Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Posts
    12
    Thanked: 1

    High Protein Bad for Overweight Dog? Need Food Recs please help.

    Hi Folks, I posted several days ago about my 2 year old lab who has anal gland issues - expresses in the house, his poops are not really excellent hard poops. We took him to the vet this weekend and the vet said that the anal gland issues and bad breath (he also has horrible breath that smells almost as bad as his rear) are due to his bad gut health and that probiotic and digestive enzymes will help him out. I will definitely do this. But I also want to change his food and am seeking your guidance. He's been eating Blue Buffalo Basics Grain Free Turkey and Potato for most of his life (vet's recommendation due to puppy diarrhea issues, but he also had worms at that time...). I feel like a bad dog mom b/c with our new baby, we've neglected our dog's exercising needs and he's now 93 lbs (he was 85 which may also have been too much)!!!! He's overweight and vet said he's a 7 on the dog body profile. He said to reduce from 4 cups a day (that was too much, now I know, thanks to this forum) to 2.25 a day. I should mention that he also has a suspected autoimmune disorder which causes his nails to crack and split. We've not gotten an official diagnosis because that's only done by toe amputation, but that's what the vet suspects, and told us to treat that with daily Vitamin E and Fish Oil. Anywho, I went to the dog food store yesterday and the guy there told me high protein will not be good for an overweight dog and was pushing Natural Balance Fat Dog food (the name is so mean!!) and/or Earthborn Holistic. Some of the Earthborn foods have high protein so I got confused and overwhelmed and ended up buying Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Venison. Now I see that they've had recalls, so I'm returning it, and am back to the drawing board, probably more confused than ever. I asked the guy at the dog food store if a less premium dog food would be better (that's what some of you say on this forum), and he said no, it's like saying McDonald's is good to eat. Some people on here say that they want high protein food for their dogs, some don't. Would Fromm or Farmina or Earthborn be "too rich" for my dog? Should I go with Pro Plan or Eukanuba which a lot of you swear by? Thanks in advance!

  2. #2
    Senior Dog arentspowell's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    1,168
    Thanked: 838
    Oh no, I'm sorry you are dealing with a whole bunch of health issues!

    We feed the earthborn holistic lamb formula. Its 28% protein, which is much less protein than their other formulas. My dogs have been doing well at this protein level and earthborn has not had any recalls.

    You may want to add green beans (low sodium canned or frozen) while you cut him back. He's making a drastic jump from 4 cups to 2.25 cups so the green beans will help him feel full without adding a bunch of calories.

  3. The Following User Says Thank You to arentspowell For This Useful Post:

    LabMum1030 (11-02-2015)

  4. #3
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Carolina in my mind..
    Posts
    6,391
    Thanked: 4178
    I do not think high protein is an issue for overweight dogs, more likely too much food and too little exercise, as you've already figured out. And new babies just take up so much time and energy. Dogs typically sink lower on the priority list when getting yourself showered and dressed and fed turns into a challenge! My daughter is learning that right now, poor Ellie (her dog).

    You could probably just cut back on what he's currently eating and add some frozen or canned no salt green beans to bulk up the amount some. You'll see people on here also do not like Blue Buffalo products because of some dishonesty about the sources of ingredients, I believe. You could probably pick any food you want to try and just feed less of it. Most people on here do not recommend the weight management foods, just less of their regular food and more exercise. Not that my dogs are exemplars, but the 3 year old (66 lb) gets just about 2 cups of food per day and the 9 year old (86 lb) gets just a little more.

    I usually feed Annamaet brand foods. Their Lean formula has 30% protein (so not low protein) and low fat, something like 7-9%, compared to more typical 16-20% fat in "regular" food. It's not inexpensive food but they like it and do well on it. The Lean formula is also lower calorie than their other formulas but I mix the types, they don't get all Lean. I also supplement with salmon oil, so they probably get more fats than they'd get with just plain food.

    The toenail issue, are you thinking SLO? A former member had a greyhound with SLO but her very informative posts on that issue were lost when the board crashed a few years ago. I can't think of anyone else dealing with that right now, but one never knows.
    Sue

    Chase 9/29/2006- 6/30/2017 Always in our hearts
    Lark 12/25/2012- 2/2/22
    Henry 7/14/18
    Joey 5/14/2022

    “Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?”

    Mary Oliver, Hidden Content

  5. #4
    Senior Dog
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Central NJ
    Posts
    2,603
    Thanked: 2277
    Agree - protein isn’t the issue, but many high protein foods are also high in fat thus having higher calories.

    Chloe is always watching her weight and she’s done well on Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain (which is 25% protein, 15% fat) and now on Annamaet Lean which is higher protein (30%) but lower fat (7%). The common factor with both foods is that they are similar in calorie count (don’t have the exact numbers here but I think they are both around the 330 calories a cup range).

