Weight Loss Tips
What should you look for when buying a food to help your dog lose weight? Low fat, low calories, high fiber? Do diet dog foods lack in other nutrition? As far as feeding goes, what are some good tips to help your dog lose weight?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alice on
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Thank you for the supplement recommendation. We currently give him 21st Century K-9 Maximum Joint Formula. he's been on them since he was 8 months old. I will keep your brand in mind though should we decide to try something new. :)
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Hi Alice! This is going to be a little different than what others may have suggested but it has worked well for me and I also use it to help people lose weight I have helped 4 people each loose over 100 pounds and this takes about 18 months or so.
1.How old is Finn...if I remember right he's only about a year? If so the pound he gained would be normal for his age! He's still growing till about 18 months!
2.Weight loss should be gradual! You don't have to have him lose this in a week or 2 but over a period of a couple months!
3.Keep him on regular food but cut it by 1/4 cup each meal and replace that with green beans,broccoli or other veggies or you can use the 1/4 cup of veggies as treats throughout the day!
4. Increase exercise when you can!
5. Remember that slow weight loss is healthier than a crash diet! People go into a phase that the body actually stores the fat if the start "starving" themselves!
6.Give him things as Joanne suggested (knuckle bones) to chew on and keep him satisfied...just like some of us humans...we need to satisfy that hand(paw) to mouth action and as we should have non carb foods to munch on a bone or no calories alternative for a dog is good!
Hope this makes sense!
Jane
I have done this with my own and it works well! Last winter Wynn bulked up and I don't mean muscle BUT by following what I have said here in about 4 months he was down to his sleek figure and has maintained it!
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Jane,
Thank you for the detailed weight loss regimen. It makes sense and still ensures that he's getting the proper nutrition.
You are correct, he is just over a year old (15 months to be exact) and I had the same thought, that maybe the weight gain was because he is still growing. He does not look heavier, but perhaps he gained muscle. His waist has not grown or shrunk yet though so we need to work on it. I certainly don't expect him to lose it fast. After cutting his portion we waited two months before weighing him again, but alas, no weight loss.
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Permalink Reply by Kyle, Megan and Loki on
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Low Carbs are what to go for helping your dog lose weight. They don't metabolize like we do, carbs are often empty overloaded nutrition, they can and do readily use fat as energy. The high grain content leading high carbs in food is a good reason why so many dogs dogs are overweight.
other than that, make sure they get an hour good activity minimum.
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Actually that is the same reason (carbs) so many people are overweight also! Serving size for both also!
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Permalink Reply by Anne Pinkerton on
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Our corgi was OBESE when we adopted him - 40lbs. Now he's a slim 29lb. And he didn't suffer too much! He did lots of exercise, and I hear that's hard with Finn's hip issue. But I agree that baby carrots (or other veggies) as snacks or food supplements really make a difference. Also, you could try feeding him with a feeder toy - that makes them work at it harder - thus burning calories while they eat! (wish we could figure out how to do that!)
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Ha ha, yes that would be nice if we could figure out how to do that. :)
I'm glad you were able to get your Corgi down to a healthy weight. It sounds like cutting back the kibble and adding veggies has worked for many of you. We will definitely give it a try. Plus, the vet had suggested higher fiber and the veggies will give him that as well.
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on
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The higher fiber can help him feel fuller on a smaller amount of food, but dogs don't "need" fiber like humans do.
What I think you've been getting at - and you're right to be concerned - is that you can get to a point where you've reduced the food so much that the dog isn't getting his RDA of things. For example, they need a certain number of mg of magnesium or a certain number of mg of calcium and if you've cut down to a quarter-cup of Dog Chow he's not getting those mg.
You're also right that different foods are digested differently. A high-grain kibble is going to be converted to fat more quickly than a low-grain kibble where he has to actually use his digestive system to break down the components of the food.
I don't think you should switch to a "light" or senior food; in fact, if you switch at all it should be to a more nutrient-dense food so you can feed less without compromising his nutrition. And I think it would be a great idea, especially since he needs to be light long-term, to consider a supplement. There are plenty of them out there but I like the ones that come from food, rather than being synthetic. I've used Nature's Logic supplement powder (which is made from milk and liver and chicken and veggies) and I REALLY like it. I'd also recommend a little kelp each day; if any of his weight gain is related to a sluggish thyroid kelp can really help out. You're already feeding a good joint supplement; are you feeding a good oil like salmon oil?
If you are giving 2/3 cup a day of a good nutrient-dense kibble and top-dressing with those good supplements, and once a week fasting him with a bone, you should feel very confident about his nutrition and I really think he will lose weight. I LOVE that you're so concerned about him and involved in his care; you get an A+ for that one.
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Thank you so much Joanna! You've given me some great information and eased my concern of under nourishing Finn. I was not sold on the diet food myself and I'm glad to hear that you wouldn't recommend t for him either. A vitamin supplement would be a good idea and I hadn't thought of kelp before. His joint supplement does have other vitamins in it as well but I think a multivitamin would still be beneficial. His food does have salmon oil in it so I don't know if he would need more of that.
I appreciate your vote of confidence as well. He's very important to me and I wouldn't have it any other way. :)
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Permalink Reply by Sky and Lyla on
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I don't know a lite about the low fat foods, and I would be hesitant to cut the fat by too much, but I'm sure other people can be of more help on that than I can. I did want to say, however, that if you are worried about Vitamins, my vet said he recommends Centrum Silver vitamins to all of his patients that do a homemade raw or homemade cooked diet. So if you are concerned about proper vitamin intake you might try it. I
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Permalink Reply by mosesbotbol on
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We bought the diet version of the same dog food we feed Camber and it worked well for her. Her stool was not as nice and she REALLY seemed hungry at every meal, but one bag of the diet is all that was needed to get her back to her prime weight.
We are now feeding her normal food everything is good. Not sure where the weight gain was, but it could've been that I stopped walking her and Elys started... Maybe the daily distance went down initially and Camber did not adjust. All is good now.
We very rarily give her any treats and the most human food she'll get is an empty yogurt container or the yoke off a plate that had a poached egg. We use to give her more treats, but she is not so treat driven and I end up forgetting we have treats for!
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