[Cecile C]

Koda likes acana, this is the only food he will eat. Fit and Light. I think I am feeding him too much of it, as he still isn’t losing weight. He is sooo fat, I need your help fast. Thanks ahead of time for your assistance 🙂

[Richard B]

Simple, cut back on the amount you give him.

[Susan]

Hi Cecile, yes cut back by 1/2 a cup thru the whole days meals & exercise, go for walks..

[theBCnut]

Since Bichons are prone to bladder problems, you could consider switching him to a wet food. They are lower calorie per volume, but you really need to figure out what is the right amount of food for your dog and only feed that amount or he will be fat on any food.

[Cecile C]

Hey “Thanks” for all of your help animal lovers, it was much appreciated! 😉

[Jenny Rellick]

Cecile,

I am sure you already have tried cutting back, but you need to know by how much. Every dog food label I have read overestimates the serving size. On this site, the Dog Food Calculator is helpful, but I have personal advice on how to use it, it worked for my Leo-he lost 12 pounds in a year and has kept it off. I’ve taken the liberty of using it for Koda.

First, websites differ on what a Bichon should weigh. In the breed standard, the range is 7-12 lbs. On sites that are not sticklers for the breed standard, they say a healthy weight is between 10-18 lbs. Ultimately, the right weight for Koda is one where he has a physique that has a well-defined indentation at the waist and that does not feel feel flappy on the ribcage. If Koda ever had that physique you can use that weight as your target. If you don’t know what his personal target should be I would suggest 14 lbs. for the time being.

I looked up the Acana Fit and Light food and it has 360 calories per cup. I notice that the Fit and Light food uses oats as the second ingredient, unlike any other Acana products. That makes me a uncomfortable because I don’t even know That it would get 4 stars, let alone 5 stars. Dieting dogs can’t afford to waste calories on oats! You should consider going to the 5-star low glycemic product line from Acana, even though it will make the serving size smaller. For this exercise, I used the Fit and Light calorie count since that is what you used to. The dog food calculator says that for an overweight dog with a target weight of 14 lbs, Koda should be consuming 280 calories per day. With the Acana food you’re using that comes out to 0.78 cups per day (just over 3/4 cups).

You have to keep in mind that calories from treats count in the daily total. A couple of dog biscuits would be the equivalent of half a day’s food. You are going to have to find an extremely small treat. I would suggest Zuke’s Mini-Naturals which have about 3 calories each.
As another member mentioned, Bichons do have a risk of kidney problems. Many dogs don’t drink enough because they are trying to accommodate their owners’ availability for walks. I pour lukewarm water on my dogs kibble, just enough to cover it in a flat-bottomed dish. The food retains some of its crunchiness, but he automatically consumes more water and feels more full. Green beans and sliced carrots are very low in calories and high in fiber. They also help the dog feel more full. I put two heaping teaspoons of canned green beans (no salt added) on both meals, and that is only 10 calories per meal.
Therefore, I would suggest two meals a day, each with just over 1/3 cup of dog food, water to cover, and two heaping tablespoons of green beans. I hope that this specific recommendation will work for Koda. When you are dealing with a small breed, there’s a fine line between cutting back appropriately and malnourishing your dog. My dog really looks forward to his meals and he does not beg for food excessively after meals. Before, when I did not add water and green beans, he would put his paw on the bag of food and whine after he ate!
One last piece of advice: make sure that everyone in your household understands that a little bit of table food or a few too many treats will have a huge impact on Koda. If Koda is not losing weight, somebody is cheating.

[Kathleen C]

I have a 4 year old Male Boston Terrier, Jack, who should weigh about 18-19 pounds and is presently almost 21. He’s on Wellness Core Reduced Fat and I’m giving him 1/4 cup twice a day without any results for the last 2 months. He gets green beans and carrots for dessert but I probably give him little bits of other things without realizing they can cause a problem. I’ve been fighting to keep him at 20 pounds, but wanted him to go back to 18 1/2 so I would have some leeway to give him more food since I feel 1/2 cup a day is too little. He always seems hungry, but I realize dogs do that. I’m wondering if anything I’m doing is right and if he would gain weight if I used your idea of adding the green beans to his food every time. Or maybe the food isn’t right. I know I’ve heard the carbs can be the biggest problem in losing weight.

[theBCnut]

Are the green beans and carrots raw or cooked? If they are cooked then they are additional calories and carrots have a lot of carbs. Does he get any exercise? Short but intense exercise several times a day will help boost his metabolism. Will he play fetch or tug of war with a towel?

