Weight loss dog food?

[zarapipe]

After going to the vet today he is suggesting our dog go on a diet. She is currently 40lbs and needs to be between 25-30. He suggested purina one and science diet low cal. I'm not sure how I feel about that. She is currently eating a better quality food, natural balance fish an sweet potato. He would like the food to be under 310 cal per cup. Any suggestions?

[junieolive]

I don't know the calorie count, but we have had great success with Wellness Core Reduced fat. My dogs are large lab mixes but they love it and they have both lost some weight on it. Good luck!

[Deleted]

I know it's not for everyone, but have you considered raw?

My dog is 27lbs and this is what she gets 2x a day:
3oz raw venison
1.5oz brown rice (she needs this or else the venison runs right through her)
1.5oz steamed sweet potato
1.5oz plain (full fat) yogurt

I calculated it out to be about 350cals per meal, so you might be able to do a nonfat yogurt to help reduce the calories.

[katietornado]

Diet foods are just less calorie dense...they have crappy fillers that make your dog feel full, but that aren't that healthy.

We've fostered a bunch of dogs that needed to lose weight. We did really well with mixing in canned (no salt) green beans with their kibble, and just feeding about 3/4 of the usual amount of kibble. The green beans have fiber which helps fill the pup up, but they're still healthy. One of our greyhounds lost about a pound a week on this diet, coupled with plenty of walking.

[thatgirl]

We have one dog who needs to gain weight and one that needs to lose.

For the dog that needs to lose we mix her regular kibble with mixed vegetables. I buy frozen green beans, carrots and chopped broccoli. I thaw a portion every few days so that it ready to mix and serve.

[dexteroni]

When Dexter needed to lose weight, we just reduced his kibble portions a little (maybe by about 10% - 15%?) and gave him green beans to help fill him up. You can use fresh, frozen, or canned, but if you use canned, get the no salt added kind.

[zarapipe]

hmm, I never thought about adding vegetables to her food- that is a good idea.



She has a sensitive stomach- will the vegetables run through her or anything?

[dexteroni]

Every dog is different; I think you'll have to try it and find out. Start with a small amount, and maybe avoid the harder to digest veggies like broccoli until you see how she does on the more easily digestible ones like green beans and carrots. If you start from fresh, make sure to cook them really well so they're nice and soft.

[nital]

When my dogs need to lose weight, I decrease their food a little at a time until they're eating an amount that results in weight loss. That way they don't go from eating lots one day to a little the next, I don't have to pay for fillers in diet food, and my lazy butt doesn't have to deal with veggies.

[caz1221]

Many have already recommended it, but I also add veggies (green beans and carrots) to my dogs' food while reducing the amount of kibble if they need to lose weight.  I feed Wellness Core (all flavors, not just Reduced Fat), and both of my dogs do very well on it.  I also make sure they are getting adequate exercise. 

[Deleted]

Feb 26, 2013 20:20:53 GMT -5 katietornado said:

Diet foods are just less calorie dense...they have crappy fillers that make your dog feel full, but that aren't that healthy.

We've fostered a bunch of dogs that needed to lose weight. We did really well with mixing in canned (no salt) green beans with their kibble, and just feeding about 3/4 of the usual amount of kibble. The green beans have fiber which helps fill the pup up, but they're still healthy. One of our greyhounds lost about a pound a week on this diet, coupled with plenty of walking.

Oh, this is great katietornado,  Pel's on Prednisone right now and has chunked up because I'm a sucker and can't stand to see him so starving even though I know it's because of the meds and not because he's actually starving. I think he's probably 5lbs over what he should be and on the Pred for another 5 weeks (until we see the neurologist again).

I'll buy a case of green beans on Amazon for him.

[dexteroni]

Also - don't forget to correct whatever it is that caused her to gain weight. Are you giving too much kibble, or too many treats, or using a high fat food? In addition to green beans, we switched Dexter to a food that was a few percentage points lower, and gave him fewer treats. We also gave him baby carrots for at least some of his treats.