What I Feed Georgie Every Day and Why I Changed His Diet Twice

Last Tuesday Georgie ate my sock and acted like I’d wronged him when I took it back. He gave me this look, like I was the most ungrateful human on the planet for not letting him digest my dirty athletic wear. Typical Georgie. He’s a morkie, right? So he’s part Maltese, part Yorkie. But in his head, he’s 100% wolf, a majestic beast roaming the tundra. Anyway, you asked about what I feed him, and let me tell you, it’s been a journey. Two diet changes, one emergency vet visit, and a lot of eye rolls from my husband later, I think we’ve finally landed on something that works for this furry dictator.

The First Try: High-End Kibble and a Lot of Regret

When we first got Georgie, I was all about doing things “right.” You know, the organic, grain-free, small-batch, sustainably sourced kibble. I went to the fancy pet store and bought a bag of Orijen Small Breed Adult Dog Food ($75 for a 13-pound bag), which felt insane at the time, but Georgie was a baby, and I wanted the best for my little wolf-dog. He seemed to like it initially. He’d gobble it down, tail wagging, and then immediately go try to steal Teddy’s (my brother’s dog) toys, because Georgie is nothing if not an opportunist. But after a few weeks, things started to get… messy. Like, explosively messy. We’re talking liquid poops, multiple times a day. And he was just lethargic, not his usual bouncy, opinionated self. He’d still try to bark at the mailman, but with less conviction. I’d be scrubbing the kitchen floor for the third time in a day, wondering if I’d somehow broken my dog. The vet was baffled at first, running tests for parasites, allergies, you name it. Finally, she suggested it might be the food, specifically the high protein content in a lot of those boutique, grain-free formulas. Apparently, for some small breeds, it can just be too rich. Plus, there’s been a lot of talk lately about the link between grain-free diets and heart issues in dogs. So, lesson learned: expensive doesn’t always mean better, especially if it turns your dog’s insides into a science experiment.

The Second Attempt: Mainstream and Still Missing Something

After the Orijen debacle, I swung the pendulum in the opposite direction. I figured, okay, let’s go with something tried and true, something vets recommend widely. I switched him to Purina Pro Plan Small Breed Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice Formula ($35 for an 18-pound bag), which felt like a steal after Orijen. And guess what? The explosive poops stopped! Hallelujah! My kitchen floor was no longer a biohazard zone, and Georgie seemed to have more energy. He was back to terrorizing Teddy and barking at every leaf that dared to blow past our window. For a while, I thought we’d cracked the code. He ate it without complaint, though he always gives me this look like, “Is this all there is, human? No artisanal cheese plate today?” Because, again, wolf. But after a few months, I noticed his coat wasn’t as shiny as it used to be, and he’d developed this weird itchiness that had him licking his paws constantly. He’d scratch at his ears during the afternoon, and I’d find little patches where he’d worn the fur thin. It wasn’t dramatic, but it was noticeable—like his skin was trying to tell me something. Back to the vet we went.

The Final Solution: Finding Balance

This time, the vet was more thoughtful. She asked me to keep a food diary, to note when the itching was worse, whether it was seasonal, whether he had any other symptoms. She also recommended we try a limited ingredient diet to see if he had a sensitivity to something common like chicken or grains. We landed on Hill’s Science Diet Adult Small Breed ($28 for a 15.5-pound bag), which has fewer ingredients and a more moderate protein level. But honestly, what made the real difference was adding a fish oil supplement—Omega-3s, specifically. I started giving him a small squirt of fish oil mixed into his kibble about four times a week, just enough to keep his coat healthy and his skin from getting inflamed. Within three weeks, the itching stopped. His coat went back to being that soft, almost silky texture that makes him look less like a tiny wolf and more like a cloud with opinions. He still tries to steal socks and give me the judgmental stare, but now he’s doing it with a shiny coat and actual energy.

So here’s what I learned: feeding a small dog isn’t just about buying the most expensive bag or the most popular brand. It’s about paying attention to how your individual dog responds—their digestion, their energy, their skin and coat health. What works for one morkie might not work for another. Georgie needed something in the middle ground, with good nutrition but not so much richness that his digestive system threw a fit, combined with a little extra fat to keep his skin happy. And yeah, he still gives me that wolf look when he watches me eat dinner. But at least now I’m not spending three hours a day cleaning the kitchen floor.