Maltese Dogs Forum : Spoiled Maltese Forums banner

Food we use - new thread

76K views 122 replies 70 participants last post by  mss 
#1 ·
As requested, we've started a new thread on dog food recommendations as the old thread was, well, . . . old.

To help our members who are looking for food suggestions, please add your recommendations for quality foods to help keep our fluffs happy.

Mine eat a combination of high-quality foods. They have Fromm Salmon Tunalini mixed with Foster & Smith lamb and brown rice; both of those foods are on Whole Dog Journal's list of recommended dry foods.

Dinner is Vital by FreshPet - either one of the fish recipes. WDJ hasn't yet rated the rolled foods, but this has a 5 star rating from Dog Food Advisor.

Tessa has a sensitivity to chicken and Sweetness has had oxalate crystals in the past, so finding a routine that worked for both was tricky, but they seem to be doing well on this.

Please add what is working well for your fluffs to this thread!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Since it was recommended by many others and my breeder, that Maltese should not eat a protein level over 26%, I kinda had hard time getting Sammie's foods figured out. He did well on natural balance GF, but after all the recalls of 2011/2012 I switched to Fromm's grain free kibble. I don't like the canned Fromm only because it's so soupy.

AM: Grain Free Fromm: is little over 26% protein kibble, but best food I've found. Plus it's available in my small town at a dog speciality botuiqe only. I wanted a food that I didn't have to order. We buy the tunalina or wild game bird as they are lowest in protein. Sammie has elevated bile acids and his brother passed away very young with a shunt. So he needs lower protiens. He also has allergies such as head shaking if he eats dry grain type kibble.

PM: slice of Vital freshpet. I buy non fish ones mostly. They spit up the fish twice, not sure why.

I give natural balance GF treats, and fruitables too.
For teeth regimine: i rotate these. they get Sams Yams fries, CET dental chews, lebo dental spray, and a squiroften mouth of dental rinse and daily water additive.
 
#109 ·
Since it was recommended by many others and my breeder, that Maltese should not eat a protein level over 26%, I kinda had hard time getting Sammie's foods figured out. He did well on natural balance GF, but after all the recalls of 2011/2012 I switched to Fromm's grain free kibble. I don't like the canned Fromm only because it's so soupy.

AM: Grain Free Fromm: is little over 26% protein kibble, but best food I've found. Plus it's available in my small town at a dog speciality botuiqe only. I wanted a food that I didn't have to order. We buy the tunalina or wild game bird as they are lowest in protein. Sammie has elevated bile acids and his brother passed away very young with a shunt. So he needs lower protiens. He also has allergies such as head shaking if he eats dry grain type kibble.

PM: slice of Vital freshpet. I buy non fish ones mostly. They spit up the fish twice, not sure why.

I give natural balance GF treats, and fruitables too.
For teeth regimine: i rotate these. they get Sams Yams fries, CET dental chews, lebo dental spray, and a squiroften mouth of dental rinse and daily water additive.
 
#4 ·
I switched Poochie to Nature's Recipe Grain Free Chicken, Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Recipe. She seems to enjoy this form of dry food. I did have her on the Wellness brand and I think she was allergic to it. She started scratching and biting a lot. Can anyone suggest wet food. I'm always looking for coupons but the brands in the pet store are hard to come by. The coupons I always come across aren't the best rating dog food.
 
#7 ·
Lucky loves FreshPet. He has been on it a few weeks. Lots of energy, poop good. Mad in US of mostly (97%) US and Canadian ingredients - nothing from China. Lots of plant ingredients, good meats.
 
#8 ·
Mia eats Merrick's lamb with brown rice and apple dry food...and Wellness wet food in lamb with sweet potato and I also buy Nature's recipe wet and Merrick's Wet...she gets picky after awhile, so I have to keep switching around to keep her interested. I don't do much poultry because it seems to make her scratch. I try to stick with venison, lamb, buffalo and a little beef..
 
