# What healthy dry food to feed picky chihuahua?



## kikimaliki (Dec 16, 2008)

I have a typically healthy six year old chihuahua who has been on dry nutro lamb & rice formula, along with snacks of healthy real food (plain chicken and meats when I cook).
There have been no problems with the nutro, but recently my chi got very sick, and vomited for two days straight, the vet treated her but had no answers as to the cause. The only thing she had eaten was a bowl of nutro dog food, from a fresh package. I have no idea if it caused her illness, but after some further research, it does not appear that this is the best dog food.

So I have been buying samples and bags of higher quality food, but so far she does not seem to like any of them. So far she has tried: Timberwolf Ocean (she loves salmon, but does not like this!), Orej (sp?) chicken, BG Salmon. 
Questions: is it worthwhile to keep trying different flavors from these same brands? Are there other brands and specific flavors that are perhaps more chi-friendly? My chi is tiny (4 pounds) so price is not a factor, but it is exhausting trying to get her to eat all these different food types, and not many samples are available so I am stuck with big bags of uneaten dog food.


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## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

I had my little girl on Eagle Pack for quite a while and she seemed to like all varieties of it. It's a quality food that I would have stuck with, except we moved and I haven't been able to find it again at any of the stores near me.

So now.. she is on Wellness, which is also a quality food. She definitely didn't like the lamb flavour, but enjoyed the chicken, and is now on the small breed type.


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

i am really sorry that your doggie got sick and that you are now having trouble finding something that she will like. my puppy, iorek, is picky and right now he is eating eagle pack holistic select duck and oatmeal. he really seems to like it a lot, it is the only food that he actually eats, and not just picks at. the kibbles are on the smaller side, but i don't know how they would be for your little girly. evo has small bites that are really small. you could give that one a try, they have a turkey and chicken based food and a red meat food. good luck!!

oh, just an idea for the bags of food that she doesn't like - maybe you could donate it to a local shelter? they would love it!!


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## BluePit (Dec 18, 2008)

kikimaliki, 

I know what you're going through, people, come into my store saying they can't find a dry food there dog likes. You have a few options, you can add some tasty supplements to it or mix it with evangers 100% duck (It seems that most dog loves this). There's also Merrick Gourmet foods which is also a quality food, that when water is poured on it, it turns to gravy. 

If you're interested, I can put together a complete sample pack of all the food we carry and send them to you. If you're willing to pay the shipping and live in the US. I get the samples for free, but unfortunately, Fedex doesn't ship for free. Once you find something your dog enjoy's, find a local retailer with the product. It's pricey to ship food. But it might not be too bad, since you won't be ordering 30 lb bags for your dog. 

Send me a PM or just email me from the contact screen at my store, if you're interested.


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## kikimaliki (Dec 16, 2008)

Thank you everyone for your replies. I was deleting some old emails and ran across this link, and wanted to follow up and let everyone know that after trying at least 15 different types of premium dog foods, the chihuahua finally settled on Abady lamb and rice kibble. Unfortunately, it is a huge pain to track down and even in NYC the shops are often sold out. But I managed to find a 20 pound bag and vacuum seal it into smaller portions. I admit I cried when my chi actually ate this stuff for the first time.


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## Best*In*Show (Mar 14, 2009)

Oh, I totally hear you!! I will cry when Ruby gets on a good diet, finally. She's so picky that she will starve herself if she doesn't like the food. She's been loosing weight and I've finally just given in and been giving chicken/rice until I can figure something else out!! I will try the Abady, maybe she'll like that one.


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