Dog Diets

[varmint]

annual check up at the vet. cowboy needs to drop 10+ pounds. any of you all have experience with this? he gets a pretty good amount of exercise, so it all comes down to the calories.

is there a brand of diet dog food that is recommended?

[KFC911]

Beautiful dog! I've always fed my dogs Pro Plan (Purina good stuff), but I think any good food is OK, just cut down on the amount by 20% until you reach the desired weight, and then adjust the amount to maintain it. My last girl got "fat" when she was about 4-5 years old and my vet had to chide me for a couple of years before I learned. Each's metabolism is different, and he always said: "If a thimble full is all she requires, then that's the proper amount". I miss my old girl (yellow lab), but she had a good run of 14+ . I almost got another recently, but I'm around small children, and their dispositions dictated that I didn't...maybe soon though.

[klm2500hd]

Cut back on the dog food, and supplement with carrot sticks to keep from having a hungry/ begging dog.

[rouxroux]

This is an easy one. When we need to have one of our show dogs drop a few pounds, we cut back on their main food mix and add green beans (unsalted). Our vet says our dogs are getting proper nutrition, and our dogs think it is some sort of "added treat".

[911nut]

My Airedale is going on 10 years old and she's been +/- 2 lb. her whole life. All I've done is follow the recommend quantity based on adult body weight on the food bag. As for exercise, she makes sure I take her on nightly walks
I've heard of adding green beans to the food from breeders who show their dogs. I also heard of a Purina food that has crushed peanut hulls in it to add bulk but I have no experience with that food.
I'd recommend staying away from the popular and cheap dog foods. I'm limited as to what I can feed my dog as she has a food allergy but at the moment she is eating Nutri Source Pure Vita and really likes it.

[Joe Bob]

After I got tired of my Labs kicking the bucket after 8-9 years, I would feed them fruits and veggies. They wolfed it down and they dropped back to fighting weight.

They still died earlier than my small dogs but were in shape and happier.

[rouxroux]

Ultimate Dog Tease - YouTube

One of his relatives?

[island911]

Dry foods are typically more nutritionally/calorically dense than canned (which has quite a bit of water weight) - in short, pets can get fat easily on the dry. ...esp if you leave too much out for them.

[R K T]

Our Dachshund got Rocky Mtn Spotted Fever right after we rescued her and it ravaged her pancreas so she has a hard time breaking down fat. Most dog food is high in fat, especially canned stuff. Even a lot of dry food can be very high in fat, plus huge amounts of "crude fiber".
I found the cleanest, least amount of fat and filler is Blue Buffalo. She loves it too!

[azasadny]

Our Golden Retriever Daisy eats 2-3 cups of Nature's Recipe lamb and rice a day, only snacks are carrots, fresh vegetables and ice cubes. NO HUMAN FOOD and NO GRAZING (leaving food bowl full) as those are the main causes of overweight dogs and shortened lifespans.

[varmint]

thanks for the advice. will try the green beans. have also heard that pumpkin works well as a filler. i know he likes baby carrots.


cowboy is 13. and i guess his metabolism is finally starting to slow down. heelers are long lived though. and i expect to get 2-3 more years out of him at least.

[Chocaholic]

We were spending $60 for a 30 lb bag of boutique diet dog food to take weight off our Golden. We have an older country vet who told us to feed plain old canned Alpo...nothing else. In her case (80lb dog), one large can a day. He said it's 70% water. Weight came off easily and she handled it well. Lived to be 16.5 years, healthy and active until the day she took a nap on the couch and never woke up.

Taking his advice and ignoring the hype has saved us a small fortune over the years.

[varmint]

Originally Posted by rouxroux

Ultimate Dog Tease - YouTube

One of his relatives?

close, but no one has ever been able to deny cowboy food. when we walk by the local coffee shop, girls call out from the drive through window to give him treats. he is the most talented moocher i have ever seen.

[dennis in se pa]

I feed my dogs plain old Purina. And table scraps. And each gets a hamburger treat most days. My dogs, and I have had a lot of them over my time, last 14-16 years. Only one that appeared over weight was a Shepard that had a tumor who died at 14 years. Just put down a Jack Russell mix at 14 years. Any decent food is fine. A lot of that fancy expensive show dog stuff has poison from China in it. How quickly we forget.

Plenty of love is the ingredient I recommend.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by rouxroux

This is an easy one. When we need to have one of our show dogs drop a few pounds, we cut back on their main food mix and add green beans (unsalted). Our vet says our dogs are getting proper nutrition, and our dogs think it is some sort of "added treat".

Exactly what I would recommend.

Mine aren't show dogs but they are extremely healthy and at their proper weight (approx. 37 lbs.)

Mine each get 1/2 cup Purina One Lamb and Rice DRY food twice a day (morning and evening).

As stated....you can substitute 1/2 cup unsalted green beans for their dinner if weight loss is desired. They love it!

[nota]

my 35 lb lab-chow- shepherd mix
will only eat dry cat food
and what ever is leftover after our dinner

[Don Ro]

Green beans?
What...raw, steamed, stir-fried?
My boy could drop a few - like me.

[azasadny]

Feed me...

[rouxroux]

Awww Art...I know "that look"!!!!

[rouxroux]

Originally Posted by Don Ro

Green beans?
What...raw, steamed, stir-fried?
My boy could drop a few - like me.

Don, I usually heat 'em up in a sauce pan than drain the liquid.