#9 ·
Well, after going through so many of the high quality dry foods, premixes and so on and so forth i put mine back on Primal Frozen Raw as soon as i came back from Nationals, i feel that this is the best food for mine and they do very well on it, i noticed with dry food they would eat, but weren't very excited about it, with the Primal they are so excited each and every meal. I thought about home cooking and using BalanceIt, but i hate cooking and can't see me keeping something like that up, tried home cooking before and didn't last 2 months, so Primal Raw it is, i switch the protein around quite frequently and i'm lucky that none of the kids are picky eaters. It's expensive feeding 5, but well worth it to me. :)
 
#10 ·
I feed Blue Buffalo Small breed lamb and brown rice and/or Innova small breed. I wanted to find a food that wasn't too high in protein or fat content because I don't want to over stress the liver. But, I wanted to find a food with high enough calories to make sure the dogs maintain a proper weight. The Innova is very high calorie but the fat and protein content isn't insanely high like a lot of small breed foods. The dogs seem to like both foods and I like the weight and coats and overall health on the foods.
 
#11 ·
Kibble: After so many recalls, I've recently switched to Fromm's grain free, I have it in two different flavors. The kibble is tiny and they like it...Fromm is a family owned business and it's made in this country in their own factory. ....so I'm hoping we're safe.:thumbsup:


Wet food: I am now feeding Dr. Harvey's grain free Oracle. They don't like it as much as the one that you add your own protein to.....but heck, they will in time...if I can afford to keep it up, that is. That stuff is EXPENSIVE!! I just bit the bullet and ordered a 6 lb bag....with shipping it was $117.00. You just add hot water to hydrate, then feed. :aktion033:


I was feeding Archie raw, but I keep forgetting to take it out of the freezer the night before. While he was on it, I did notice a difference in his energy level. It was agreeing with him. We may go back to that, but I really need to settle on foods that I can afford!

for me...well I had cheese and crackers for dinner last night :yes::LOL:
 
#12 ·
Rose is doing well on Fromm FourStar, the whitefish formula, Eva is doing very well on a homemade liver-friendly diet, and Lily is back on the canned NB venison and sweet potato...I did have her on Pioneer Naturals, but it worsened her allergies:smilie_tischkante: ...I am back to looking for a better food for Lily..Pioneer Naturals is a really good food and Lily gained weight on it, but she can't have grains, eggs, dairy, chicken, soy, or beef...so that doesn't leave much..I'm not cooking for all of them, but it would be so nice if at least two of them could eat the same thing..:smilie_tischkante::blush:
 
#15 ·
For all of those feeding kibble, just remember there is a direct correlation of the lack of moisture in dry kibble with UTI's, Calcium Oxalate Crystals, Struvite Crystals and stones. If you prefer to feed a kibble, then maybe think about soaking it in warm water. And it is a myth put out by Milk Bone years and years ago that they need something crunchy for their teeth. For those looking into things to clean the teeth, just be sure to check ingredients. These are the ingredients to CET toothpaste:

C.E.T. Toothpaste: Toothpaste for Dogs & Cats - 1800PetMeds

As compared to PetzLife Gel: (you have to scroll way down to see the ingredients)

Peppermint Oral Care Gel | PetzLife Oral Care, Dog Dental Care | PetzLife

And PetzLife has less grain alcohol in it than Leba III and is a much better price. :thumbsup:

As for CET chews....for the life of me why vets recommend it is beyond me since it's a rawhide! :w00t:

For food, just remember that when using some of the really good sites that do reviews and recommendations, often the higher ratings go to the higher protein foods, which we all know isn't what most of our fluffs do the best on. So don't be afraid of the 4 star over the 5 star foods, depending on the reasons they are 4 star over 5 of course.

Here's what mine have been on for over 5 years now. I believe in rotating so we don't build up an allergy to certain foods. Plus we get different things from beef as we do from fish as we do from lamb, etc.... So do our fluffs. And by rotating you increase the odds of truly giving a complete and balanced diet. Say the bag of food you always feed is AAFCO compliant, but on the high end of the compliant range of calcium for example. Over time it can bring your dogs phosphorous level down to where it may fall out of the WNL's range. So by switching it up, the odds are another food may be on the lower end of calcium. Plus different foods have different things in them that are good for them. Just be sure to try and keep the protein and fat percentages within a few percents of each other so you don't have tummy upsets. Also by rotating you are really helping to build a really strong digestive tract. :thumbsup: Mine can now jump from an 18% protein food up to a 30% with no issues. And I don't have to worry when someone gives them a treat they aren't used to about them getting upset tummies. But this took time to build up really strong GI systems.

