Hi all.
I've not posted in a long while but am desperately needing advice.

I have a shih-tzu/bichon puppy girl whom I absolutely adore with all my heart. I want the BEST of the best complete dry food for her.
I nearly lost her a few weeks ago due to her being contaminated with Cryptosporidium when we collected her from the breeder (long story) BUT thankfully by the skin of her teeth and by the grace of God, she pulled through and is now clear of the parasite.

She's been on different foods for the first few weeks we had her whilst my vet tried to find out what was causing her diarrhea issues (before diagnosis), these ranged from Science Plan (original and Vets Essentials range), Science Plan ID Natures Diet wet food etc etc. She didn't like any of these but tolerated them.
Once we found the cause, I changed her (with the agreement of my vet) to change her to a food of my choice.... obviously this was slowly introduced over a period of time. I opted for Royal Canin Shih-Tzu Junior (24 I believe) as I thought this was a good food (according to my vet!) but having read reviews etc, I an't sure no more.
She is constantly scratching (she does not have fleas and is regularly treated every month for this as well as for worms). She is now nearly 4mths of age and is gaining weight nicely and thriving BUT I'm not happy with the food she has and neither is she. She will pick at her kibble and really does not enjoy it... that's clear to see! Vet has said to leave her on the Royal Canin but I dunno, I HAVE to listen to my gut instinct on this one and change the food.

So, I've been doing some extensive research online and Orijen is a far superior complete dry food with a high content of meat. my puppy LOVES her meat treats (the deli range you can buy which are usually fish sticks, duck fillets, chicken fillets and cooked ham bones) so I'm thinking she may well love Orijen's Puppy food.

I really want to give it a go BUT I have noticed in reviews etc that it's very high in protein. As a little shih-tzu/bichon mix who is primarily an indoor pet, is too much protein for her little body a bad thing or is Arden grange's complete dry food a better option. Sadly though I cannot find Arden Grange in a puppy food form, only adult.

PLEASE help me choose which is best. If you have experience of either Orijen or Arden Grange, what are your views?? My head is about to explode as I try to find what's the best of the best for my little precious girl.

Much Thanks in advance to you all. xxx

I would use either Orijen or Arden Grange - AG do a puppy food (in the blue bag). Personally, I've come round to thinking I prefer a natural wet food like Naturediet, Natures Menu or Natures Harvest, with just a small amount of dry food or none at all.

The protein in Orijen is a good meat source, so no problems there, but I just personally think something like Naturediet is easier to digest and has a more "natural" moisture level.

Thanks Henry.
I did try her on Natures Diet wet food in the past but she didn't like it so that failed I guess. James Wellbeloved wet food she LOVED which I used to mix into her dry food in the early days (when weaning from wet to dry food) but I've always thought wet food was both more expensive to feed and taht it also gave dogs tartar issues more easily.
Am I right or wrong in thinking that??

Wrong sadly, it's the carbohydrates in the food that cause teeth issues, wet or dry. Neither is better for the teeth. Wainwrights wet is £8 for 12 trays and has about 70% meat. Excellent food. More meat and less rice than Nature diet. And is very cheap to feed.

Few raw chicken wings a week will keep her teeth all sparkly though.

I'd say give orijen a try, you can always switch to the lower protein Acana if it doesn't suit..

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i and thanks for your reply. Just googled wainwrights so will read up on that shortly but was wondering... the puppy food of orijen is 40% protein... isn't that too high for such a small bread??

I've got a Bichon and whilst she's not a puppy I put her on Orijen when I first got her and she was fine on it, she's now on a raw diet and it doesn't touch the sides . I thought I was going to have a problem with her diet as she was used as a breeding machine to some s0d of a farmer somewhere but she's been fine.

She should be fine. Obviously not all foods suit all dogs, so it can't be guaranteed.

The protein in orijen comes from meat, and can be digested properly, the issue with high protein when it comes from cereal is that dogs can't digest it correctly, it will be converted to glucose first. Which may cause the dog to become hyper.

My youngest staffy pup was on Orijen puppy and was absolutely fine. When I switched to adult food it didn't suit my other dog. But like I said, not all foods suit all dogs. I feed taste of the wild now (with wainwrights wet), similar to orijen, a little cheaper and a little less protein, simply because it suits both boys.

If I were you, if it suits your budget I'd not hesitate to try either orijen or acana. With a dod that size it will wrk out super cheap to feed per day.

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My girls where on JWB kibble with a little JWB wet but my problem with the wet s with them all in our pet shops is that to buy it by the box works out less expensive but there seems to be no variety boxes and mine like the variety of flavours, I've ended up changing the wet to Natures menu because they seem to be the only ones to do a variety box. is this the norm or is it just in the pet shops round here?
ALSO............errrr.....where are the picis of this pooch?

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Staffy x Lab almost 10...Fizz
Ginger Tom 2 1/2...Tilly
Bichon x King charles spanel 1 yr 10 months
Latest addition Tex the black shep 11 1/2 years foster pooch
How can I forget my fish..i have 13 tropical fish too...err...2 cats 2 neon and one lemon tetra...2 err...will have to go look and get back on that one i can't remember the names lol
My Dogs are the centre of my world
RIP Dolly Sadly Passed away 7pm 6/3.2011

The high protein level in Orijen is not an issue because you feed less of it than lower protein kibble. Mine have about a third less in weight than the RC I fed before, so they actually eat about the same amount of protein that they did before without out all the filler and the benefit of better quality and more varied sources of protein.