# I need your input on food type...



## rms3402 (Dec 2, 2010)

So, as some of you know, I've been researching for a healthier food for Roxy. Some of you have provided me with websites and advice, and I thank you very much!  I read what everyone else says on other posts about food too... I was considering ZiwiPeak, but I'm not sure I want to go that route at the moment. I also do not want to feed her raw food.. just not my thing I guess. I'm definitely sticking with the dry food.

So, I've been searching the five star foods and looking for ones that I can get in the pet stores around me. I've come up with the following options:

*Cator and Pollux Organix Puppy Formula* and then *Adult Canine Formula* when she's older, obviously.

or

*Merrick Gourmet Entrée Puppy Plate Dry Puppy Food* and then *Merrick Before Grain Buffalo Grain-Free Dry dog food* when she's older.

or

*Orijen Puppy*

I've also considered *Solid Gold Barking at the Moon*, but don't think they have any puppy formula.


Has anyone ever tried any of these? Or for those of you that know a lot about dog foods, please help!!! Are these even good? Let me know! I'd really really really appreciate it!


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

I'd never feed Merrick ANYTHING, they have had sooo many recalls.

Out of the options you listed, I'd go with the Orijen. But I think it is too rich for some chis, possibly consider Acana, it's sister product, that is more appropriate for a smaller dog.


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## KayC (May 3, 2005)

I agree with Kristi on not feeding Merrick and on your lists I like the Orijen, raw is not my thing either, even though I really beleive it to be the best, I just can't do it so I free feed Orijen and give ZP for her dinner (this raw I can handle).


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## rms3402 (Dec 2, 2010)

flippedstars said:


> I'd never feed Merrick ANYTHING, they have had sooo many recalls.
> 
> Out of the options you listed, I'd go with the Orijen. But I think it is too rich for some chis, possibly consider Acana, it's sister product, that is more appropriate for a smaller dog.


Oh geeze! Why is Merrick listed under 5 stars then?!  I thought of Acana because I saw that mentioned quite a few times on here. I didn't list it though because the closest place to get it around here is 45 minutes away. Which isn't that big of a deal, but I'd rather it be convenient to get. However, I want her to have a super healthy food... Do you ever use Acana?




Zoey's Mom said:


> I agree with Kristi on not feeding Merrick and on your lists I like the Orijen, raw is not my thing either, even though I really beleive it to be the best, I just can't do it so I free feed Orijen and give ZP for her dinner (this raw I can handle).


Okay, so definitely no Merrick!! Yeah, the raw is just... not that I can't handle it, but if I can find a dry food that is still really healthy, I'd much rather go with that. So, I'm definitely considering Orijen or Acana... Now, I've been thinking about ZP too. It confuses me though. I feed Roxy three meals a day. Can I feed her that three times a day? Or is it meant to be used like you do, only once a day. Or can it be used as just treats? What's the point of ZP? Is it just really healthy and good for them?


Thank you both so much for the advice!!!:thumbup:


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## KayC (May 3, 2005)

How old is Roxy and what is her weight? If she is average weight..You could feed 1/4 - 1/3 cup (it comes with a scoop cup) twice per day. Zoey gets about 1/2 cup/scoop for her dinner and Orijen the rest of the day. You can use it as treats, but they do sell treats (they look just like the food). I beleive Ziwi is the next best thing to feeding raw. So I beleive it is a really good food. You can feed just Ziwi. If you wanted to feed her three times a day just take the reccomended serving size for her weight and divide it by 3.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Honestly, I'd go with ZiwiPeak hands down if the cost isn't a problem for you (it really isn't bad for one Chi!). You get the convinience of kibble but with the benefits of raw minus dental health. You can feed it as manytimes as you need during the day as long as you split her total daily intake up. My Chi's get between 1/2 scoop-3/4 scoop a day depending on the Chi. But if you're considering ZP that's what I'd go with for sure.


