I have a dog that is overweight and the vet tries to get me to use an expensive prescription food that I don't feel is necessary. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on what I might give her to help her lose weight?
I am so glad you are taking your dog's weight problem seriously. This way your dog will live longer & be healthier & happier with less damage to his joints from excess weight as he ages. Several yeas back we found out that our cat was overweight but that it's actually dangerous for cats to have their calories reduced to quickly because it can damage their kidneys or liver (I forgot which)... Anyway, he resisted our efforts to reduce his calories (by 15% the vet said) & was always trying to get into the garbage or trying to break into the food cupboard (which has a child-safe lock on it!) to get food any way he could...
We figured it was because he lived in a parking lot & was always hungry when he was young. Then my partner realized something that greatly helped us reduce our cats calories with less problems. He figured Smokey was always hungry because of the type of food we were feeding him (we were feeding him a cheapie-brand dried food) You see, dried cat & dog food is mostly carbohydrates which causes their insulin to go up then crash after a meal so they feel hungry faster. What we did, was switch him to a canned cat food that had the most protein & the least fat & no carbs in it. I started reading cat food labels. We now only give him dried cat food once in a while for an occasional treat (now that he's down to the right size) & rely on canned food for his meals. We also feed him twice a day at about 12 hours apart. This way he's not hungry all day & just waiting for his one meal. When he was on his "diet" we used to feed him 3 times a day.
I realize that dogs have different nutritional needs than cats... But I still think that it will help if you can reduce your dogs carbohydrates by feeding him the best food you can afford... (Or ANY food that has less or no carbs in it) If you can't afford to buy canned dog food, then look for a brand that says "Weight management" because it will have more protein & less filler carbohydrates.
The other thing that helps is exercise. If you can't walk your dog, then at least go to the back yard & throw him a ball to fetch & he'll not only burn off more calories, he'll be happier, in better shape too! ...I recently read online the results of a study of overweight cats & dogs & they found that people who used "playing" as a reward instead of "food" as a reward had animals who were of a healthier weight. We DO give our cat treats... We like "Greenies" because the have mineral that binds with calcium that keeps their teeth healthy, but they have less than 2 calories a piece & we only give him 2 at a time. We find it's not "How many" we give him, it's just "the act" of us giving him the treat that seems to make his day... Lastly, we keep tract of his waistline (from above looking down) & anytime he looks even a bit like he's loosing his waistline, we'll reduce his calories & nip his weight gain in the bud!
I have a friend who was a professor of veterinary medicine at University of Florida. She told me canned chicken and green beans. It depends on the dogs weight if they have one or two cans a day.
I have an overweight small breed dog. He's also a senior so can't eat lots of the junky dog food on the market. The vet's dog food is out of my price range.
I feed my dog Purina Fit & Trim dry food now and he's lost quite a bit of weight. The chart on the back of the bag gives the amount to feed. I feed my dog half - 3/4's that amount twice a day.
When I give my dog treats, they are most often raw veggies from whatever I'm cooking that day. For example, he gets small pieces of carrots, broccoli, lettuce, celery, squash or sometimes apples, etc. He loves these "treats".
When you are looking for dog food, check the labels on the containers just like you do for your own food. Find the dog food with the most protein and the least fat and moisture content.
Good luck with your dog's weight. It's important to keep them as healthy as you can!
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
My three year old Pomeranian is overweight. She will not eat any canned dog food and hardly the dry. We give her chicken, burger meat, and sometimes pork when we make it, for dinner. What can I get for her to help get rid of the weight? She is also on meds from the vet for allergies which adds to the weight gain. Thanks.
By Elaine
First of all, you should not of started giving your dog scraps in the first place. I would suggest taking your dogs for two good walks a day to get plenty of exercise. You can buy dietary dog food at any supermarket.
Any pet owner should feed their pet the intended diet from day one. You're pet might've resisted in the beginning but it would've adapted. Your dog is not only over weight, it's most likely highly unbalanced nutritionally. I'm assuming you cook the meat before feeding too (not recommended).
You have 2 choices:
1: Force it onto a good dog food (wet or dry). It'll be a struggle for both of you at best for at least a couple of weeks but it'll be worth it in the end. Start off by starving it for a good 12 hours. Now offer it a bowl of dog food with a little bit of the original meat that it likes.
What I'd do is hold the meat up to it's nose so it knows it's accepted food then place it in the bowl of dog food. Only give it a little meat so it's appetite gets going but not enough to satisfy. Despite what crying or moaning, don't give it for more meat. If it walks away after eating the meat and not the dog food, wait until the next meal and do the same. Your small portions will ensure your dog doesn't starve to death (plus it'll lose weight) for the time being while at the same time, it'll start to associate the smell of the new dog food with meal time.
Your dog will eat the dog food after a few meals. When you notice it starting to eat the dog food, reduce the meat at each meal. After a few days or a week, only give it dog food. It will adapt.
2: You can continue feeding it meat like you are but go online and find a healthy proportion guide to ensure your dog's health. You might find one that says like 80 percent meat, 10 percent organs, and so on.
Make sure it's a lean formula so your dog loses weight. If you haven't been feeding you dog organs and muscles, there's a chance it won't eat that stuff. (You must make sure your dog eats everything in the bowl so that the diet is complete.) If that's so, you'll have to mince everything up into a meat mixture so it has no choice but to eat everything. Sprinkling tuna juice or gravy on the whole thing the first few meals might help.
