What should I feed my picky 3.5 lbs chihuahua w/ teeth problems? What's a healthy dog food not pricey? NO IAMS

She eats and likes Ceasers (and sometimes gets greenbeans, chicken, carrots and other safe unspiced human grade foods,





But never dairy, cocoa, grapes/raisins, coffee, or seasoned foods, splintering bones,etc..)





but she shuns hard foods


in fact the only hard food she was eating was the meow mix she stole from the cats when we lived with them,


now she isn't eating any hard food





I won't feed her Iams (or other Iams owned brands) or kibbles


but what dog food should I feed her instead? (nothing crazy expensive)





And what are some healthy treats she would like?





I want to feed her something healthy.





I've heard vegetarian dog food was good for dogs (but expensive)


but I doubt she'd eat it, anyone have luck with this?





The oldest living dog ("Bramble"?) was vegan and ate brown rice in lentils





should I be feeding her stuff like that?





What about her teeth?





Some good advice would be greatly appriciated.





Thanks

What should I feed my picky 3.5 lbs chihuahua w/ teeth problems? What's a healthy dog food not pricey? NO IAMS
BC has the right idea.. those rolls are awesome, and good ingredients.





Ceasar is not healthy, doggy McDonalds.. Eukaneuba and Iams are better quality than that.. and even those are low grade.. pedigree is not good either..





Get her teeth checked by the vet, she may be having a problem and thats why she doesnt want hard food.





I never looked much into canned, because I mostly feed kibble, but most brands of dog food do offer canned, some good brands to check out. I feed merrick's kibble, and on special occasions I do get them a can. Merrick's has TONS of flavors in canned food, and some of it looks like people food!








If you want to read about what makes a dog food good or bad, check out this link


http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?...





Some brands I reccommend


eagle pack


chicken soup for the dog lover's soul


merricks


wellness


solid gold


innova


evo


california natural


canidae


Drs Foster and Smith
Reply:Dogs are omnivores, which means they like both meat and vegies. A proper diet is important.


What about mixing 2 parts dry kibble with 1 part web food? For example, say you went with Pedigree. It would be 1/2 cup of canned Pedigree with every cup of dry Pedigree.


I hope this helps.
Reply:The main thing to do is to get her teeth taken care of.
Reply:First of all, don't give dogs raw eggs. They can contain bacteria that can be toxic. Only cooked , plain eggs with no seasoning, oils or butter. Your dog might not be eating hard food because she has problems with her teeth. The first thing you should do is get her teeth taken care of by the vet because the bacteria from gum disease and tooth decay can get into a dog's system and cause problems with internal organs. Once her teeth feel better, she will probably be more open to a healthier diet. People food all the time isn't meeting her nutrition needs. Please have her teeth taken care of. It might kill her eventually if you don't. Then you can discuss a good, non-expensive food with your vet. Soft foods encourage tooth decay in dogs.
Reply:My dog is turning 21 this year!! In people years!! He's been a very picky eater his whole life. For the majority of his life, we have been feeding him chicken and rice and vegetables. his fave treat is baby carrots. My vet said that obviously he's healthy, but she was concerned that he wasn't getting all the nutrition from that diet. She gave me a recipe for homemade dog food, with a supplement that you buy from the vet. We never tried it, as we decided just to give him rice with canned dog food mixed in. The Supplement was pretty expensive.





What do you have against IAMS. That's what I am feeding my cats now. Premium cat food available at the grocery store! Awesome.





The vet also told me that it's worth the investment to feed your pet a premium food, to reduce the chance of future health problems.





Get your dog a good chew toy for his teeth. When my dog was about 8 or 9 we had his teeth cleaned by the vet, cos he eats soft foods.
Reply:Check this out. There are places that sell dog items, including food, that also has recipe books that will tell you how to make your own dog food. When you make your own dog food, you know what is in it, and that it is healthy, and it costs so much less. You can even determine the size of the bites, flaver it so your pooch can have diferrent tastes.
Reply:Someone on here (Yahoo) recommended these rolls to me and I bought them for my dog. He is 14 and was starting to have trouble eating dry dog food. These rolls are similar to a stick of salomi and they are soft and easy to eat. Just cut them into small pieces for your dog. The ingredients are pretty good, probably not the BEST out there, but certainly not the worst (WAY better than IAMS).


I bought the Petsmart brand, and mixed it with his regular food.





http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_d...





http://www.petco.com/product/15239/Dick-...
Reply:First of all, get your dog's teeth problem taken care of. Not only is it painful (obvious since she won't eat hard stuff) but an infection to lead to other very serious health problem - heart disease, kidney problems, etc. Secondly, feed a dog food because they are balanced for what a dog needs. Its very hard to balance everything if you are putting random meat and vegetables, etc together. Good brands are eukanuba, science diet, royal canin. Cheaper decent brands are purina, pedigree, and Iams (not sure why you don't like Iams, pet food recall scare?)
Reply:in general a vegetarian diet isn't good for dogs. they are omnivorous and need meat. (the only thing that saved bramble was the lentils)


get her teeth cleaned and you may find that some of her pickiness clears up.


those rolls are pretty good and dogs love them.
Reply:first take your dog to the vet and have her dental health condition checked out. it could be she has bad teeth and antibiotics and a dental cleaning is in order. if she will eat hard cat food, she'll eat hard dog food. the cat food is just higher in protein and is more appealing. more than likely she knows if she holds out you will give her human food or canned dog food. when you're at your vet having her teeth checked out, ask your vet what they reccomend you feed her.








as for eukanuba, it's made by iams.
Reply:I feed Flint River food, and my dogs both love it and do very well on it. They get the dry food for the most part, but Flint River also makes a food they call "Drywater", and it's awesome. It comes in a bag like dry food, but you add a small amount of hot water, let it sit for just a couple of minutes, and it has turned into a softer food, with almost a gravy on it. The ingredient list is very good, and in the Drywater, you can actually see the small bits of real veggies and such in it. I put a bit of it over my dog's breakfast meal, and they absolutely love it.





You really do need to get her teeth taken care of though....bad teeth can quickly lead to dangerous infections.
Reply:sometimes if you give your dog meat, cooked with nothing on it. Also something healthy for your dogs eyes are raw eggs
Reply:How about Eukanuba?They have the tiny bites.Maybe her teeeth hurt when she eats the dry food.
Reply:why not Iams