# What should we feed our rat terrier puppy



## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

She's about 5 months old. The lady we got her was feeding her "just whatever" and treats and tablefood. She's about 8 pounds and isn't supposed to get much bigger as far as the other gal's vet said. She doesn't eat much at all so shouldn't be too $$ to feed her what she needs. We've had her on purina puppy chow for this past few weeks that we've had her. 

sorry for the typing  holding a wiggly baby lol.


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

I've raised lots of dogs on Purina Puppy Chow, plus table scraps. Puppy Chow for a full year, til he's full grown.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Thank you Ed


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## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

I second the Puppy Chow. It's not the fanciest kibble out there, but it gets the job done. IIRC, your DH works at WalMart, right? He can get it there for pretty cheap.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Yep you remember right. That is where he got it


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

ne prairiemama said:


> Thank you Ed


I'd never give false advice to another rat terror owner.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

You want to feed kibble?

Costco has a new fancy brand that is excellent. I think it is actually California Natural, but under a different label, Nature's Domain. Both the chicken one and the fish one are excellent. I have 6 pound dogs and the pieces are small enough for them to eat. I think it is $38, which is very cheap for super premium.

Orijen is excellent. Any flavor is good. Price varies a lot by what the meat is.

California Natural is good.

Hundenflocken is good.

Taste of the Wild isn't nearly as good as it used to be and it's off my list. The smell changed, which means they changed the ingredients and the dogs turned their noses up.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

Please do not feed a dog any food that contains wheat or corn. their bodies were not designed to digest it and much of it just passes through as waste. You WILL see a big difference in the amount of waste from feeding a high grade digestible food as compared to a low end food. A GREAT food for the money is 4Health, sold at Tractor supply. It's very high quality food and not expensive. Taste of the Wild is better, but more expensive. I am feeding all of my dogs the 4Health, including my two Anatolian Shepherd pups. Your dog is small so it will not cost a lot to feed. If you have NO access to high grade foods, the best food available at the grocery store is Purine ONE (not regular purina). It's not great, but pretty darn good. Whatever you get, make sure it's the puppy food version.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Thank you all. Oregon when you say kibble (Thats the reg. dry food right?) you mean as opposed to wet food or something else? Does she need something else too? I don't think I could do a raw diet or one that needs made if its at all complicated right now due to everything else going on here. 
Thanks!

Ed Norman, how old is your Rat Terrier and did you write terror on purpose lol?


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

I got my first one in 1990 and there have been several since then. And yes, I wrote rat terror on purpose. A friend once called mine a little ax murderer after watching him on a rockchuck hunt.


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

Ok, i feel silly on my phone I caught rat, not rat terrier.

In light of that, the more corn you feed the more often and the more the poop will be, feed something without corn and you will have less poop. Beware of other fillers as they create more poop too


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Ed I was curious about yuor one/s you have now? This is our first one  I wasn't questioning your smarts about feeding at ALL!! I'm sorry if I sounded the wrong way asking that. I was just curious about your doggy  I'd like to hear more about it. Ours is a terror to the spiders and crickets that get in the house and I LOVE that! She's afraid of the cats though lol. Is a rockchuck the same thing as a groundchuck? 

Cannon that is good to know! Maybe I'll use some cheerios for training purposes for her! She seems really smart so far. she seems to learn faster than the other dogs we've had anyway...


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Hey Cannon, we're talking about rat terriers, you know, the dogs designed to kill your rats. Keep raising healthy rats so our dogs have more of a challenge. 

Right now I have Decker Giant terriers which are based on a rat but sized up to over 30 pounds. They look just like a standard rat terror. My first and favorite rat terror weighed maybe 18 in winter and 16 in summer. He was ready for anything, fun or serious, and was my constant companion for 11 years. He had a bunch of wives and a bunch of kids and people far and wide have enjoyed his genes.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Ok I'm slow this am lol. I didn't even notice Cannon switched to talking about regular rats and not the dogs lol.

