# which food is better for chi's?



## leiahrandy (Jan 18, 2011)

i have just started getting randy back to eating dog food yesterday. (which is bad but never to late to give to him) i gave him puppy chow, and i have some pedigree, small breed nutrition.

what type of dog foods do you feed you chi everyday? and are they satisfied?


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

You'll want a food that has meat as the first 3-5 ingredients. Avoid corn and wheat. Those are just fillers and can cause some allergies.

Here are 2 great sites to go check what you are feeding him and try to choose a 5-6 star food for him. The Pedigree Small Breed is a 1 star food. 

Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost

Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings


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## leiahrandy (Jan 18, 2011)

ooo, okay thank you!


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

I feed mainly prey model raw...but I do add in some Stella & Chewy's frozen patties, Honest Kitchen & ZiwiPeak here & there. Those 3 prepackaged dog foods I'd say were the best you could feed & would 100% suggest them over any kibble. ZiwiPeak being #1 food out there!  TOTALLY scrap the Purina & Pedigree. We used to feed Pedigree to our labs before I knew anything about dog food. Feeding a premium food ends up costing the same (or less!) when you figure in vet bills. And to feed an average sized Chi the best food out there (ZiwiPeak) would cost about $25 every 6 weeks or there abouts. Honest Kitchens Keen is probably the least expensive I mentioned. I think it's $42 for a 10lb box & that would last 1 Chi a good 4-5 months!


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## leiahrandy (Jan 18, 2011)

MChis said:


> I feed mainly prey model raw...but I do add in some Stella & Chewy's frozen patties, Honest Kitchen & ZiwiPeak here & there. Those 3 prepackaged dog foods I'd say were the best you could feed & would 100% suggest them over any kibble. ZiwiPeak being #1 food out there!  TOTALLY scrap the Purina & Pedigree. We used to feed Pedigree to our labs before I knew anything about dog food. Feeding a premium food ends up costing the same (or less!) when you figure in vet bills. And to feed an average sized Chi the best food out there (ZiwiPeak) would cost about $25 every 6 weeks or there abouts. Honest Kitchens Keen is probably the least expensive I mentioned. I think it's $42 for a 10lb box & that would last 1 Chi a good 4-5 months!



oh wow! really?? hmmmm, i will def. take a look at ziwipeak, ive never heard of it. and 4 to 5 month!!! thats incredible! :hello1:


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

We feed prey model raw to our dogs, and working on transitioning. Heather (MChis) gave you some excellent advice, Ziwi Peak is the best kibble you can feed, Honest Kitchen has some awesome foods as well, we just got a box to feed to our cats. I have been feeding Prey Model Raw for 6 months, but when I fed kibble a small bag 4# would last Zoey about 5 months so feeding chihuahuas a 'top of the line' kibble isnt' super expensive in the long run, they eat less as they can utilize the foods better, poop less & smaller poops overall.

If you want to feed something from Petco/Petsmart then I'd recommend Wellness Core, Blue Wilderness, or By Nature or Solid Gold Barking At The Moon, Merricks Before Grain, they are all grain free & healthier for them. Dogs are carnivores so have a hard time digesting/processing grains. Although if you can find it near you or don't mind the shipping Ziwi Peak, Honest Kitchen or Orijen, Acana would be even better.


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

There are a lot of RAW advocates on here and then there are those who feed 5 star kibble. Either way you decide is fine. I would however stick to a 5 star food, if you can. I feed my guys Wellness Core and they are thriving. RAW is not totally out of the question.  I just haven't made the decision yet.

As long as you are feeding your baby, and he/she is thriving, it's a good food for him/her.

There are so many dogs out there not being fed at all. I have been in a position of having to feed what is considered a "lesser food" but the alternative was to rehome my babies, and I darn sure wasn't going to do that. So it just depends on your circumstances. Just do the best you can.


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

MChis said:


> when you figure in vet bills.


Please direct me to the statistics on this. Vet bills for premium food fed dogs vs cheap food fed dogs. I have always been interested in this. My brother chooses a lesser food for his baby. I keep telling him he needs to select a better food, and If I have absolute statistics, I know I can convince him. Thanks a bunch Heather.


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## ChiFirst (Jan 13, 2011)

Hi,
My Chi Maggie is 10ish and has a broken jaw. We are new to the Chi talks, and I am loving the food talk. I had to post-pone her surg due to kennel cough, but since I have had her, I feed her what EVER she wants and can eat. Bad I know, but most of it is fresh meat. I have a home of hounds and cats, so what to feed the picky new chi goddess is beyond me at the moment. Maggie came to me with a body score of 0 and I have been trying to pack on the pounds so she could even have surg. The tips I have read here are very helpful and I will most likely be trying more than one. Thank you Thank you!


