[ChaunceyML]

We are looking for a healthy dry food for our pom. He loves to play with his kibble so we need something that has a good size to it. Any suggestions?

[pugmomsandy]

Do you mean you need a medium to large kibble?

[NectarMom]

Is he having issues with his current food health wise? Playing with his food is not a reason to switch unless he isn’t eating it at all but then the switch over could take upto 2 weeks when done properly or you could cause problems with his digestive system now if there is no current problem. Why switch?

What kind of dog and what are you feeding now, more details would help 🙂

[ChaunceyML]

Yes pugmomsandy, I do mean medium to large kibble. NectarMom, we have recently discovered the food we are feeding him is not very good. we’ve decided to take a more healthy approach to his diet. Thanks to you both for responding! Any suggestions?

[pugmomsandy]

Other than getting a kibble for large breeds, the biggest kibble I’ve come across while finding food for my pugs is Core Reduced Fat and Core Original. It’s sort of triangular last time I used it and would consider it medium sized. I thought it was a little large for the smaller pugs. Although kibble is hard to digest so getting a larger kibble would make digestion more difficult. The smaller surface area and diameter of kibble the easier it is to breakdown. (Although size of kibble is not the only factor in good digestion). I’ve read here that some large breed owners dogs did better with smaller kibble versus large kibble. Specifically someone’s large dog did better digestion-wise on EVO Small Bites (which he accidentally bought) vs the regular size EVO. Same flavor of kibble, just purchased the wrong size. That being said you have the option of adding a probiotic/digestive enzyme to help with digestion if you go with a larger kibble. Most dogs don’t chew so a large kibble might be a choking hazard. If your dog likes to play with food how about putting the small kibble into a treat ball (like an IQ ball or Kong) where he has to work to get it out.

[Anonymous]

I’m also interested in any suggestions here. I have a 3 year old Pom who needs to lose 2-4lbs. I’ve been feeding her Royal Canin weight control but recently started looking into better quality options. Our vet suggested Royal Canin. I’m thinking of switching her to either Acana or Wellness brands. Both have weight control options but not sure if she really needs that. I have 2 specific questions:

1. I’m cautious about switching to a grain free option because some folks have mentioned lose stool. I have had 3 BAD diareha episodes with her that resulted in expensive vet visits. Any suggestions?

2. Some folks have said their dog has “more energy” after switching to Acana. Any comments? Even their website says your dog will show signs of more enegy. I guess this is due to higher protein?

[pugmomsandy]

mspaulypompom,

What food(s) did you try that resulted in bad diarrhea? How much were you feeding as compared to what you were previously feeding? Do you go by calories? Or were you feeding the same amount of previous food as you were the new foods? Has your pom been eating a variety of foods or just mostly one kind most of her life? And what has she been eating and how much? Have you used any probiotics or other digestive aids (canned pumpkin, digestive enzymes, yogurt, raw goat milk)?

I have lap dogs. They do absolutely nothing but follow me around! But they eat foods that have at least 30% protein and moderate fat. This includes kibble, canned, raw, freeze dried and dehydrated. They are able to maintain a steady weight but more importantly, they maintain a good body condition score. Keep in mind pugs are short, cobby, thick dogs, but they still have an abdominal tuck, a tapered waist viewed from above and not much fat pad. They will never look like a greyhound but for pugs they are in great shape. Weight is not everything. In fact mine are overweight to obese if you just look at the number (24 lbs). I’ve recently put some photos in the Dog Food Calculator section while discussing weight loss and body condition with another poster in December. Check them out. They’ve actually gained weight and muscle mass on this type of diet. These are my overweight pugs: (click on the photo)

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/IMG_2852640x539_zps1c019b19.jpg

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u651/pugmomsandy/pictures%20for%20posting/plutoharness2_zps6d5c006c.jpg

I didn’t know about probiotics and digestive enzymes a couple years ago when I went to a grain free high protein food so one of mine took maybe 2 months to transition. Had soft poop but no diarrhea. But now that I’ve been using probiotics and enzymes (periodically still) they are able to eat anything and have formed stool. Their gut has become healthier over time and they are able to eat a variety of foods as they should. I also feed less volume of a mod/high protein food. On their old food, they would’ve needed 1 cup to 1.25 cups but right now they only get 2/3 cup. Overfeeding a mod/high protein food can be another reason for poor stools (that and a not healthy gut) or transitioning too fast. If they have undesirable stool, cut back the amount of new food until they firm up. No need to transtition a dog in a week or 10 days.

Also you can start your pom on a moderate protein grain free diet instead of going high protein off the bat like EVO. I’ll use Nutrisource Heartland Select and Grain Free Lamb Meal as examples. They are 25% and 28% protein and my fosters eat it and only take a week to transition to it cold turkey. No diarrhea, just some soft stools initially. I also give them ground psyllium in the beginning. And I have no idea what the fosters have been eating their entire life before coming to my house.

As far as more energy goes, I like to think of it as more vitality.

[NectarMom]

Ok I have to comment….CUTE Pugs!!! Love them and excellent post!

[Anonymous]

thank you for the input! My pom did not get sick from her food. One incident I think was too many rawhides at a friends house and another was frosty paws treats. So I am VERY careful now what I feed her.

I think I’ve chosen to go with the Acana brand. They have a high rating and I like what they have to say about the source of their ingredients. But no one in my area carries the small breed or light and trim choice. I bought a bag of the grasslands variety and will slowly work it into her diet. She seemed to like the Acana last night. She picked out the few pieces that were in her bowl and ate those first!

I’m eager to see if there are improvements in her weight and energy!!

[Anonymous]

a note to Chauncey, the Acana Regionals Grasslands kibble was a good size. Slightly larger than what I would normally feed my Pom but she chewed it up just fine. I would say the pieces were just slightly smaller than a dime. Round disk shaped and maybe an 1/8th of and inch thick. So if you are looking for a bit larger kibble this might work well for you.

[Author]

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