    If you like the Blue Buffalo (I’ve never had success with it) you could just cut back the amounts and substitute some green beans in - they add fiber and fullness without adding many calories. Also, up the exercise.
    Annette

    Cookie (HIT HC Jamrah's Legally Blonde, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015
    Sassy (HIT Jamrah's Blonde Ambition, UDX, OM2, BN) 6/4/2015

    Chloe (HIT HC OTCH Windsong's Femme Fatale, UDX4, OM6, RE) 6/7/2009

    And remembering:

    Scully (HC Coventry's Truth Is Out There, UD, TD, RN) 4/14/1996 - 6/30/2011
    Mulder (Coventry's I Want To Believe, UD, RN, WC) 5/26/1999 - 4/22/2015

    And our foster Jolie (Windsong's Genuine Risk, CDX) 5/26/1999 - 3/16/2014

    Hidden Content

  6. The Following User Says Thank You to Annette47 For This Useful Post:

    LabMum1030 (11-02-2015)

  7. #5
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    2,598
    Thanked: 2588
    We've been doing Evanger's Meat Medley which is:
    GUARANTEED ANALYSIS:
    Crude Protein, not less than . . . . . . . . . . 30.0%
    Crude Fiber, not more than . . . . . . . . . . 3.8%
    Moisture, not more than . . . . . . . . . . 9.0%
    Crude Fat, not less than . . . . . . . . . . 12.0%
    CALORIES:
    351 kcals/100g; 387 kcals/cup
    We picked it for several reasons...one, it has NO chicken in it, which I think triggers Jack's seizures if it's in his daily kibble. And two, it has lower fat that some of the other grain frees. He had a problem with weight and this one seems to keep him at a good spot, he's a solid 90#, which is good for him.

  8. The Following User Says Thank You to JenC For This Useful Post:

    LabMum1030 (11-02-2015)

  9. #6
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Las Vegas
    Posts
    1,342
    Thanked: 729
    Natural Balance should work just fine. Give him some salt free green beans as a low cal filler and up his exercise. Start aiming for slow, long walks, at least 2 to 3 miles everyday and work him up to more strenuous off leash exercise. He probably out of shape and you dont want to hurt him with to much exercise too soon. Its late in the year but swimming would be great

    Overweight dogs are really no different than overweight humans, too much food and not enough exercise.

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to ZoeysMommy For This Useful Post:

    LabMum1030 (11-03-2015)

  11. #7
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Posts
    12
    Thanked: 1
    Quote Originally Posted by arentspowell View Post
    Oh no, I'm sorry you are dealing with a whole bunch of health issues!

    We feed the earthborn holistic lamb formula. Its 28% protein, which is much less protein than their other formulas. My dogs have been doing well at this protein level and earthborn has not had any recalls.

    You may want to add green beans (low sodium canned or frozen) while you cut him back. He's making a drastic jump from 4 cups to 2.25 cups so the green beans will help him feel full without adding a bunch of calories.
    thanks! that's helpful to know about the beans.

  12. #8
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Posts
    12
    Thanked: 1
    Quote Originally Posted by smartrock View Post
    I do not think high protein is an issue for overweight dogs, more likely too much food and too little exercise, as you've already figured out. And new babies just take up so much time and energy. Dogs typically sink lower on the priority list when getting yourself showered and dressed and fed turns into a challenge! My daughter is learning that right now, poor Ellie (her dog).

    You could probably just cut back on what he's currently eating and add some frozen or canned no salt green beans to bulk up the amount some. You'll see people on here also do not like Blue Buffalo products because of some dishonesty about the sources of ingredients, I believe. You could probably pick any food you want to try and just feed less of it. Most people on here do not recommend the weight management foods, just less of their regular food and more exercise. Not that my dogs are exemplars, but the 3 year old (66 lb) gets just about 2 cups of food per day and the 9 year old (86 lb) gets just a little more.

    I usually feed Annamaet brand foods. Their Lean formula has 30% protein (so not low protein) and low fat, something like 7-9%, compared to more typical 16-20% fat in "regular" food. It's not inexpensive food but they like it and do well on it. The Lean formula is also lower calorie than their other formulas but I mix the types, they don't get all Lean. I also supplement with salmon oil, so they probably get more fats than they'd get with just plain food.

    The toenail issue, are you thinking SLO? A former member had a greyhound with SLO but her very informative posts on that issue were lost when the board crashed a few years ago. I can't think of anyone else dealing with that right now, but one never knows.
    Thanks for the recommendations! Yes, they thought it could be SLO However, knock on wood, the vitamin E and fish oil regimen has made a difference, and they are definitely not as bad as they were at one point!

  13. #9
    Puppy LabMum1030's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Location
    Virginia, USA
    Posts
    12
    Thanked: 1
    Quote Originally Posted by JenC View Post
    We've been doing Evanger's Meat Medley which is:


    We picked it for several reasons...one, it has NO chicken in it, which I think triggers Jack's seizures if it's in his daily kibble. And two, it has lower fat that some of the other grain frees. He had a problem with weight and this one seems to keep him at a good spot, he's a solid 90#, which is good for him.
    I will check this one out, thank you for the recommendation!!

 



Not a Member of the Labrador Retriever Chat Forums Yet?
Register for Free and Share Your Labrador Retriever Photos

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •