I have 4 toy poodles, varying in size, weight and age. My 3rd youngest is a bitch, 20 months old, who since she was spayed at 1 year old has consistently put on weight. To be honest, she was such a fussy easter as a young pup (I used to have to hand fed her) I have never really worried abut the amount that she eats. But I think I may have  been overfeeding her. I can pinch an inch easily - and she does agility!!

So I have been reducing her intake, no titbits and watching her while she eats so she doesnt scrounge from the others. My real worry is that I was happily feeding Bakers Complete then read some posts on here about how cr** it is.

Can someone please advise on what I can be using to feed them - the pieces need to be small enough for them. I dont want a lite diet for Ella, would much rather they were all on the same food and I just reduce her intake and up exercise. Burns doesnt suit my older boy (5) so that is out of the question.

Any advice appreciated - thanks - Jane

Hi Jane have you considered a raw meat and bones sort of diet, im sure there is probably a lot of information  in past posts here about it .There are also some very good web site dedicated to it. :-)
Martin.

I have Martin - but dont honestly think that I can give it the commitment that is needed to feed BARF properly - at least I am honest I guess! I do agility with my dogs and as such, through the summer we are away at least every weekend in the caravan and sometimes for a week at a time. I have enough problems feeding my daughter and I properly when we are away lol - so a complete food for them I think. Thanks anyway.

Jane

I quite understand Jane, I have been feeding a barf diet for about 6 months, and am finding it is testing my commitment whilst doing it at home. I cant imagine trying it from a caravan or away from home as you say , but then maybe someone here can and does and would share some tips.;-)

Nature Diet makes an excellent alternative when away from home :)

Daisy

Hi Jane,

I am looking after my mums toy poodle while she is in hospital.  My mum feeds her poodle on the Royal Canin Poodle food which is very small and easy for a toy poodle to eat.  Polly (mums poodle) seems to like it anyway.  I have also given her Lamb and Rice Nature diet (warmed in microwave so that it goes a bit sloppy) and she wolfed it down.  Forgot to add mums poodle hasn't got any teeth and is 10 1/2 years old :-)

I prefer to give my dogs pieces that are too big to eat in one piece would your poodles not manage to do this?.  Its the crunchy of dry food that helps keep their teeth clean.  My dog is 10 1/2 and has all her teeth ;)

Well mums dog has been on dried food for years and all the crunching hasn't done much for her teeth I'm afraid :-(   (the food she was on wasn't the poodle food though but can't remember what it was, although I know it was definitely dried because mum believes dried food is better)

Just being dry is not enough though, it has to be too big to eat without crunching thus causing a scrape up over the teeth.

Well for all I know it might have been Isabel, as I said its my mums dog not mine :-)  She has had trouble with her teeth for quite a long time.