Messages

1

General discussion / Re: Feeding Advice for Toy Dogs

« on: Jul 19, 2015, 12:09 »

Ive given them a small but of boiled rice mixed with some scrambled egg this morning so will see how they go with that today. It may just be a bug and not the food but it seems a bit of a coincidence. We have another chihuahua staying with us this week and she's eating her normal food and shows no sign of any sickness or diahorea.

I'll have a look into wet food today.

It's so frustrating that when they were on rubbish food (royal canin) we had no problems, and when I try and do the right thing for them food wise it results in them being not so great :/

I originally chose Millie's as I had heard lots of good things about it and the first couple of months on it they were great. It was only once I switched to a different mix that the problems started.

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General discussion / Re: Feeding Advice for Toy Dogs

« on: Jul 19, 2015, 09:46 »

Ok... So day 3 of switching the dogs over to the Turkey and Veg... Pood have firmed up nicely but both dogs have been vomiting this morning, which has never happened to them before. They've had nothing to eat other than the turkey and veg so I'm guessing it can only be this.

I'm at a loss for what to do now.

Any help much appreciated.

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General discussion / Re: Feeding Advice for Toy Dogs

« on: Jul 17, 2015, 13:17 »

I've managed to speak to MWH now and they have been extremely helpful. I'm going to try an alternative flavour that doesn't have the same ingredients as the current one, as they said it sounds like my older one has developed an intolerance to one of the ingredients.

They also recommended rotating the food they have every few weeks when I find a couple of flavours that suit them, in order to try and prevent an intolerance. I've ordered small bags of the Turkey and Veg, and the Farmers mix to try them on.

Will let you all know how we get on

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General discussion / Re: Feeding Advice for Toy Dogs

« on: Jul 15, 2015, 17:26 »

i also add a raw egg once or twice a week and coconut oil, sometimes manuka honey,

Just out of interest - what benefit do these give?

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General discussion / Re: Feeding Advice for Toy Dogs

« on: Jul 15, 2015, 17:13 »

Thanks again everyone for your helpful replies - much appreciated. 

I have tried the Millies advice line a couple of times today with no answer, so have emailed but have not heard anything back yet. Will try your tip for now David - thanks!

I'll have a look at the daf website and read up on raw. I'm not sure how I would get on with adding veg as my older one is so sensitive that if he eats 1/4 of a green bean, or 1/4 of a carrot baton then he will have diarrhea for the next 24 hours 

I've not seen duck wings but would be interested in trying these. I give them fish skins to chew on at the moment, and this seems to help with cleaning their teeth, and i smash them up to use for training treats as they like them so much.

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General discussion / Re: Feeding Advice for Toy Dogs

« on: Jul 14, 2015, 21:20 »

Hi Both

Thank you very much for your replies! I was very grateful to log back in and see such promt help

I have not yet called the Millies advice line as my working times conflict with their opening times, but will try them tomorrow to see what their thoughts are.

I've never considered a raw diet, mainly because I wouldn't know where to start, so I would appreciate any thoughts your friend has on how her Chi's have found it. My initial concerns are that this may be too rich for them if they are already struggling with the Millies Countryside mix, but like I say, I don't know much about feeding raw so could be wrong 

I'd also not really considered a wet food because my impression was that this wasn't great long term for their dental hygeine. Is this just hype, or can it be an issue? My fussy eater has been tempted by wet food in the past, as I once bought some to hide some medication in it that he needed to take. Again, though I found that he ended up with runny stools on it. I'm open to suggestions on this though!

Thanks again for your help

7

General discussion / Feeding Advice for Toy Dogs

« on: Jul 14, 2015, 13:28 »

Hi All

I've been a frequent visitor to the site over the last few months learning what is and is not good for my dogs - it's been very helpful!
However, I am still struggling with what to feed my two boys.

I have 2 Chihuahua's - one 11 months and one 4 months. Both are on the small side of the breed. The older one is very fussy, and has a very sensitive stomach. For the first 7 months of his life he was on Royal Canin Toy Puppy food because a) I didnt know better and thought this was a good food and b) it was all he would eat when offered several different types of food.

Having reviewed many feeds on this site I opted to try some samples of Millies Wolfheart Riverside mix, which he loved and seemed to thrive on. We then got our 2nd puppy and he too liked this, but by the end of a 10kg bag (which lasts them quite a long time) the older one had gone off it slightly with his fussiness creeping back in, so I switched them to Millies Wolfheart countryside mix to offer variety. Both LOVE this food, however I'm finding it extrememly hard to balance their feeding amounts with what comes out the other end.

As background, my older Chi has been approx 1.5kgs since he was 4 months old. He has never looked underweight - he is a very fine delicate example of the breed. Since being on the Millies (4 months now) he matured and started to bulk out a little and has now reached a stable 1.8kgs - again, doesnt look under or over weight. The younger of the two at 4months old currently weighs 1.9kgs (he is a more solid build) and looks fantastic on Millies. He has been on it since he was 8 weeks old, his coat shines and he is growing well.

Up until the last couple of weeks they have been eating  20g each for breakfast, 20g each for lunch and 15g each for dinner. I found their poo would more often than not be soft at this level of feed, so I have dropped them down to 15g each for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However their poo is still too soft, and borders some days on being runny - the older one particularly.

I'm hesitant to drop the feed down even less than this as they already look at me once the bowls are empty (usually takes them no more than 30 seconds to wolf down each meal) asking where the rest is, therefore I am in two minds whether to go back onto the Riverside mix from Millies and see how they fare back on that, or to switch to a brand that is more suited to such small dogs, as I feel their needs maybe are not catered to by Millies with it being a "working dog" food.

They are active dogs, and get at least an hours walk each day, with the rest of the waking day spent running around, playing or trick training. They don't live sedentary lives.

Does anyone with toy breeds have any advice, or can anyone offer me the benefit of their knowledge and experience as I cannot go on feeding them the current rate of their current food as the poo situation is far from ideal!

I ideally want to keep both boys on the same food, but am aware that the older one is approaching the 12month age that some manufacturers use as a split for going onto an adult food.

Thanks in advance.