There are so many choices on the market, but like with people, the Shih Tzu can be an extremely finicky eater or have food allergies. I always have The Farmers Dog or Just Food For Dogs wet at home, which are human grade organic brands, but expensive. I feed Carna4 kibble which is human grade kibble. You can put a small amount of the wet human grade food on their kibble every day to add daily nutrition and to make it more appetizing for them and it is more affordable for you as well. I highly recommend to try all the above, which is expensive but are top quality brands. Please choose kibble that has the least amount of man made unnatural preservatives in it and should be high in protein and not grain free. Please consider giving your dogs the healthy snacks in the section below if buying these human grade foods is not affordable to you or cooking for them is too timely or too expensive for you as well. You can put steamed or boiled vegetables on their food, mix it in, or give them safe fruits and vegetables as snacks in between meals. Pet safe fruits listed below can be wonderful options as well. All given in moderation, as some fruits and vegetables are higher in sugar and keeping those to small amounts, approximately 2-3 times per week, is safest.
While every dog is different and may have allergies to certain foods, like people, there are many fruits and vegetables you can try that are extremely healthy for them and enjoyable to them. A few times per week I alternate between snacks. I give my adults boiled or steamed acorn squash or butternut squash, sweet potato, broccoli, green beans, zucchini, asparagus or carrots. I also give them fresh blueberries, raspberries, small pieces of banana and tiny pieces of pealed apple. With the high content of sugar in sweet potato, blueberries, raspberries, carrots, banana and apples, I limit the frequency to 2-3 times per week for those. The boiled or steamed vegetables, I also put on top of, or mix into their kibble. This makes their kibble taste better and gives them added nutrition on a regular basis. Scrambled eggs and low fat, low sodium cheeses, such as low fat mozzarella, I also limit to 2-3 times per week. If your budget and schedule allow human grade food daily, that is a bonus for long term health and well being.
Most puppy kibble and canned puppy food on the market, are not considered the healthiest for dogs. Until you can carefully and healthfully transition them to a more human grade food when they closer to 6-12 months, or to start adding healthy snacks at that age, etc., sticking with a consistent kibble will be best for their digestive system. As written in the sections above, adding the human grade food to their kibble for life, will give them added nutrition. Again, pet safe fruits and vegetables are also a great added nutritional source. Be careful with carrots and apples. I always steam or boil carrot pieces, so they never choke on them. With apple, remove the peel and cut into tiny pieces. We want to be conscientious about avoiding choking. Unless you are home all day and able to feed them three times per day minimum, plus snacks, I recommend food and water available to them 24/7 and definitely when they are puppies. Please use filtered water, not tap.
