Never Had To Ask This Question

[JJNg]

Ideal rate of weight loss is 1-2% per week. So 5 lbs in 2 weeks is a little faster than ideal. However, if he's acting fine, I wouldn't worry too much about it. He's not starving if he's refusing to eat veggies. Probably wouldn't hurt if you wanted to increase him a tiny bit to 3.25 cups per day, but if his weight loss slows down, you may need to go back down again. Do you know how the Natural Balance Ultra Light compares to w/d in terms of caloric content? That may influence whether or not you should change the amount you feed.

[Guest greybookends]

Pam sounds like you are doing just fine.

 

I had a foster several years ago that came to me horribly obese. She looked like an over weight lab with a skinny head. she was about 40 pounds overweight. She had horrible muscle spasms due to atrophy, that left her screaming in agony. We did pretty much what you are doing and had to work short walks in gradually to get her muscles back again. She found a wonderful home that continued to get the weight off and she ended up a lovely 60-65 pound girl that was a fabulous therapy dog.

 

Keep up the good work. He'll thank you in the end.

[sweetdogs]

I think 5lbs is a little too fast. I don't like fat dogs but he's probably been fluffy for some time. I bet his weight will settle in a while. And give him that other half milkbone fer cripes sake. He's a beautiful boy & deserves a whole, entire milkbone.

 

Or do what I do & buy the smallest treat you can find. That way I can appear to be giving treat after treat while keeping the actual intake to a minimum. My favorite is Natural Balance treats. They come in Poodlum size, lots of flavors & are cheap.

[Hubcitypam]

Ideal rate of weight loss is 1-2% per week. So 5 lbs in 2 weeks is a little faster than ideal. However, if he's acting fine, I wouldn't worry too much about it. He's not starving if he's refusing to eat veggies. Probably wouldn't hurt if you wanted to increase him a tiny bit to 3.25 cups per day, but if his weight loss slows down, you may need to go back down again. Do you know how the Natural Balance Ultra Light compares to w/d in terms of caloric content? That may influence whether or not you should change the amount you feed.

Well, ummm...We were at the vet and the tech walked in and said "101.5" and I said "his temp?" and she said, no, his weight". I almost fainted.

 

He came weighing 95 and eating 4 cups of Purina Pro Plan Chicken a day. I tried Iams and he didn't like it, then tried Purina One Beyond Chicken and Oatmeal which seems to have good ingredients and he and Barkley loved it. Didn't check calories but when I switched I was giving him 350 more calories a day so he gained weight.

 

So, jjng we actually are close to on target. I just can't figure out how much he need caloriewise to lose weight but not be starved. He is 96 now. To clarify, I feed Poodle the Natural Balance Ultra Light instead of w/d. Sooo -- here are the calories per cup for all.

 

w/d (which I'm not feeding) - 239

Natural Balance Ultra Light - 294

Pro Plan Shredded Chicken - 384

Purina Beyond - 469

 

Like I said he was fluffy when he came but I wanted to get him settled before dieting him. Little did I know I'd pack more on him. I finally had to call Purina this morning to get calories out of them.

[brandimom]

Give the green beans but cook them, don't use the canned because they have salt.

 

I have been able to find canned green beans with no salt in my grocery store but the fresh beans are better for them anyway.

[JJNg]

I just can't figure out how much he need caloriewise to lose weight but not be starved. He is 96 now. To clarify, I feed Poodle the Natural Balance Ultra Light instead of w/d. Sooo -- here are the calories per cup for all.

 

w/d (which I'm not feeding) - 239

Natural Balance Ultra Light - 294

Pro Plan Shredded Chicken - 384

Purina Beyond - 469

Ok, thanks for the clarification and posting the caloric content of the food. Whether a dog feels starved has more to do with bulk and volume than the number of calories you're feeding. This is why 'light' foods have lower calories per cup - you can feed more of it but still only be giving the dog the same number of calories.

 

Let's see if I have this right...

