[Robin F]

Hello Everyone,
My Natasha is almost 10 years old and weighs 125 pounds. She has arthritis and has a fatty tumor which I was told should shrink when she looses weight. I finally trained the husband not to give table food or cook chopped beef to mix in food! She is eating Wellness Cores Reduced Fat dog food. She hardly never eats all of what she is given (2 cups once a day) which I do top with half a can of one of the stews from Blue since the chopped beef is gone! Does anyone know if there are supplements to help the weight loss, but without her getting diarrhea or having to go potty all the time? She is limping quite a bit and is already on pain meds (Tramadol and Rimadyl).
Thank you, Robin

[Robin F]

I just learned about some low fat canned foods as well. But do you think cooking the ground beef is ok if it is only 3% fat?
Thank you!

[anonymously]

Cut the amount of food you are feeding in half, divide into 3 or 4 small meals a day, do not free feed. Nothing wrong with a small amount of cooked lean meat being added to the kibble instead of canned. Add water to the meals, most dogs do not drink enough water.
Walk at least 3 times a day, even if it is only around the block and in slow motion.

If you can afford aqua therapy/swimming/rehab look into that. Consider seeing a specialist (Veterinary Internal Medicine).

Most supplements are a scam, don’t waste your money. Plus they can cause harm.

Rimadyl is a very effective pain med for dogs, however it often causes side effects such as GI disturbances after they have been on it for a while. A lot of dogs can’t tolerate it. So if your dog develops loose stools…..

Below is an excerpt from a letter my vet sent out to all clients that have dogs on Tramadol. (5/2016):
“Tramadol is no longer recommended as a pain med for dogs. Current research and studies now indicate that Tramadol as a pain management medication has little if any therapeutic value.”
“As a result, …… Animal Medical Center will no longer be prescribing Tramadol for pain management. We recommend alternative therapies including gabapentin, acupuncture,and rehabilitation”. With that said if, if you feel that tramadol has been beneficial to your pet and wish to continue it, we will refill the medication.”
“We pride ourselves on keeping our clients aware and informed of any changes in the veterinary science which is why we are informing you of the most current information regarding Tramadol.”

Science-based Veterinary Medicine information at this site: http://skeptvet.com/Blog/

PS: These are just my opinions based on experience, I am not a veterinarian.

[anonymously]

I am assuming medical issues have been ruled out for the weight gain, senior workup etc. Check with your vet before making any drastic changes to the diet.
Best of luck

[Robin F]

Thank you Anonymously! We did have senior exam done just days ago. She does get walked 3-4 times daily. Morning 6am, noon time when my husband comes home for lunch, 6pm when he gets home from work and then just a short walk to urinate at 10/11. We have two dogs, so feeding multiple times in the day is almost impossible.
I did purchase the very lean beef I mentioned. They both seem to be only eating the wet food and leaving most of the dry. I think for a few nights I will not add anything. I’m afraid she will not be nourished properly.
I appreciate your advice. Thank you so much!

[anonymously]

You are welcome. Try not to worry if they skip a meal or two. I would feed twice a day and pick up anything they don’t eat after 10-20 minutes and put it in the fridg, offer at the next meal time.
As long as they have fresh water available and are drinking they will be fine, I would not be concerned unless they don’t eat solid food for 72 hours. They will eat when they are hungry.
It’s not mean, and remember you do want to get that extra weight off.

[Susan]

Hi I started to feed Patch “Holistic Select” Senior the fat is only 10% fat & the fiber-3.50%, Holistic Select fat & fiber is lower then the Wellness Core, Wellness Core reduced fat is too high in fiber at 8.5% fiber, maybe that’s the problem, the Holistic Select Senior fiber is 3.50%…….
Wellpet makes Wellness, Holistic Select & Eagle Pack, maybe try changing brands also I feed Kibble for breakfast & I make rissoles, I buy the lean pork mince & add some chopped parsley & make 1 cup amount size rissoles & make into a long rissole, not round & bake in the oven so any excess fat comes out, I freeze the rissoles & also boil sweet potato or pumkin & freeze the sweet potato & pumkin in section….. For dinner I feed 1 rissole (1cup) with 1/4cup sweet potato & the weight fell off Patch & I didn’t want him to loss weight 🙁 so only feeding 1 meal kibble & the other meal a cooked meal is better then feeding 2 means with kibble….
http://www.holisticselect.com/

[InkedMarie]

Having more than one dog doesn’t mean you can’t feed more than once a day! Feed two meals and put this dog into a crate or another room or remove the other dog while she eats.

Since the Wellness isn’t working, try Annamaet Lean (you may need to order it).

[Michael F]

Hi, My last two dogs lived to be 16 and 17 years old, they developed arthritis and we used
Duralactin and all natural anti-inflammatory, you can read more about it her https://www.vetinfo.com/duralactin-canine-side-effects.html it doesn’t have the side affects of Rimadyl, I’m not to saying you should stop her rimadly, I’m not sure how bad her arthritis is and it is a choice your and your vet would make. With the Duralactin we also gave our dogs Cosequin, or I guess now they make Dasaquin, we gave our dogs both the Duralactin and the Cosequin and they did quite well, I also found that four short walks a day, made it easier for them to get up and down and move around. For your weight loss, I would keep her on her diet food that works for her, and feed her the amount of it she is suppose to have for her required weight, as a topper for a treat, you might try a little boiled fat free ground turkey and or boiled skinless boneless chicken breasts, those will be much lower fat options and should still feel like a treat to her. To make it easy you can cook it up ahead of time and freeze small amounts in freezer bags, and then you’ll have a pre-made topper for her food. It’s not easy getting a dog with arthritis extra exercise, but if you stick to the amount of food she is suppose to eat for the weight you want her to be at and avoid extra fatty food additives and other people food and give her the low fat kibble as treat, rather than a fatty dog treat, she’ll eventually take weight off, you don’t want to under-feed her, because then she get malnourished, she needs a certain amount of food each day to get her needed vitamins. Give it some time and you’ll see results! A cute story about the need to feed your dog too many special treats….My parents had a toy poodle named pete, they only fed him buddig lunchmeat, they said he would not eat dog food, at age six, he looked awful, instead of being chocolate brown he was grey and going bald, his eyes looked sickly and he limped on his hind leg at time, unfortunately my parents passed away at that time, anyway, pete came to live with me and my other two dogs, and guess what, I fed him dog food, not lunchmeat, in a few months time, his coat was nice and chocolate brown again, his eyes looked great, he got daily walks with the other two dogs, and he lived to be almost 18 years old! So that is my story about table scraps versus dog food! That doesn’t mean I’m knocking a raw diet for dogs or home cooking for dogs, they are preferred to dog food by many vets and many of us dog owners, however, they have to be a balanced diet, not just luchmeat and table scraps.

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