[Mariah J]

My dog is a mixed breed rescue, but he’s about 1/2, if not more, Vizsla. He is overweight, but e are working on it. I recently have been using Castor & Pollux Ultramix and he did SO good on it, but since they recently sold out I wanted to switch foods. I was wondering how much protein is too much for him? An adult Vizsla is ideally between 45-65 lbs, with a margin of error since he is a mutt. I have a friend who always warns me off of high protein foods (anything over 25-30%) because she says all it will do is make him fat.

[Pitlove]

Hi Mariah- I believe your friend is being fueled on somewhat outdated information. There is more of a correlation to weight loss with higher protein foods than weight gain. However, dogs utilize quality animal protein much better than plant proteins so that has to be factored in. Also calories must be taken into account as well. I feed foods that range from 24% protein to upwards of 40% and my dog continues to maintain an ideal weight. I am also very careful about how much I feed and I decrease the amount I feed if he goes over 67 lbs which is the max ideal weight according to the AKC for his breed (American Staffordshire Terrier). I also don’t give a lot of treats in my house. They are rare and taken into account when feeding.

Also keep the fats in the range of low/moderate. Some people have had luck with WellnessCORE reduced fat. I personally have never needed a food marketed for weight loss if my boy needs to lose a couple pounds.

[InkedMarie]

I agree with Pitlove & your friends thinking. Years back, we adopted an obese dog. We used Wellness Core reduced fat with great results. Annamaet Lean is also a great choice.

[Mariah J]

Ok. I was asking because I wanted to switch my dog to Earthborn Primitive Natural, as the protein is 38%, but I’m not sure about the fat/calories what is a good range for that?

[Pitlove]

Earthborn is on the moderate to high end of fat at 22%, however I’ve fed Orijen which is 20% and my dog still maintains ideal weight. Use the feeding guidelines and feed for the weight you would like to see him at. 45-65 is a wide range so once he looks like the ideal weight in this picture keep feeding that amount. You might need to adjust how much the guideline tells you to feed based on his apperance.

http://media.wiley.com/Lux/18/109618.image0.jpg

[aquariangt]

Primitive Natural is one of my main kibbles in rotation. It’s nutrient dense, so just keep in mind they will get a bit less than some other kibbles. It’s more about caloric intake and every bag of food is different. The fat content is a bit high, but worth it for the protein levels in my opinion

[Mariah J]

Ok, thank you everyone 🙂 he’s a big couch potato, so I just didn’t want to give him something that would make him gain all the weight back that he has lost. He’s almost to ideal weight finally.

[Author]

Posts