Seeking info on food/weight loss

[Sherma]

Greetings:

I was wondering if anyone would share their knowledge with me concerning weight loss in these little furkids of ours?

Our Elmo who is 4 years old recently had a bout with a mean virus (we thought he was in the beginning stage of disc disease until we took him to see a specialist) which affected his use of his back legs and left him lethargic and just plain sick! We are still crating him during the day when we are gone as it won't hurt him, and know it keeps him from jumping on anything....at least while we are gone!

We are trying to reduce his weight by 5-6 pounds, (he is a standard smoothie) and now is carring 26 pounds. I just recently purchased Nutro Natural Choice for him (the weight loss kind) and on the bag it says to feed him 1 and 2/3 cups a day. I usually feed him half of that in the morning, and the rest in the evening after I get home from work. We give him no food when we are eating. Baby carrots for a "treat" when he comes in from going potty outside or a frozen grape. He thinks this is a big deal because they both come out of the refrigerator!!! :circle:

I have not tried the green beans or natural pumpkin yet, but will purchase some tomorrow. How much do I give him of these? We exercise him as much as possible, right now we have about 6 inches of snow on the ground which he loves to try and run in, but it is below zero here and can not stay out that long. I think I am on the right path but would really appreciate any insight from anyone!
:bounce: :bounce:

Thanks.......:flower:

[Mark]

Hi Sherma,

Our Standard eats about one cup of adult Nutro Natural Choice once per day (3PM) coated with about 1 tablespoon of natural pumpkin and a tablespoon of canned food. A baby carrot at noon and two to three small treats (dog biscuits a little smaller than a small Milk Bone) at 7:30 PM round out the day. That's it . . . nothing more, nothing less, and her weight is maintained at a trim 20 lbs (I think).

I don't know if that really helps since you are using a dietary formula.

Good luck on the WL program and keep us posted. :)

[Sherma]

Mark, Jean & the 6 pack:

Thanks for the info.....It will give me some ideas as what to incorporate into his diet..... :dog:

Sherma & Elmo

[BooBoo's Mom]

I have had to experiment with what works for BooBoo. He absolutely lives to eat food, anything he can get his paws or mouth on, even lettuce! I think Doxies naturally love food, and for that reason I have divided his 1 cup of dry food alotment into a morning and evening meal. He has a tendency to gain weight almost instantly, so I started feeding him Nutro weight control formula at about 2 years of age. He is 5 now, and recently I have begun mixing his Nutro with Purina Benefuls (half and half). I just felt he needed some variety and he very much loves this combination. He even tries to steal some from the bin when I am dishing it out. He adores baby carrots also, and gets 2 a day. I also feed him a Nutro dental biscuit at Noon each day (he lets me know EXACTLY when noon comes around, believe me!) Anyway, I hope I am meeting his nutritional needs with this latest combination. If anyone here has any better ideas I would appreciate your input!

[Heidismom]

but I can tell you what worked for my "tweenie", Siglen. She was topping the scales at 18 pounds and (I hate to admit it) pudgy. Her vet suggested turkey formula dog food, but after 6 months, she had only lost a pound. By this time I had discovered dachshund bulletin boards - :bounce: and I sort of created a diet for her, which I have since discovered, so do a lot of people. I cut back the amount of dry kibble by 1/3, and added 1/4 cup of pureed, no-salt green beans to the top. In the next 4 months, 3 more pounds came off, and she looks good at 14 pounds! Julia B. :book:

[dutchman]

While the proper amount of food to be feeding a dog veries greatly from animal to animal (yest even those of the same ideal weight) almost all dog food packages feeding recommendations inflate the proper amount by a great deal. After all remember they are in the business of selling food. To determine the proper amount of food for Elmo get a precision measuring cup and then start monitoring what is going on as you feed a given amount. At this tpoint it soundsl like to need to be feeding an amount where you will realize a steady but not too fast weigh loss. Framk my 18.5# standard gets less than 1/3 cup twicke a day . So Frankg gets a total of about 2/3 of a cup of food a day. I believe the bag would call for his getting some where between 1 and 1.5 cups a day. He get a blend of Avoe-Derm and Avo Active Care. Once you reach a point where you can locate the ribsI feel the rib test is one of the easiest ways to monitor a dogs weight. Ribs too easy to find or that stand out when the dog is just staning ther would indicate to thin. Ribs easy to feel but not so prominate that you spot them when the dog is just staning there is near what I would consider ideal. Ribs you ahve to proke and prod to find indicate time to cut back food for a little while. If you can't fidn the ribs for the fat it's major diet time.

Good luck with the diet.

Tom and the boys (Frank, Tanner and Dexter)

[BooBoo's Mom]

Tom,

I used to feed the AVO brand, don't know why I quit and changed. I guess Nutro was easier to get because it is available at the Commissary at the Air Force base where I grocery shop. I started adding the Benefuls because he was just getting bored with the Nutro. Benefuls supposedly has more natural and nutritious ingredients, but it really excited his appetite and I guess thats good he is not so bored with it. He weighs about 17 pounds and has been maintaining that with this mix of benefuls and Nutro weight control formula. He gets a dental "cookie" at noon also.

I just don't want to compromise his nutritional needs, but I guess I need to know more about what a dog needs. This board is so good because people really share information, and from what I have read corn is not a good thing!

[Meemoo]

Your dog might like it because to him it's like eating the equivalent of a junk food for us. A good food should have protein listed first and be a human grade food. There should be NO corn, BHA, BHT, preservatives, of any kind. Dogs are meat eaters by nature. There are many good foods out there but you cannot buy them in a grocery store. A good food will benefit the dog in many ways including coat, and nutritional needs. A food high in corn and fillers will also tend to put weight on the pup. A few good foods off the top of my head are:

Wellness-Old Mother Hubbard www.oldmotherhubbard.com
Eagle Pack
Solid Gold
Avo-derm
Canidae
Best in Show


There are so many others as well. Read the labels. A good place to buy these foods and at a good price is www.petfooddirect.com

Good luck!