FAQ: What do you feed your Frenchie?

FrancinesDaddies · Jan 25, 2018

Honeys Owners said:
Try switching her to grain free non chicken dehydrated raw eg. Honest Kitchen or Grandma Lucy's. If she does better then consider eventually switching her to frozen raw which is even healthier but less convenient.

I switched her yesterday to a poultry free diet and already that seems to have hardened up her stool. I also started her on some pumpkin and bought a probiotic for when she is done with the pumpkin. I also found that every single one of their treats was poultry based so I got rid of those and purchased new poultry free treats. FINGERS CROSSED!
Thank you so much for your suggestions I ordered some of the Honest Kitchen just to see if she likes it.

Carbrohux · Jan 29, 2018

Ok we might make the jump to raw. Oh my goodness there is so much out there and info. I've looked at Honest Kitchen and Grandma Lucy's. Are there any others I should consider?

Frenchie Grrrl · Jan 31, 2018

Carbrohux said:
Ok we might make the jump to raw. Oh my goodness there is so much out there and info. I've looked at Honest Kitchen and Grandma Lucy's. Are there any others I should consider?

If you want a dehydrated raw, those are both good choices, and really simple to switch to from kibble - I did a mixture of kibble and dehydrated for a time and it was super easy. I feed frozen raw now and have been rotating between Answers, Vital Essentials, and K-9 Naturals, so far. I'm going to add more as I go to have a variety of proteins.

Good luck!

Sherrie · Sep 13, 2018

I have been researching food for Andre, my 2 year-old. We got him about 4 months ago from a wonderful breeder who had him on Stella & Chewy's Raw Freeze dried Beef or Lamb. The breeder also gave him a kibble, but we had an 11 1/2 year old girl that we fed all real raw beef, lamb, or buffalo after she developed skin allergies from chicken, so I weaned Andre off most of the freeze dried by giving him real raw food plus some macerated veggies (carrot&green beans) and a small amount of fresh cooked pumpkin. But now he has some skin issues. It looked like pyoderma to me since that was what my girl had before we eliminated the chicken, so I am at a complete loss as to what to do. Andre's vet looked at his skin, gave him an antibiotic, but did not say what it was. In the meantime I went back to Stella & Chewy's, only I switched to the frozen raw Venison. I had heard it's good to switch up the proteins. I used to add Solid Gold SeaMeal to their food, plus an Omega allergen-3. Just got a new probiotic (Love Bugs) but thought it best to wait until the antibiotic does its thing. Not sure if the Zuke's peanut butter treats started this whole skin problem, but I stopped giving it to him weeks ago. I clean his skin with Chlorhexidine and bath with Doux shampoo. Have tried putting organic coconut oil on his skin, but when I mess with his skin, his hair falls out.

Andre over heats easily (as all frenchies do) but the vet said he needs nares surgery. Not sure if he got the rash from getting hot. He licks his feet so I clean with organic apple cider vinegar and water. I hate to see him suffer. Anybody have experience with this? Thanks - sorry this was so long.

2bullymama · Sep 13, 2018

Sherrie said:
I have been researching food for Andre, my 2 year-old. We got him about 4 months ago from a wonderful breeder who had him on Stella & Chewy's Raw Freeze dried Beef or Lamb. The breeder also gave him a kibble, but we had an 11 1/2 year old girl that we fed all real raw beef, lamb, or buffalo after she developed skin allergies from chicken, so I weaned Andre off most of the freeze dried by giving him real raw food plus some macerated veggies (carrot&green beans) and a small amount of fresh cooked pumpkin. But now he has some skin issues. It looked like pyoderma to me since that was what my girl had before we eliminated the chicken, so I am at a complete loss as to what to do. Andre's vet looked at his skin, gave him an antibiotic, but did not say what it was. In the meantime I went back to Stella & Chewy's, only I switched to the frozen raw Venison. I had heard it's good to switch up the proteins. I used to add Solid Gold SeaMeal to their food, plus an Omega allergen-3. Just got a new probiotic (Love Bugs) but thought it best to wait until the antibiotic does its thing. Not sure if the Zuke's peanut butter treats started this whole skin problem, but I stopped giving it to him weeks ago. I clean his skin with Chlorhexidine and bath with Doux shampoo. Have tried putting organic coconut oil on his skin, but when I mess with his skin, his hair falls out. Andre over heats easily (as all frenchies do) but the vet said he needs nares surgery. Not sure if he got the rash from getting hot. He licks his feet so I clean with organic apple cider vinegar and water. I hate to see him suffer. Anybody have experience with this? Thanks - sorry this was so long.

It seems like he might have environmental allergies and I’m saying that because you are mentioning skin issues licking his paws. What protein are you currently feeding and where are you located...

