Best food for my 6-year-old Dachshund? Is Canidae Pure okay?

Great question! I highly recommend Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Eukanuba brands of dog food. These four brands have veterinary nutritionists on staff to make sure the food is formulated for a dog's nutritional needs. I personally feed my pets Royal Canin, so I would recommend giving Lucky Royal Canin toy breed adult dog food. I hope this helps!

Canidae is an OK brand, but seems to be more about marketing unnecessary ingredients rather than tailoring food to the dogs specific life stage. It is nutritionally adequate though, which is the most important thing. I would have to evaluate the specific product in question to have more of an opinion about it. The truth about most of these foods is that their claims usually amount to nothing more than that of a fad diet (i.e. paleo or atkins) and are not supported by sufficient evidence (even though they will make it sound like it is). As scientifically trained practitioners, us vets prefer to offer evidenced based treatment and the same goes for feeding suggestions. The most important thing on that bag is a tiny bit of writing under the guaranteed analysis called the AAFCO statement. This statement tells you what actual research went into making the product. Below is a link to an article that will help explain this more and give some other info about feeding your dog: https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ I hope that helps and all is well with Thor.

Depending on how big the Chiweenie is as an adult, you could likely use the same food for both dogs after they are each 1 year old. Since Sara is only 35lbs, you don’t need to give her a large breed dog food. The other pup is likely not extra small (under 10lbs) so it would be fine to eat a regular food as well. Stick with any of the high quality brands who do not have recall issues frequently. Brands who have frequent recalls are concerning for quality issues. I recommend Royal Canin, Iams, Purina Pro Plan, and Nutro. Just get the normal, adult dog food. Remember to transition to the new diet over 5-7 days. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions!

Schazi may not be eating this food because she doesn't like the taste, or she could be ill. Not eating is one of the first signs of illness in dogs. I'm not sure when she had her last vet check, but it would be good to have her seen by a vet just to make sure everything is ok with her. If she doesn't have a medical illness, you may have to try a a different brand of food for her to get her to eat. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. First though, call the vet to make an appointment for a health check. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

What a cute puppy! With him being 7 months old and a small breed dog, I think that Lucas is slowing down on his growing. This can cause a reduction in his appetite. I find that the more that we change a dog's food- the more pickier they become. I would stick with one brand, offer 1/3 of slightly less than the daily recommended amount (they sell dog food, so the more he eats the more you buy) three times daily. Give him a set amount of time and then pick up the bowl. This will create some urgency. He will eat if he is hungry. The more we change and add things, the more he will wait to eat to see what good stuff will be added. I would keep track of his body condition score- you should be able to feel his ribs with a little bit of fat cover, but not see them. As long as he is in good body condition, I would not worry. Some dogs are not food motivated and will just eat what they need. If you have any questions about his weight or body condition score, you can ask your veterinarian. I don't think that grain free food are necessary. Dogs are omnivores.

Unfortunately, there is no one "best" food or treat for Snickers. There are higher quality diets such as Acana, Royal Canin, Canidae and a few others. The key to choosing a diet for your dog is to find one that he will eat, that doesn't cause any GI upset and is easy for you to buy. Choose a diet with a named protein source over diets with by-products and meat meals. Also, stay away from store or discount brands as these typically contain low quality ingredients and more fillers. The website www.dogfoodadvisor.com is an excellent resource for comparing diets.

I personally do not like Blue Buffalo at all. They have had serious quality control problems which they have admitted due to the fact that they don't own their own factories. They therefore give the recipe to someone to make, and have no control over whether or not the recipe is followed exactly. Plus many colleagues have reported an increase in gas with this food. I would not recommend Blue Buffalo for Fiffy. As for the other two foods, between the two of them I would recommend the Nutro Max. It's a better quality food in my opinion. Just so you are aware, grains are beneficial to dogs and I do not recommend feeding a dog a grain free food unless they have a proven grain allergy, which isn't very common at all in dogs. Food allergies are the least common type of allergies in dogs, and when they do have a food allergy, it is most commonly related to protein not grain. There are very few dogs who have true grain allergies. It is beneficial for Fiffy's health to feed her grains, and brands that I would recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I hope this all helps!