVER has accidents. She was so humilated  , but it was obvious she was sick so I tried to let her know it was OK. I also noticed she was scratching her snout for a couple of days...so maybe she is allergic? Also tons of gas from both of them...phew. 

They did love the stuff, but don't think we can go through the torture of getting them used to it. Anyway, I have whole bunch of cans (I bought it in bulk..not a smart move) so any one is Southern CA want some free dog food?


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## sandmama (Aug 2, 2005)

I don't think I could go through it either!! I am still housetraining Chewy and luckily when we switched from Nutro to Innova he did just fine. But I knew it was a possibility and was crossing my fingers! I only bought a 2.2 pound bag just in case the switch wouldn't go well.

Hope you were able to clean up the mess okay


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