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Sherrie · Sep 13, 2018

Originally, the proteins I had been feeding him were Lamb and Beef, both in Raw Freeze Dried Stella & Chewy's. Later, I fed him the mostly fresh Beef or Lamb with a little freeze dried of the same so he'd get some organs and bone. Now he's on Raw frozen Venison (Stella & Chewy's). I read somewhere today to put oil of oregano mixed with coconut oil on his skin so I'm going to try that. I always take oil of oregano when I feel I'm coming down with a cold as it's a natural antiseptic.

2bullymama · Sep 15, 2018

Sherrie said:
Originally, the proteins I had been feeding him were Lamb and Beef, both in Raw Freeze Dried Stella & Chewy's. Later, I fed him the mostly fresh Beef or Lamb with a little freeze dried of the same so he'd get some organs and bone. Now he's on Raw frozen Venison (Stella & Chewy's). I read somewhere today to put oil of oregano mixed with coconut oil on his skin so I'm going to try that. I always take oil of oregano when I feel I'm coming down with a cold as it's a natural antiseptic.

Try to stay with one protein at a time so you can do process of elimination.... lamb can be the issue. How long has he been on the venison?

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Tania · Sep 26, 2018

I feed mine avan grande, he's been on it a while but has now got a rash on his leg so don't know whether to change or not

GraciesMom · Sep 27, 2018

I currently feed Gracie Answers Detailed Raw. I was fortunate to find FBN early on and get wonderful advice from the members here. Gracie was on Hill’s prescription food for a while due to various health issues but I moved her to raw as soon as I could.

daniellepaul · Oct 17, 2018

We have fed Leo raw (or frozen raw) since day one of having him home (10 weeks old). We feed a local brand that makes raw dog food in the city where we live so it's very cost effective and we save lots of $ by buying in bulk...and supporting local is always great

He's done really well on it. We feed a rotation of chicken, beef, pork, and turkey. I know bulldog breeds are known to have allergies to chicken but Leo has done really well on it and he's now almost 8 months old so hopefully it stays that way! We sprinkle adored beasts probiotics on top of every meal (which helps greatly with his flatulence and digestion...) and also supplement with a teaspoon of coconut oil and some fish oil as well. We did try other raw brands but we found they had too much bone content or fruit/veg. Leo would regurgitate/vomit undigested pieces of bone/veggies so we stick to a blend without veggies/fruits and double ground.

mcginlej2000 · Dec 30, 2018

Hello,

Has anyone tried the American Journey brand? My daughter's Frenchie just joined our pack and he is way more gassy with runnier stool that my Frenchie. I'm trying to find a food that meets both their needs. My guy is pretty hardy so it's more for our new family member

2bullymama · Dec 31, 2018

mcginlej2000 said:
Hello,

Has anyone tried the American Journey brand? My daughter's Frenchie just joined our pack and he is way more gassy with runnier stool that my Frenchie. I'm trying to find a food that meets both their needs. My guy is pretty hardy so it's more for our new family member

I had never heard of it, but looked it up on dogfoodadvisor and they give it 5 stars....

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/american-journey-grain-free-dog-food/

mcginlej2000 · Dec 31, 2018

Thank you 2Bullymama I'm thinking of fromm, Wish me luck

2bullymama · Dec 31, 2018

mcginlej2000 said:
Thank you 2Bullymama I'm thinking of fromm, Wish me luck

We did well on Fromm pork and peas

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Miszczak · Feb 13, 2019

I use the raw food for Helen and company. Turkey usually.
I will buy a rotisserie chicken and cook it some more before I chop that up and throw it into the mix. I also add a dry chunk crumpled of beef or pork. Just a touch of dry puppy food in all of that.

Miszczak · Feb 13, 2019

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Sometimes beer

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Sometimes pizza

JoeyTheFrenchie · Mar 5, 2019

We are about to be new parents of our first Frenchie on Saturday! I have been researching the crazy amount of food options and beliefs... We watched the Netflix video "Pet Fooled" and are considering making his food. Does anyone else make dog food? :blush2:

lemon · May 25, 2019

hi! i'm very new here in this forum. Hope i get answers

) We feed our 5mos old frenchie with Royal Canin Puppy Mini (the blue color bag) 1/2 cup (55grams) 3x day. His weight now is 11 pounds. Is he underweight for his age?

Gigi · Aug 19, 2019

bullmama said:
What food do you feed your Frenchie? Please include any details you have as to why you chose what food you did and any stories you have about it.

#FAQ

I feed Rico home cooked food. I would def go that route if you're able to. Frenchies are prone to a lot of food sensitivities and allergies so to save your pockets in medical bills and for peace of mind that your baby is getting the best food possible versus processed foods thats been sitting on shelves for God knows how long. Costco and Walmart have been my go to for getting things in bulk for me to cook. I was dreading it at first but once you get into the groove its a piece of cake and you honestly won't ever want to look back. He has dermatitis which is a skin allergy and food triggers it so this has helped a lot. I switch the ingredients around pretty often so that he doesn't get bored and so that he's able to get different nutrients from different foods. Youtube has a lot helped a lot with getting some home cooked recipes and how to cook them.