[charisse]

Our Vet says Bella needs to loose a couple pounds. She’s a 4 year old rescue and we’ve had her for a year. She’s been on Orijen. Perhaps Orijen has too much fat content? I’ve also heard that Orijen has gone down in quality.

In any case we need help please in deciding what food to switch her to, so that she can loose a couple pounds or so. For the last month we feed her 1/4 cup in a.m and 1/4 cup in p.m. with a few training treats thrown in. Before the vet suggestion we fed her more. She’s about 14 lbs and she should go down to 12 or so.
Thank you so much!

[John L]

Are you feeding the recommended amount of food based on weight, and are you measuring by grams? If you are measuring by cups, you could be of by a significant amount. I found this out awhile ago and have seen more consistent weight in our two labs since I switched to grams.

[Lewis F]

We have a Cavapoo that is now on Origin Original which has an 18% Fat content; Orijen Senior has a 15% content. As for quality, Orijen is still rated very well. My little Poo has been on it since we brought her home.

If you want to stick with food made by Champion, you can also try Acana

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Lewis F.

[InkedMarie]

Use the dog food calculator here on DFA to see how much to feed. You ned to know the weight of your dog and the amount of kcals per cup of her food.

[charisse]

Thank you to John, Lewis, and InkedMarie.

I will try the DFA dog food calculator after I find out the kcals per cup.

For the grams measurements idea I think I’ll need to purchase a kitchen scale – which I will also try.

I saw a few posts about the Orijen USA production vs Canadian production, and also this one around Feb/March entitled Orijen USA : “…I am disappointed to see that Orijen is still on the Editor’s Pick of this website. I actually subscribed when i got overwhelmed with my search for a kibble to replace Orijen which I have been feeding my Golden for 6 years. Origen has definitely changed their ingredients (to inferior quality), and have admitted as much. The color and smell is different, and our Golden’s stomach has been irritated by it…”

Thank you!
Charisse

[a c]

I first stop giving my 10 years old Orijen senior after she has developed pancreatitis. I have tried several brands. Now I am trying Annemeat g/f low fat.

I also switched my puppy from Orijen puppy to Horizen Amicus puppy and Simply Nourish puppy.

There are so many information out there. It’s overwhelming. It’s difficult to tell which information is valid. The real question is do I want to give something with good quality or something with less toxin. What a hard choice!

[Lewis F]

a c, The real difficulty is finding something our companion’s systems can handle. So far Orijen is working well with mine. When that stops its chicken soup and rice until everything settles

[Susan H]

When my mini schnauzer needed to lose some weight, I added green beans to her food, and cut back just a little on the kibble. It’s better to lose the weight slower, just like for us. The green beans have fiber and few calories, so it helps with fullness.

[a c]

Thank you, Susan H. I will try that. Do you use fresh, frozen, or can green beans?

I have 3 mini schnauzers. They are prone to have pancreatitis when they getting older. Good low fat kibbles are hard to find because most are full of carbs.

[Susan H]

A c. I actually used canned and rinsed them well because I had some on hand.
She also loved all kinds of vegetables, her favorite was stewed okra (I’m a southerner)

My Abigail had pancreatitis 3 times over the course of her almost 17 year life. She did not have naturally high triglycerides, fortunately. Just some missteps in her diet. One time I let my husband feed her taste of the wild canned lamb and he gave her too much, so off to the emergency vet we went. There is a product called Denesyl that you can use, it really helped with her liver enzymes.

I always fed grain free kibble. Mostly Blue Wildnerness, then the Blue Wilderness Senior but later I switched to Merrick’s Lil Plates grain free. I also topped it off with just a little grain free canned because she got tired of the food as she grew old.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by Susan H. Reason: Correct spelling

[a c]

I have been adding raw zucchini and yellow squash to their diet. They don’t care for raw broccoli. I tried broil baby kale and then cutting it up today, and they have no problem with it. I just love to give them some fresh veggies. I haven’t try okra. The only time I use okra is in the gumbo.

My 10 years old girl had pancreatitis once earlier this year after we gave her some leftover bbq. She really like it, but not her tummy. She end up getting IV therapy for 3 days, the metronidazole, and Science Diet ID.

Our vet recommended Purina One Smartblend Healthy Weight as maintenance, but it’s nothing but carbs. I tried Horizon Amicus Senior, but the calories are a little too high. I am now trying Annemaet reduced fat. Both are grain free. I will see how it goes. Ideally, I want to mix rotate a couple kibbles. I also add a little wet food or something we eat as the topper.

[charisse]

Thank you ac and Susan H. for sharing your tips. I believe the Annemaet is called Annemaet Lean? Someone also mentioned Wellness Core reduced fat.

I now have a new problem in that I actually watched her eat the Orijen and she dosen’t chew most of her morsels – because I think they are too big for her small mouth! She just swallows them! I noticed with her old bad food – before we rescued her it was a 2.5 star purina – was smaller kibbles and she chewed them first.

