Shih Tzu – luxury dogs that once inhabited exclusively in the imperial chambers. Today, make a similar everyone with a four-legged friend, cheerful and sociable. But only if the owner surrounds the pet with care and love, provide him with quality care and good nutrition, dog-lion will look great and also feel. Than feed shih tzu so that he gets everything he needs and is nearby as can it be longer?
Content
- 1. “Drying” or “natural”: all the pros and cons
- 1.1. Features of natural feeding
- 1.2. Features of feeding industrial diets
- 2. Feeding the baby Shih Tzu depending on the age of the pet
- 2.1. 2 months
- 2.2. 3 months
- 2.3. 4 months
- 2.4. 5 months
- 2.5. 10-11 months
- 3. Features of the natural diet
- 4. Prohibited Products
- 5. The best dry food for Shih Tzu
“Drying” or “natural”: all the pros and cons
Contents
The first thing owners of a new four-legged friend are faced with –Selection of the type of feeding. Many go the easy way – Follow the recommendations of the breeder and feed him the same. In that case experienced dog breeders help to make the right menu or suggest which brand of dry food is most suitable for representatives of this breed. 
Both types of feeding – “natural” or “drying”, have both advantages and disadvantages, and they should be considered when choosing to his furry favorite is the best.
Features of natural feeding
Benefits:
- products are cheaper when compared to cost high-quality dry food;
- the owner always knows what his dog eats;
- food is always fresh, past the correct thermal processing;
- with the right menu the digestive system of the dog works great.
Disadvantages:
- cooking takes time;
- not all products are suitable for feeding shih tzu –– some are initially prohibited, others may cause an allergic reaction;
- balancing the diet is not so simple;
- natural feeding requires additional vitamin and mineral supplements.
Features of feeding industrial diets
Benefits:
- dry granules are a finished product that is not needed prepare;
- you can store “drying” for a long time and purchase for future use;
- the feed contains everything you need and in the right proportions –The dog does not need vitamins and top dressing;
- easy to dose portion;
- if the dog suffers from food allergies, then hypoallergenic industrial feed is the best option.
Disadvantages:
- it is not always possible to immediately select the right menu;
- cheap brands do not fit shih tzu, they worsen health pet
- high-quality feed is not cheap.
The choice of type of feeding is only the first step, after it to find out how many times a doggie should receive food shih tzu.
Feeding a baby Shih Tzu depending on the age of the pet
When the baby gets into a new home, he is very stressed. Experts recommend that owners do not rush to change the diet of a new family member to speed up adaptation. Preferably in for 2 weeks feed the puppy with the same food that he received in old family. 
Stress can cause digestive upsets, but in this case they are not a pathological reaction. However deficit useful components in puppies worsens the condition much faster, than in adults.
The less dog stress, the better his health. Important on At this stage, give him a lot of attention and require less. A setting the schedule and changing the food should be postponed at least for a couple weeks. Puppies grow fast, so every month they are fed undergoes a number of changes.
2 months
Until this age, the baby’s main food is breast milk and from 4-6 weeks, the breeder begins to enter the first complementary foods in the menu. it may be wet feed or calcined curd, milk and liquid cereals, it all depends on the type of feeding you choose. From 8 weeks offspring are attached to real food, and puppies practically do not feed on mother’s milk.
3 months
Responsible breeders do not pass shih tzu puppies to new owners earlier than 10-12 weeks of age. To this moment the crumbs are already able to eat on their own, and even with natural Feeding their diet is quite diverse.
But the owners still have to introduce new ones into the pet’s menu products – gradually, in small quantities. After doggie ate unusual food for him, it should be observed for 2-3 days, not whether a negative reaction occurred.
A 3-month-old baby is fed 5 times a day, the daily norm is divided in several equal portions. If the pet has not eaten food, it is necessary remove from the bowl, even when it comes to dry granules is accustom the pet to adhere to the schedule. 
Clearly set mode makes it easier for the owner to plan time for walking. In addition, constant eating leads to a stretching of the stomach, and subsequently a four-legged friend becomes a real glutton.
4 months
The pet can be transferred to 4 meals a day. For this period there is a change of teeth, so the baby needs more than usual trace elements and vitamins. Calcined foods rate increase, reducing the amount of carbohydrate food. But the doggie should receive the usual portion of protein foods –meat, minced meat, offal, constituting at least 50% of the total diet.
5 months
A Shih Tzu puppy gets food three times a day. If the pet is short mass, then 4 meals a day is stored until 6 months of age. IN Menus continue to add new products.
10-11 months
A puppy of this breed is transferred to an adult 2 meals a day. When fed with natural products, the menu becomes much more diverse. Puppy is allowed to give almost all the allowed food, but do it slowly and carefully monitoring the reaction organism.
The younger and healthier the dog, the easier it tolerates an allergic reaction, and it is easier for the owner to stop its manifestations. In addition, at this stage, it is desirable to form a pet diet, excluding all allergenic products from it. Some representatives the dog world is recommended to be fed only once a day, but shih tzu this mode is not suitable – an adult dog should receive food twice.
