Food for small breed dogs

[Daizy]

I have noticed that on the market now, there is food especially for small breed dogs, they even claim to be not just for small breeds but they name the breed, claiming it helps with the curl etc., or whatever is special about that breed ~ does anyone know apart from the kibble size if these really are different from the regular kibble that one buys (I use Innova at the moment)?

[Eleni]

I think probably the only way to tell is look at the ingredients.

I compared Eukanuba to Nutrience and there was a diffrent, but they are both small breed brands Eukanuba isnt really that decent a food, and nutrience is ok however im going to be switching sammy slowly to nutro as the next week goes on.


Eleni

[MIA]

I think it's silly personally! LOL In reality most smaller breeds have bad teeth or will get bad teeth, it's just a small dog thing, so actually having to work on a larger kibble could actually be beneficial for them in the end! My dogs all eat the same food, regardless of size.

[Prin]

It's not about the kibble size for the more expensive foods. Solid gold actually makes a Wolf King version for little dogs called "Just a Wee bit". They say this:

Diet specially formulated for the high energy needs of small breed adult dogs, or those dogs that will be 20 pounds or less as adults. Just a Wee Bit is available in a very small kibble to accommodate small mouths.

I guess it is so they don't have to eat their whole body size every day to keep up with their metabolism. Active small dogs have a much faster metabolism than big dogs and you can end up feeding them the same amount of food as a 60lb dog which is a HUGE quantity for such a small dog. My dad's Jack Russell (24 lbs) eats more every day then my Jemma (62lbs) even when it's the same quality of food.

And the ratios are this:
Crude Protein, Min 28%
Crude Fat, Min 18%
Crude Fiber, Max 4%
Moisture, Max 10%

Ingredients: (just the main ones)
Bison | Salmon Meal | Millet | Brown Rice | Cracked Pearled Barley | Rice Bran | Canola Oil | Flaxseed Oil | Garlic | Amaranth | Blueberries | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Dried Chicory Root | Taurine | Carotene | Choline Chloride | Vitamin E Supplement |

Compare that to the large breed one: (it's way different)

Protein, Min 22%
Fat, Min 9%
Fiber, Max 4%
Moisture, Max 10%
Calories per cup, 364

Ingredients:
Bison | Salmon Meal | Brown Rice | Millet | Cracked Pearled Barley | Oatmeal | Rice Bran | Canola Oil | Flaxseed Oil | Garlic | Amaranth | Blueberries | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Taurine |
The ingredients are nearly the same except for the order of the grains, but I would assume that there is more meat in the small dog one to boost the fat and the protein so much.

Does that answer anything?

[Daizy]

Thanks, it was the Solid Gold, I was looking at ~ I didnt' know about the metabolic rate in small dogs and large dogs differed ~ but now I do! Thank you & yes, it does answer my question, I might look into it as she is due soon to start changing to adult food.

[Prin]

Metabolism goes up with the surface area to volume ratio- meaning the more surface area and the smaller the volume, the faster the heart beat and the harder to keep warm. Big dogs have a huge volume and it is much easier to stay warm on a cold day for example-- my big Boo can swim in ice water and stay warm. A chihuahua I know died of hypothermia from swimming in August... It's just much harder to regulate the body temperature, so the heart rate goes up and more energy is used just in body maintenance. Finally these 2 years of Biology actually become slightly useful.

By the way, I emailed Solid Gold for the kcal/cup for the small dog food because it wasn't on the website and it's 380kcal/cup, compared to the big dog at 364kcal/cup.

[Daizy]

Thanks Prin! Your studies certainly are paying off .... for everyone else too