[Kathleen C]

Thank you for your response. Green beans are canned so cooked. Carrots are raw baby carrots mostly without skin. It’s been very hot here until lately, hopefully fall and winter will cool us off to walk more than once a day in the cool A.M. He loves the dog park and runs a lot there, but again not cool enough yet. I play tug of war with him at home in doors or I throw his squeaky and he runs and brings it back. This is upper desert so lots of rocky yards, no grass. He’s going in for obedience training this saturday so hopefully that will also help. I found the list of carbs in Wellness foods that was posted on one of the forums and the Wellness Core Reduced Fat is As Fed 34.19 and Dry Matter 37.16. Is that high?

[theBCnut]

For a kibble, no, that’s not high carbs. Get frozen green beans and you will be cutting out some sodium and they are less digestable. Even 5 minutes of play in the house several times a day would be a great benefit to him. I know what you mean about the weather. We’re in Florida, so we go out first thing in the morning and in the evening, otherwise it’s just too hot.

I’m somewhat envious, I love the desert. Where I grew up, we went camping in both the high desert and the low desert, depending on the time of year. I always though it had its own beauty. I miss it a lot.

[Kathleen C]

I checked the Wellness site and with the list of carbs I was able to figure out that the Core Reduced is actually the best idea. Fat of 11%, protein 33% and carbs as fed about 34%. That’s about as low as they have with the low fat. The frozen beans idea is good, thank you. He usually only gets about half a dozen big canned beans broken in half so it looks like more. I’ve never been sure how much to give, but 1/2 cup only has 20 calories. I can eat the frozen too though.

With it being so dry here during the summers I’d trade the desert for your wet Florida.

[InkedMarie]

I had great luck with Core reduced fat.

[Kathleen C]

Good. That makes me realize maybe there are little things like the canned green beans and the carrots I’m giving him too much of. I always think both of those are low fat items.

[Kathleen C]

I’m still using the Wellness Core Reduced Fat, but was wondering if anyone has tried Premium Edge Healthy Weight Reduction and had success. It’s lower carbs, higher protein and about the same fat as Core. I’m worried the Wellness is giving my dog gas. Any info welcomed.

[Kathleen C]

I just Binged this dog food and it’s made by Diamond Pet Foods so that’s off the possible list for me.

[Jenny Rellick]

I tried it and wrote the most helpful review on Amazon (as MedWonk.). The manufacturer, Diamond, has had several salmonella recalls on multiple brand, all but not all at once. The salmonella kept recurring, which suggests the could not isolate the problem that put lives in jeopardy.

The only advantage of diet dog food is that you can feed a larger serving thain with more calorie dense foods, so your dog won’t beg or go through the trash to get full

[pugmomsandy]

Kathleen,

Have you tried giving some probiotic/digestive enzyme supplement with meals? My pup used to have such baaaaaad gas but after giving the supplements for a while, the gas is gone no matter what kind of food they eat. I used to give it everyday, but now just a couple times a week.

[Kathleen C]

pugmom, can you suggest something like that or would asking my vet be better? I’ve given him Pepcid ac with the vets OK and I think that has helped. Just about 1/4 to 1/3 of the tablet.

Jenny, I nixed that when I saw it was from Diamond. I know every dog food company can have a problem, but maybe not as many of Diamond does. Won’t use them. It was suggested by the dog trainer he’s going to now that I might go back to trying a non-grain free food. She’s had dogs that did fine on grain free and others that wouldn’t lose any weight at all. Each dog is different. Now I need a good non-grain free kibble to try to see if this might be the answer. She also said he isn’t obese at 1 1/2 over, I just want to get him down that much so I can feed him more than 1/2 cup a day…that’s just such a small amount, it bothers me more than it should I guess.

[theBCnut]

Did I miss something? Pepsid is for acid reflux, not gas, and I would be very careful to not allow the dog to get addicted to having an acid reducer. Getting off of them can be very bad. A human digestive enzyme from the health food store or from Swanson’s or wherever is fine for dogs.

[pugmomsandy]

I look for a probiotic product with at least 10 strains of organisms. There are many products to chose from and there are combo products as well like Total-zymes Plus Probiotics.

[Kathleen C]

Ooops, BC, you’re probably right. I’ve never given him anything on a regular basis but I remember she said Pepcid was good for something to settle his stomach. I’ll check with her again when he goes in for his snake bite shot. I’m more worried the Wellness is giving him gas. I’ll ask about a probiotic then too. Our local natural food store might have something in the pet section.

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