Weight Loss Dry Food

[bianca.a]

Hi all,

I am looking to find a good weight loss/management dry food for my girl. She has a dodgy cruciate on her left and moderate HD on her right(she will be getting more xrays in a couple of months to see if it has progressed).

I can feel her ribs and she had a nice tuck but from above she is a bit umm cuddly! I have found Advance and Proplan do a type so far but was looking to see if anybody has experience with these or some other brands please. She is currently on Canidae with sardines or salmon etc at night. She also gets cooked pumpkin and green beans to bulk out her food as she gets so little.

But I can't feed her less (she acts starving all the time) and want her to loose a couple of kgs if possible to help with her health issues.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Bianca and Molly the 'cuddly' dog!

[Willem]

Hi all,

I am looking to find a good weight loss/management dry food for my girl. She has a dodgy cruciate on her left and moderate HD on her right(she will be getting more xrays in a couple of months to see if it has progressed).

I can feel her ribs and she had a nice tuck but from above she is a bit umm cuddly! I have found Advance and Proplan do a type so far but was looking to see if anybody has experience with these or some other brands please. She is currently on Canidae with sardines or salmon etc at night. She also gets cooked pumpkin and green beans to bulk out her food as she gets so little.

But I can't feed her less (she acts starving all the time) and want her to loose a couple of kgs if possible to help with her health issues.

Thank you in advance for any help.

Bianca and Molly the 'cuddly' dog!

...why would you feed special food when the easiest and cheapest way is to feed less???...less food plus 1 day in the week fasting (allow access to water all the time) and you will boost her health. You love your dog, but remember, food is not love!!!

[denali]

I don't have any weight loss food suggestions, as I've always just reduced the amount of food they are currently on, or switched to raw.

IMO, A lot of these foods are lower quality and just contain indigestible fillers.

So i would personally just further reduce the food you are feeding her, reduce the sardines too.

Are the sardines and salmon in oil or water? If oil, switch them to water only.

You can add in something like raw grated carrots as well- low calorie and pretty much just a filler like the beans.

Though, i do now feed raw and have done so for many years so my kibble knowledge is declining- What is the carb and protein percentages in the canidae?

Also make sure she works for her food, obviously nothing major given her HD and cruciate- but just scavenging for it, feeding in muffin tins with tennis balls ontop, from empty egg cartons or milk bottles,kongs, bikkies scattered through the grass, simple obedience.

Treats and tidbits- does she get any of these? bones?

[ish]

I've had good success with Royal Canin Maxi Light in the past for my good do-er! She was able to have a decent sized meal of it whilst keeping her weight at bay, so she wasn't starving and scavenging like she did with tiny quantities of normal food. Bulking the meals up with veggies is a good idea too and my girl learned to love carrots as treats

[Xyz]

We use Hills metabolic, wonderful results without fail!

[Scottsmum]

...why would you feed special food when the easiest and cheapest way is to feed less???...less food plus 1 day in the week fasting (allow access to water all the time) and you will boost her health. You love your dog, but remember, food is not love!!!

Because as we grow and age we (and I mean humans and canines) have different nutritional requirements and there is no reason why a diet shoudlnt change to reflect that.

We use Hills metabolic, wonderful results without fail!

We have some cats in the cattery I'm working in at the moment on the feline version of Hills metabolic, I can say, at least the cat version is highly palatable. They got bonkers for it.

I don't have any weight loss food suggestions, as I've always just reduced the amount of food they are currently on, or switched to raw. IMO, A lot of these foods are lower quality and just contain indigestible fillers. So i would personally just further reduce the food you are feeding her, reduce the sardines too. Are the sardines and salmon in oil or water? If oil, switch them to water only. You can add in something like raw grated carrots as well- low calorie and pretty much just a filler like the beans. Though, i do now feed raw and have done so for many years so my kibble knowledge is declining- What is the carb and protein percentages in the canidae? Also make sure she works for her food, obviously nothing major given her HD and cruciate- but just scavenging for it, feeding in muffin tins with tennis balls ontop, from empty egg cartons or milk bottles,kongs, bikkies scattered through the grass, simple obedience. Treats and tidbits- does she get any of these? bones?

I had lots of these thoughts too. Having been tubby myself my whole life and having had an obese dog I know how hard it can be to "just reduce their food". Obviously you need to do it but I think some of the weight management options are good choices too - even if you were to swap her to raw - you'd be well advised to use lower fat proteins.

I'd be weighting out exactly what she's getting too - a bit like when you start weight watchers and you get measure all your food - then after a while you start to eyeball your portions and then you stop loosing weight - long version short - ALWAYS measure out your portions and know exactly what she's getting. You could also split her meals out into 3 or 4 - not adding extra just feeding her more often with the same daily portion.

