snr Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 (edited) Ok so I had to take my Boy to the Vet Today. Turns out he has a torn Ligament. Well the Vet has said to Put my boy on a diet I Have to agree I have cut his food back ALOT! in the past 2 weeks. But what suprised me was he said to Feed Kibble only. I have never heard of that. So I asked him if One bone a day is ok if his main meal is Kibble And i also asked if i could continue feeding sardines and yogurt with the Kibble. He said that's fine But no mince or anyhting like that. So was wondering if that sounds like a suitable Diet For him? Oh he is a 7 Month old Lab 36.5 kg He is a Big Big Boy. Edited February 13, 2009 by snr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyra20007 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 A lot of vets don't like a natural diet and think that the products they sell (& make money from) are better. If I had to drop weight of my dog and wanted to feed naturally I would get Lamb Chine bones (very lean with no fat and a great bone to chew up) from the butcher and lean chicken frames (remove excess skin & fat) and feed those as well as the sardines and change to a low fat yogurt every couple of days. I would also buy some lean beef mince or kangaroo mince (human grade = no parasites & OK to give raw) mixed with some cooked mashed pumpkin which will help the dog to feel full but with few calories. A gentle good walk each day taking it easy on his leg or if that isn't possible then wait until leg better and then slow gentle walks once healed. Adding a good supplement like Pet Pep Up to the diet will also help to cleanse the stomach and help the dog to process the food better - it is a probiotic and will get the gut into premium condition. I don't like any processed dog foods and would never feed my dogs kibble. I have finally found a vet who is supportive of my choice to feed a BARF natural raw diet and he is impressed with the condition of my dogs whenever we go in for check ups which isn't often at all! We go in to use the scales every 6 months and occasionally for other minor things. I have found this website interesting & scary with information about kibble food and it's manufacturers http://www.thedogbowl.com/PPF/category_ID/37/dogbowl.asp It gives a brief basic outline of why processed dog foods are bad. Some swear by the stuff, but I consider it poison. Good luck with the weight loss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Tyra not all dry dog food is poison, although I do steer away from 90% on the market. The reason vets say feed kibble only to very overweight dogs is - you can easily monitor amounts - you can guarentee the % fat, protein etc going into the dog - owner compliance of not sneaking in that little extra bit is higher then with raw food - food is complete and hence again, owner not sneaking in extras because they feel the dog is 'missing out' mince is a fatty product, its the left overs and cuts that cannot be eaten as they are. snr find a good dry food like Royal Canin, Eagle Pack, Nutrience and stick to a highly restricted diet. Your dog will suffer greatly being that weight already. When the weight is OFF - and I mean the dog has a waist and you can easily feel, almost see ribs, then you can reintroduce the more BARF feeding. Yoghurt and Sardines during weight loss keep to a minimum. If you want to treat the dog have a little cup sitting on the kitchen bench with his half daily allowance in it. Every time the dog begs for food give him a kibble, he will soon understand that thats all he's getting. If there is anything left at dinner he gets the rest, if everyone in the house has given it to him then he gets no dinner or give him a raw carrot to chew. I worked as a vet nurse and although we were OK with BARF diets etc (sometimes I even encouraged people to go to it) obese dogs already on dry did better losing weight on dry only then changing the diet. This way the owners also learned good habits about feeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyra20007 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Tyra not all dry dog food is poison, although I do steer away from 90% on the market. The reason vets say feed kibble only to very overweight dogs is- you can easily monitor amounts - you can guarentee the % fat, protein etc going into the dog - owner compliance of not sneaking in that little extra bit is higher then with raw food - food is complete and hence again, owner not sneaking in extras because they feel the dog is 'missing out' mince is a fatty product, its the left overs and cuts that cannot be eaten as they are. snr find a good dry food like Royal Canin, Eagle Pack, Nutrience and stick to a highly restricted diet. Your dog will suffer greatly being that weight already. When the weight is OFF - and I mean the dog has a waist and you can easily feel, almost see ribs, then you can reintroduce the more BARF feeding. Yoghurt and Sardines during weight loss keep to a minimum. If you want to treat the