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A note about kibble:

Kibble is convenient and economical, is useful for traveling and also good to leave out as a snack for young puppies to prevent low blood sugar.  It can be a part of a healthy diet, but should not necessarily make up 100% of a dog’s diet, as it is highly processed, high in carbohydrate and low in fresh protein.

No matter how well-formulated a kibble is, it will always contain at least 50% and up to 70% or more grains and/or starches. Dogs have no requirement for dietary carbohydrate.  Grains and starches are added to kibble to make the kibble hold its shape and as filler- they are not there for any nutritional benefits. 

 Because of the above, I recommend feeding kibble for convenience, but in conjunction with grain-free canned foods, freeze-dried raw foods and/or prepared raw diets. 

Some good brands of  kibble:

Annamaet- Ultra formula- An excellent all life stages diet!

Canine Caviar Chicken & Millet Puppy formula- an excellent, gluten free line of foods.

EAGLE PACK- foods are gluten free.  Original Holistic line is excellent for pregnant females as the moderate calcium content will not predispose them to uterine inertia or eclampsia.

HEALTHWISE- Chicken & Rice Puppy formula- excellent for all life stages! This high quality line of food is also very reasonably priced. 

NATURAL BALANCE - Duck & Potato or Venison & Brown Rice.  These two are their best formulas for all life stages as they contain moderate calcium levels. The Duck formula also comes in small bites- perfect for chihuahuas!

ORIJEN -This is an excellent food for adult show dogs that are under a lot of stress or nursing moms.  It is extremely concentrated. 

PETGUARD Lifespan and Lifepath Organics- This is a wonderful line of healthy foods.

Precise Chicken & Rice Foundation formula- another excellent, gluten free food for all life stages. 

Royal Canin Mini Babydog 30-Royal Canin's best all life stages diet.  Does not contain wheat and has moderate calcium levels.

Royal Canin Mini Special 30-Royal Canin's best adult diet- high meat content, no wheat and moderate calcium levels.  Beauty Care, Mini Dental Hygiene, Mini Adult 27 and Chihuahua formulas are also wheat free decent maintenance diets, but do not contain as much meat protein as the Special formula.

Verus- Life Advantage Chicken Meal, Oats & Brown Rice formula. All life stages.

WYSONG Optimal Performance- Chunks of freeze-dried raw meat combined with the best quality kibble. Excellent for all life stages!

WYSONG Nurture with free-range pheasant- an extremely palatable formula with chunks of freeze-dried pheasant meat.  This is an excellent food for all life stages. 

WYSONG PRESCRIPTION DIETS- Wysong manufactures the highest quality prescription diets on the market today.  If your veterinarian prescribes a special food for your dog, Wysong will have the healthy alternative to it!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A note about dental health: Kibble does NOT provide dental benefits for your dog as the manufacturers would like you to believe.  When chewed, it turns into a carbohydrate- based mush that sticks to the teeth and causes plaque and gum disease. If you are feeding kibble, you must supply appropriate items to chew and try to brush your dog's teeth regularly.

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Recommended canned foods:

Canned foods tend to be higher in meats and lower in grains, which makes them a step above kibble.  Here are some excellent quality canned foods:

 Petguard Organic and all natural holistic canned foods

Newman's Own Organics

EVO

Fromm 4 Star entrees

Castor & Pollux

Weruva

A note about "All Meat" canned formulas:

There are "all meat" canned formulas on the market that cannot be fed alone as meal replacements, as they could cause dietary imbalances. They can, however, be added in small amounts to kibble to increase the meat content.   Evanger's All Meat formulas  (Also available at petfooddirect.com) are excellent.  They sell 100% all meat pheasant, buffalo, chicken, organic chicken, lamb, beef, duck and rabbit. Wysong also makes high quality all meat canned formulas, as does Wellness.  Surprisingly, some of these "all meat" canned foods contain quite a bit of calcium, so use very sparingly for pregnant girls or growing puppies.

Click on the links below to learn more:

TREATS AND CHEWS RECOMMENDATIONS

RAW FOOD RECOMMENDATIONS