Oh I had never heard of the Decker Giant Terriers! I'm googling them. You first Rat terrier sounds like he was awesome!


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

What's available in different parts of the country vary. Try http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ and reading http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ .


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

Ed Norman said:


> Hey Cannon, we're talking about rat terriers, you know, the dogs designed to kill your rats. Keep raising healthy rats so our dogs have more of a challenge.
> 
> Right now I have Decker Giant terriers which are based on a rat but sized up to over 30 pounds. They look just like a standard rat terror. My first and favorite rat terror weighed maybe 18 in winter and 16 in summer. He was ready for anything, fun or serious, and was my constant companion for 11 years. He had a bunch of wives and a bunch of kids and people far and wide have enjoyed his genes.


I fixed the errro, thats what happens when you try to surf on a cheap phone:bash:

I am very familiar with the breed as well, they are my pick of small dogs breeds, though personally Im not too keen on the deckers as they look like Besinjis more than rat terriers but the creator of that line has done an excellent job with it. I was impressed with southern sands kennels dogs that I did buy one, most intense terrier I have ever owned


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Our Deckers aren't like basenjis. I have a friend with an old basenji and the head and jowls are wider and the snout is shorter and thicker. The chest is also different on a basenji. Our Deckers are built exactly like a standard rat terrier scaled up, and not a bug eyed mini rat, either.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I would not feed a corn based diet. Dog's systems are not made for corn (nor is ours) and it is hard to digest. A raw diet is not difficult, if you do it the lazy/my way. No grinding or cooking. You give your dog a drumstick, wing, or whole leg, etc., depending on his size 3 times a day. Four meals out of the week should be liver or other organ meat. You stab the meat with a fork, go outside and hand it to the dog. When he's nearly finished growing you can go to twice a day. You know your dog is getting everything he needs to grow healthy and he'll never need his teeth cleaned.

If you want to feed kibble, Taste of the Wild is sold at Tractor Supply. You will feed probably half the amount of TOTW as you would Purina, and get half the poop.


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## danielsumner (Jul 18, 2009)

We feed Stanley the cat Innova. Nutritionally it's pretty close to feeding a raw diet. We feed both the dry and canned. He doesn't eat nearly as much as the cheaper foods, so the price works out about the same. His poops are smaller and don't smell as bad with the corn based foods, I think.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

instead of telling you what brand to feed im going to tell you what to look for and what to avoid and why.

#1: AVOID CORN. corn to dogs is the equivalent of eating cardboard, it has NO nutritional value (the dogs body cannot digest corn) and its simply a CHEAP filler used to make you look like your getting more food for the money.
in reality corn passes through the same way it goes in...corn fed dogs poop bigger and more frequently because it is just that, filler, the more filler..the more waste that needs to be passed through the other end.

#2: AVOID BYPRODUCTS, id doesnt matter what animal the byproducts come from, simply byproducts in general...the byproducts are everything that canjot be sold as meat...Beaks, feet, feathers, hooves, snouts, ears...sure in small amounts there not "bad" a carnivore is designed to eat MEAT and byproducts arnt realy MEAT...
byproduct laden food has to be bulked up with soy and other protein enhancers to make up for what its lacking in real MEAT...
byproduct in pet food frequently also contains all the shavings, and bits that fell on the floor too...

instead look for identified meat, or an identified meat MEAL (meal is simply meat thats been dehydrated before being ground as oppsoed to simply meat whihc includes the water content

#3: AVOID BREWERS RICE...
now rice itself is fine...the problem is brewers rice, brewers rice isnt actually rice at all, but the husks from the rice...again, like corn "brewers rice" is simply a cheap filler which your paying extra money for.

now personally i also avoid SOY like the pluge, soy is incredibly unnatural and has been linked to all kidns of medical issues in lab animals and humans, especially women so i just prefer to avoid it

i also avoid BEET PULP, beet is a filler but in itself not "bad" it can be digested...but it tends to play a part in causing tear staining (those ugly brown marks around the mouth and especially common around the eyes.