dog have a little cup sitting on the kitchen bench with his half daily allowance in it. Every time the dog begs for food give him a kibble, he will soon understand that thats all he's getting. If there is anything left at dinner he gets the rest, if everyone in the house has given it to him then he gets no dinner or give him a raw carrot to chew. I worked as a vet nurse and although we were OK with BARF diets etc (sometimes I even encouraged people to go to it) obese dogs already on dry did better losing weight on dry only then changing the diet. This way the owners also learned good habits about feeding. Even some of the so called "good" dry foods are imported and irradiated which is not good for any food that is going to be consumed. Dry food is lazy food and people find it "easy" to feed - that doesn't make it "good" it just makes it convenient. Feeding a dog a healthy diet takes a little planning and can be made to be convenient, but dry food is not a healthy alternative. The dry dog foods are made by rendering down the meat & fat (superheating & changing the molecular construction of the meat and possibly making it carcenogenic) and then spraying it over puffy biscuits of grain. Not even the "good" foods are made any differently to that. Feeding a dog every time it begs is not a good idea. ignore the behaviour and offer a toy or distraction, feed only a feeding times and not inbetween - snacking isn't good for humans or dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 What were you feeding? If it was a BARf diet I would just decrease the amount even more and maybe up the veggie/fruit intake. One bone a day would do as his whole meal for the day. I probably would only feed low fat yoghurt. If you are feeding a BARF only diet you would work out your dogs ideal weight and then only feed 2% of that a day. With approx 80% of that being RMB and the other being fruit, veggies, muscle meat, offal & dairy. Pffttt to kibble being the only way to put a dog on a diet. Many brands of dry food are full of fat also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystiqview Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I am surprised he has not told you to put the dog on a "lite" or Diet type kibble. I agree with Nekhbet as to why the Vet has said feed kibble only. It is easy and possibly the lazy way.. but you can control intake so much better. I use human hamburger mince with my girls, however I know myself that the fat content within the mince can vary greatly between lots. Likewise with chicken, fat varies. If you want the dog to lose weight, control of protein and fat needs to be monitored closely. To bulk up the food, try wetting the kibble to bulk it up first, and also grate carrot into it to add as a bulker so the dog feels like it is getting more than what he already is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) He's still a growing labrador and requires the nutrition - most diet foods are low in fat and protein, high in fillers Even some of the so called "good" dry foods are imported and irradiated which is not good for any food that is going to be consumed. Neither Nutrience, Eagle Pack or Royal Canin are irradiated. Orijen was because its manufacturing process did not comply with our standards and hence required irradiation. All I said was that during the weight loss phase its easier to do it with dry food, its a complete food and honestly people a dry food only diet will not kill the dog . A 9 month old NEEDS growing nutrition but he needs to shed that weight now. Like i said I think it safer to get the weight off via food THEN fiddle with the BARF diet. Edited February 15, 2009 by Nekhbet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Dry food is lazy food and people find it "easy" to feed - that doesn't make it "good" it just makes it convenient. Feeding a dog a healthy diet takes a little planning and can be made to be convenient, but dry food is not a healthy alternative. What a ridiculous thing to say. A BARF diet is not appropriate for every dog out there. I have a dog here who is intolerant to red meat, she has a combination of raw and Royal Canin. And she does very well on it - BARF was not for her. Snr, I fed my dogs on dried food for years and they did well on it - yes they were healthy They have always had some raw meat and bones incorporated into their diet. The two that are on BARF now are loving it, and it agrees with them. Some vets don't agree with feeding BARF but if your dog is doing well on it - by all means feed it and don't feel like you have to feed dried. But a BARF diet is not the be all and end all when it comes to feeding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Dry food is lazy food and people find it "easy" to feed - that doesn't make it "good" it just makes it convenient. Feeding a dog a healthy diet takes a little planning and can be made to be convenient, but dry food is not a healthy alternative. What a ridiculous thing to say. A BARF diet is not appropriate for every dog out