Weight loss food for dogs

[mattingly_jess]

I have a 5 year old golden retriever/lab mix and he is about 15 pounds overweight, it seems in the winter he always gains weight as he does not get outside as much as he does in the summer time to exercise. Can anyone recommend a good weight loss dog food, I have been trying the IAM's weight management and it doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. TIA!

 

[StadEMS3]

I've tried most of them for my 8yr old 45lb beagle and he won't eat them. He just gets 1/2 cup of his sensitve stomach food morning and night per the doc. Good luck in your search

 

[Cowgirl]

I don't really think the weight loss formulas work. You could try mixing a lower amount of dry food with canned green beans or plain white rice. I'd really suggest more exercise though.

 

[muttdog]

My female beagle mix is on prescription RD food from pet smart. She is nine and is not very active, eat, go to the bathroom, and sleep are her daily activities. The food has helped her keep from gaining more weight and when she was more active, she was loseing weight. Might be something to look into.

 

[jaksprat]

I don't get this. My dog was getting overweight cause she has always eaten too much if you let her and gains too much weight accordingly. To get her to lose weight I simply measure her meals (2 per day) and make sure she doesn't eat too much. It's pretty easy - less food, lower weight. Why the special formulas or special dog food? What am I missing? :shrug: Sure, she acts like she's hungry a lot, but she has always acted that way. My other dog never had the problem. Both dogs get Purina One BTW.

 

[baydreams]

Have you ever heard of the pumpkin diet for dogs? We just adopted a dog from the humane society. They said he is about 5lbs over weight and they gave me a recipe for pumpkin diet. Frozen green beans, 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin, puffed rice and a 1/2 cup of science diet dog food. I don't know if it works and it looks like death, but that's what they recommended.
We've only had him for a week so its still to early to tell.

 

[cattitude]

Have you ever heard of the pumpkin diet for dogs? We just adopted a dog from the humane society. They said he is about 5lbs over weight and they gave me a recipe for pumpkin diet. Frozen green beans, 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin, puffed rice and a 1/2 cup of science diet dog food. I don't know if it works and it looks like death, but that's what they recommended.
We've only had him for a week so its still to early to tell.

That sounds awful and it's not really very healthy.

Feed dogs a quality food and tailor it to suit their metabolism, not what is recommended on the bag and you will have no problems.

Be very careful with the pumpkin...it can give them diarrhea.

 

[boxerluverz]

I would try and go for a food thats high in protein and fiber. Vets usually have Rx foods like Royal Canin's calorie control, personally im not a great fan of rx diets but if you fed it to lose the weight then weaned to something else it would serve it's purpose. Whatever you chose to feed, If you feed them the amount it says on the bag you need to look at the weight your dog "should" be not what they are now, so if your dog is 80lbs instead of 65lbs for example, look at the food recommendations for closer to the 65-70lb range, you don't want them to lose the weight too fast either, usually depening on their size and activity level around 2-4 lbs per month. Good luck, it can be hard helping a pet lose weight!

 

[saggy]

I have a 5 year old golden retriever/lab mix and he is about 15 pounds overweight, it seems in the winter he always gains weight as he does not get outside as much as he does in the summer time to exercise. Can anyone recommend a good weight loss dog food, I have been trying the IAM's weight management and it doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. TIA!

I have a feagle that kept gaining weight (and still does) and nothing I did worked. We pulled a T4 count and sure enough she had thyroid problems. She was 2 years old at the time. We've tried every RX from the Vets and none of it works. The only thing that I have heard working on dogs is Slentrol from the vets office. My feagle is 63 lbs and it keeps her from gaining more weight. She eats twice a day a half cup at a time. Beleive me she doesn't get people food and no treats. Not even the Science Diet TD's for her teeth because they are fattening. It's very hard to know how many calories are in certain foods for dogs. You have to look at the labels and if you can't figure it out, ask the vet. they will help you figure it out. If your feeding anything other than food to your dog that could be one cause for the weight gain. My girl loves to go outside and try to run but its almost like she smells food and gains a few pounds. Please tell us if you find something that works.

 

[Cowgirl]

I have a feagle that kept gaining weight (and still does) and nothing I did worked. We pulled a T4 count and sure enough she had thyroid problems. She was 2 years old at the time. We've tried every RX from the Vets and none of it works. The only thing that I have heard working on dogs is Slentrol from the vets office. My feagle is 63 lbs and it keeps her from gaining more weight. She eats twice a day a half cup at a time. Beleive me she doesn't get people food and no treats. Not even the Science Diet TD's for her teeth because they are fattening. It's very hard to know how many calories are in certain foods for dogs. You have to look at the labels and if you can't figure it out, ask the vet. they will help you figure it out. If your feeding anything other than food to your dog that could be one cause for the weight gain. My girl loves to go outside and try to run but its almost like she smells food and gains a few pounds. Please tell us if you find something that works.

