My tiny Pomeranian puppy's kibble gets stuck. What dry food helps?

I like Royal Canin chihuahua. It has specially formulated kibble for dogs with small jaws. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/royal-canin-chihuahua-puppy-food https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/royal-canin-breed-health-nutrition-chihuahua-dog-food https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/royal-canin-canine-health-nutrition-chihuahua-canned-dog-food Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Oli may be eating to fast. You can try purchasing a puzzle feeder dish (they are available on Amazon.com) with ridges in it that slow down eating and drinking if used as food and water bowls. If this doesn’t resolve the coughing/gagging, and he coughs/gags with canned puppy food as well, it is possible that he may have a condition called megaesophagus where the food doesn’t move down his esophagus normally. Your vet can take X-rays of his neck/chest to diagnose this if slowing down his eating/feeding him small amounts at a time or trying canned food as well does not help. Good luck! He must be adorable!!!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is important to avoid this as much as possible as this can predispose dogs to things like aspiration pneumonia for example. One thing that has worked for me great in the past for patients that do not eat more slowly with the slow feeder is actually throwing the kibble in a small room like the bathroom for example so that they end up spread out in the room as that will force Millie to eat more slowly as it will take her longer to find them to eat it. While it sounds messy, this has actually worked very well for some of my patients. Good luck and have a great day!

It is likey just that - him being picky and stubborn. I would see if he would at least eat canned food. Canned food is at least more of a balance diet than just chicken and rice. If he doesn't eat, be sure to give him some nutrical to help keep his blood sugar up since he is so tiny. It will likely take you becoming stubborn as well to get him to transition to regular diet, but you don't want him to miss too many meals. You could also slowly mix in some soften kibbles with the chicken to help him get use to the taste and over a few weeks, decrease the amount of water you use to soft the kibbles and decrease the chicken as well. If you end up just cooking for him, I would visit balanceit.com to ensure he is getting a balanced diet. I hope this helps !

You might consider soaking the dog food to make it softer/easier to eat since he is still young. Mixing a small amount of rice or cooked chicken breast or lean ground beef may entice him we just don't want him to fill up on those alone. I am not familiar with the Canine Creek food, be sure it is appropriate for puppies or switch to the Royal Canin puppy food as this is a reliable/trustworthy brand.

You're definitely on the right track with thinking that puppies as tiny as Norik need a reliable and regular feeding schedule in order to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), so it is important to find a food that he likes. I think it's important to be sure that medical problems that could potentially be affecting his appetite should be ruled out, especially if there are other symptoms (occasional vomiting, diarrhea, or other) that may indicate a parasite infestation or other problem. It's fine to try mixing in a bit of baby food (avoid recipes prepared with onion and garlic) or even a high quality canned puppy food (Royal Canin makes some good foods for puppies) to see if this stimulates his appetite. I have 2 small breed dogs and I have always had to feed a mixture of dry and canned to get them to eat. Also, I would consider maybe looking for a food that is specifically formulated for the nutritional needs of puppies. Ziwipeak might be a great adult dog food, and it's likely formulated with all life stages in mind, but as puppies have unique requirements because they are growing I would recommend a food made for puppies, at least until 10 - 12 months of age. Also, I would not recommend cheese, yogurt, or other dairy products, as dogs can be lactose intolerant.

There are so many high quality foods available for dogs that it can be confusing, and marketing becomes the biggest tool that food companies have to try to give their food the "edge." Be aware that this has led to A LOT of general misinformation. I give you this information openly and honestly as a professional who has devoted the last 10+ years to the health and care of pets. Dogs (and wolves for that matter) are omnivores, meaning they have evolved to seek to eat and digest meat AND plant material. In comparison, cats (and big cats such as lions, etc) are obligate carnivores, meaning they absolutely require meat as their primary food source. While some dogs may have sensitivities to diets with grain, many dogs do not. Just like people. And for those who do NOT have a problem with grains, they are a healthy contribution to the diet. That is just a fact. The trend to favoring "grain -free" diets has been pushed by marketing and the trend of fad diets for people that favor a "paleo" or "keto" diet. Many dog food brands and companies, and many specialty boutique brands have worked to push this idea that grains are bad for all dogs, when the science is just not there. And there has been information linking grain free diets to an increase in heart disease. See this article: http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/06/a-broken-heart-risk-of-heart-disease-in-boutique-or-grain-free-diets-and-exotic-ingredients/ Here is another great article summarizing how assuming "grain free" is better may be a mistake: http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2016/06/grain-free-diets-big-on-marketing-small-on-truth/ Here are some good resources to help you make decisions for Mini''s food. http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/banr/miscellaneous/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf http://www.acvn.org/frequently-asked-questions/ Thanks for asking PetCoach !