good dog food for Shih tzu dogs ?
 

hi
1st post here on the forum . Last Thursday I got a 3 yr old female Shih tzu . she is the first dog i have had since i was a kid , so threr is a bit of a learning curve .

I went out and bought purina beniful for small dogs . it looked to be the best the grocery store had , but i am making that judgment on the fact that it was the most expensive , and it said for small dogs on the front . the breeder we got her from was feeding her Old Roy , which apparently is the walmart house brand .

the reason i am posting is that the other day she went for a long time with out a poop probably 36 hours . i was getting worried , but when i checked her tummy it was soft and she did not appear to be in any pain or discomfort . I thought maybe she was a bit constipated , with the stress of moving enviroments, and the change in food , plus she discovered what raw hid chewies were and had eaten 2 of them over the weekend ( i don't think she has had them b4 ) . so i was not surprised she was a bit bound up but i was concerned .

any way i left for a few hours , and she had an accident. which was no big deal , i was happy she had had a poop , but b4 i could clean it up she ate it . she had a good poop this morning and things seem to be back on track .
reading the threads on poop eating , i noticed that it can be from a vitamin deficiency in their food , or lack of food .

is there a truly good dog food for small dogs out there , or is that just a marketing gimmick and is their any additives i can/should add to help her if she gets constipated again or balance her vitamins , I have been told brewers yeast , for the vitamines , and a table spoon of canola oil for constipation . Also how much food should i be giving her . the package says between 1/2 cup to 1 1/2 cups a day , that's quite a range . she is 12 lbs , and gets at least 2 usually 3 walks of a block and a half or more ( 15 to 20 min ) a day , i don't know weather that makes her active enough or not .

I have a vet appointment next week to get a base line for her and bring her shots up to date , so i will ask him as well . I was just hoping to get some advice from others with Shih tzus or small dogs .

another question is these 100% beef liver freeze dried treats are they healthy , the lady at the pet store gave her some and she went goofy over them so i bought a pack , but the liver is what filters all the crap out of the blood and there could be residues in them does anyone know anything about them ?

I read somewhere that with that food, you'd be better off feeding her the bag!! I think it was on the dog food analysis site. Just google dog food analysis and you'll get the link, can't remember if it's .com or .net! Alot depends on how much you want to spend, but I'm of the thinking spend a bit more on what your dog eats and you'll for the most part spend less at the vets!

Rawhide can bind up some dogs or give them the runs. Liver treats are fine but if the dog's not used to liver then they can get the runs as well. Liver is perfectly fine I eat it too!! Not the dried stuff though, I prefer mine cooked!

The main ingredients to stay away from in dog is CORN! Wheat, soy, all can cause allergies in dogs and aren't necessary at all. Right now I'm in the process of switching my dog to Blue Buffalo Wilderness from Costco's Kirkland especially after I realized they weren't as highly rated as they used to be. It shouldn't cost much to feed your dog, even on the really good stuff. Some say to not go too high on the protien unless the dog is getting alot of exercise. Oh and don't bother asking your vet what to feed, no doubt they'll say oh you really should be feeding what they carry which is overpriced floor sweepings!! LIkely a Hill product which once again the bag would likely be better for her to eat!

Here is the link to dog food analysis, its a very informative site that provides unbiased reviews of dog foods. Browse through it to get an idea of what foods are better vs worse:

[url]http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/[/url]

also, i wouldnt try to find a food thats good for a specific breed. a dog is a dog so try and find a food thats good for dogs in general (from all the dog food that I saw which was geared towards specific breeds, they were all marketing gimicks and were very poor quality).

Masha

Usually if a food is marketed as for small dogs it just means the size of the kibble is smaller. Most of the brands that make these formulas though make pretty crappy food to begin with and I wouldn't buy any of their claims of nutritional differences between their formulas being of added value to your dog.

Yes, some breeds do have slightly different nutritional sensitivities and quirks, but you're far better off just treating your dog like an individual dog and finding a food that works best for her.

As a rule, avoid any foods that are sold in grocery stores and at the vet's office (unfortunately vets sell some incredibly bad foods and lead people to believe otherwise). If you have a Global Pet Foods store near you, I find they carry some of the best brands out there including frozen raw and dehydrated raw which will always be far better then any kibble for your dog and with a little dog will not cost a fortune.