My Lhasa Apso and Shih Tzu have digestive trouble with their current dog food - Bil-Jac. I purchased California Natural Lamb and Rice, but the nuggets are so large and hard that my one dog won't eat them. She picks them out of the bowl and sets them on the floor. Does anyone make a high quality dog food sufficient for a small dog????

RubyPitbull

jwebb, have you spoken to your vet about this? He/she would be the best person to advise you. There are many decent chows that are made into "little bites" for small dogs. Hill's science diet makes a good one for small dogs. So does Purina. You should be able to get both of those from a pet store. Their "prescription" diets are only sold through vets. Both products are created by veterinarians who have studied pet nutrition. I have more faith in products like that than ones created by someone who doesn't have any formal education in pet nutrition.

When you finally choose a product to switch to, do the switch slowly over a one week period. Add a little of the new food and take away a little of the old food at each feeding until they are eventually fully on the new food. This will avoid major gastric upset that is usually caused by a sudden switch in food.

froggy7

Also, the California Natural comes in "small bites" and "large bites", which is on the label but not as prominent as I would like when I am grabbing a bag for my dog. So you might want to check and see if you got the large bites by mistake. All the spots I've gotten that brand from have been willing to refund/exchange products, so that might be an option for you as well.

jwebb

Thank you for your feedback. As for the California Natural, I'll check the bag when I get home. When I bought the bag, they gave me some sample packs which are what I've been trying before I open the bag. I noticed that the samples say "large bite". We have been crushing it for the lhasa so she'll eat it. I notice that she is not having the acid reflux she usually has, so maybe this food will be good for her. Have a great day.