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## leiahrandy (Jan 18, 2011)

ChiFirst said:


> Hi,
> My Chi Maggie is 10ish and has a broken jaw. We are new to the Chi talks, and I am loving the food talk. I had to post-pone her surg due to kennel cough, but since I have had her, I feed her what EVER she wants and can eat. Bad I know, but most of it is fresh meat. I have a home of hounds and cats, so what to feed the picky new chi goddess is beyond me at the moment. Maggie came to me with a body score of 0 and I have been trying to pack on the pounds so she could even have surg. The tips I have read here are very helpful and I will most likely be trying more than one. Thank you Thank you!



hello, and yes that is what i use to feed randy, starting 2 days ago i changed it.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Lin, I don't have statistics on vet bills that I could point you to, but saving a dental (anesthetic and the procedure) is certainly worth at least $150. Plus you save the stress of having to put the dog under. If teeth have to be pulled, I know it's more. A lot of allergies and poor skin and coat condition can be tied to nutrition, so that would be a savings as well. 

Having said that .... my parents fed our dachshunds whatever was on sale at the grocery store. For years. And they all lived long lives, although every single dachshund we had was obese and ended up with back problems.  But they all lived into their teens. I think their lives could have been healthier and better, especially if they weren't allowed to become so overweight, but I'm not sure that they would have lived longer. 

As for premium foods being expensive, I get that. I think we all do the best we can. I don't think anyone should be made to feel bad if they can't afford to feed Orijen. If there is a tractor supply, they will carry Taste of the Wild which is a good quality grain free brand. Also 4Health is a food carried by our TSC that is actually good as well. So there are choices for those with a budget.

I think that prey model raw can actually work out quite cheap. You can do it with just chicken and beef hearts and organs if that's all you can afford and dogs will do just fine on that combination.


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## Zippy (Dec 31, 2010)

There is no way that we could afford the Ziwi Peak on our budget. However, it looks as if we buy the Wellness kibble in bulk 15 pound bags and then supplement with a raw chicken portion every other day (especially if we then eat the rest of the chicken for *our* dinner) then the cost per pound will not be much greater than the grocery store crap that we started out with. And Zippy will probably be much healthier for it. He's already classified as a "senior" at 10 years old and we'd like to hope that he can be around for at least 5 more.


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

Brodysmom said:


> Lin, I don't have statistics on vet bills that I could point you to, but saving a dental (anesthetic and the procedure) is certainly worth at least $150. Plus you save the stress of having to put the dog under. If teeth have to be pulled, I know it's more. A lot of allergies and poor skin and coat condition can be tied to nutrition, so that would be a savings as well.
> 
> Having said that .... my parents fed our dachshunds whatever was on sale at the grocery store. For years. And they all lived long lives, although every single dachshund we had was obese and ended up with back problems.  But they all lived into their teens. I think their lives could have been healthier and better, especially if they weren't allowed to become so overweight, but I'm not sure that they would have lived longer.
> 
> ...


Good points Tracy and I will pass them along. And thank you so much for answering. My brother is a good guy but just not one to believe that there is any difference in dog food. My sister finally switched from Kibbles and Bits to Earthborn Holistics quite some time back but it isn't real handy to get, but now I think she's looking TOTW because she goes to TSC regularly to pick up goat feed. lol 

I would like to try the raw, but I'm not keen on preparing organ meat, lol. On the rare occasion that I fix baby beef liver, and I do mean rare, I really have a time of it! lol


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

One more questions Tracy.

Are the dogs supposed to feel more sated on the raw? I know it's a weird question, but I do have a reason for asking. Thanks my friend.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Lin said:


> One more questions Tracy.
> 
> Are the dogs supposed to feel more sated on the raw? I know it's a weird question, but I do have a reason for asking. Thanks my friend.


Yes, I think that's common for them to be more satisfied. First there's chewing involved and many dogs just slurp a bowl of kibble (without chewing) and swallow in just a few seconds. A raw meaty bone for example has to be chewed, mashed, at least gnawed on. While I do have to say that many dogs will just slice and dice it enough to fit down the hatch! But some dogs, like Brody, will actually work on the piece for quite awhile. 

Raw has a very high water content, so they are getting that which would add to a feeling of fullness. Also, it is pure protein (no carbs) so studies show that high protein/fat diets will suppress appetite to a degree. Carbs just seem to make us hungrier. 

Raw also stabilizes blood sugars. With carbs there are ups and downs and this affects how one feels. Raw food with it's pure protein content in such an available form (nonprocessed) keeps blood sugars on an even keel.

Once in awhile Brody will get the raw "zoomies" and after eating he will race around like wild and then collapse exhausted. ha. I've heard of other raw people noticing the same thing with their dogs. But once he is done, he's content. He doesn't have the hyperactivity you see in some kibble fed dogs. 

Not sure this helps to answer your question, but it's all I could think of offhand.


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