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## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

I agree with what the others said!! Too many foods have had sooo many recalls and can't be trusted any more. I've had to resort to ordering my food online, but it's worth the shipping as I would pay that in gas driving to a store for the food. I use the Acana for my chi as an in between meals food. My chi's main food is The Honest Kitchen with ZP sprinkled on sometimes. 
Raw foods not for me either, but I do agree that it is the best thing you could feed an animal, so I opted for the dehydrated raw & freeze-dried mainly because my vet assured me that there would be no contamination possibility with these foods. 
I have seen an enormous difference in feeding my chi these top quality foods. My husband can't believe how soft she feels & as long as I never hear any recalls on these 3 foods, I'm a customer for life.
One other thing that I really like with the Honest Kitchen (Force) is that it has chicken in it & I buy discounted meat (steak) at my local store, so sometimes I add a little more to the food. You don't have to & that's what's nice about it. Most important, she looks forward to meal time every day. She really enjoys it!!


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## LovesMyPups (Apr 18, 2010)

Before we started feeding ZP (which, of course, I strongly recommend), we were actually feeding Castor and Pollux Organix. While there are some grains listed, almost all of those grains are organically grown/cultivated, and are found in most other kibbles I was considering anyway. My pups enjoyed it for the year and a half they ate it, but now their tummies can not handle more than a few pieces at a time, the proof is in their poo!


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## Mom of 4 Chi's (Apr 3, 2009)

I've never tried any of the brands you have listed, but I would go with Orijen. I think that's the best one from your list.

If possible go with Ziwipeak. I'm a raw feeder, but give Ziwi a few times a week. I really believe it's the best you can feed... besides raw. 
Ziwi is for all stages of a dogs life, and you can feed it as many times a day as you'd like, but I would recommended only twice per day.


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## rms3402 (Dec 2, 2010)

Zoey's Mom said:


> How old is Roxy and what is her weight? If she is average weight..You could feed 1/4 - 1/3 cup (it comes with a scoop cup) twice per day. Zoey gets about 1/2 cup/scoop for her dinner and Orijen the rest of the day. You can use it as treats, but they do sell treats (they look just like the food). I beleive Ziwi is the next best thing to feeding raw. So I beleive it is a really good food. You can feed just Ziwi. If you wanted to feed her three times a day just take the reccomended serving size for her weight and divide it by 3.


Roxy is 3.5 pounds at 5.5 months old. I think I really like what you do... feeding her regular food like Orijen or Acana twice per day, and then ZP for dinner! Do you order ZP online from the actual ZP website, or is there another place you order it from?



MChis said:


> Honestly, I'd go with ZiwiPeak hands down if the cost isn't a problem for you (it really isn't bad for one Chi!). You get the convinience of kibble but with the benefits of raw minus dental health. You can feed it as manytimes as you need during the day as long as you split her total daily intake up. My Chi's get between 1/2 scoop-3/4 scoop a day depending on the Chi. But if you're considering ZP that's what I'd go with for sure.


Paying for a bag of ZP that will hopefully last a long time won't be a problem. But if it doesn't last as long as I think it will, then it might be a problem. Do you feed only ZP or do you do what Zoey's Mom does and feed other food along with ZP? Where do you order your ZP from?



woodard2009 said:


> I agree with what the others said!! Too many foods have had sooo many recalls and can't be trusted any more. I've had to resort to ordering my food online, but it's worth the shipping as I would pay that in gas driving to a store for the food. I use the Acana for my chi as an in between meals food. My chi's main food is The Honest Kitchen with ZP sprinkled on sometimes.
> Raw foods not for me either, but I do agree that it is the best thing you could feed an animal, so I opted for the dehydrated raw & freeze-dried mainly because my vet assured me that there would be no contamination possibility with these foods.
> I have seen an enormous difference in feeding my chi these top quality foods. My husband can't believe how soft she feels & as long as I never hear any recalls on these 3 foods, I'm a customer for life.
> One other thing that I really like with the Honest Kitchen (Force) is that it has chicken in it & I buy discounted meat (steak) at my local store, so sometimes I add a little more to the food. You don't have to & that's what's nice about it. Most important, she looks forward to meal time every day. She really enjoys it!!


