Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Jay

I've been asked to put up a 1 question survey concerning the brand of food Maltese are fed. If you could take about a minute to participate, that would be great. Thanks.
Survey is here

DISCUSSION:

The only food Harlee Dee & Travis will eat now is Purina Lamb & Rice. They will NOT even touch Iams or Eukanuba....go figure!
-Karen Kalamaras

I fed my puppy Eukanuba lamb & rice and it went right through her? She loved it but had the runs for 3 days. I had to change back to the regular flavor. I might try the Purina lamb & rice and see if it agrees with her better. Thanks Karen.
-Meranda

I am so glad you are doing this. I hope you keep the results for awhile. I am surprised that Eukanuba is in the lead. I guess I had better try it.
-Marsha A.

"Other" is coming in strong. I'd be interested to know what brands the "others" are. Can that be added to the survey?
-Debbie

Hi Jay, Now that's a good idea, and will be interesting! The Maltese girls here are on NUTRO, as it is the most natural and freshest of all the foods that the local pet supermarket carries here. Bel and the m&m girls...Missy, Mindy & Mimsy
-Bel & the m & m girls

Pixie Bella was on Nutro, but my vet sells Flint Ridge and I decided to try it, actually I decided to buy it for Pixie to try it. Pixie loves it! I only need to feed her 1/2 cup a day. She had no problems adjusting to it. Her stools are much better than when she was on the Nutro. I called Flint Ridge and they stated that their food is hypoallergenic and all natural ingredients--no corn--no preservatives, etc. Pixie licks her plate clean twice a day. She was very picky on the Nutro. The nice thing about Flint Ridge is that it is for puppies and adults--so I won't have to change her food as she grows up.
-Vicki

We tried quite a few brands of dogfood when we got our maltese, Abby. She really liked both Iams Puppy food and Purina Puppy Chow. She didn't care for the Kibbles and Bits dog food. She is now a little over 8 months old and I am going to gradually shift her from the puppy food to the regular dog food (probably Purina Lamb and rice....since that appears to be a favorite with the other Maltese dogs).
-Rebecca

I use to feed my dog Lamb and Rice Nutro, but my dog didn't like the flavor, so we asked are vet to recomend a dog food. He recomended Perscription Diet from Hill. Hill makes Science Diet. My dog loved Prescription diet and he never touched Nutro. I would recomend Perscription Diet for everyone. You can only get it at your vet. Not at pet stores and markets.
-Unknown

Munchkin's breeder had him on IAMS puppy food, but it seemed to be a bit constipating for him. Also, he didn't seem to care for it & often ate very little. I gradually switched him over to Nutro puppy -- lamb & rice. He loves it & licks his bowl clean & his stools are much better now.
-Carole W.

Lucy hated all the "high-end" dog foods. She was eating something called Nature's something or other when I got her, but I could never find it anywhere. So, I tried Iams, Ekubana, and on and on, hoping to find the quality food she'd eat. She merely sniffed at most of them or ate 2 or 3 bites and walked away. I am a big label reader, especially wanting to be careful that nothing she is fed has equanithal (or however it is spelled) in it. (Not so easy, by the way). At any rate, I bought her Pedigree Little Bites to try and my goodness, she turned into a piglet. So that's what we eat here.
-cathy brown

My Maltese eat Pedigree mealtime. I was feeding my female Purina Pro Plan and she refused to eat it. She rather eat my Brittany's bowl of pedigree so I switched all the maltese over to Pedigree and they love it.
-Kim

My Jasper loves Hills Perscription diet as well. My Vet suggested the brand and that is the only canned food he will eat. I also feed him Pedigree hard food.
-Susan Fox

Baby's was on Ekubana for 7 years but ever since her bladder surgery shes been on UD by Hills. She hates it but eats it twice aday. 1/4 cup each time.
-Marilyn

My maltese eats Nutro Max mini kibble. He has been on this for several years. But, as of late I think that he hates it, we are in the process of changing foods and it looks like we will be with Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken if the transition goes well.
-Emma

Elwood never met anything he wouldn't eat but we try to keep him on Purina Lamb & Rice. He seems to like it fine. He is 17 mos..
-Dave

We started out with frozen Bil-Jac which is what the breeder started her on. But when we moved to Colo, couldn't find it anywhere. Switched to Natures Recipe & she seems to like it just fine, although she misses the DING of the microwave when din-din was ready. She thought I was a good cook!
-Debbie