What is a feagle?

 

[Roxie04]

We cut our dogs food back by 25% and switched to a low fat food like the vet told us. For snacks we cut out all dog snacks and only gave her fruits or veggies. Made a big difference. She is nice and trim now.

 

[baydreams]

That sounds awful and it's not really very healthy.

Feed dogs a quality food and tailor it to suit their metabolism, not what is recommended on the bag and you will have no problems.

Be very careful with the pumpkin...it can give them diarrhea.

Its actually very healthy. Many articles I've read and the vet I saw yesterday have all said that the pumpkin is a great source of fiber and helps the anal gland. The key is to use only the recommended dosage. With the green beans and puffed rice it makes it look like he is getting a huge meal but its very filling and he eats less. Google the canine pumpkin diet and see what you find out. I went through his paperwork yesterday and saw that she had printed out articles on the diet and the reading is very interesting.

Just food for thought!

 

[saggy]

What is a feagle?

Let me explain how we got Sophia Fugly so I don't sound like a turd. I have always had great Danes and can't deal with the little yeppy dogs. One winter during a snowstorm my husband and some employees found a baby puppy in a snow pile on route 4 by the 7-11. Of course they grabbed the pup and called me. I ran up and took it to the vets to be checked. It was a 5 week old Beagle pup. My husband fell in love with it as he had Beagles growing up. I was worried she would get squashed by the Danes but we kept her. But to me she was just so friggin ugly.....(I'm not a Beagle fan) so I took the F off of the word and added it to her name. Then I gave her a first name of Sophia. So Sophia Fugly has cost me a small fortune and I've spent many nights awake all night with her when she is sick-which is several times a year. Don't know if she's inbred or what but she's the most unhealthy mutt I've ever seen.

Sohpia Fugly also gets a tablespoon of pumpkin a night for the fiber and to help with gas....it helps so please don't automatically discard the pumpkin diet. Heck I'd try anything if it would make Sophia Fugly lose weight.

 

[Crashpupty]

Diet alone will not help and still be healthy, exercise is what the dogs need. Take them for walks or runs or put them on a treadmill when the weather is cold. We all do not want to put on the winter weight, the more we exercise our dogs the more we get so it could be a win win if ya know what I mean. Adjust the food to the activity levels, don't feed the same in the winter as you do in the summer and do not go by what is suggested on the bag. Dogs were never meant to be couch potatoes.

 

[jaksprat]

Diet alone will not help and still be healthy, exercise is what the dogs need. Take them for walks or runs or put them on a treadmill when the weather is cold. We all do not want to put on the winter weight, the more we exercise our dogs the more we get so it could be a win win if ya know what I mean. Adjust the food to the activity levels, don't feed the same in the winter as you do in the summer and do not go by what is suggested on the bag. Dogs were never meant to be couch potatoes.

Totally agree. They need good exercise just like we do. And ditto on adjusting the food as needed. Just weigh them periodically and measure their food accordingly. No special formulas needed unless they have special health issues (usually not the case). Just get quality food. It'll have the nutrients they need.

 

[Roxie04]

Every dog is different. All mine needed was her food amount adjusted. She looks great now. She did not need to get on the treadmell everyday.

 

[jaksprat]

Every dog is different. All mine needed was her food amount adjusted. She looks great now. She did not need to get on the treadmell everyday.

How about signing her up for an aerobics class?

 

[minpinlover]

I feed mine nutra balance (the diet brand) and green beans for their snack. You can also supplement their food by adding green beans to their meals (make sure if you're giving them green beans from the can you get w/ no salt added!!!) My vet suggested the green bean diet and said they could have that as much as they wanted (it was like free food). They love the green beans. But watch out, can give your dogs indigestion. I do agree though, they need the exercise as well. Mine gain weight b/c they like to be couch potatoes (especially my female)! They're very lazy min pins!

 

[Roxie04]

How about signing her up for an aerobics class?

She actually prefers yoga lol

 

[Zguy28]

I just started my 9 year old Dalmation mix on Dick Van Patten's Reduced Calorie dry food and started walking her more. It already seems to be working. She's trimming down. Now if only I could do the same!