you want an identified MEAT to be the first ingredient (seems to make sense given dogs are carnivores aterall, the majority of thier food should be meat) and avoid corn in any position on the ingredients list.


if you have a costco neerby Kirkland is a good food (not great as its not grain free, but it is a good food at a VERY good price) and if you want to go real good see if they have Natures Domain (or an order it) (its not in our costco yet) natures domain is a Grain free food and consdered "super premium" at a GREAT price.

otherwise simply take the list of avoids to your grocery and local pet stores and read the bags...look for meat, byproducts and corn. meat is good, byproducts and corn are bad!

i personally dont feed a puppy food...i feed kirkland chicken and rice, its an all lifestages (though they do make a puppy food)
i personally feel that canine puppies in the wild (and in feral packs) eat exactly what adult dogs eat...
so as long as your feedng a good well balanced diet your puppy should be getting all it needs...

that being said i do plan to switch to PREY MODEL raw full time once i get my own place (right now we do raw once or twice a week due to lack of space for a freezer lol)


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## akane (Jul 19, 2011)

Kirkland is made by diamond. The more common equivalent in feed stores is probably diamond naturals which we've used. It has a slightly shorter ingredients list from less rice, no fishmeal, and none of the vegetables (which are mostly if not entirely useless anyway depending on your opinion). Since both the meat and nonmeat ingredients are lowered I'd say it's pretty much even between the 2 foods. Diamond also makes chicken soup brand and taste of the wild. It's interesting how all the pet foods are connected when you start looking at who makes what. Most companies have renamed brands everywhere with different packaging to market to different people even though they have nearly identical ingredients lists. Most also have a low end and a high end food. Only a few companies limit themselves to one quality level and just as few openly advertise everything they make.

Personally I don't look at brands marketed to a specific age or size. If it's a good well balanced food it should be possible to feed it to everything since dogs and other canines don't change what they eat with each age group. People feeding raw find no need to alter anything but the amount the puppy, small dog, large dog, etc... eat. If you need a separate puppy food or small dog food to prevent problems something is wrong with the food or there's a health problem with the dog. 

Right now for kibble we are feeding kent native which is pretty new and is classed by activity level with very minor changes to the ingredients order between levels to increase or decrease the density of calories. It's pretty close to the midgrade diamond foods (kirkland and naturals) but a simpler ingredients list. Dogfoodanalysis ranks them all as 3 star foods. It's not well stocked yet but any feed store that deals in kent feeds should be able to order it. My akita was not maintaining weight on TOTW anymore and I heard they changed some ingredients to lower quality. I didn't want to go back to diamond naturals either for various reasons. The kent native is a good alternative to the diamond brand kibbles and my akita is at a good weight for the first time in her life. We do feed half raw working on full raw so meat content of the dog food is not as big of concern as it used to be. Prior to raising our own meat I looked at kibbles that were at least 4 stars on dogfoodanalysis.com so they were likely to have a higher amount of meat and then narrowed it down from there based on what my dog was allergic to and what was available in my area. You may have to hunt down a dog bakery or small pet store that concentrates on food rather than animals in order to find some of the better brands.


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

And once again I'll mention that I have raised dozens of dogs on Purina puppy chow and they all grew into healthy happy normal sized dogs. The latest one turns a year old tomorrow and has been playing hide and seek with DS all evening. 

As for veggies in the feed, around here the coyotes and wolves often eat the paunch and intestines of the herbivores they kill, thereby getting a load of greens for themselves. They also eat massive amounts of hair to help shove out the bone chips and hooves, etc.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

I raised puppies years ago on Purina Puppy chow and no...it won't kill them. They can turn out healthy enough. however, the size and frequency of their stool is much different than dogs fed on quality food. Plus you also feed them less of a quality food than you would a cheap food. It's because the corn is not digestible and passes right through. In the wild, you may find greens in the stomach of wolves, but I bet you will never find an ear of corn.