Once a week, go to a cheap Asian grocery store and buy a beef bone (Asian grocery stores sell them for a dollar or 2 per bag). Go home, boil them up for a couple hours so the bone marrow becomes softer and give it to your dog. It'll love it for sure and it'll help a lot with nutrition.
I suggest you go with option 1. I've tried option 2 before. It's too much work and you most likely have to invest in vitamins and stuff like that to compensate. Good store bought dog food like Ajisen, Orijen, or Science Diet for example will let your dog live a long life. A dog that lived for 8 years on dog chow could've easily lived until 10 or 11 at least if it was fed a GOOD dog food. Brand is totally up to you.
Stop giving it scraps. It'll wait for scraps to fight its hunger instead of giving into the new diet.
Also, exercise. It needs more. If you already take it for walks, stick it on the tread mill for 15 minutes a day if you have one. If you don't, buy a laser pointer and get it to chase it for 15 minutes a day while you're watching tv or something.
Feeding good food to your pet might cost a little more now but you'll save a bundle on trips to the vet/surgeries, it'll be healthier, look healthier and it'll be around for much longer for you to love.
I have an American Bulldog that is overweight. (171 pounds) He is an inside dog and has become very lazy. This has only become an issue within the past year, he's now 7 years old. Our vet warned us during our last visit that he won't be with us much longer if we don't get his weight under control. I know it's our fault as a family because we give him table food, but he's always been treated as an equal family member.
Our family as a whole will be crushed. He's a child to my wife and I and a brother/sister to our kids! I'm thinking about making his dog food myself as I really don't trust the dog food companies, really to them it's all about profit not his health. Any advice that I can get would be helpful.Here is one recipe for cooked dog food:
1. In a very large pan add the 10 pounds ground beef.
2.Add the cooled cooked white rice.
3.Blend 18 eggs in a blender with shells then ad to mix.
4.Mix well and completely with your hands until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
5.Make about 6 or seven meat loafs and set on pans.
6.Preheat oven to 350 F.
7.Cook meat loafs for about 1 hour or until done.
I got it from homemadedogfood.com.
Most of us gain some weight as we get older and pups also fall into that category. Generally as your pet puts on weight they start slowing down on just "moving" and even less on what is called exercise. Generally the family doesn't really notice very much difference as the "baby" is still eating and still as lovable as ever - right?
One of my sons has 2 Chihuahuas and one of these slowly became "fat" and his vet told him he was killing his dog with love (food mainly and not enough exercise). It took drastic measures to make changes and this involved not just the dog but friends and family as well. he started out with a similar idea - he would only feed his dog "healthy" food and that to most people meant "home cooking".
This phase did not last long as it was a LOT of trouble and the dogs did not like it very much either so everyone was worried. He talked to his vet - again - and the vet told him the names of several very healthy dog foods (that he did not sell) and instructed him to cut the table food down a little everyday until it totally disappeared. This whole ordeal was very hard to do as the doggie always appeared hungry to us but we persevered and it worked. Of course, we also slowly increased his exercise.
here is some Bulldog advice from one vet:
Choose a commercial dry dog food that has meat as the first ingredient, and avoid soy as an ingredient as many bulldogs become allergic to it over time. Do not free-feed your bulldog. Divide your adult bulldog's ration into two or more meals per day to reduce the chance of bloat. Provide your bulldog with a constant supply of fresh drinking water.
You may have the time to cook your bulldog healthy food and I would admire anyone who does so, but if not then maybe you can find a healthy store bought food and spend the extra time walking or playing with your pet. I did find a site that has done a study on different brands of food (just in case you need back up food):
Also some good ideas on weight loss:
www.pethealthnetwork.com/
My dog has congestive heart failure. Is there a diet dog food I can use?
There are low calorie foods for overweight dogs. However, since your dog has a heart condition I would discuss this with the vet.
We have a Golden Retriever who is overweight by 8 lbs. I see postings about adding rice and veggies, etc. However, it doesn't tell me how much of each. Any clarification would be helpful.
Okay! First of all - and I am not an animal professional, but I am a life long animal pet parent - 8 pounds above average in a Golden is not cause for alarm! (I currently have English Mastiffs, so I "get" the large and huge breed dog issues!)
May I respectfully advise that you simply use common sense and apply human attitudes in a sensible diet for your fur kid? My dogs love, love, love most raw vegetables (they wait patiently as we harvest the garden, hoping for a tomato, half of a cucumber, or a handful of green beans) and we only feed them rice when they get sick and need to move to a bland diet for recovery.
Maybe you might want to consider reducing the processed dog food by a quarter cup or so a day, but use raw veggies before rice during healthy times. And again, 8 pounds "overweight" is quite a subjective judgement. Just toss the fur kid an extra baby carrot or those leftover green peas from supper! Veggies won't make them gain excessive weight! Good Luck!
Give your Golden a hug from me and don't sweat the small stuff! Okay?
My dog, Honeybear, is a 13 year old Chow Lab mix. The vet wants her to lose 5 kilos; she is 22 kilos. Can anyone please help with home made food recipe for her?
By Daphne
I would suggest cutting back on what she eats by as much as 1/2 and add the difference back in vegetables. Such as chopped carrots, green beans, sweet peas, zucchini, etc. Any low calorie vegetables or a mixture of them added; Apples, carrots, pears, etc make good "treats".
I feed a raw diet and used this method as recommended by the vet to successfully reduced my mini poodle to a normal weight. She is hypothyroid, so it is difficult to lose weight but this did work for us.