 

He came to you weighing 95 lbs and on 4 cups of Pro Plan (total of 1536 kcal).

 

You switched to 4 cups of Purina Beyond (total 1876 kcal) and his weight went up to 101.5 lbs.

 

Decreased his feeding to 3 cups of Purina Beyond (total 1407 kcal), and 2 weeks later, he is back down to 96 lbs.

 

When did you start the switch to Natural Balance Ultra Light, and how far along in the switch are you now? The Natural Balance is significantly lower in calories than the Purina Beyond, and 3 cups of Natural Balance is only 882 kcal. So you'll probably need to feed more.

 

When starting a diet plan, I usually recommend decreasing the number of calories the dog is currently eating by about 10-20%, depending on how overweight the dog is. With Buddy, I'd do this calculation using the original ProPlan he'd been on.

 

So he came to you eating a total of 1536 kcal. A 10% drop would be around 1380 kcal (so the 3 cups of Purina Beyond was close to this), and a 20% drop would be around 1230 kcal. To feed these caloric amounts using the Natural Balance Ultra Light, you'd need to feed somewhere around 4 and 1/4 cups (1250 kcal) to 4 and 2/3 cups (1372 kcal). These are just starting amounts only, and may need to be adjusted based on how the dog's weight is changing. I usually recommend weight checks every 2-4 weeks.

[Hubcitypam]

Thank you very much. We are not far into Poodle's food. I gave him 4 cups total yesterday. I left out the 125 calorie big milkbone per day. He came with those but not sure how many or what portions they were feeding him.

 

Sounds like I should aim for 1,300 calories a day, including the one milkbone that my vet forbade Thanks again for clearing it up.

[JJNg]

IMO, treats are fine as long as they are in moderation (less than 10-20% of the total diet), and you're accounting for them in the daily caloric intake.

[Guest DragonflyDM]

Buddy came to me...err...a tad flufffy. I was feeding the 4 cups that they were giving him but at the vet yesterday the scale had crept up a bit.

 

He is now cut down to three cups a day of Purina Beyond. (1.5 each lunch and dinner). He was on Pro Plan and I did not compare calories when I switched. My bad. He was getting one milkbone a day in the morning and the vet said to cut that out and give him raw carrots.

 

That went over like a lead baloon just as it has with every hound I've owned. *Sounds* like a great idea but no one will eat them. I asked about the green bean diet and he said no, just cut out the milkbone and the 1 sweet potato chip and strip daily. No treats except raw carrots. We are not going there. I've cut him to half a milkbone and one sweet potato strip a day. Then he said switch him to w/d and I said "we went through this with Poodle two years ago before you were here -- I'm not feeding cellouse".

 

SO, since I'm not doing anything the vet wants, ideas? I could switch him to the Natural Balance Ultra light that Poodle eats, but it is a little spendy for a 95# dog. Not sure why green beans would be so bad. They worked for my yorkie.

 

He is the first dog that I haven't free fed since we now eat twice a day due to Poodles shots.

 

 

I am not going to try to convince you to do a real food diet…but consider adding more real food to your regular diet. Right now all your processed food is over 50% filler and basically just like a potato chip. If you could either add gizzards and regular meat OR get really high premium canned (11% protein or more in canned is really like 40% once you subtract the water content of the can) you will notice a less ravenous appetite, less stool (because he processes it all) and weight loss (because he gave up the potato chips).

 

But that is just my suggestion based on my food philosophy. Now if only I could stop feeding myself chips.

[silverfish]

3 cups seems to be working, but I wonder if I'm starving him. I'm bucking the vet and giving him 1/2 a milkbone in the morning and a yam at night. He is down 5# since March 22. Wonder if that is too fast?

 

 

My dogs won't eat raw veg either. I only had one that would - Renie, who would shell fresh peas and eat them, and occasionally accept a small amount of pear.

 

Yes, personally, I think 5lb in such a short time is too fast. Add a cookie or two back in! He'll love you for it. Better yet, get some quality treats instead of cookies, like dried green tripe.