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## Cannon_Farms (Aug 28, 2008)

Ed Norman said:


> And once again I'll mention that I have raised dozens of dogs on Purina puppy chow and they all grew into healthy happy normal sized dogs. The latest one turns a year old tomorrow and has been playing hide and seek with DS all evening.
> 
> As for veggies in the feed, around here the coyotes and wolves often eat the paunch and intestines of the herbivores they kill, thereby getting a load of greens for themselves. They also eat massive amounts of hair to help shove out the bone chips and hooves, etc.



www.rawfed.com myths section has some interesting facts on the diets of wild wolves and coyotes. For instance dogs and other of their species lack the digestive enzymes to break down vegetation.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

after working with wolves, coyotes foxes ect..
i can tell you from expereince they do NOT typiclaly eat the stomach contents...they WILL eat the stomach itself as well as the gren tripe (intestines and any plant matter in there) but the stomach matter is not broken down enough for them to properly digest it (in the intestine the vegatable matter is broken down enough) and they typically tear open the stomach and squeeze the stomach content out.

ive watches wolves coyotes, hyena, fox of various kinds, african wild dog and raw fed dogs (along with exotic and domestic cats) all do the same thing...
the underdigested stomach mattr is squeezed out and left...the only green matter a dog eats is what is left on the intestine walls (as they eat the intestins the bulk waste is also squeezed out and left, they only get a very small amount of green matter from thier prey animals.

(the issue with corn is its not a natural diet for any of a wild canines natural prey, untill humans cane along to cultivate it...even the human stomach cannot digest corn...)

also most wild canines only eat the hair that they cannot get off the hide...if given the time and choice canines and felines actually "pluck" and spit out most of the hair/feathers of their prey...
its the reason we always defeathered the chickens for the hyena, they always made such a mess spitting the feathers all over the place. they will eat fur on hide, but they prefer not to.

again, not speulation, thats FACT form firs thand experience watching these animals eat full prey model in person.

dogs will do fine on purina and science diet and pedigree and old roy...i know a chihuahua whos almost 20 yrs old whos eaten nothing but fried bacon and rice his entire life...

but these foods are heavier laden with fillers more fillers = bigger and more frequent poops and a tendency towards allergic reactions.

f your dogs do well on it, great.
we have a cocker spaneil who eats pedigree, its a HORRIBLE food, infact i dont think theres an ounce of real meat in it, it nothing but corn and color and byproducst and animal fat...
BUT he does very well on it and has an incredibly sensitive stomach, weve tried him on better foods and even raw and you just cant live with him, hes itchy gassy, runny poop every 5 mins (even if switched incredibly slowly) the only food that doesnt upset his tummy is pedigree, so thats what he gets...hes happy hes healthy, hes not stnk bombing the house, hes a good weight and his coat and teeth are lovely...
hes 10 years old and nary a health problem in sight beyond a bad back which is the direct result of the fact that he was from a puppymill not diet.

BUT that doesnt mean pedigree is a great food now does it.

i have a frined who eats mcdonalds and burger king every day, the only meal that isnt fast food is his breakfast which is usually some processed sugary cerial...
hes a healthy weight, active, no health problems (hes in his 30's and has been living this way since he turned 15 and left home)
and MANY people eat this way...

doesnt mean its the healthiest or most natural choice does it?!

personally i feel that i should feed the healthiest food i can that does my dogs the most good. kirkland right now seems to be that perfect food but they love thier raw food so i plan on switching to that once i get the space. if after a few months on raw they are not thriving, ill switch back to kirkland kibble...


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

Foxy Wench you must have an interesting job.

