Mainly Kibble Only Diet, What Do People Think?

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

It gives a brief basic outline of why processed dog foods are bad. Some swear by the stuff, but I consider it poison.

it is not helpful to the OP to include your value judgements. i have always prepared my own food for my dogs but my current dog had food allergies and i have found that kibble is the best to feed her to control the allergies. are you suggesting i am poisoning her?

how about getting your facts straight before pronouncing that we are all bad dog owers if we feed kibble.

for the OP, a kibble only diet will let you manage the amount of food much better and i can assure you that my dog is very healthy, has a shiny coat and no itching on the Eagle Pack holistic Duck kibble!!!

good luck with the weight loss.

[VJB]

We are using Advance, and I add a variety of foods to keep it interesting for her. Somedays I add sardines, and/or pumpkin, cottage cheese, egg, chicken etc. She's doing great on it, and

most people comment on her shiny coat. Raw just didn't agree with her and made her vomit. I've even tried in small doses and this doesn't work, but she enjoys a raw roo tail without many

issues. I don't consider myself lazy either.

[poodlefan]

Growing pup + weight loss requried = very carefully balanced diet.

I can see why the vet recommended kibble - he/she will know that your pup will get enough nutrients even with a significant calorie reduction.

What ever you are feeding, HALVE it. You want weight off your pup ASAP. Give no extras and feed the best quality suitable kibble you can afford. Labradors are meant to have a waist and an obvious tuck. They should not have rolls of skin around their shoulders and tail. You want your boy lean to help prevent any further skeletal issues.

BARF is not for every dog. I feed it and recommend it but there are other options. The OP needs advice, not judgment on his/her dog ownership skills.

Edited February 16, 2009 by poodlefan

[CP*]

Growing pup + weight loss requried = very carefully balanced diet.

I can see why the vet recommended kibble - he/she will know that your pup will get enough nutrients even with a significant calorie reduction.

Absolutely agree. Kibble will be the best way to ensure he is still getting enough nutrients to grow. I don't think I would half it for a dog that age though, maybe a third less at that age he should be able to burn off the excess fairlyl quickly. Did the vet specify whether to use the weight loss, adult or puppy variety of kibble, how fast the weight should come off and what quantities to feed? I would go back and get more detail if not. Puppy/young dog kibble tends to have higher fat and protein so you don't really want to be adding more protein by way of mince. You could add cooked pumpkin to the kibble for a bit of variety tho.

[Odin-Genie]

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!

Or the yummy piece of cardboard...

...the super delicious melting fat off the grill...

..the lip smacking rotten tree bark...

..with an ice cold bowl of beer!!!

[snr]

The Vet told me to put him on Adult Kibble, He didn't mention anything about Diet Kibble.

I Currently have him on Adult Innova.

He Gets 1 turkey Neck or Meaty Bone or Chicken Frame in the Morning, Then at night he Gets 1 1/2 Cups of Innova with Sardines or an egg And Yogurt couple of times a week about a tablespoon mixed in with the kibble. That is A MAJOR! Cut back compared to what I was feeding him. I can see in the past week on the new Diet, He has lost some weight.

I have to take him back to the vet in 4 days to weigh him.

[Rysup]

Must be a lot of lazy people out there!!

Must say though I have not poisoned my dogs as yet.

[Mystiqview]

Lazy people who feed kibble.. pffft.

Hmm.. our meat supplies are full of additives and antiobiotics and other genetic enhancers.. who knows what that is doing to the dog let alone ourselves.. pfft.

Like what keeps getting said in these threads.. feed whatever works for you and your dog not every dog is the same and can eat the same foods.. Just like humans..

Glad to hear that you think he is losing weight.

I did not realise from your first posts the dog was that young.

I would possibly cut back on the meat in the morning. Depending on the size of your turkey neck.. if it is full size, I would probably half it.. same for the chicken frame as both of those are quite fatty in themselves.

Also look into Greyhound bickies.. 4x4 or 2x2.. (God forbid more dry food).. There is not a lot of value nutrition in them, but they are good to give as a treat/snack without adding too much other to the diet.. it also "fills the hole" so to speak. Again watch colours as some companies have flavoured (cheese, vanilla and I think beef) ones that are also coloured.

[becks]

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!

Wow, how many dogs are you feeding that to?

[OSoSwift]

When I was vet nursing, we did quite often recommend dry food for weight loss as you knew exactly have many kilocalories per kilo the food was. If you are feeding a home prepared diet it will change from batches of food made up and the ingredients that go into the food.

At his age his weight is a very vaild concern and for the short term a diet of only dry food would not hurt him. However if you have cut his food back and he is losing weight, keep doing what you are doing. Sometimes dogs will lose weight, then plateu, cut his food by 25% if he does that and his weight should start shifting again. Once he can exercise that of course will help the process. Don't do too much exercise when he is carrying lots of extra weight as you are straining soft forming joints, gentle lead walking is best until his level of fitness increases and his weight drops.

You do not want him to lose weight super quickly as if they drop weight very quickly it can release lots of fat into the blood stream and cause problems with the liver and pancreas. From memory the maximum you would want a dog to lose of his size would be 1 and a half to two kilo's a week.

This is an ideal bodyweight chart of what to look for in an ideal bodyweight dog

http://www.purina.com/dogs/health/AdultBodyCondChart.pdf

I feed about half and half and have healthy dogs, they get good quality dry food and meat, vegies, fish, bones, chicken carcasses and some rice.

Edited February 19, 2009 by rommimum

[Teebs]

Well, im lazy and feed poison to my dogs

and guess what

they are both healthy and happy :cool:

i tried BARF, didnt work for me or them.

They get nurtience, they get bones now and then, they get fresh mince with it as well, the cats are also on nurtience, and we wont be changing anytime soon

I work in a kennel and do pet sitting, i know many dogs who are on a dry food only diet, and they are all happy and healthy