# Advice wanted for feeding our Miniature Poodle



## AndreaL (Dec 8, 2012)

Hi,

I'm a new member as of this past weekend. We have a 16-week-old puppy named Charley. He tested positive for Giardia but has finished his treatment and doing much better. 

We had a rough start with the food he was on though - I transitioned him gradually to Innova puppy food but he reacted poorly to the second bag of it that I purchased (he was having very very soft stools and very frequently and not acting himself). 

Our vet suggested three days of feeding him cooked chicken to get his system on a better track and he's so much happier and his general appearance is better than I knew it could be - eyes seem wider and brighter, etc. 

At this point she's suggesting we gradually introduce a dry food into his chicken. I was considering Organix puppy food. 

Has anyone here fed it to their poodles? Any reasons why I shouldn't try it? Any advice in general?

I'd appreciate your thoughts!

Thanks,
Andrea


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

Welcome to the group! I haven't really looked into organix, but I do love Fromm's four star nutritionals they are all life stages food. My puppies loved this food and it comes In a grain free too that is not too rich. You can even rotate he food without fear of upsetting the tummy. I also feed honest kitchen, but haven't seen how young puppies like. It is the only FDA completely human grade food out there. There are other foods out there that I would feed but not a lot. What are you looking for in a dog food?


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## AndreaL (Dec 8, 2012)

Thanks for the recommendation! Fromm's sounds like the kind of holistic and healthy food choice I've been looking for. Do you find that your poodles do better on a grain free food? They are lovely, btw.  Charley has been doing extremely well without grains the past few days...


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Good luck on finding the right food. There are so many options, opinions and at the end of the day what you decide your pup may not agree with you! I agree with the grain free, Sunny is on the Acana Regional Wild Prairie (fish and chicken) and he loves it and does great. I also supplement with premade raw; I do both. It took me quite a long time to find the right combination. Please post pictures!!!


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

AndreaL said:


> Thanks for the recommendation! Fromm's sounds like the kind of holistic and healthy food choice I've been looking for. Do you find that your poodles do better on a grain free food? They are lovely, btw.  Charley has been doing extremely well without grains the past few days...


Thank you, they are sweethearts! When talking about dogs sensitive to grains, or perfectly healthy dogs yes I think grain free is the better food. Although some are too rich and some don't tolerate it well. Fromm's are on the lower end of protein, and from a company I trust. I find poop smaller, less stinky, they keep their weight better too. That being said I think going with an alternative grain food is not bad and some dogs tolerate that better than grain free. My mini can have a fickle tummy so she got he chicken a la veg recipe, but I also tossed in some surf n turf and she had a great coat and skin, muscling .. A lot of judges were impressed with her condition. I mixed the two cause it was cheaper that way lol! I did have them on Innova Evo for a while and they did great on it. But they have since changed ownership.

My toy has developed food allergies so she can't have any Fromm food or about 98 - 99% of foods out there. She gets limited ingredients and potato.. Not really impressed with the food but hey it's what she can eat.. I may try addiction foods for her. Or may switch her to raw entirely.

My mini is on honest kitchen, the recipe is not grain free and she poops more it seems lol BUT she and my toy drink less water. They don't need it it's in their food. The kibble makes them drink more even if I add water to it (think cereal). I am debating on whether to buy some Fromm surf and turf to as to her food or just switch to a more expensive grain free formula. I do toss them som raw wings and necks and their poop is more solid and less stinky for it. Plus their poop gets a white color and dryness to it.

I know raw isn't for everyone, hell I can't do raw 100% of the time lol. But I do like it enough to feed when I can and the girls LOVE it!!


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## Specman (Jun 14, 2012)

My dogs are also on Fromm's grain free and are doing well. I like it because it is a little more economical but still high quality. Max who is a picky eater takes it well. I also appreciate that it is family owned and produced in the Midwest.


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## Teddy (Dec 4, 2012)

Grain free is your best option. I feed my puppy Royal Canin but he I read that it cause itching problems and that is true, he itches a lot. I am switching to Orijen.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

I really like this company and their food. They own their own USDA plant that makes their dry food, and their cans are in another USDA plant.. Their canned food looks and smells like a person could eat it. Oh I found a pic of my mini while she was on the Fromm. As I said a mixture of the chicken a la veg and the grain free Surf n Turf. She may have been 15 mons old in that pic.










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## lrkellly (Jan 6, 2012)

I have a 1.5 yr old mini and it took forever to find a food combination that agreed with my dogs tummy.

After trying multiple foods I finally settled on a mix of pre-made raw and kibble. Prior to introducing the raw my pup had very loose stools, stinky, etc. he's been on this new diet for a number of months now and the transformation has been remarkable. Better coat, less itching, less tears, better energy and much better bathroom times ... 


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Right, at the end of the day it's to find a highly nutritious food that you are comfortable with and they they like!!! Sometimes it takes quite a while to find the magic combination!


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## PaddleAddict (Feb 9, 2010)

We had luck with Wellness Super 5 Puppy formula.


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## tokipoke (Sep 3, 2011)

I've added kibble back into Leroy's diet. My dogs were on Prey model raw and pre-made raw. Then I got really busy and incoproated kibble again. I like Merrick's pet food. I feed Leroy the Grain-Free Bison flavor. No tummy upsets whatsoever going from raw to that kibble. My cats eat their wet food. I have tried other cat wet food but either they smell too strong or they taste too salty. I taste all of my pet's food and treats except the raw food of course. The Merrick's cat food looks like real meat for people and it doesn't have the stinky cat food smell. I am sure their canned dog food is similar. They also carry the Before Grain line which is more protein.

For Louis - he's still strictly on Nature's Variety raw. It gives the best poops! Leroy can hold is all day so I don't have to deal with his poop that much. Feeding raw gives the smallest poops. I just hated how "large" Louis's poops got on the kibble so switched back to premade raw. Since he is small, it doesn't take much to feed him so he's on pre-made raw %100 while Leroy is on 50/50 premade raw/kibble (kibble in the morning, raw at night - no stomach upsets)


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## brownlikewoah (May 3, 2012)

home made prey model raw fan here. Zora came to us fed this way, so it has been a learning experience for me!


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## AndreaL (Dec 8, 2012)

Thanks everyone for all the advice. It's nice to hear we're not alone figuring out a food that works too!

Right now we're trying out Nutri Source Chicken Formula (Grain Free). It came recommended to me at this great pet store I found. I was about to buy Fromm's but the line they carried was not formulated for puppies... but maybe we'll try that once he's older.

So far Charley seems to do okay on it - we're still mixing about 50% of this with some cooked chicken. Should have him fully on this by next week. Fingers crossed it agrees with him. 

Thanks again everyone. I'll try to get a picture of Charley posted real soon. Such a busy week getting ready for Christmas.


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## AndreaL (Dec 8, 2012)

I forgot to mention that I am going to look into the raw - sounds like most of you have good experiences with it. 

I think we'll make sure we've found a kibble that suits him first and then look into adding some raw into his diet.


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