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Daughter adopted 4 year old Shih Tzu from a Humane Society today and is trying to figure out what dry food to feed that will not make him have stomach problems. Lady who fostered him had been feeding “Showtime” dry but did not have any to send home and Daughter is unable to find this brand in her town or nearby. Foster mom was not really any help today in telling where she had purchased her supply. We looked up this dog food and it rated 2.5 stars on this site, but she intends to feed him Merrick grain free Duck (what we feed our dogs) in the future. What brand of food would be a good choice to switch him to now just to get him settled into a new home. She knows he will have to work up to the Merrick, but doesn’t want to stress him out and make him have stomach issues now. Sorry for the book, but felt the back story might be needed. Thanks for any help or suggestions.
With the ingredients of Showtime, you could pick any food at the grocery store without food color and it would probably be similar, even the store brand of chain stores like Petsmart’s Authority regular line would be an improvement as would Iams Proactive Health.
I’ve had shih tzus for 30 years and have tried all diets (we eat organic ourselves). Watch out for yeast if problems with dry skin or itching, may be also related to stomach issues. It looks like you can find lots of foods with high ratings here. We sometimes cook for our dogs – ground turkey, oatmeal, some veggies, olive oil. Make a large batch & freeze some – we do this to use all organic products. My dogs also do fine on a high quality dry food & wet food mix. I mix it up, add a bit of eggs when we eat them. One dog was allergic to beef. With a small dog like a shih tzu it’s easy to give them bits of healthy (fish, meat, sweet potato, cheese) leftovers too as a supplement (though some people never spoil their dogs like this!)
Good luck – these are fabulous, loyal, loving dogs!
Hi I work at a pet store and have a hand full of customers with Shih Tzu’s.
If your dog has a sensitive stomach I would recommend adding goat’s milk (a universal milk) into your dogs diet. This will not only aid in digestion but also add hydration too! Some brands even added spices into the goat milk for added benefits.
If not goat’s milk I would encourage you to find a good probiotic powder for your dog. This will help with the sensitivity of your dogs stomach.
Merrick is good brand and Duck is a cooling protein (this will help with any inflammation). I would recommend after 2 months switching through Merrick’s formulas to help your dog become accustomed to other proteins and amino acids.
Other brands that are high in protein and low in carb (easier to digest) are Zignature, Orijen, Farmina, Acana, and Essence.
If your dog has a sensitive stomach I would also try introducing freeze dried treats. These treats are a lot easier to digest than biscuit treats. I only give my dogs freeze-dried raw treats.
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