Mine rotate through 6 grain free formulas of Addiction Dehydrated Raw. (Which isn't truly raw since it's been dehydrated. Freeze dried is another story.) So they get Steakhouse Beef & Zucchini, Country Chicken & Apricot, Herbed Lamb & Potato, Figlicious Venison Feast, Outback Kangaroo Feast and Perfect Summer Brushtail. All of those are between 18% - 21% protein (which is even fine for a kidney diet) and are single source proteins with just a handful of ingredients. Great for when you have a fluff that develops an allergy or a food intolerance as it will help to narrow it down. But they aren't by any means a LID. When feeding the Addiction, one meal a day I also add 1/4 patty of Stella & Chewy's Freeze Dried Raw (also single source protein foods) to both Jett & Callie's food (Jett is 5 1/2 lbs and Callie is 4 lbs) and Zoe gets 1/2 a patty (she is 9 lbs). Then I also throw into the rotation The Honest Kitchen (also dehydrated so not truly raw) Thrive (Turkey) and Embark (Yes it's another chicken and they already have a chicken food with Addiction. But it has quinoa in it that I like them to have on occasion.) And we also rotate in some of Grandma Lucy's Pureformance (I prefer the chickpeas over white potatoes-Artisan) the Goat and Rabbit formulas. All of these you rehydrate with warm water.

For treats we do Bravo Training Treats and Bonus Bites and Dehydrated strips (like jerky). All free range, no antibiotics or hormones, meat. That's it. No fillers, preservatives, colors, etc... We also do a lot of CocoTherapy's Veggie and Fruit Crunch and their 5 star training treats. Love Dr. Harvey's Sweet Potato Fries!! We do those for bedtime snacks. I never have to worry about them possibly choking on a fry vs. a whole sweet potato chew.

Supplements: We do daily plant based & dairy free Probiotics with Digestive Enzymes, Fish Oil, Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil, and for a super antioxidant Bixbi's Immunity Blend. It's a blend of mushrooms. I mix that all up in one of their meals.

Chews: Merrick Corporal Caps, Bravo Dry Roasted Tracheas & Churpi Chews (in limited quantities due to the salt).

For me? Well...I'm kind of like Pat. If I took care of me like I do my fluffs, I'd be Cindy Crawford gorgeous! :HistericalSmiley:
 
#18 ·
For all of those feeding kibble, just remember there is a direct correlation of the lack of moisture in dry kibble with UTI's, Calcium Oxalate Crystals, Struvite Crystals and stones. If you prefer to feed a kibble, then maybe think about soaking it in warm water. And it is a myth put out by Milk Bone years and years ago that they need something crunchy for their teeth. For those looking into things to clean the teeth, just be sure to check ingredients. These are the ingredients to CET toothpaste:

C.E.T. Toothpaste: Toothpaste for Dogs & Cats - 1800PetMeds

As compared to PetzLife Gel: (you have to scroll way down to see the ingredients)

Peppermint Oral Care Gel | PetzLife Oral Care, Dog Dental Care | PetzLife

And PetzLife has less grain alcohol in it than Leba III and is a much better price. :thumbsup:

As for CET chews....for the life of me why vets recommend it is beyond me since it's a rawhide! :w00t:

For food, just remember that when using some of the really good sites that do reviews and recommendations, often the higher ratings go to the higher protein foods, which we all know isn't what most of our fluffs do the best on. So don't be afraid of the 4 star over the 5 star foods, depending on the reasons they are 4 star over 5 of course.

Here's what mine have been on for over 5 years now. I believe in rotating so we don't build up an allergy to certain foods. Plus we get different things from beef as we do from fish as we do from lamb, etc.... So do our fluffs. And by rotating you increase the odds of truly giving a complete and balanced diet. Say the bag of food you always feed is AAFCO compliant, but on the high end of the compliant range of calcium for example. Over time it can bring your dogs phosphorous level down to where it may fall out of the WNL's range. So by switching it up, the odds are another food may be on the lower end of calcium. Plus different foods have different things in them that are good for them. Just be sure to try and keep the protein and fat percentages within a few percents of each other so you don't have tummy upsets. Also by rotating you are really helping to build a really strong digestive tract. :thumbsup: Mine can now jump from an 18% protein food up to a 30% with no issues. And I don't have to worry when someone gives them a treat they aren't used to about them getting upset tummies. But this took time to build up really strong GI systems.

