@Chris, the thinking on weight loss for senior dogs is all backwards.
By replacing calorie-rich fats with carbohydrates senior dogs (and all dogs) become increasingly deconditioned directly due to their diets.
It has been well demonstrated in a dog food study that high-carb (vs high-fat/high-protein) dramatically reduces the stamina of dogs as measured by VO2 Max scores on a treadmill.
By feeding reduced fats and higher cabs you are literally cutting a dog’s vitality and ability to produce and consume sustained energy.
If you wish to promote weight loss and good health the best food forward is to feed a very energy dense high-protein/ high-fat diet in reduced portions. This sort of diet has several advantages. One, it will promote movement and energy consumption, which is an overall health benefit vs sleeping all day. Two, fats trigger the dog’s brains to feel satisfied. Three, it is not a benefit to canines to run around with full bellies, and–in fact–it is the worst thing for them.
A dog with a belly full of high carbohydrate food will slug out. A dog that is not stuffed and has fat to burn (which canines can do endlessly vs the boom and bust of carb burning) will be much more active.
Please consider a re-think.
Best,
Bill