So now I think I also need to look at a small breed specific food. Someone mentioned “Wellness Core small breed” and “Canidae Pure grain free small breed” but neither is reduced fat. (I’m adding a little bit of cut up green beans to the top of her meal. She’ll eat a few that way but not just by itself).

So I guess now i’m looking for a lean, small breed specific food perhaps.

[a c]

Charisse,

It is Annemaet Lean. The kibble size is not like big and flat like Orijen. It’s round and smaller in size. My 17lb miniature schnauzers have no problems eating it. I also add a little bit filtered water to the kibbles.

I thought about Wellness Core reduced fat but decide not to try it after I read the report from Clean Label Project.

[charisse]

Thank you ac! This is very helpful. Are you happy with the ratios of fat, fiber etc…

I heard some lean foods have more fiber – hopefully this does – and not that it has less fat, since fat makes them full!

I will try Annemaet Lean with a little filtered water with her. Thank you for the comparison info on kibble size – this should help her not swallow it whole!
Thank you!

[charisse]

ac, this issue is so complicated!… I’ve spent hours on research.

I came across this good article re dog food quality, brands, dog food types, etc. (They listed Orijen – which I don’t agree with due to some recent changes in their ingredients).

https://www.reviews.com/dog-food/

I gave Bella her first little piece of chicken breast and she loved it. She loves to eat! I’ve also tried a little canned green beans on her food and she ate it – but she won’t eat the green bean by itself. She is tiny – only 14.5 lbs, and she needs to go down to 12 lbs.

I ordered the Annemaet Lean yesterday, and plan to start her on it gradually over an 8 -10 day period. I’m hoping the kibbles are small enough so that she chews them! The Orijen were too big for her little mouth.
Thanks!

[Jeanne R]

I have a mini schnauzer that just had a vet visit and she also needs to loose weight. The vet wanted to give her royal canine food, but im looking at those ingredients and they dont look good. I was feeding her Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Healthy Weight, which seems to be a good food. I dont know what to do about it to make her loose weight.

[InkedMarie]

Jeanne,
Look at Annamaet Lean or Wellness Core reduced fat.

[charisse]

Thank you Jeanne R! I will look into Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Healthy Weight.

Thank you InkedMarie! I will look into Wellness Core reduced fat.

I’ve been having difficulty being able to purchase Annamaet Lean in U.S….seems it’s easier in to find in Canada than here.
Thank you,
Charisse

[InkedMarie]

Annamaet Lean can be purchased at Chewy and PetFlow dotcom

[charisse]

Thanks InkedMarie! I’ll check out Chewy and Petflow.

[a c]

I bought Annamaet Lean from Chewy.com. Very fast shipping.

[charisse]

Ok, thank you ac!
Charisse

[Susan H]

I didn’t leave the green beans whole. I smashed them up with my fingers and mixed them in with the dry kibble after I had moistened it with some warm water.

I started my new puppy on Stella and Chewy raw frozen. She adores it, and it has not upset her stomach at all like the dry kibble and canned food. So I’m sticking with that.

I had also fed Merrick’s Lil Plates which is small kibble, I think it’s important to feed the correct size for small breeds. But since Purina has bought them out, I decided against it.

Good luck with the Annamet lean. I hope it works for your pup.

[charisse]

Hi Susan H,Thanks for your input!

I recently bought the Annamet Lean for Bella from Chewy but the kibble is a bit too hard for her to chew so she swallows it whole. So the search continues. I think next I will buy Wellness reduced fat small breed grain free and see how she likes the size. But I will read reviews on it first.

Later on in a year or so I may switch to something even more healthy for small breed but that will be yet another long research I’m sure…maybe something that’s more healthy than kibble.
Charisse

[a c]

Charisse,

Have you try to add a little warm filtered water to the kibbles? That should soften the kibbles.

My miniature schnauzers have lost a little weight.

[Jeanne R]

I think I will look into the Annamet Lean for my schnauzers. I read that adding real pumpkin to the kibble, helps them feel full. My female that needs to lose weight just seems obsessed with food! She eats her food whole!

[charisse]

Hi Jeanne R
I’ve heard that adding pumpkin to the food may affect their bowel movements.

I’ve just ordered pergormatrin ultra, but now that it’s on it’s way I remembered that I wanted to try wellness core reduced fat… because of her weight issue. Darn, an impulse buy.
Huffington Post had an article about trying to find a healthy dog food and it mostly said that it’s so complicated “good luck”!

[Teri S]

Charisse,
They are supposed to keep the editorials up to date. Maybe you should send DogFoodAdvisors an email and ask them if it’s been reviewed as of late. I’m interested myself, as we’re bringing home our two new Golden Retrievers tomorrow.
Teri

[Karen K]

I hope everyone who has bad luck with a food isn’t throwing the leftover away. Your local animal shelter would welcome it.

[charisse]

Hi Karen,
Yes, I’m taking my extra foods to our local rescue. Good idea.

[Author]

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