Weight Control - Diet and Hypo-allogenic Food for Dogs - Any suggestions?

2dogsinapod · 09-29-2007, 12:33 PM

My dog may possibly have allergies to his food and he is also overweight. He's been on Iams- Weight control for years now. We're going to try something else would were wondering if anyone has any suggestions? Thanks

briteday · 09-29-2007, 12:40 PM

Do some research in the food sub-forum for high quality dog foods.

If your dog has meat or grain allergies you might end up with one of the single protein or fish-based foods. However, with Iams being very grain heavy, you may find that ANY premium food (most don't contain allergenic grains like corn and wheat) will work well. Most stores that sell premium foods will have free sample bags for you to try before you buy.

I don't buy "weight control" foods when I have an overweight dog. I just buy good food, and feed less. Be sure to actually use a measuring cup when feeding your dog, preferably twice/day. And do not feed table scraps or treats.

Lorina · 09-29-2007, 12:43 PM

Dogs seem to be typically allergic to one of two things in the food, the protein source (often chicken or beef), or the starch source (grains, rice, corn, etc.). I'd try a food like fish and potato or duck and potato formula, neither of which are common ingredients in dog foods.

Renoman · 09-29-2007, 06:02 PM

You've gotten some good advice here. I will only add that I also do not buy weight control food when the boys are starting to get too round. I just feed less. Normally with higher quality foods you can feed less anyway. If you're giving alot of treats during the day, I'd cut that out too.

A good quality, single source protein, single source carb is the best way I've found to help with food allergies. Going with a protein source the dog has not had is usually very helpful. There are so many on the market now... Wellness has several including a fish formula, Natural Balance has several; duck and potato, fish and sweet potato and venison and sweet potato. Timberwolf Organics has Wilderness Elk and Salmon; Ocean Blue, Dakota Bison just to name a few.

Personally, I would get samples of as many good quality hypo allergenic foods as possible. Feed them as treats to your dog so you can see which one he likes best before buying a big bag.

J1966 · 09-29-2007, 11:41 PM

For what it's worth ... The Ortho surgeon that operated on our bulldog, wanted her to drop some weight before surgery... He suggested cutting her food by at least 50% and suppliment the remainder with "greens" (broccoli, green beans, aspargus, etc...)... She still got a treat now and again and in the end dropped all the weight he wanted her too. His suggestion worked very well...

2dogsinapod · 09-30-2007, 12:50 AM

That's interesting. I will look for free sample bags for them to try. The vet had recommended the weight control for us and we got the measuring cup, but the portions aren't satisfying enough for them (I have 2).

What natural foods(Vegetables) would you recommend?? Would I get the frozen vegetables? Canned vegetables and which vegetables wouldn't give diarreah? Would I have to give a little to test? And how much do I give?? That is healthy - as the person wrote above. Thanks.

Ginny01OT · 09-30-2007, 10:07 AM

I would second the timberwolf organic products--they are not easy to find, you can go to their website and order directly from them--over 15.00 is free shipping www.timberwolforganics.com

Another quality dog food is nature's variety. In additio to grain free formulas, they are now coming out with a rabbit and I believe duck formula--right now it is available at certain stores, their website can tell you were. They are also a quality dog food. www.naturesvariety.com

Renoman · 09-30-2007, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2dogsinapod

That's interesting. I will look for free sample bags for them to try. The vet had recommended the weight control for us and we got the measuring cup, but the portions aren't satisfying enough for them (I have 2).

What natural foods(Vegetables) would you recommend?? Would I get the frozen vegetables? Canned vegetables and which vegetables wouldn't give diarreah? Would I have to give a little to test? And how much do I give?? That is healthy - as the person wrote above. Thanks.

Green beans, sweet potato, carrots, broccoli, squash, cauliflower just to name a few. Naturally, fresh is always better but if you can't get fresh, try frozen. Just check the ingredients to make sure there's no salt added. On occassion, I've gotten the bag of frozen mixed; the broccoli, carrots and cauliflower one. Make sure there's no corn or onions in the bag.

No matter what you add, start with a very small amount and gradually increase so that you can monitor.

J1966 · 09-30-2007, 10:41 AM

Acutally, our bulldog (Petunia) needed to loose at least 12-15lbs. So, the vet suggested we only feed her 20% of the dog food we were currently feeding her and feed her the other 80% in veggies. I know that's a bit drastic, but he wanted her ready for surgery on her leg in a pretty short period of time. She started at approx 63lbs. It took about 2 1/2 months to loose the weight (pretty fast considering her situation). She didn't get much exercise with her bad leg the way it was. But, I think loosing it a little more slowly would be better for the animal. I gave her 1 and 1/4 cup of dog food (be sure you have the good stuff) and then 2 cups of veggies and as much 'broth' as she wanted. We used broccoli and green beans mostly. But the vet said to give her as much of the veggies as she wanted. I don't think I'd cut the food that much of a percentage, unless the dog would be in a situation like Petunia - needing to have surgery and not being able to exercise. We were very fortunate, in that, we didn't have any problems with the veggies and her stomach or bathroom duties. We need to keep off the weight, so that it doesn't complicate things with her leg. So it's become a regular way of feeding (a bit different percentages now that she just needs to 'maintain'). Acutally, I must admit all our puppies were a bit "chunky" and our vet suggested that we suppliment with veggies regularly to get them to a healthy weight. I am amazed at how well they've taken to eating veggies!

We have "smushed face" puppies -- pugs, bulldog, brussels... so, of course they all have 'some' issue with their breathing, and keeping them at a healthy weight helps this a lot!

I'm sure your vet could help you out, if you'd like to talk about what percentage of food vs veggies you need to feed your puppy. Also, any health issues your puppy might have would certainly come into play. They may even be happy to visit with you on the phone without having to have an office visit. I couldn't hurt to ask... let me know how things unfold for you! ... I hope you have as much luck with it as we did!

Lightwingcreations · 09-30-2007, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2dogsinapod

What natural foods(Vegetables) would you recommend?? Would I get the frozen vegetables? Canned vegetables and which vegetables wouldn't give diarreah? Would I have to give a little to test? And how much do I give?? That is healthy - as the person wrote above. Thanks.

I would stick with fresh or frozen veggies and try to stay away from the canned. I would also be careful not to overdo the broccoli, and never feed onions or grapes/raisins. There are so many veggies that you can use, but I would stick with the green variety. In reality the veggies will be a "filler" for your dogs tummy to help him feel satisfied. Along with a really good kibble at a slightly reduced portion, he should lose the weight.

2dogsinapod · 09-30-2007, 06:43 PM

Thanks for all your inputs. I learned a lot and will remember the do's and dont's for food and portions. I'll contact my vet and see what portions he recommends we start with. Before I do that, I want to slowly change Tiggers food to a different brand and better quality. Thanks a bunch!