The Royal Canin controversy

[Noe]

I've been reading your views on Royal Canin and other dry food brands and I have to say I'm a little confused.

I've never been a dog dad before, so this is the first time that I'm searching for this stuff and I have tried pretty much everything that is available here in Greece: Acana, Orijen and Blue are supposed to be great (right?) and I tried several times to switch from Royal Canin gradually, but even though my 13-month male pug will eat anything (no problems with the brand whatsoever!), Royal Canin is the one that seems to be best for him.

I mean, when trying to switch to Acana, Orijen or Blue, he would poop like six times a day and his poop was, well, very diarrhoea-like (too much information?). It's like he couldn't metabolize them - even when I gave him 2/3 Royal Canin and 1/3 Blue, he still had problems. And it's not like I didn't give it enough time gave him time - with Blue, for example, I tried for one month and eventually gave up.

With Royal Canin he only poops two times a day and his poop seems like perfect quantity for his size, so I'm thinking why bother? Then again, everyone seems to think that Royal Canin is the devil's food so I don't know what else to do. (Keep in mind that not all Dog Food brands are available here in Greece - one that I have not tried yet is Nutro-something, is it good?)

A clarification: we haven't switched to adult food yet, is it possible that the adult ones would have better results?

As you all probably know I cannot ask a vet since everyone seems to think that "Royal Canin is top".

Thank you everyone.

[Rosiepug]

I think Royal Canin is fine if that's what suits him.
I used to feed it myself before I went Raw. I prefer RC to many of the other commercial foods. In fact my Vet once said to me "whatever you feed your dogs (and she never asked what is was) continue because they are in great health with superb coats and glossy eyes".

If I didn't feed Raw, I'd feed Royal Canin Indoor or Almo Nature.

[Angus2009]

RC is fab all my dogs look great on it! If i had my way tho i would feed RAW but unfortunately i dont have time or freezer space to do so!
RC is the only kibble my pugs will eat, its just the perfect size for them. I dont really like the pug RC tho, Angus wouldnt touch it, hes quite fussy with the shape of kibblie and the Pug food is alot bigger than the RC mini food.

[Snifter]

I agree - if your dog is doing well on the food then carry on. You have done your best to move to brands which may be viewed as better by some but if they don't suit him there's not much you can do about it.

[Pinkles]

A clarification: we haven't switched to adult food yet, is it possible that the adult ones would have better results?

I switch mine at about 6 months, after neutering, due to all the extra calories in puppy food

[Stazz]

I have fed Yoda Ziwi Peak, from about 6 or 7 months old, he'll be 1yr next month, and I will never touch another brand.. Each to his own of course, but Ziwi Peak is fantastic. His poop is healthy and not smelly, he barely has smelly gas, and it keeps the weight off of him, with good exercise. I've never used Royal Canin, so can't' advise on it, but thats just my 2 cents :)

[jstpugginalong]

I feed RC to my entire gang and they not only love it but they all do fantastic on it! I tried the Pug formula but have since switched to the lite formula for small dogs and they love it and are looking and feeling great!

[Bethy]

There's an old Texas saying............."If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

If what you are feeding is working, don't listen to others, who may not have had as good results with their dogs, on the same product. If your dog does well on a certain food, keep him on it. Switching back and forth, isn't good for a dog, especially a puppy.
'

[Wally 'n' Leto]

I agree with Beth - if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Wally seems to do best on Medical Gastro, even though the first 2 ingredients are not meat, and we know it's not the best food. We figure that if he's not vomiting, doesn't have diarrhea, and we can't hear his guts rumble from 2 rooms away (seriously!!), that makes us better parents than giving great food to an upset tummy!! We are able to mix in about 1/3 by volume of a high quality wet feed, but that's it. Anything more, and he's a G.I. mess and drops weight like crazy.

Oh, and by the way, when it comes to GI health, there isn't ever too much detail about . It's amazing to me how obsessive I have become about checking the little details of it every day!

Good luck!

[GotPugs]

WOW! RC still uses corn,corn gluten & wheat gluten in their foods. UGH! These are some of the major things to stay away from. The other foods you mention are a bit high in protein and can cause runny poos in some pugs. I'd stay in the protein range of 24% to no more than 28% and see if that make a difference. There are many high quality kibbles in that more of a "normal" protein range. The higher protein foods are more for working/larger breed dogs that can process it properly.