# Looking for Min Pin Diet Advice



## dogmom2.5 (Oct 12, 2011)

Hello All, I am new here, but have been reading your forum for a few days. You all seem to know your stuff so I thought I'd sign up and ask a question. :wave:

I am dog sitting a friend's min pin for a couple of months and was hoping you could give me info about an ideal diet. My friend has always given him a bowl of kibble and allowed him to graze throughout the day. Seeing as I have two of my own dogs this won't work at all. In the few days since I have had him I have gotten him adjusted to their feeding schedule. 

My questions are more geared towards how much should I feed him and what? He's eating about 3/4C to 1C total every day. He also gets treats, but I'm trying to be cautious right now while I figure the food thing out. I am told he weighs about 12lbs, but should be 10 (he looks a little chunky, but not huge). I have zero experience with small dogs (my current two are 35-40lbs and the smallest I've ever owned). Am I feeding this guy too much? Not enough? 

I should probably also add that his activity level has increased dramatically since he's been at my house. We don't always get a walk in every day, but he does run around with my two in the backyard a lot. My friend lives in an apartment so he'd usually get short walks to do his business. 

As for food, he eats IAMs for small dogs. I know it isn't a great quality food. My friend said it was one of the few things that didn't upset his stomach. He has snatched a few bites of Kirkland from my dogs, and been fine, but the pieces are just too big for him. Any suggestions on something that might be good for him? I live close to a really great local pet store that carries a huge variety of quality foods. It can't be too expensive since money is tight. I figure since he's small it should go a long way. 

Thoughts? I really appreciate you taking the time to read my rambling and respond. Thanks!


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## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

Well, for a food like Iams, 1 cup a day is probably not too far off. Usually higher quality foods you feed less of. I feed my very active 16lb'er about 3/4 cup of kibble per day. Right now it's Natural Balance Lamb and Rice. Sometimes it's about 2/3 cup per day if he's less active. He also gets some canned food (Weruva). 

Kibble size usually hasn't been an issue for us. He likes bigger kibbles. My friends 4.5lb'er eats Acana perfectly fine.

If he has a sensitive stomach, I am not sure I'd go switching foods around on him. But California Natural and Innova make some simple formulas for the sensitive tummy. Pinnacle and Go!/Now! also have some, I believe. Nature's Variety has a LID formula with pretty small bites.


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## dogmom2.5 (Oct 12, 2011)

Thanks for your advice! I had thought about not switching his food, but my friend is the one who actually suggested it. One reason is because it's surprisingly hard to find. I went to several stores and finally found it for $15 for an 8lb bag. I didn't buy it because I know I can get higher quality foods for not much more. Also, I am highly allergic to wheat, which makes handling his food difficult (I am so sensitive that my skin breaks out from just touching it). I may try him on the Kirkland more before making the switch (we have about two weeks left on his food tops) and see if he's okay. I was wondering about smaller kibble just because he seemed to struggle a bit with what he stole from the bigger dogs.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

If you are going to switch his food do it gradually by decreasing his food now and adding a little of the other in with the old to make up for it. After a while he will just be eating the new food. If you make the switch too fast he could wind up with diarrhea. 

I feed a rotation diet of Taste of the Wild to my Miniature Pinscher because he is allergic to wheat. At first I thought he was going to have trouble with the kibble size but after while he got use to it. If you are thanking about a new food and are willing to spend that much I would suggest it.  Good luck (I would love to see photos of the Min Pin if you have any.)

EDIT: I would also like to say that my Min Pin too has a sensitive stomach and he does well on TOTW.


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## dogmom2.5 (Oct 12, 2011)

Thanks so much for your help! I didn't realize that small dogs could eat regular sized kibble. I didn't even realize small dogs had smaller kibble until I saw his. When I started googling everything I read said they needed small bites. So naturally I assumed that's what he needed, but I guess that's what I get for listening to my dear friend google. 

While eating the Iams he seems to be constipated often. He had the opposite problem before so I am just hoping to find something that will work better overall for him. I'm willing to spend a little more on him because my friend is paying for all of his necessities and paying me to watch him (I begged her not to). I'd rather just spend a little extra on good, quality food. Since my two dogs are a bit bigger I feed them Kirkland and they do very well on it. It's affordable and it works for them. If I could I'd feed them better as well, but money is tight.

Here's an attempt at a photo. I'm not sure how well the sizing and resolution are going to come out. My husband snapped this last week as he was running around our yard meeting my dogs. I'm not sure where he got into cobwebs, but he was covered in them.


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## dogmom2.5 (Oct 12, 2011)

Update! 

Well the little guy started stealing food from the dishes of my two. I decided to go ahead and give him a try on their food since he seemed to be doing okay. At first he was eating both foods, but by the time I worked him to a 50/50 mix he was picking out the Kirkland food and only eating that. I still keep trying to give the Iams, but he's not eating it. Usually one of my two sees him stop and darts for his dish to see what's left then he'll bolt for theirs. So for now he'll be eating Kirkland since it agrees with him. He seems to be eating a lot less too. About 1/4 C in the mornings and 1/2C in the evenings. I have stopped worrying so much about over/under feeding him. 

I hadn't noticed him slimming down any, but he seemed a little lighter. Now that I'm looking at the pic I posted last week (taken another week prior) he is looking a little slimmer in the belly area. He has slipped out of his harness a few times, which my friend tells me he has never done before. I am thrilled that he appears to be losing some weight.

Many thanks for the helpful suggestions from this board!


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