Features of a natural diet
Despite the popularity of dry food, many shih tzu owners stop on the option of feeding the pet natural products. Specialists approve such a decision, only to the owner it is necessary to take care of additional top dressing –– about them selection should consult a veterinarian. Important to avoid deficiency or excess of vitamins and minerals – in both In cases this will negatively affect the health of the pet. 
Shih Tzu diet should be varied, 50% meat or offal, the rest is vegetables, cereals, fruits. You should take care of the freshness of both the ingredients and the finished dishes. The following types of offal can be given to dogs of this breed. –Heart, stomachs, boiled beef liver, stomachs, ears, cartilage. It is useful to feed the dog with pieces of raw scar.
The ideal meat for the Shih Tzu menu is beef and veal. Also rabbit meat, turkey, low-fat mutton can be included in the diet. FROM chicken should be careful – in some dogs it provokes an allergic reaction. A meat part a couple of times a week can be replaced with fish – non-greasy marine, boiled or stewed, but always stoned.
Pet porridge is boiled in water or fish broth, meat, vegetable. They can be made from rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, Hercules. Great food for shih tzu are the following dishes:
- stewed stew of vegetables and meat;
- well-cooked cereals with meat;
- raw minced vegetables with pieces of raw meat seasoned vegetable oil;
- cereals with chopped raw meat;
- sliced meat or offal slices;
- porridge with boiled fish;
- vegetable stew with fish and vegetable oil;
- cottage cheese with boiled fish;
- grated mass of raw vegetables with the addition of finely chopped boiled egg, seasoned with vegetable oil;
- cheese casserole.
Eggs are given infrequently to the dog, 1-2 times a week, one serving –1 chicken or 2 quail eggs. Few times a week you can treat the dog with slices of low-fat hard cheese.
Digestible foods are good for digestion. –Kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, yogurt. It must be food without artificial additives, non-greasy. And here’s the milk for an adult dog give undesirable, as it can cause intestinal disorder.
As for vegetables, almost all of them are suitable for feeding shih tzu. Especially useful for dogs are zucchini, cabbage, pumpkin, carrots, beets. It is also recommended to add crushed to dishes fresh greens.
Fruits are an excellent delicacy for doggies of this breed, from they can cook salads seasoned with a small amount olive oil. But be careful – some fruits and berries are not suitable for dogs, and even authorized doggie fruits should consume in limited quantities.
As a useful top dressing for Shih Tzu, marine cabbage, fish oil, powdered egg shell, bone flour. In addition, the veterinarian will select the appropriate vitamin-mineral complex that will help replenish the body animal necessary elements during the off-season.
Prohibited Products
The dog’s body is different from the human, and what’s good people can’t always be given to dogs. To the owner of this amazing doggie is definitely worth a look at the list Food strictly forbidden for feeding:
- Bones – representatives of this breed are not differ too strong dentition, therefore biting the bones will prove to be an unnecessarily heavy load for her. In addition, bones from fish or chicken can damage organs. digestive tract – scratch or pierce the walls.
- Raw fish – often a source parasites, therefore, requires mandatory heat treatment, and here it is not recommended to feed the dog with river fish in any form, so how overly bony she is.
- Milk is an ideal food for puppies, but the body of an adult animal practically does not digest lactose, therefore, it is desirable to replace this drink with sour milk products.
- Sausages, smoked products – even in their there’s no doubt that it’s good for humans, but they’re definitely harmful to dogs, since they contain artificial additives that harm the liver of dogs and disturbing digestive processes.
- Confectionery – chocolates, sweets and other sugar-containing foods negatively affect pet’s vision, weight and metabolic processes. No matter how favorite I asked for sweets, you can’t give him such products.
- Salt is the use of this seasoning provokes a violation of the water-electrolyte balance in the body an animal that can cause cramps and even heart failure.
- Coffee – pet’s organism more sensitive to caffeine, therefore, it can cause arrhythmia, hypertension, convulsive attacks, vomiting.
- Alcohol – even use a small amount causes poisoning with all concomitant manifestations of serious intoxication.
- Macadamia nut – contains substances which are powerful toxins for animals. Eat a piece, the dog will feel symptoms after a while intoxication.
- Grapes – contains substances adversely affecting the kidneys of the dog. This berry may cause fermentation in the intestines.
It is advisable for the owner to protect the dog from eating harmful food, which save the pet from negative consequences.
The best dry food for shih tzu
Choosing industrial rations for feeding a pet, the owner it is worth paying attention to brands trusted by professionals. These are premium and super premium products that are good balanced and composed of quality ingredients. Moreover, there are always several hypoallergenic menus, special formulas for pregnant, lactating, elderly dogs, pets with health problems. 
Ideal industrial pellets for Shih Tzu should contain little the amount of fat and protein. This requirement is usually met. rations intended for small dogs related to decorative breeds.
The most popular dry food brands trusted by experienced dog breeders: Innova, Pro Pak, Pro Plan, Eukanuba, Royal Canin, Hills, Canide. It is recommended to purchase them in specialized pet stores or veterinary pharmacies. When feeding a doggie drying it is important to provide him with fresh clean water, to which he should be around the clock access.
Shih Tzu is not just a pet, most often a dog with the first days becomes the favorite of the whole family and even its member. Therefore, care for your pet should be appropriate so that he I got everything I needed and stayed close for as long as possible.
