Mummiko, I worry about your dog having only 1 bm a day -- and very small, solid ones at that. I'm not a big advocate of lots of large, messy poopers, but it seems as if your baby should be producing more than that.

Thanks for your concern moufette - it's so sweet of you! And I'm sorry - I should have been more specific: "very little" is relative - haha = )... Before, she was pooping RIDICULOUSLY large amounts... Very abnormal... It was like she was basically pooping out everything she had eaten, and then some... Some of the poops she had were nearly bigger than her own head! It did not seem as though she were absorbing much (if any) of the nutritional value in the food she was eating. She kept getting eye infections, and she had a constant itch/dandruff as well. In contrast, she is now at an ideal weight, and very healthy on this food. Her fur is very soft and fluffy, and she has no more dandruff, her infections have gone away and she is otherwise very healthy. Also, on her other foods, she always seemed famished; she would tear at the carpet and eat pieces of it, and try to eat ANYTHING and everything that she could get her little paws on. Now, she sticks to her own toys and treats (though I'm sure some of this could be attributed to training as well, but she just seems less "starved" all of the time on this particular food). In addition, her poop is "normal" sized (for her size - she is only 9 lbs after all), and while she normally has one BM a day, there are some days she has two (when we're a bit more generous with the treats, or on her high energy days when we feed her a little extra).

Also, I should probably note that on some days we've found that she needs more than the recommended amount. (Ziwipeak package recommends 1 scoop a day for an 11 lb adult dog, and about double that amount for a puppy or female that is nursing. I give miko about 2 scoops a day, but on high energy days i.e. days we take her on a hike or an extra long walk or something similar, I give her an extra half scoop of food).

Got it! Thanks for responding. 9 lbs? What is she? How old is she?

It's interesting that you are finding that her coat has gotten better on Ziwipeak. I'm hoping that my golden mix, who has all your Mikos' symptoms, will glossen up (is that a new phrase I just made up?!?!). If not, I'll try Ziwipeak. She's coming off raw, so her reaction hasn't been as bad as the other's I've read, here.

I was worried about small, hard poops, because my other two get those when thay have too many bones -- too much calcium.

No worries - you know, I've heard a lot of really great reviews from people I've talked to who use Orijen and they LOVE it. I had really wanted Orijen to work out bc it's a lot more reasonably priced than Ziwipeak, too, but ah well... shouldn't have messed with what worked.

Miko's 6.5 mos old, and she's a Shiba Inu... a little smaller than most other Shibas her age, but she was small as a pup and I think she may just be undersized (she's very healthy proportionately, so it doesn't appear to have anything to do with the nutritional value of her food).

Also, about the Ziwipeak - It seems a bit more difficult than other types of foods to find stores that will stock it because it's such an expensive food compared to other dog foods....but I did find it somewhere online and stacked on a couple sales along with "new customer" discounts at some online store and managed to buy 4 bags for $72 (after shipping). So for smaller dogs it's a lot less ridiculous in terms of price (i think those 4 bags should last Miko at least 3 mos, until she exceeds 11 lbs) but if you have a golden mix, it might get a bit costly... So i really hope the Orijen works out well for you!!

Good luck!

ps - the four bags I bought were each 2.2 lb bags, but they also sell it in an 11 lb bag that is a little less than $100. I think on that website it was like $88 or so with the sale they had going on. If you do a google search for completepetmart, that was where I found it... and if you sign up for their email list I think you get an instant 10% or 5% extra off or something along those lines.. :)

I love shibas! There are a couple at my dog park. I researched Ziwipeak online, and it is absolutely prohibitive. Not only do I have a Golden mix, who weighs in at 65 lbs (underweight), but I also have a pit/jindo mix (75 lbs) and a chow/aussie mix (82 lbs). I already spend close to $100 a month on home-prepared raw food. THe only reason I'm going back onto commercial is because of Mia's skin problems. ($100 for 11 lbs?!?!?!?)

You live in DC? It seems that you'd have lots of places that cater to "shooshy" poochies there. I live in LA and we certainly do! THanks for the heads up on completepetmart. Maybe I'll see what the Orijen costs through them!!! Have a great weekend.

Moufette - if you live in LA, there's a great little doggie boutique called "D.O.G." boutique on La Cienega (north of beverly center) that usually has little sample packs of the Ziwipeak on hand if you feel like trying it out or even just using them as a supplement or a treat for your Golden mix's food. I don't think I saw Orijen there, but maybe they'd have other recs for you as far as more affordable, but high quality food for your poochies. Their sales associates are very helpful there. :) They probably won't remember the name "Miko", but if you tell them the girl who bought the grass box and drove cross-country to DC sent u there, they might remember me.. hee hee ;)

There ARE stores in DC that cater to "shooshy" poochies, but they don't carry nearly as much high end stuff as the LA stores do! =)