[cyndi]

we recently adopted a dobie mix from the pound. he’s 8 months old, very active because my husband works from home so he gets lots of walks and play time. we’re feeding him blue wilderness puppy food. we give him 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups at night, which is the total amount the label recommends. he also gets treats during the day, usually as rewards while we train him but sometime just because he’s adorable. but – he is a total wildman for about an hour up until meal time, running from one end of the house to the other and over to his bowl in the hopes we’ll cave. am i under-feeding him or is he just a piggy?

[theBCnut]

If he looks in good weight then he is just a piggy, don’t give in. If he has more than the last three ribs showing or clearly defined hip bones, you may need to increase his feed. If that is the case, increase it slowly or you may increase it too much and it’s far better to have your still growing pup thin than fat.

[cyndi]

thank you! IMO, he looks perfect, i don’t think he needs to gain or lose. and i want to keep him that way! thanks again!

[BryanV21]

I always tell people when starting a new food, go with the recommendation on the label. BUT! Always look at the shape of the dog, as chances are you will need to feed a bit more or a bit less. Like humans, not all dogs gain or lose weight the same.

So I’m with Patty on this. If you’re dog looks good as far as not having any extra pudge, along with a nice shape, then don’t worry about it. But if you’re seeing ribs, or the shape of the dog doesn’t look right, then don’t be afraid to change things up.

[debbylcc]

I am in a similar situation with my new girl only she’s on the heavy side. She’s a pom/corgi mix…looks like a pom but has a corgi body and is a little overweight. By how much is anyone’s guess as the 3 times she’s been weighed she’s been 3 different weights! (all within one day of each other) The vet said she should lose 2 pounds. I wonder if that’s enough as she’s got some definite rolls. She is a rescue and apparently grew up on human food. I’m using Pro-Plan right now as a medium quality food. I want her to eat kibble so I’m mixing wet and dry 50/50. She’s eating the wet and leaving the kibble. Any suggestions? I don’t want her to have a diet of only wet food if I can help it. For the first 3 days I had her (it will be a week tomorrow) when I presented only dry food she did not eat AT ALL!!!!

[Hound Dog Mom]

debbylcc –

Why don’t you want her to eat only wet food? As long as you’re feeding a quality canned food, canned is actually healthier than dry – especially for weight loss. Canned food is generally higher in protein than dry food, lower in carbs than dry food and it contains much more moisture. Because canned food is so high in moisture (generally 75% – 85%) is it usually much less calorically-dense than dry food so your dog can eat a larger volume of canned food for the same amount of calories as a dry food. Most dry foods have around 400 kcal. per cup while most canned foods have about the same amount of calories for a 13.2 oz. can (that’s a little over 1 1/2 C. food). Check out Dr. Mike’s article “Canned or Dry Dog Food – What’s the Better Choice?” /choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/

[BryanV21]

I hear this issue a lot, referring to picky dogs. More often than not it’s owners that are unwilling to give their dogs tough love.

Just like anybody else, they are going to prefer one type of food over another, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a big softy all the time and give in. If you put down dry food for your dog and it doesn’t eat, that doesn’t mean running to the pantry and putting down wet food instead. Sometimes your dog just isn’t that hungry, and would rather wait and see if it will get it’s favorite food instead.

Of course, if your dog has gone a day or two without eating, then it’s okay to be concerned. In that case I’d look into alternate dry foods. Normally those with a higher amount of meat are more palatable. My store recently received the new line of Merrick foods, and so far I’ve had a few people rave about how much their dogs like it. Fromm foods are very palatable too, as they put Parmesan cheese in all their formulas, and dogs tend to love cheese.

While the Pro Plan is not “Beneful” bad, I’m not impressed by the ingredient listing. Chicken comes first, followed by barley, dried egg product, and then chicken meal. Chicken, or any meat, is about 70% water, so when it’s cooked the water is gone meaning the weight of the chicken goes down quite a bit. Therefore this food has more barley and dried egg product than actual meat. So I’d definitely have you try some different foods in order to entice your dog to eat more… assuming that’s a problem, and not a temporary situation.

And as for the weight loss thing… you’ll find that you don’t have to feed as much with foods containing more meat, or animal-based protein. A dog’s digestive system is designed to digest meats, organs, and other animal-based foods. I’m not saying dogs can’t have fruits and vegetables, or even some grains, just that their bodies have a more difficult time with those. For example, humans and other omnivores have salivary amylase, which starts to break down the cell walls of plants right away, making it easier to digest once it gets down to the stomach. Not to mention the fact humans and other omnivores have a longer digestive tract, unlike dogs and other carnivores whose digestive tracts are shorter, and thus don’t have as much time to process the foods.

And if your pup is still hungry, that doesn’t mean adding more of the dry dog food, which will add extra calories and fat. You can simply add some thawed frozen green beans to the food instead, as they won’t add any more calories or fat, but your dog will be fuller and satisfied.