I recently rescued a wonderful maltese who we have named Happy. We have tried many different kinds of food. I'm so confused! Everyone recommends something different. The pet store recommended advanced pet diet.He ate it okay. The groomer recommended Innova Canine. He seems to like that a little better.Everyone says their food is the best. What's a new mom to do???
-Valarie

I have six cats, and when I first got my maltese (I have two, the male "Doodle Bug" is 3 and the female "Scarlett" is 11 months old) I fed the dogs Iams puppy food. However, they preferred the Iams cat food I had sitting out. So it's what they now eat. It seems to agree with them. The only time they have bowel problems is when I can't resist their sweet begging and give them table food.
-Pam

Pam,When I first brought Lucy home, I was told to mix a little cat food with the dry food until she got used to dry food alone (they suggested a week or so, and I followed directions and switched her to dry mixed with just a teeny bit of Pedigree in the foil package). My mom's cat came to live with us about 6 mo ago, and Luce was chowing down on the Purina Cat Chow (dry) so I asked my vet about it. Her response was that Lucy loved it because it was so rich but that eating it would turn her tubby in a hurry so I should keep her away from it. I am wondering if your kids are on the chubby side??? The vet said for small dogs such as Maltese, the further away from cat food the better for their weight. So, I'm curious...
-cathy brown

Eukanuba has always been a favorite of ours.
-Robin

When I first got my Maltese he was eating Iams puppy food because that is what he was being fed and I thought "Why change?" Within a few weeks he discovered the Hills Prescription diet I feed our cats and was eating it like crazy. So, I switched him to Hills Presription Diet Canine Growth and now that Sebestian is just over a year old, recently moved up to Canine Maintenance Small Bites. He loves it!
-Mary Ellen

I went into a new pet store yesterday and asked the owner about solutions to the tearstaining problem that my 4 month old male maltese has (his name is Casey). She told me that a lot of the tearstaining problem can be related to diet. When she asked me what kind of dog food I feed Casey and I responded with Eukanuba - she GASPED. She said it is the worst food! Because of the incredibly high content of protein in the Eukanuba it has been known to cause Kidney damage (and even cancer) in adult dogs that have been eating it all their lives. Naturally, she tried to switch me to the brand that she carries in her pet store (NUTRO). I need help. I don't know if I should believe that Eukanuba is such a big health problem or is she just trying to switch me to something that she will make a profit on! I have been doing my research on this wonderful Maltese Only Web page, and it seems that Eukanuba is the most popular food for Maltese - so can it really be as bad as she says?? Look forward to some responses!!
-Kim

Louie is not really interested in his food, but I think I've hit on a good one now. Innova. They've been in business about 5 years, and they promote it as human-quality ingredients. Natural preservatives, etc. Louie has been eating it about a month and a half, now, and almost without coaxing. (I think he didn't like something chemical in the other foods.) Cornucopia is another I was going to try to get, based on its quality of ingredients. Diane
-Diane Kaylor

Kim, in specific response to your question on Eukanuba -- I did some research because my Louie preferred Eukanuba to most foods before I found Innova. I think that it's easy for people to get excited about the need to clean up commercial dog food, to express the need for quality protein, for natural preservatives, etc., but no one has all the answers. The woman you met was probably talking about a preservative Ethoxyquin and some others like BTA or something similar, which have tested to produce cancer when introduced in large quantities. (All is debateable in how the cumulative effect builds.) People who have had trouble with a dog in terms of kidney damage have seemed to find a solution through a better diet, there is a trend out there for improving the quality for everydog. Questioning slogans, learning to read labels, and asking hard questions is what is needed. But along the line you'll get lots of advice that isn't all that much better than what you do now. My vet admits most vets aren't nutritionists, so we're on our own to learn. And my vet says Louie's weight and teeth are just as important as finding THE BEST food (he keeps me balanced ). Diane
-Diane Kaylor

Until I found this site, I didn't know that you shouln't feed human food to maltese! Rastus was a real "eatabus anythingus". For most of his 16 years he ate a casserole which was one third each of meat, soup veggies, and rice. The meat I used was lamb (cut from a lamb leg from the butcher) when he was older, when he was younger he had steak and kidney, and when he was a puppy the meat was minced beef. This casserole also had other human things such as small amounts of garlic and herbs, and barley. I used to make a large batch and freeze it into 3-4 day portions. He loved it! He also got occasional table scraps (no cake or chocolate etc) and, at the vet's suggestion, a raw chicken wing to help clean his teeth 3 times a week. When we get our new babies in a couple of months I had planned to give them a similar diet (the vet thought it was OK) but after reading what you folk say about human food I am not so sure.
-Deanna