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Thread: time for a diet

  1. #1
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
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    time for a diet

    took chili to vet and my chili jumped from 95lbs to 115lbs over last yr....vet was pissed. so with chili walking 30min 1-2 x a day and getting 2 cups of acana a day plus a few treats...what should the plan be? or at least idea? I just put him on proplan sport this month thinking maybe the kibble...and I have read here many like the pp sport.

    he doesnt really run too much anymore as he just ignores all the dogs at dogparks...he thinks he is a human and just sits next to all humans he encounters for a head scratch...kinda funny actually...a dog that ignores dogs...but back on to some weight loss tips .
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    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Woah! That's a big gain. PP Sport made my dogs fat due to the corn. But not all dogs will respond the same. I do feed it to my puppies, but have to change their diet around a year old. I feed more protein, less carbs, but due to the taurine situation, I changed food to Farmina for Linus. Sam gets a HD diet for his SIBO with rice, not corn. When Sam was fat I only changed his diet - more the amount than anything. No corn. One cup twice a day. Occasional raw meal. Higher protein. No potato. He's kept it off for about three years now. So has Linus.

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  4. #3
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    I'm thinking that Chili is not getting enough exercise.

    30 minutes once or twice a day is really nothing for a Lab.

    Pro Plan Sport has 20% fat, which is too much if you want your dog to lose weight.

    Edit: Swimming is great exercise for a Lab...

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    I have recently stopped feeding any grain-free food because of the concern recently raised over grain-free foods and an increase in the number of dogs seen with dilated cardiomyopathy. The concern seems to revolve around the high content of legumes (peas, chickpeas, lentils, etc) and potatoes that have begun being used in place of grains. It is speculated that these ingredients may block the absorption of taurine or its precursor amino acids which are necessary for good cardiac function. So until that's worked out, I'm just going to stick with foods that are not grain-free because legumes and potatoes have been subbed in for the carbs in many of those foods. Before you switch foods, you may want to keep this in mind. Don't you have a friend who's a vet? Check with him/her on that if you'd like. I tend to wonder if my dogs are getting enough of their necessary nutrients if I cut back too much on their food. If the treats he gets are high in calorie, maybe see what else you could switch to, baby carrots, frozen green beans, other stuff that might be lower in calories.

    I know Chili has had elbow issues that may still be in play, which would limit his running and walking anyway. Is that still an issue? If so, do you have someplace you could take him to swim? Swimming is supposed to be a good exercise because it gives them a good workout without putting stress on their joints. If Chili isn't a routine swimmer now, he'd have to be conditioned to swim for longer periods. I don't know if you're a swimmer but if not, if you jumped in and started swimming laps, you'd tire more quickly than if you swam regularly, so keep that in mind for Chili as well.

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  8. #5
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    Acana is very high calorie. PP Sport might be better, especially if you choose the 16% fat option. Really though, the secret to weight loss in dogs is the same as us - move more and eat less. Swimming is good exercise if you can do it - easier on the joints than running. In terms of food, go for a lower calorie food, although I wouldn’t go with a “diet” food necessarily - there are multiple options at all calorie levels so you might need to do some research and experimentation. You can also substitute cooked green beans (we use canned) for part of his kibble - keeps him feeling full without adding many calories. Also, as he gets older and more sedentary he may not need 2 cups of food any more. Granted my girls all weigh quite a bit less than him, but none get more than 1.5 cups in a day, and they are on foods with lower calories than Acana and are more active than it sounds like your boy is.
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  10. #6
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    Did the vet do blood work (particularly thyroid)? I'd be very concerned at his age that he's gained that much weight in that short of time.
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  12. #7
    Senior Dog Black Labbies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by windycanyon View Post
    Did the vet do blood work (particularly thyroid)?
    Ditto.

  13. #8
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
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    no blood work...vet just said work him more and measure his waist above his peepee...

    chili is big dog now but I still can see indents before his hips. i will work him more...my nephew feeds his his service dog half cup a day....im like wtf, but his boxer/pit looks very athletic at 8 yrs old now. local parks just opened brand new dog park less than 1/2 mile from home...so no excuses on that.
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  14. #9
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Ditto the blood work. I thought too that "chili walking 30min 1-2 x a day and getting 2 cups of acana a day plus a few treats" was low on exercise, but also low on food compared to us, BUT if it kept him his desired weight and his weight went up then something internal with Chili himself might have changed.
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  16. #10
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Round the scoops down and make sure that "1 cup" is really 1 cup. My scoop completely even is actually closer to 1 1/4 so I leave it a bit concave on the chunkier dogs.
    Going the Pro Plan 26/16 is probably a good option. I can't feed Tickle the 30/20 or she gets really chunky fast. She's not super active no matter what I do.
    When Tickle was on a diet for dog shows, she got 3/4 cup 2x a day and I added green beans (I used frozen that were thawed in the bag and sprinkled about 1/4 cup on top). Worked like a charm.

    But it also wouldn't be a bad idea to have the vet run their full thyroid panel. Grizz is on thyroid meds. It's a pretty common thing in labs to need them.

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