Doggy Diets

[kateshep]

*deleted*

Edited January 17, 2006 by kateshep

[Sagittarian]

What brand of dry food do you use?

Do you weigh the food as well?

Is she getting any extras (scraps, treats, etc)

Older dogs that are overweight can benefit from premium dry foods that are specifically designed for their unique needs. Older dogs require more anti oxidants, help with digestive breakdown, and higher fibre, as well as less salt and fat. Overweight dogs of courage require less fat, but sometimes a slight increase in protein seems to help as well.

:D

[WhiteLight]

Before 14 kgs..

No friends waiting for some one to call on a Saturday night.

[kateshep]

I use mostly adult Pal or Chum for her feed.

Sometimes she gets extra treats( cheese) but not lately.

[WhiteLight]

Now 7.8 Kilos and still shrinking.

Party Party Party.

[Rozzie]

Bonnie Lite is a good quality kibble. It took the lard off the Labrador.

Also added grated carrot.

[WhiteLight]

It has taken two years of trail and error and in Summer when he is on Prednil he can put on a few kilos.

He is till on it as I would like to get him down to 7 kilos. His only problem now is you can lift up the loose skin very easily.

I wonder if there are any exteme makeover reality shows for animals? He could do with a skin tuck.

His diet is mainly brown rice cooked till tender then at night a scoop of this, freshly pulped vegetables with raw chopped turkey necks, yoghurt and Sasha blend.

In the morning 6 pieces of Kibble a greenie to munch on while I am away.

If he gets any treats from me it is a size of a corn kernel.

One day a week is a fasting day.

I use Turkey or Kangaroo meat as they are the leanest.

The ratio is 75% vegies and rice and 24% meat or fish.

He is better for it. Does not snore and walks 30 minutes morning and evening and more walks on the weekends.

Also in summer I sometimes get Davis Gelatin prepare his food for a few days and set in Jelly it fills them up gives them more protein and they really love it.

sometimes I freeze the food into cubes they love that as well.

Good luck

[Sagittarian]

I use mostly adult Pal or Chum for her feed.

May I suggest you look for a premium food such as Royal Canin Medium Mature, which is designed for dogs of her approx age and weight range.

Or, if you must buy from supermarkets, try either the new Optimum Range or Purina One. Both have light versions.

Weigh the food carefully and start with the recommended amount for her ideal weight. After two weeks weigh her and if no loss is recorded, reduce by 10%.

These foods a more expensive than Chum or Pal, but you are paying for a much higher ratio of meat (rather than cereals or fillers), and additional ingredients that are beneficial.

Good luck with her.

[Romanysky]

No friends waiting for some one to call on a Saturday night.

:D

[aatainc]

Pal and Chum have got so much sugar and additives in them - no wonder he's overweight!

The problem with changing over to a premium brand is that they are so much more concentrated so the dog would need much less food - like say 3/4 a cup - if 1-1.5 of pal is too much for him still now.

My recipe for weight loss never involves dog food of any sort - as it's concentrated it's just so hard for the owner to judge.

My weight loss recipe:

-Everytime your dog looks at you pleading for a snack say "no, you're fat - you're not getting anything!"

-Everytime you feel guilty about not giving him something (or saying the line above) tell yourself how guilty you should feel about how uncomfortable he is and how much shorter his life might be if he doesn't lose the weight.

-as for food - well - for a dog his size - 2 chicken wings and 1/4 cup pulped vegies every day for up to 2 weeks. Also add a multivitamin if you're doing this for more than 2 weeks. NOTHING else, as far as food goes. If you must treat for training or such then try using carrots, fruits etc. Better yet, throw a toy instead.

Dogs don't stay fat at my place for too long!!

[Anna H]

Speak to your vet about your dog, but fasting for one day a week might just start to help get that weight moving. Both my dogs are of healthy weight and are fasted one day a week anyway...

My mum has a 'cuddly' JR, and the vet has recommended to add large amounts of grated to carrot to his stingey meal portion so that he feels full and pleads with Mum less...

[kateshep]

*deleted*

Edited January 17, 2006 by kateshep

[Elise]

I wold take the dog off dry food all together.

I would feed chicken and rice and lots of mashed pumpkin. Pumpkin fills them up and so does rice so they wont they think are starving. The cooked chicken adds the flavour (of course so does the pumpking). I would feed her nothing else until she has reached her goal weight.

[Aziah]

Kateshep,

I thought you of all people would know how to exercise your Kelpie correctly :D

Try a diet of lean beef, rice and a small amount of dry food. Often 2 small meals a day will help instead of just the one.

All this help after I said I wouldn't lift a finger to help you after your stirring act in the Breeders forum! Hope you appreciate it.

[aatainc]

I would actually avoid rice. I know it might make her feel full but, being a grain, it is ALL starch and starch = sugar and sugar unburned =FAT. So I would go away from it entirely. 2 small meals will definitley help. Oh, I should also add, pumpkin is also a starchy vegetable and thus sugary and fattening. A small amount is fine but I would stick with higher fibre/vitamin content vegies like broccoli, beans, carrot etc - and not too much of them either. Recent research has shown that using high fibre ingredients on dieting dogs to help them feel full can be counterproductive.

Below is an extract taken from a pedigree webpage (of all things!) It's talking about weight loss diets for dogs.

"Interestingly, these special diets don’t need to include high levels of fibre--as often found in human diet foods. Fibre is not necessary for weight loss in pets, and in large amounts, it can have side effects such as increased faeces and lack of interest in the food because of its poor taste."

My guys hardly get any walking as such, although they run around with eachother a lot and train a lot too - but they are all so trim - the basis of their diet is raw meaty bones and vegetables. Of course they get added extras for balance but these are incidental.

Edited October 19, 2004 by aatainc

[persephone]

I'd go with meaty bones,some veg OR "bonnie lite".

Excercise/ Running, jogging, fetching balls (hit them with a tennis raquet)..playing with other dogs!

[Sagittarian]

Homemade diets (unless following BARF) - however well intentioned, often lack complete nutritional value. Particularly in the case of an older dog such as this, it really does make a difference if the quality of the food is as good as you can afford.

[aatainc]

the homemade diet I suggested is based on barf - just simplified for weight loss.

[Pippa]

If my dogs are looking a little pudgy, I usually put them onto a good quality and complete dry food, one of the light varieties. That way you can give them the specific amount to help them lose weight, and know they are still getting a well balanced diet.

I would not feed chicken wings as they are one of the reasons the dogs get fat in the first place too fatty.

I cut their bones back to one or two big recreational ones per week, and make sure there is not a skeric of fat on them (including scraping out the yummy marrow)

Try the dog with carrot and apple pieces in between meal times.

Good luck.

[aatainc]

if 1 or 2 chicken wings is ALL a dog gets except vegies then it will still lose weight. A fatless diet is very unbalanced and bad for a dog. The fat in a chicken wing is necessary and makes it balanced.