Mine rotate through 6 grain free formulas of Addiction Dehydrated Raw. (Which isn't truly raw since it's been dehydrated. Freeze dried is another story.) So they get Steakhouse Beef & Zucchini, Country Chicken & Apricot, Herbed Lamb & Potato, Figlicious Venison Feast, Outback Kangaroo Feast and Perfect Summer Brushtail. All of those are between 18% - 21% protein (which is even fine for a kidney diet) and are single source proteins with just a handful of ingredients. Great for when you have a fluff that develops an allergy or a food intolerance as it will help to narrow it down. But they aren't by any means a LID. When feeding the Addiction, one meal a day I also add 1/4 patty of Stella & Chewy's Freeze Dried Raw (also single source protein foods) to both Jett & Callie's food (Jett is 5 1/2 lbs and Callie is 4 lbs) and Zoe gets 1/2 a patty (she is 9 lbs). Then I also throw into the rotation The Honest Kitchen (also dehydrated so not truly raw) Thrive (Turkey) and Embark (Yes it's another chicken and they already have a chicken food with Addiction. But it has quinoa in it that I like them to have on occasion.) And we also rotate in some of Grandma Lucy's Pureformance (I prefer the chickpeas over white potatoes-Artisan) the Goat and Rabbit formulas. All of these you rehydrate with warm water.

For treats we do Bravo Training Treats and Bonus Bites and Dehydrated strips (like jerky). All free range, no antibiotics or hormones, meat. That's it. No fillers, preservatives, colors, etc... We also do a lot of CocoTherapy's Veggie and Fruit Crunch and their 5 star training treats. Love Dr. Harvey's Sweet Potato Fries!! We do those for bedtime snacks. I never have to worry about them possibly choking on a fry vs. a whole sweet potato chew.

Supplements: We do daily plant based & dairy free Probiotics with Digestive Enzymes, Fish Oil, Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil, and for a super antioxidant Bixbi's Immunity Blend. It's a blend of mushrooms. I mix that all up in one of their meals.

Chews: Merrick Corporal Caps, Bravo Dry Roasted Tracheas & Churpi Chews (in limited quantities due to the salt).

For me? Well...I'm kind of like Pat. If I took care of me like I do my fluffs, I'd be Cindy Crawford gorgeous! :HistericalSmiley:
Ooops! For chews we also do Elk Antlers. Jeez we have so many I'm forgetting some. :whistle:
 
#21 ·
Bailey eats mostly frozen or dehydrated raw. For frozen, I use Primal raw and Bailey does quite well on it. For dehydrated, I use Addiction, The Honest Kitchen and Stella & Chewy's. I try other brands every now and then for variety but these are the ones I keep coming back to. I know they are excellent quality and that Bailey does very well on them. Occasionally, I give him some canned food - Party Animal, Weruva and Addiction are the ones I use the most. He hasn't had any kibble for over 2 and a half years and I don't plan on him ever having any in the future either.

Emma's diet is a work in progress right now. As she grows, she goes through phases of not being interested in eating at all, or just being incredibly picky. I am giving her Fromm Four Star (right now, it's the Game Bird grain-free recipe) usually for her morning meals and Addiction dehydrated raw for dinner. I usually sprinkle a little bit of a Stella & Chewy's patty on top to entice her to eat (she LOVES those!). I really didn't want to give her any kibble either but finally gave in because I needed something I could leave out with her if she didn't eat right away, which she usually doesn't. I give her the kibble in the morning while I'm getting ready for work and if she hasn't eaten it by the time I leave, I just put it in the pen with her and she usually finishes it while I'm at work. I couldn't do that with the raw. I use the Addiction dehydrated raw at night when I can closely watch her and pick it up if she doesn't eat it...AND I can wash her face right after she eats because it does get pretty messy. Eventually, I hope to get her to eat all frozen or dehydrated raw.
 
#57 ·
Feeding Bailey

I am SO happy to have this forum as a resource since I'm a new Malt-Mommy to my boy Bailey (I have to figure out how to post a pic of His Cuteness!).

Anyway.... we've been feeding him Kirkland Dry Dog Food (only) since he came to us in early November. I just assumed with the beard staining, he would be better off with dry food. He eats it, but I've been thinking that, while small, the pieces are just too big for him. He was eating one piece at a time and would never finish a 1/4 cup in one "sitting"... he'd go back to it later in the day or evening depending on which feeding it was.

Although Bailey seems to otherwise be doing well on this food (has 26% protein) I came here yesterday to see what you all are feeding your babies hoping to be able to figure out what I might be able to switch Bailey to. Then I read Maizy Moo's Mum's post that suggested mixing a little warm water with the kibble. I did that last night! What a happy Bailey I have!!! He ate all of his food and FAST! :chili: His face is a little dirty after eating now, but I'm so happy he had a better eating experience!