there. I have a dog here who is intolerant to red meat, she has a combination of raw and Royal Canin. And she does very well on it - BARF was not for her. Snr, I fed my dogs on dried food for years and they did well on it - yes they were healthy They have always had some raw meat and bones incorporated into their diet. The two that are on BARF now are loving it, and it agrees with them. Some vets don't agree with feeding BARF but if your dog is doing well on it - by all means feed it and don't feel like you have to feed dried. But a BARF diet is not the be all and end all when it comes to feeding I agree. One of my dogs cant tolerate BARF either. She is on dry and is doing better on that than when on BARF. My other dog is on 3/4 BARF 1/4 dry. Like huski I believe not every dog is suitable for BARF. My other dog does very well on it, but i am afraid of not balancing properly so give a little dry for breakfast as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke W Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) http://www.thedogbowl.com/PPF/category_ID/37/dogbowl.asp What a great site! Not. I notice they offer to deliver RAW food to your door. Nice ethical business that one. And they say vets push the food they make money on. Just one comment: From the site: "Though dogs are omnivores, they are hunters and scavengers, requiring a diet heavily based on meat and bone. Notice how happy your dogs gets when you give him a bone? Your dogs are simply reacting according to their instincts and genetic programming. This is the basic philosophy behind feeding your dogs a raw dog food diet. " By that logic, I should feed my dog cat shit and 3 week old pizza. Edited February 15, 2009 by Luke W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InspectorRex Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I did the barf thing and all the dogs got food poisoning. I feed Californatural Natural Chicken and Rice( they have other flavours and also low fat kibble). It comes from USA and it is NOT irridated(I have that comfirmed it writing by the makers).It has all the nutrional supplements the dogs need and they love it. For a super premuim food it is not too expensive either. I buy the 9.3kgs for $75.00 and that feeds two adult Collies for 5 weeks and the only other food they get is diced and boiled skinless chicken breast fillets for treats, Their coats are so glossy and they are a healthy weight( ie have a waistline and can feel ribs) Whatever works best for your dogs is the best thing to feed them IMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravyk Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 By that logic, I should feed my dog cat shit and 3 week old pizza. or that horrible dead seagull they found at the beach last week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogon Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 By that logic, I should feed my dog cat shit and 3 week old pizza. as usual, Luke tells it straight! Tyra20007 what's with the 'dry food is lazy food' sermon? grrrrrrr That's NOT cool. Each to their own and a bit of balance never hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabertooth Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 By that logic, I should feed my dog cat shit and 3 week old pizza. lol.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabertooth Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 or that horrible dead seagull they found at the beach last week! lol.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I buy the 9.3kgs for $75.00 and that feeds two adult Collies for 5 weeks O_o wow ... I used to go through 15 kilos is 2 - 2 1/2 weeks of RC!! how do you manage that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 By that logic, I should feed my dog cat shit and 3 week old pizza.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: well we are apparently poisoning our dogs by feeding them kibble so I guess it cant do anymore harm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 By that logic, I should feed my dog cat shit and 3 week old pizza.:rolleyes: :rolleyes: well we are apparently poisoning our dogs by feeding them kibble so I guess it cant do anymore harm No, it's not just poisoning them, it's being lazy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I feed kibble and chicken frames. I tried BARF with Diesel and I couldn't keep weight on him. Plus I found it expensive and time consuming. We are using Advance at the moment, doing well. My old girl who died in 2007 was on dry food only (Eukanuba) her whole life, was very healthy and lived to be 17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogon Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 My old girl who died in 2007 was on dry food only (Eukanuba) her whole life, was very healthy and lived to be 17. Phew....I was beginning to feel like a Eukanuba looser! :rolleyes: Great to know Kavik. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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