Your cocker spaniel may be detoxing when you feed him quality. They stink, may get the runs, itch. It doesn't usually last, sometimes only a day or two, but could go on a long time depending on the dog's ability to let go of the toxicity.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

i origionally thought he was detoxing when we switched him but after 6 months on a different diet it was getting worse. we always gave each food 3-6 months before giving up on it...i think good food is just too rich for his sensitive tummy, and im peetty certain that his sensitive stomach is a direct result of bad breeding.

in terms of an interesting job, being a zookeeper definatly was, and id do it any day in a heartbeat, it was hard, hot, sweaty and i always came home smelling like a mixture of old meat and poop...but i loved every moment.

unfortunatly a head injury and some residual issues from it (seizures) and some other problems have made it pretty much my dream job of the past 
i feel perfectly safe working around the animals, but i dont feel safe working around the animals AND strangers who i dont trust, and given the nature of the work, any kind os seizure disorder pretty much barrs you from working directly wiht the animals. it broke my heart, but now i work part time online, its about the only work i can do, and use the rest of the time to spoil my own animals  lol.
Still, i miss it like crazy, i also worked with the ornagutangs and they along with the hyena and painted dogs were my favorites...

the worst part was cleaning up the stomach contents theyd leave behind though...
poop has an odor to it thats managable...
but plant matter mid digestion has an odor all of its own and its not pleasent...
even worse were when they decided they wernt in the mood for stomach at all, and theyd leave them in the sun all day...after a while the stomach starts to bloat again and the moment you go to scoop it up POP!
i can tell you from experience...partially digested plant matter is not exactly tastey LOL


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

[[[......Oregon when you say kibble (Thats the reg. dry food right?) you mean as opposed to wet food or something else? ....]]]]

Yes, kibble is the dry dog food. There's nothing wrong with feeding a good quality kibble. It is easy and balanced and clean to feed.

The are other alternatives: a couple of different raw diets, home cooked, canned, frozen fresh either raw or cooked, table scraps........

I don't feed puppy food. My orthopedic vets have always said to not feed my large breeds anything that says "Puppy", "High Protein" or "Growth" on the label. Although fast growth probably isn't much of a problem for a rat terrier.

You have to watch the size of the kibble when you have a small dog. He's going to have an easier time eating a small kibble that fits between his teeth. You can buy "small dog" kibble, which is the same as regular dog kibble, just formed into smaller pieces. Or just pay attention because many of the super premiums come in a smaller piece kibble.

If the piece of kibble is too wide for his jaws, he will have to struggle to crack it.


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

I don't see the big issue with stool size. They go out in the field and lay land mines of any size they want. Problem?

And Foxy Wench, you are not the only one with direct experience, and plenty of it. 



> They first feed on the prime parts including the hindquarters and other large muscle groups along with the internal organs. They also typically eat the hide and hair, which helps them with their digestion of meat and bone. They even eat the bones, starting with the ribs, then the legs, skull, and vertebrae. They usually leave the lower jaw and teeth though, as those tidbits are highly indigestible.
> http://timberwolfinformation.org/info/archieve/newspapers/viewnews.cfm?ID=3450





> Typically, wolves consume impressive portions of their prey, eating all but the rumen contents, larger bones, and some hair. They routinely eat what you and I would not dream of eating â the stomach muscles, tendons, marrow, bones, hair and hide.
> http://www.isleroyalewolf.org/overview/overview/wolves.html


etc


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

> eating all but the rumen contents


rumen = 1st stomach...wolves dont typically eat the stomach contents.

the problem is large poop means the body is WASTING more...why pay extra for more stuff they cant digest so just poop it out.
premium food is more expensive upfront but the dogs eat less of it because they get more From it...
smaller poops = less waste...
and if nothing else...less waste means less of your money is just comming out the other end...

lets say i have 2 options to feed my dog.

