This dog breed is both dainty and athletic. As the name suggests, they hail from ancient Japan—which is where their distinctive look was perfected and they served as lap-dogs for royalty. But what’s the best dog food for Japanese Chins? Here’s what we found out over the course of our research.

Team picks for Japanese Chin dog food

**There's more info below, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Chewy.

**Disclaimer: Our dog food reviews are based mostly on (1) our expertise and that of the experts with whom we consult and (2) the information provided by the manufacturers. We do test many dog foods (with our dog's help), but we can't test them all. As such, please remember the above recommendations are our opinions, and you should consult your vet before making changes to your dog's diet.

How many calories does a Japanese Chin need?

**Please note: these estimates are based on an average weight for this breed. Every dog is different. Please talk to your vet before making changes to your dog's diet. 

The Japanese Chin will typically grow to a height of 8 to 11 inches tall, and will weigh about 4 to 9 pounds as an adult. A less active Chin, therefore, will need somewhere around 210 calories per day to stay energized, while a moderately active dog will need somewhere closer to 260 calories.

If your Chin is highly active, trains, gets a lot of exercise, or is otherwise moving around a lot more than usual, than you might end up feeding him/her as many as 420 calories or more.

It’s very important to keep a constant eye on your Chin—just to make sure that he/she is getting enough to eat.

If your dog really scarfs down its food and seems to want more at every meal (and he/she isn’t gaining a bunch of weight in the process), then you might want to consider increasing the daily caloric intake a little bit.

Even smaller dog breeds like this one need enough calories to stay fueled and energized—and a lack of nutrition or protein throughout the day can really have a negative impact.

Macronutrient and diet information

A grain-free formulation is probably going to be best for this dog breed. You’re also going to want to choose a kibble that provides plenty of lean protein, while also providing your dog with a range of different fruits and vegetables.

Omega 3 fatty acids are good for the Chin for many reasons. They’re good for their heart, good for their joints, and also good for their fur and coat. B Vitamins, Taurine, and Carnitine are also essential to this dog breed, as these will help to further lower the risk for heart-related problems.

A diet that’s rich in glucosamine and Vitamin C will do a lot of good for the breed’s risk for patellar luxation. Keeping your dog at a healthy body weight will also help to lower this risk factor.

Japanese Chins can be prone to some different eye conditions, so a diet that contains ingredients like fatty fish, pumpkin, blueberries, broccoli, and carrots is definitely desirable.

Common Health Problems

Japanese Chins are generally healthy pets—though they can be susceptible to a few different health conditions. For best results, you should try to buy your puppy from a reputable breeder, and avoid getting puppies of any kind from the pet store.

This will ensure that the pup’s parents were tested for genetic illnesses before they were bred—which will greatly decrease the odds of your pet developing serious problems.

Here is an excellent article about finding a responsible breeder. It was posted on akc.org.

This dog breed is also a bit fragile—so if at all possible, you might want to avoid choosing this breed if you have small children, as it can be easy to accidentally injure this small-framed canine.

At any rate, here are some of the more common ailments that tend to affect dogs of this breed. Not all Chins will end up getting these—but it’s good to be on the lookout for them anyway, just in case.

Heart Disease

Chins can be prone to a few different heart conditions—including heart murmurs and diseases like Atrioventricular Endocardiosis.

To help prevent or control heart disease in your dog, feed a high-quality, nutritious diet that contains plenty of Omega 3 fatty acids, carnitine, taurine, B Vitamins, and Magnesium.

Progressive Retinal Atrophy

This condition (also known as PRA) affects the eyes, and is usually detectable long before any sort of serious vision loss sets in. Reputable breeders will have their dogs checked for it every year, as it can be a hereditary trait.

In general, a kibble that contains foods like fish, blueberries, pumpkin, broccoli, carrots, and eggs will help to contribute to better eye health—and is definitely recommended for the Chin.

Patellar Luxation

This condition affects the knees in the hind legs, and basically results in one or both of the kneecaps ‘sliding out of place’. This can result in lameness and pain for the animal, though it can also pop back into place unexpectedly—leaving the dog’s owner mystified as to what went wrong.

Patellar Luxation may require surgery to fix in more serious cases, though it can be helped by adding more glucosamine, chondroitin, Vitamin C, and Omega 3 fatty acids to your dog’s diet.

For some excellent information on this unfortunately common problem, take a look at this article on dogsnaturallymagazine.com.

How to feed a Japanese Chin puppy

A lot of breeders agree that Chin puppies tend to wean later than a lot of other breeds. It can sometimes take until 6 weeks of age for the pups to realize that the solid food is to eat—not just to play with!

By the time your Chin is 16 weeks old, you can expect him/her to weigh about 4 pounds—which definitely isn’t much! These dogs tend to be pretty tiny at this age, and you’ll find that puppies at this stage will only need about 170 calories to stay fueled and energized.

Chin puppies can tend to be incredibly shy and cautious. It’s important that you constantly socialize your puppy, which will mean spending as much time with it as possible.

It’s also a good idea to have your puppy around other people and dogs from an early age, as this will help with the socialization process and encourage your dog to be more outgoing and friendly around other humans and animals.

Editor's Choice for the best dog food for Japanese Chins

We’ve done quite a bit of research to answer this question. We found several excellent candidates—but none of them quite stood out to us like Holistic Select Grain Free Salmon and Anchovy & Sardine Meal Recipe.

This grain-free dog food kibble contains a wealth of Omega 3 fatty acids, contains ingredients like pumpkin, fish meal, and blueberries for eye health, and even packs in a ton of B Vitamins and Vitamin C.

The Omega 3s and B Vitamins are good for the Chin’s heart health, while the wealth of fruits, vegetables, and other nutrients seem to be specially formulated for digestive health—which is awesome on the Chin’s little stomach.

This kibble also contains plenty of lean protein sources—which will be super-effective in keeping your energetic Chin up and running.

Pros and Cons

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