'>>4774630
Just get her a high-quality kibble like royal canin. How much does a chihuahua need to eat? It's not “expensive” to feed small dogs because I have large dogs and make it work.

Home-cooked food is almost always never balanced. Long story short, you need more than rice, chicken, and broccoli to sustain a dog. Seek a canine nutritionist to make a balanced diet for you.';

'>>4774635
Yeah, obviously, Im trying to buy her the the best food I can, price is not really an issue, she eats like a kilo-two a month anyway, its literally the price of a few coffees.
That was my thought too, Im sure i cant make her the perfectly balanced food, but I guess my point is, can i at least give her home made food from time to time? She just seems so much happier and eager to eat it, compared to the boring kibble shes used to her whole life. According to my vet, no, i should avoid ever giving her "human food" and I just dont get why';

'>>4774772
I co-fed my dogs raw and kibble for a while until I started college. That way I didn't have to worry about balancing it. Maybe you could try that, just calculate their maintenance energy requirement (MER) and substitute up to 50% of however much you want for homemade food. Make sure the calories add up. There's a little calculus on the kibble part but human food is widely pre-calculated with apps for calorie tracking so it's that easy.';

'>>4774630
>Purina Pro-plan, mostly, since thats what her vet recomments, but im trying to mix it up with other brands so she doesnt get bored. But I just feel sad for her, eating the same fucking dried meme food your whole life, even for a dog, this shit must be depressing...

I understand your empathy and once shared your concerns, OP, but... They don't care, realize they're like permanent 1 year olds.

I feed my chihuahua mix Eukanuba for small breeds and the guy has always liked it. He's also always been extremely healthy, as evidenced by his very lustrous hair and overall health.

I say keep giving him high quality kibble and you can give him other treats occasionally, such as beef or chicken, maybe when training him. Also realize that some people feed their dogs literal leftovers or garbage-bin kibble and they still live lots of years, so if you're investing in good food you're good to go. God bless you both.';

'>>4774630
Good on you OP for caring about your critter. IMO your vet is probably just being cautious - if you feed them human food, especially a tiny dog, there's a non zero chance they'll eat something that could harm them like garlic or onion (including the powdered versions).
I've never seen a dog or even a cat get sick of kibble, but it is a good idea to always use high quality kibble with little or no filler in it. Royal Canin and Science Diet are easy to get and Amazon often sell both cheaper than retail. I think for the common varieties of food from both brands they do often have a few flavours available, so that might be an option to mix it up a bit.
Having said all that, please do still treat your dog. They love it, it makes their otherwise boring days more interesting, and can be helpful to train them. Unseasoned meat, dog treats etc are all good options.';

'>>4774630
>enter thread thinking it will be full of raw-food shills
>pleasantly surprised
Yeah so long as your little guy is still active and happy just stick to a high-quality kibble. And yeah, your vet is right to be cautious, she's probably seen lots of dogs become deficient due to retards trying to raw-feed and fucking it up. Good kibble is more than fine for dogs. There are ways to spice it up if you feel like it, but I wouldn't risk drastically changing their diet, especially at this old age.';

'>>4774630
>but im trying to mix it up with other brands so she doesnt get bored. But I just feel sad for her, eating the same fucking dried meme food your whole life, even for a dog, this shit must be depressing
I hope you at least know how to transition your dog's food. If you just start switching shit up, your dog will have digestion issues to the potentiality of death. Consider instead giving your dog the occasional "healthy treat" such as a carrot, cucumber, corn on the cob, a bit of steam/grilled chicken.

We used to have chihuahuas too. Our male died at 16 years old and our female at 18. They lived on Purina Dog Chow with the occasional treat as aforementioned. Anecdotal, but that's what happened. We've had a Husky since 2016 and she eats the same food the chihuahuas ate.

>I feel the dog knows better what she needs
Keep in mind some dogs eat themselves to death via excess or gastric incompatibility. You are the sapient creature here. You decide what is best for your dog because they lack the consciousness to do so.

If your chihuahua is an applehead, just feed it whatever. They're too dysgenic to have any base level consciousness most animals have. They're akin to insects in regards to consciousness.';

'quite the lengthy posts in here';

'>>4775001
/an/ is a smart board!';

'>>4774630
Clickbait aside, watch this for some history background about how kibble came to be, it will help your decision.
https://youtu.be/WpMc6-dMd_A?si=fQFcJtw0wo4Zxh-Z
Also your dog is 12 years old. Give it a hearty meal, even if it is going to give her some problems 3 years down the line, I think she'd say it was totally worth it. Make sure to moderate it, so that she doesn't grow fat and to not use spices. My aunt's dog got eye infection from homemade meals supposedly. It's a small york, around 16 years old.';

'>>4774630
The oldest dog on earth only ever ate homemade food and scraps.';

'>>4776015
bobi was a literal scam though';

'>>4774630
Anon my parents have been feeding their dog homemade food for the past 17 years
Its fine, hes had better values than me for the longest time until he got old and frail, just be warned
1. Dogs are pretty alergic/cant handle certain foods
2. Dogs cant handle the same percentage of fat, carbs etc humans do
So basically, you can feed them stuff you make at home, you cant feed them what youre eating';

'>>4775509
>/an/ is a smart board!';

'>>4774630
I buy something called "dog rice" which is a few types of scrap rice from black to white all mixed
I cook it with assorted meats I get from a butcher, I ask for whatever scraps they have including some bones. I also throw in some vegetables like carrots and broccoli stems, whatever veggies I have at home at that moment really, also a bit of salt and olive oil or lard if the meats are low fat. then I freeze it in meal portions
I alternate 1 cooked meal and 1 kibble meal, the kibble I always mix with some water so it has a more natural texture, sometimes a chopped banana';

'>>4774978
>They're akin to insects in regards to consciousness
this, why bother trying to feed well shitty breeds';

'>>4774630
Ofcourse your dog love unhealty food but the vet is probably right
If you dont wanna give him the trash dogfood, get the animal waste products food';

'>>4776075
your tinfoil hat sir';

'>>4774630
>is it some shill trick to make me keep buying expensive dog food from her?
yes. she's not "in on it" as much as you'd think. they get them in vet school. she genuinely believes she's instructing you to do what's in the dog's best interest by feeding it literal trash.
>there are probably plenty of vitamins, minerals and whatever nutrition that the dogs needs that I would probably not incorporate in her homemade food properly,
also correct. there aren't easy answers here. is not insurmountable, just isn't easy.';

'>>4777079
prove him wrong';

'>>4777090
>yes. she's not "in on it" as much as you'd think. they get them in vet school. she genuinely believes she's instructing you to do what's in the dog's best interest by feeding it literal trash.
Sad but probably true. It’s pretty much up to you to do your own due diligence and find out what’s true or not';

'My dogs have cleaned our plates and eaten the leftovers for a decade now, I'll post again and let you know when they die';