food 1 is $25 for a 34lb bag
ingredients
#1: whole grain corn
#2: corn gluten meal
#3: chicken byproduct meal
#4: brewers rice
#5: animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols 

first thing i notice is in a food designed for carnivores theres actually no real meat...
The definition for byproduct provided by the USDA is available on its website for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The definition provided is limited to use in the meat packing and processing industry as any part capable of use as human food,*other than meat*, which has been derived from one or more cattle, sheep, swine or goats. The FSIS further notes that this same definition is applied to products of horses
second thing i notice is the foods first 2 ingredients are something completly undigestable by dogs and being the first 2 ingredients they make up the majority of the food (ingredients in pet food are listed in order of amoutn used)
third thing i notice is the brewers rice, another USELESS grain
Definition of Brewers rice: Brewers rice is the small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice. (AAFCO definition).Brewers rice is a processed rice product that is missing many of the nutrients contained in whole ground rice and brown rice thus reducing the quality

now on this food my dog poops 4 times a day...why!? because its filled with stuff my dogs body cannot use...therefore its wasted.
ontop of that reccomended feeding for a dog of my dogs size is 3/4 a cup per serving

food #2 is $25 for a 40lb bag
ingredients
#1 Chicken
#2 Chicken Meal
#3 Whole Grain Brown Rice
#4 cracked pearl barley
#5 chicken fat preserved with mixed tocopherols 

first thing i notice with this food is that an identified MEAT source is the first ingredient...surly in a food designed for carnivores MEAT should be the first ingredient...
secondly i notice more chicken is used (meal is simply meat that has been dehydrated before being ground) as a secondary ingredient...this means that the majority of the food ingredient is MEAT...
third thing i noticed is the food contains WHOLE GRAIN rice...while rice itself is still a grain, unlike corn it can be digested and contains usable nutrients
same goes for barley

on this food my dog poops once a day...why?! because it contains more usable nutrients...
reccomended serving size for this food is 1/3 a cup per serving.
this food not only costs less upfront but the serving size is smaller therefore the bag lasts longer and less is being wasted in the form of undigested matter (poop)

surely it makes sense to use food #2 as long as your dog does well on it?!
not only is it better designed as a diet for a carnivore...but it costs less, and less is wasted in the form of poop...

(both ingredient lists are from foods mentioned on this thread, i did not make them up, they are actual ingredient lists.)

and that being said...if were going to pay $25 for 34lbs of dog food #1

how would we feel about dogfood #3, 
its $18 for 34lbs
same reccomended serving size
ingredients:
#1: Ground Whole corn
#2 Meat and Bone Meal
#3: Corn Gluten Meal
#4: Animal Fat
#5: Ground Whole wheat

food number 3 contains more actual meat than food number 1, but the other ingredients are pretty much the same...
yet food number 3 is much cheaper than #1...
so why not feed that?

food number 1 is purina
food number 2 is kirkland 
food number 3 is pedigree

yup, pedigree actually contains MORE meat than the ever popular WONDER food purina but otherwise purina is on the same par as pedigree


it just doesnt make sense to me to feed a more expensive food to a carnivore yet it contains NO meat and is mostly made from undigestable matter unless nothing else has worked well for that dog.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

What about a mix of two feeds? 
Like 2 kibble types mixed or some kibble and some semi soft or canned? 
Does semi soft or canned make runny poo? I don't want RUNNY (on a regular basis, I understand an adjustment period) poo as she's a puppy, I have kids in the house and she lives in here with us lol.
I think raw is not for us for right now even though it's good. I'm just not sure if I could keep up with it. Maybe I could add some to her kibble diet?
Oregon thank you so much for listing the types for me!
I've read that as well that large breeds should not have too much because they grow too fast.

She's really little about 7-8 pounds, so she does need tiny food. I've never had a small dog before and all the stuff for her is so cute and small lol.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

canned good is mostly garbage. Even the expensive ones are pretty low in protein, plus canned food is bad for teeth. Stick with dry kibble if you can't do RAW. I know what you mean about RAW. It's a great diet, but fairly labor intensive until you get the hang of it.