[Hound Dog Mom]

debbylcc –

Why do you want your dog to eat dry food? If your dog prefers the wet there’s nothing wrong with feeding only wet – a quality wet food is actually much healthier than dry food and wet food is better for weight loss. Wet food is generally higher in protein, lower in carbohydrates and higher in moisture than dry food making it more species-appropriate. Due to its high moisture content wet food is also, typically, much less calorically-dense than dry food making it a great option for dogs like yours that need to loose weight. To put it into perspective I’ll use Iams as my example (Pro Plan doesn’t list calorie information on their website and Iams is a comparable food to use for comparison): 1 C. Iams Proactive Health Adult Chunks with Chicken (canned) has 212 calories and is 44% protein whereas 1 C. Proactive Health Adult Chunks (dry) has 367 kcal. and is only 25% protein. Check out Dr. Mike’s article “Canned or Dry Dog Food – What’s the Better Choice” /choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/

[Hound Dog Mom]

debbylcc –

Why do you want your dog to eat dry food? If your dog prefers the wet there’s nothing wrong with feeding only wet – a quality wet food is actually much healthier than dry food and wet food is better for weight loss. Wet food is generally higher in protein, lower in carbohydrates and higher in moisture than dry food making it more species-appropriate. Due to its high moisture content wet food is also, typically, much less calorically-dense than dry food making it a great option for dogs like yours that need to loose weight. To put it into perspective I’ll use Iams as my example (Pro Plan doesn’t list calorie information on their website and Iams is a comparable food to use for comparison): 1 C. Iams Proactive Health Adult Chunks with Chicken (canned) has 212 calories and is 44% protein whereas 1 C. Proactive Health Adult Chunks (dry) has 367 kcal. and is only 25% protein. Check out Dr. Mike’s article “Canned or Dry Dog Food – What’s the Better Choice”

[Hound Dog Mom]

My apologies if later on some duplicate posts show up. The first three times I posted that it disappeared.

[Devilbrad]

I’ll try some of these tips and more tough love. My hound is so picky, but she does seem to prefer Merrick wet food and her second choice is EVO 95. I can’t get her to touch dry food anymore. And I almost always have to put shredded cheese on the food just to get her started. She will eat the living day lights out of human food and anything she finds on our walks though, LOL I’m tempted to cook meals that her and I can share. I’m sure if it came off the stove and was what I was eating she would gobble it up. Now, don’t get me wrong, she does eat and is nice and healthy, not being neglected, that’s for sure!

[debbylcc]

I always thought wet food was worse for their teeth among other things. My cat is on wet food to lose weight. She ate puppy food from my daughter’s dog who had a temp home with me for a time. My cat loved the food, but it made her gain weight so the vet said wet food to get rid of carbohydrates. I figured 2-3 days of no food at all was enough before I began to mix the two. I will take a look at some of the other foods recommended here. Thanks.

[BryanV21]

Wet food is not bad for teeth. You should be cleaning the dog’s teeth fairly often anyway, whether that be with brushing or using other teeth cleaning products. I’ve read that giving dogs raw meaty bones is a great way to keep teeth clean as well.

And if you’re being told that dry food is good for teeth, as it cleans them while chewing then ignore it. It’s a myth. Dry food crumbles when bitten down on, especially by the dog’s conical shaped teeth, so it’s not “scraping” the teeth at all. And a bad dog food is going to have ingredients that are more “sticky” and keep the mouth dirty anyway, whether it’s dry or wet.

[aimee]

Hi BryanV21,

I brush my dogs teeth, provide chews (never bones) and like you thought that the idea that “dry diets are better for teeth” was a long stretch. But I came across some interesting publications looking at this issue and I find that I need to alter my beliefs. Certainly I don’t think that dry food equates with a healthy mouth, and maybe the overall health significance between dry fed and wet fed pets may not be great, but it looks like there is some basis to “the myth”

“Even after adjustment for age, the mean oral health index was significantly higher in cats and dogs fed soft food compared with those fed dry or mixed food, and the mean oral health index was significantly higher in cats and dogs fed mixed food than in those fed dry food. These results indicate that feeding a dry food diet has a positive influence on oral health, decreasing the occurrence of mandibular lymphadenopathy, dental deposits, and periodontal disease in cats and dogs.”

http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/7/2021S.long

[BryanV21]

Thanks for pointing that out… seriously. It’s interesting to read things like that. However, since I can find studies to prove anything, whether they are contradictory or not, I don’t put a whole lot of stock in them. Just another example of science failing or confusing people. Which is why I’m an advocate of the ancestral or evolutionary diet.

Besides, it’s not as if a dog owner doesn’t need to practice good oral hygiene anyway. And if an owner is doing that, then it doesn’t matter. The more important thing is which food is best, not which is dry or wet.

[cyndi]

bryanv21-thanks for the idea of green beans in his food – i’m going to try that to see if it helps him feel fuller.

[InkedMarie]

A few years back, we adopted an obese dog. We used Wellness Core’s reduced fat to help her lose her weight. It worked. Green beans are a great idea too!

[Author]

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