[Maureen A M]

Hi,
I seem to have a problem making dogs fat. Suzie needs to drop 15-20 pounds (boy was she difficult to pick up and weigh–49#) and the mother dog and one of her adolescent ‘children’ both need to drop some unhealthy fat. I have never been really clear about what amount I should feed my diet dogs. For the 50# one to I use the ‘lose weight’ for 50# or do I use the ‘lose weight’ for what she should weigh?

I have had all my dogs on Nutro Weight Mgt since my normal weight dogs decided they would rather eat the diet food than Fromms??? Very odd. I put down four bowls, one with Ultra and that’s the only one they ate, also my Ty with the skin problem seems to be cured.

I have a problem walking them because of a disability and the poor homeless dogs in my neighborhood whose attitude is unknown. I realize this is my fault because of the TREATS! I will try to find the amount of calories in the treats and add it to the recommended number of calories I calculated. (and subtract it from their food or skip the treats).

I feel very bad about my idiocy in fattening these poor sweet dogs and I am going to fix it. My fattest dog can eat her dry food out of a ‘maze’ bowl just as fast as she did with a regular bowl and she is becoming very aggressive over any food she finds, and she was always such a gentle dog and very active. Sigh. I can’t afford to take her to the vet to have her thyroid checked, but if dogs are like humans whose nails don’t grow very fast when the thyroid is underactive, then she is hypothyroid ($78 for the test) as I rarely have to trim her nails, they just don’t grow..

Thank you for this great site. I just joined because I had $17 in my checking account. Thanks for the discount;-)

Sincerely
Maureen Martinek

[SummerRainAussies]

Hi Maureen,
Most weight loss foods are very low in protein and fat which boosts the carbs. I would simply find a good meat based food and feed a smaller amount. I personally don’t pay any attention to the “feeding recommendations”. I adjust the food on a regular basis depending on how my dog looks/feels.
If I have dogs who needs to loose weight I tend to cut their normal food intake in half. If the dogs act like they are starving you could add some green beans to make them feel like they are getting more food.

[InkedMarie]

Maureen,
I applaud you for realizing that the dogs need to lose weight. Nutro is a very low quality food, one I wouldnt feed. Wellness Core reduced fat and Annamaet Lean are good foods to use.
Treats….use some of their food for treats or look forvery low calorie treats. Dogs don’t know or care how big a treat is.
For exercise, you can buy or make a flirt pole. You can roll balls inside the house as well. Do you have a trusted family member who can walk them?
Your dog who is aggressive with food: feed her in a crate or in a different room. If you think she has a thyroid issue, you need to get her to the vet, you cant leave that unchecked. Call your vet, explain what is going on with the financial issues and ask if you can make payments.
In the red line above, click “FAQ” then click dog food calculator. You will need to know the amount of calories in the food to figure out a starting point.

[Laura M]

The money you are spending on treats, and I assume you are treating a lot, would better be put toward a vet check. I agree that supplementing dog food with low calorie vegetables is the way to go. My dogs love Brussels sprouts and green beans and also carrots. I would hope your vet could help you out with a payment plan if you sincerely want to get your dogs to a healthy place, which you obviously do. Best of luck!

[Susan W]

I haven’t ever fed weight management food to my dogs, I simply adjust their intake (back) & cut back on their treats. One thing I did notice that helped a lot was when I stopped letting mine free-feed & started feeding them only once a day. My mom used to give her doxie baby carrots & green beans to help control her weight. From everything I’ve read, skip the weight management foods – they aren’t worth it.

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