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## FoxyWench (Jan 22, 2010)

they do make Pre-Made Raw food, you can get it at many retailers and online...if the make your own raw would be too much hassle and moneys not much of a problem (premade raw is quite expensvie per lb)

but otherwise i would also stick to kibble rather than canned.

as for kibble size, youd be suprised...our 3lb chihuhaua and 5lb crestie eat the kirkland, whihc is a "normal" sized kibble...ive actulaly fond little dogs more likley to choke on "small breed" food, the kibble is often too small and little dogs, especially as puppies tned to be enthusiastic about food.

the other thing ive noticed about ALL our toy breed dogs (the cocker doesnt do it but the 3 chihuahuas and the 2 cresties all do it...) they take a couple of peices of kibble then walk/run/prance to the opposite sid eof the room with it before eating. (often playing the throw it all over the place game too lol)
i actually feel safer when they can only fit 1 or 2 kibble peices in the mouth when there wandering about the place with it lol.


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

FoxyWench said:


> the other thing ive noticed about ALL our toy breed dogs (the cocker doesnt do it but the 3 chihuahuas and the 2 cresties all do it...) they take a couple of peices of kibble then walk/run/prance to the opposite sid eof the room with it before eating. (often playing the throw it all over the place game too lol)
> i actually feel safer when they can only fit 1 or 2 kibble peices in the mouth when there wandering about the place with it lol.


My chihuahuas do that too. They never stand at their bowl and eat. My smallest one (3 pounds) oftens sneaks into the pit bull's bowl and snatches bits of her food too. Little thing has guts! They all eat regular sized kibble. I don't buy little dog kibble for them. The chihuahuas have food free choice, the pit bull gets fed twice a day (she gets overweight really easy and they little ones stay trim). My daughter's chihuahua will often play with her food, unless she knows you are watching.


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

Prairiemama, as far as I know, all the semi-soft foods are absolutely loaded with sugar. They generally aren't considered to be great dog food and are made to appeal to the owner, not the dog.

My opinion: you are better off just feeding kibble and not canned. If you want to spoil your baby and add something as a treat, a small spoonful of canned fish would be better for the dog and probably cost less than a decent quality canned food.

If you have never had a small dog, you will have to really adjust your expectations about how much to feed way downward. My little guys get 1 level Tablespoon of home cooked per meal, given twice a day. That is not a lot of food, yet they are in excellent weight with beautiful coats, not going hungry at all. 

I looked up how many calories they need and figured out how many calories in my food, and that's what it came out to. I really thought I was going to starve them with so little to eat.


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

Oh wow! That is a tiny amount of food! Our other dog was 110# dog and very energetic. He ate a ton compared to Sophie. 

She does take her food from the dish and eat it elsewhere lol. Why is that? 

I didn't realize that about the food size! 

I would love to see a 3# dog lol! 

I had no idea the wet foods had sugar in them. I think we'll stick to kibble and not semi moist or wet then. Thanks everyone! 

Oh and Sophie lost a tooth yesterday while chewing her toy. Thats perfectly normal at this age and would be a milk tooth right?


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## BarbadosSheep (Jun 27, 2011)

ne prairiemama said:


> Oh wow! That is a tiny amount of food! Our other dog was 110# dog and very energetic. He ate a ton compared to Sophie.
> 
> She does take her food from the dish and eat it elsewhere lol. Why is that?
> 
> ...


sorry for the highjack....here's a picture of Lucy in her VERY expensive doggie bed on my desk. She loves to be up high. She gets on the back of the recliner (and has fallen off twice) and even sits on rocks in the yard to try to be higher. 










And here she is with her mother and also her best friend, Bailey the Pit Bull


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## ne prairiemama (Jan 30, 2010)

AWWWW!!! I LOVE the pictures!! So adorable! It's so sweet where they are laying with each other too. Cute doggy overload!!


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