 

 

He's not starving if he's refusing to eat veggies.

 

Maybe true for some, but nearly every hound I've owned would starve themselves rather than eat veggies. It's particularly true of Jeffie who will starve himself at the drop of a hat if he even doesn't like what he's offered. When you have a skinny hound whose bones are sticking out all over and he refuses four meals in a row and you can SEE the weight dropping off him, you'll know that hounds willing to starve themselves DO exist.

 

He's unusual, I'll grant you, but it's enough that the vet won't let me starve him if he has diarrhoea because he drops weight so scarily fast. Every single vet visit she has him on those scales!

[OneOnly]

do you do his beans/carrots sliced/chunky

 

would grated or puree'd mean he couldn't work round them?

[Guest mirthlesstroll]

do you do his beans/carrots sliced/chunky

 

would grated or puree'd mean he couldn't work round them?

 

I had a Grey that wouldn't eat veggies, so I stuck them in the blender, and they all got eaten... He was NOT happy at first, but he finally accepted his fate, and ate his veggies.

[Guest sirsmom]

Since you're already feeding P-one beyond, I've had good luck trimming down mine with Purina Smartblend

[Hubcitypam]

Since you're already feeding P-one beyond, I've had good luck trimming down mine with Purina Smartblend

How much do you feed and how much do they weigh?

I just called and it has 320 calories a cup so I'm going to try slightly less than 4 cups to leave milk bone breathing room. Might try blending the veggies. I got some collard greens to try. Buck LOVED them and Poodle likes them too...and with Barkley the goat terrier they won't go to waste.

 

I may also see how Poodle does on the Smartblend. It's the same fat as the natural balance.

Edited April 6, 2012 by Hubcitypam

[Guest sirsmom]

Since you're already feeding P-one beyond, I've had good luck trimming down mine with Purina Smartblend

How much do you feed and how much do they weigh?

I just called and it has 320 calories a cup so I'm going to try slightly less than 4 cups to leave milk bone breathing room. Might try blending the veggies. I got some collard greens to try. Buck LOVED them and Poodle likes them too...and with Barkley the goat terrier they won't go to waste.

 

I may also see how Poodle does on the Smartblend. It's the same fat as the natural balance.

 

65 lb female: 3 1/2 cups total but we do add a little canned too (those shreds make them feel full)

[JJNg]

He's not starving if he's refusing to eat veggies.

 

Maybe true for some, but nearly every hound I've owned would starve themselves rather than eat veggies. It's particularly true of Jeffie who will starve himself at the drop of a hat if he even doesn't like what he's offered. When you have a skinny hound whose bones are sticking out all over and he refuses four meals in a row and you can SEE the weight dropping off him, you'll know that hounds willing to starve themselves DO exist.

Totally different situation. I was specifically referring to an overweight dog on a diet whose owner is concerned about him feeling like he is starving due to the decreased amount of food. Pretty much the only time I recommend veggies is to add bulk for a dog on a diet who is acting hungry. I wouldn't recommend giving veggies at all to a picky eater who is underweight.

[Hubcitypam]

Totally different situation. I was specifically referring to an overweight dog on a diet whose owner is concerned about him feeling like he is starving due to the decreased amount of food. Pretty much the only time I recommend veggies is to add bulk for a dog on a diet who is acting hungry. I wouldn't recommend giving veggies at all to a picky eater who is underweight.

. Does 1,300 total sound right?

[Charla]

I add green beans to Carl's food, the trick is to smoosh them up a bit, I just use my hand and squeeze a couple of times. I use a fourth to half a cup of canned unsalted and mix in with his moistened kibble. Carl is like me and gains if you look at him cross eyed , this way he feels fuller and doesn't follow me around looking for hand outs.

[JJNg]

Does 1,300 total sound right?

Yes, based on my calculations using his original feeding amount when he first came to you, this would be right in the middle of the targeted 10-20% decrease in calories. Of course, this is just the starting point, and you'll have to monitor his weight regularly to see if it needs to be adjusted further.