# weight management food



## auntiemissa (Apr 19, 2010)

my 1.5 yr old chiweenie was on innova but we switched to purevita after the recall about a month ago. dr said she needs to lose 3-4lbs (plus she has heart murmer and needs to see cardiologist) so i switched her to weight managment food i think nutro,cant remember off hand. shes been on it a few wks but seems to be throwing up more often and im wondering if its this food?? i did switch it slowly with her other mixed in. whats a good food to use to get her weight down. shes 19.6lbs. maybe ive switched her food too much over the last few months,this is the 3rd time


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## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

Hey friend, Its a good vet that is honest enough to tell you your little guy needs to lose some weight. American dogs and cats have been getting heavier over the years, even with so many obesity diets from the vet and so called Light foods in the stores.Won't give you a brand but some perspective. About ten years ago the FDA dor reasons totally unknown, decided that a dog food or cat food had to be below a certain number of calories to be called LIGHT. Well, food companies changed their names to anything that sounded low calorie but didn't say LIGHT. So all those names for so-called light foods are out there but don't trust them. Call the 800 number and find out the calories and compare! Some bags now list the calories per cup, which I think is great. And never feed the high range it says on the bag! Those amounts are too high adn won't help you be successful. Feed the lowest range if not a bit below that. You can find a few foods out there that are LIGHT. They will usually have higher fiber levels. Thats to reduce the calorie count and also to distent the stomach a bit so your friend feels full. If you find these efforts don't work, your vet has a few diets that are even lower in calories and higher in fiber. They do work but you have to feed what the vet says. Purina OM, Royal Canin Calorie Control, Iams Restricted Calorie, and Hills Canine r/d have worked wonders fi you really use them correctly. Your vet might mention a new diet from Hills called Metabolic that actually uses your dogs natural matabolism to burn fat. Seems to be getting alot of press and people are seeing much better results than simply reducing calories. I can only tell you that the best thing you can do for her is get that weight off! I can list all the diseases that are so much higher risk when a dog is overweight. It isn't a weight issue. Its a health issue. Purina did a 14 yr study on dogs and Royal Canine did a 14 yr study on cats and the results were the same, something rare with 2 different species. The pets kept at their healthy weith lived an average of 2 years longer. I know you want thsoe 2 years so now is the time to work at getting that weight off. My best to you both. God Bless!


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## LilasMom (Mar 10, 2012)

Dr Dolittle said:


> Hey friend, Its a good vet that is honest enough to tell you your little guy needs to lose some weight. American dogs and cats have been getting heavier over the years, even with so many obesity diets from the vet and so called Light foods in the stores.Won't give you a brand but some perspective. About ten years ago the FDA dor reasons totally unknown, decided that a dog food or cat food had to be below a certain number of calories to be called LIGHT. Well, food companies changed their names to anything that sounded low calorie but didn't say LIGHT. So all those names for so-called light foods are out there but don't trust them. Call the 800 number and find out the calories and compare! Some bags now list the calories per cup, which I think is great. And never feed the high range it says on the bag! Those amounts are too high adn won't help you be successful. Feed the lowest range if not a bit below that. You can find a few foods out there that are LIGHT. They will usually have higher fiber levels. Thats to reduce the calorie count and also to distent the stomach a bit so your friend feels full.* If you find these efforts don't work, your vet has a few diets that are even lower in calories and higher in fiber. They do work but you have to feed what the vet says. Purina OM, Royal Canin Calorie Control, Iams Restricted Calorie, and Hills Canine r/d have worked wonders fi you really use them correctly. Your vet might mention a new diet from Hills called Metabolic *that actually uses your dogs natural matabolism to burn fat. Seems to be getting alot of press and people are seeing much better results than simply reducing calories. I can only tell you that the best thing you can do for her is get that weight off! I can list all the diseases that are so much higher risk when a dog is overweight. It isn't a weight issue. Its a health issue. Purina did a 14 yr study on dogs and Royal Canine did a 14 yr study on cats and the results were the same, something rare with 2 different species. The pets kept at their healthy weith lived an average of 2 years longer. I know you want thsoe 2 years so now is the time to work at getting that weight off. My best to you both. God Bless!