I had a quick google and there are two Canidae weight loss foods - Ive not fed them but if you're happy with Canidae - it might be worth looking at them.

http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/grain-free-pure-resolve-dry-formula

http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-all-life-stages-platinum-dry-formula

I'd be making her work for it too - all same suggestions denali included above.

[bianca.a]

Thank you all so much, I really appreciate it. I don't feel I can reduce her food by much at all and my vet is even shocked at how little she gets. She doesn't get bones (other dog can't handle them) and I used to feed raw but cannot afford it especially with the big boofa (Cooper). Apart from training treats which then I cut down her food she only gets her joint supplements. The salmon and or sardines are in spring water.

I guess I was just looking for an easy answer by trying a different food while keeping the volume similar?

[bianca.a]

Scottsmum, thank you re the Canidae, I did not even think to check them out! I am ordering now!

[Scottsmum]

Thank you all so much, I really appreciate it. I don't feel I can reduce her food by much at all and my vet is even shocked at how little she gets. She doesn't get bones (other dog can't handle them) and I used to feed raw but cannot afford it especially with the big boofa (Cooper). Apart from training treats which then I cut down her food she only gets her joint supplements. The salmon and or sardines are in spring water.

I guess I was just looking for an easy answer by trying a different food while keeping the volume similar?

I'm lucky my non-food driven boy will work for his usual kibble and lots of praise. Will she also work for her usual feed?

No worries on the canidae tip - sometimes we overlook the simple things.

[bianca.a]

Thank you again! You are right I have spent so much time on the computer searching for what I hoped would be her perfect answer! She will but with not nearly the same focus if I use her treats.

[RiverStar-Aura]

If you're training her with food rewards I'd be cutting out her meal/dinner altogether. My guys might get 2-4 cheese cubes each for agility training (1 cube squishes into about 10 treats) but then that's it for the night, no dinner. If I'm at a dog show we're usually travelling in the early morning of the hours so no food before a trip and as they're sleeping in a crate most of the day, no breakfast either.

I do understand what you mean about trying to reduce bugger all food into even less. My own little girl Kirah gets 1 tablespoon of kibble twice daily and it keeps her fit, lean and on a constant weight but I can hardly imagine trying to give her even less!

My philosophy with weight loss is energy in to energy out. If your dog is lying around all day doing sweet bugger all then minimal food is required. If they're hardcore running around, more food required.

Also, I used Royal Canin Light on my cat with awesome results. She dropped the kilo she needed to lose and has been at a stable weight ever since.

[Kavik]

I also agree with using her food as her training treats. My young dog gets all of his food through training :) My fella is very active and does not need to lose weight, but this is what I feed him through training, I use the chicken and the lamb:

http://www.prime100.com.au/Pages/Our_Range/Single_Protein_Diet___SPD___-_Vet_Recommended.aspx

I bet the sardines and salmon would be high enough value to use for training treats :D and some dogs really like pumpkin, apple, carrot.

Edited June 26, 2016 by Kavik

[bianca.a]

Thank you both very much. I unfortunately can't do a great deal of training due to a chronic illness. I will try the reduced calorie/fat Canidae and see how she goes on that. She gets a monthly Cartrophen injection so will be easy to weigh her and tell how she is progressing (hopefully).

[Sagittarian]

Can highly recommend Prime Roo & Potato or Roo & Pumpkin rolls - not usually a fan of rolls but these are not the average type and help keep the dog feeling full whilst addressing weight. Some dogs just will not lose weight on dry food unless fed next to nothing.

Sags

:)

[bianca.a]

Thank you! I will keep that in mind :)

[RuralPug]

Another thought - I know she is not able to exercise much but instead of putting the kibble part of her meal into a bowl make her work for every piece by tucking each piece into a rag rug (this sort of thing) or a commercial seeking game (example) or home made seeking game (great site here).

These things will expend energy without putting much stress on her joints. Thinking takes energy - there is no thinking required in just emptying a bowl. And the same small amount of food will seem more satisfying to her because it took longer to eat.

[Staff'n'Toller]

Reducing food is a fairly old-school idea, when you reduce it you can often push them into fat storage mode. All foods are complete and balanced at the recommended feeding amounts, but if you are cutting that by 1/3 or 1/2 they may be missing out on adequate vitamins/minerals during that time.

There is a metabolic + mobility (metabolic plus) recently out, which has the benefits of both metabolic and j/d. It's quite pricey but it is the cost of two prescription foods so the price reflects that.

[Danois]

Reducing food is a fairly old-school idea, when you reduce it you can often push them into fat storage mode. All foods are complete and balanced at the recommended feeding amounts, but if you are cutting that by 1/3 or 1/2 they may be missing out on adequate vitamins/minerals during that time.

There is a metabolic + mobility (metabolic plus) recently out, which has the benefits of both metabolic and j/d. It's quite pricey but it is the cost of two prescription foods so the price reflects that.

Is that a Hills product?