So now... what's the best way to clean their faces from food? I just wiped him last night & this morning with a microfiber cloth and warm water... but it didn't seem to get him very clean. Any tips??

Thank you Maizy Moo's Mum & all the other Malti-Parents!!! :ThankYou:
Cathy & Bailey
 
#26 ·
Is true puppy food necessary til one year old? Merrick all life stages are 38 % protein which is high...thats the grain free version...the classic lamb is 25% and puppy is 30%. Booboo is four months now and isnt eating much of the eukanuba the breeder had him on...what should I chsnge to? Love merrick is made here in tx!
 
#27 ·
Is true puppy food necessary til one year old? Merrick all life stages are 38 % protein which is high...thats the grain free version...the classic lamb is 25% and puppy is 30%. Booboo is four months now and isnt eating much of the eukanuba the breeder had him on...what should I chsnge to? Love merrick is made here in tx!
 
#29 ·
I am feeding Sushi Merrick GF Buffalo and he is a 23 weeks old. He likes it much better than the Solid Gold Wee Bit the breeder had him on. Do I need to worry about the high protein? Sorry, not very educated on the high protein issues. Should I switch him to a lower protein food?
 
#31 ·
How is her weight for her frame? I know that since Toki had hip surgery for her LCP and also has LP in the same leg, the vet wants us to keep her on the leaner side to alleviate excessive stress on her joints (an ounce really does make a difference for these little guys!). We also give her Dasuquin which is a good joint supplement.

If Jasmine is doing well on Blue Buffalo and can maintain a healthy weight, I wouldn't worry so much about the food you are feeding. I'd definitely consider adding a joint supplement (if you haven't already) and work on increasing the amount of some easy, nonstressful exercise like walking. A few short walks (10-15 minutes) each day would be so beneficial for her arthritis. I hear ya on the exercise though...I feel like my pups don't get enough of it. If I try to take a lazy day or skip a walk, I hear about it from them lol they are relentless! I will say that I think they enjoy short walks around our apartment complex just as much as they enjoy our hour-long ones at the local trails (woohoo for being outside at all, right? lol).
 
#32 ·
Toki is currently eating Natural Balance Potato and Duck (we are in the process of transitioning her to Earthborn Meadow Feast) and gets a variety of wet/canned foods as well.

Teddy is eating Yorkshire Terrier Royal Canin (we got several trial bags from Petflow so once we get through those, we'll put him on the Meadow Feast with Toki) and his diet is also supplemented with wet food. We have had him for a couple of weeks...he is 9 months old and came to us underweight with spine and ribs popping out so I'd love any recommendations for foods to help him put on weight...thanks for any advice!
 
#33 ·
There are few kibbles I really trust.

I trust Fromm, first and foremost above all. I think the quality is excellent and the company I can not say enough good things about. My dogs have shiny coats, bright eyes and spunk when using Fromm. I have gone back to feeding fromm after a time of eliminating all excess treats-and finding that Rocky is doing quite well on it. I feed the four star formulas and rotate between each bag.

I trust canine caviar-I trust their ingredients and the science behind the product. I also like their company.

Kibble and or kibble mixed with wet will be breakfast. We can be canine caviar topper-any of the available formulas or it can be Fromm canned food. The fromm canned food both Gold and Four star, are both excellent.

Dinner is going to be a dehydrated formula. I have just ordered some Honest Kitchen, though I will stay away from Thrive (the quinoa based one) as the boys do not like the taste. I also ordered a small box of Addiction. I will also look into Grandma Lucy's formulas for consideration at a later date. I will rotate flavors.

Funds do not allow me to do dehydrated full time at this moment. I would like to add some Stella and Chewy's frozen raw-however the only thing I can find access to without paying an astronomical amount for shipping is the dehydrated formulas and honestly, if I'm going to go with dehydrated formulas I would rather go with the ones I mentioned above.

These are companys who ingredients, practices and formulas I trust and quite honestly all other foods out there have not impressed me as much.
 
#34 ·
The last couple of months, Tessa has had some "tummy issues" so I've switched my fluffs to a grain free, lower protein diet. We're using Addiction dehydrated grain-free and they both love it!!!!! They've always been good eaters but they are licking the bowl clean and looking for more. Tessa seems to be tolerating it very well, too.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top