Seeing a difference in feeding your chi those food is definitely a plus! And since none of them have ever been recalled, that's also awesome. Honest Kitchen sounds like a good one too! Are there different kinds of Honest Kitchen?



LovesMyPups said:


> Before we started feeding ZP (which, of course, I strongly recommend), we were actually feeding Castor and Pollux Organix. While there are some grains listed, almost all of those grains are organically grown/cultivated, and are found in most other kibbles I was considering anyway. My pups enjoyed it for the year and a half they ate it, but now their tummies can not handle more than a few pieces at a time, the proof is in their poo!


Oh no! LOL. Maybe I'll just skip over Organix then, just in case!  Do you feed just ZP?


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## rms3402 (Dec 2, 2010)

Mom of 4 Chi's said:


> I've never tried any of the brands you have listed, but I would go with Orijen. I think that's the best one from your list.
> 
> If possible go with Ziwipeak. I'm a raw feeder, but give Ziwi a few times a week. I really believe it's the best you can feed... besides raw.
> Ziwi is for all stages of a dogs life, and you can feed it as many times a day as you'd like, but I would recommended only twice per day.


Thanks for your advice!! I think ZP is a DEFINITE yes with either Orijen or Acana! Where do you get your ZP from?


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## KayC (May 3, 2005)

I get ZP from a nearby pet store called Naturally 4 Paws. I know some people order it on line. Maybe they post and let you know where they get it from. Good luck.


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## Mom of 4 Chi's (Apr 3, 2009)

I have a local pet store order it for me. I don't pay shipping, and as long as I place my order by Tuesday I will get it on Thursday. 
I know you can order it from Amazon.com
If I was to only feed Ziwi, an 11 pound bag will last me one and a half months. That's feeding 4 chi's weighing at or under 6.5 pounds, with the smallest at 3 pounds.
It will last you a LOT longer.


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

I would go with Ziwi Peak, or Honest Kitchen. Honest Kitchen has several different varieties for dogs.


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## LovesMyPups (Apr 18, 2010)

rms3402 said:


> Oh no! LOL. Maybe I'll just skip over Organix then, just in case!  Do you feed just ZP?


Yup. Between my three (two @ 4.5lbs, and one @ a little over 5.5lbs) the 11lb bag I got on Amazon for $110including shipping is lasting my pups a little over 6months. (I also feed raw/scrambled egg with shell and very rarely RMB).


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

rms3402 said:


> Paying for a bag of ZP that will hopefully last a long time won't be a problem. But if it doesn't last as long as I think it will, then it might be a problem. Do you feed only ZP or do you do what Zoey's Mom does and feed other food along with ZP? Where do you order your ZP from?



It's definitely cheaper to buy a 10lb bag (for around $110) & portioning out in quart/gallon sized baggies & freezing the rest (so it stays fresh). But even one 2.2 bag of ZP would last 1 Chi around 6 weeks & costs around $25. So not bad considering it's literally the best prepackaged food out there!

I feed a rotation of prey model raw, ZiwiPeak, Stella & Chewy's & Honest Kitchen. When we don't have puppies in the house I feed more prey model raw than the premades. I did feed only ZiwiPeak for a month last year just to see if it would be cheaper than ordering our prey model raw online (it cost about the same) & that is how I determined on what quantity to feed. All of the above foods are great. Honest Kitchen is my least favorite of them only because it has more fruits/veggies than meat. (dogs are carnivores & don't *need* fruits & veggies) When I do feed it I feed Embark or Force which are two of the three grain free formulas (the other grain free is Zeal & insanely expensive & I have a box of the Thrive but I will not be feeding again...don't care for it at all).


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