Prescription diets are not good options. All one simply has to do is feed less, there is no reason to buy over priced food that isn't even dog appropriate. Iams is horrible, and Purina, Hills, and Royal Canin aren't great either. I do not recommend any food by these companies.

Maybe try switching back to the original food but feeding less?


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

I had very good luck getting my MIL's obese cockapoo to lose half her body weight, feeding her *Wellness Core Reduced Fat *kibble, over a period of 7 months. I'm not too impressed with Nutro - too many stories about it making dogs sick, just like yours. Whatever you switch over to, do it slowly to avoid tummy upset. Also, be sure to feed the amount for the weight the dog SHOULD weigh (per the vet's recommendation), or you won't see much success. We fed Rosie no-salt green beans (no more than a couple of heaping TBSP. a day) and and baby carrots (4-5) as her only treats. At first, she refused these treats, but hunger finally got the better of her, and she started scarfing them down - lol! Avoid the biscuit type treats - they're full of empty calories.


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## bett (Mar 15, 2012)

feed less and add a bit of frozen string beans.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

I second Wellness Core reduced fat. I fed her the amount for what she *should* weigh.


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## Shamrockmommy (Sep 10, 2009)

Nutro makes my dogs barf as well. Switch the food and they stop. Try nutro again and they barf. I never was able to figure that one out! 
For my tubby chihuahua I have been using innova lower fat (canned, my girl should be about 4lbs). She's lost half a pound already and has only 4 more ounces to her goal weight. She walks and breathes better already. She has been on it for a month now.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

I have to say that I think wellness works because they don't like it. Lol. I could be wrong, but my parents dog who eats anything and everything eventually stopped eating wellness.


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## auntiemissa (Apr 19, 2010)

thank you for all your responses. yes, i feed what is says for a 15 lb dog(shes currently 19.6). i might just try wellness(i was going to do that one originally) she refuses carrots and green beans for treats lol we tried.i bought charlie bear treats from trader joes with like 3 calories per treat and she gets 1 a day lol if she does get a puppy size milkbone its only half(i have another dog who eats those)


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## auntiemissa (Apr 19, 2010)

if i switch back to the purevita her serving size was 1/4 cup in am and 1/4 cup in pm, i cant imagine feeding her any less than that?


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## NutroGeoff (May 15, 2013)

auntiemissa said:


> my 1.5 yr old chiweenie was on innova but we switched to purevita after the recall about a month ago. dr said she needs to lose 3-4lbs (plus she has heart murmer and needs to see cardiologist) so i switched her to weight managment food i think nutro,cant remember off hand. shes been on it a few wks but seems to be throwing up more often and im wondering if its this food?? i did switch it slowly with her other mixed in. whats a good food to use to get her weight down. shes 19.6lbs. maybe ive switched her food too much over the last few months,this is the 3rd time


Do you know which Nutro food you are feeding? If you are feeding the Nutro Ultra that could be the problem. I have found that sometimes the Ultra line can sometimes be a little rich for dogs with any sensitive stomach issues. You might want to try out the Nutro Natural Choice Lite formula. That one comes in Lamb and Whole Brown Rice or Chicken, Whole Brown Rice and Oatmeal formulas so it is very good for sensitive stomachs. I would recommend the chicken for your pup. The oatmeal does help with sensitive stomachs and helps dogs to digest their food better. I hope your dog starts feeling better soon!


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## Dr Dolittle (Aug 2, 2013)

Lila's Mom, If a dog is just overweight by 10% or so I would agree to just feed less. The problem is as American pet owners we don't address the issue till pets are sometimes grossly obese, presenting all kinds of health issues. Dogs carrying around 15,20,even 30 lbs! feeding less to such an animal would almost be inhumane to both pet owner and dog. can it be done? Yes, but feeding a diet designed to address the issue is so much more effective and humane. The causes of obesity are very emotional or it would be easy to solve. Did you know over 50% of American pets are overweight and obese? very sad.


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## LilasMom (Mar 10, 2012)

Dr Dolittle said:


> Lila's Mom, If a dog is just overweight by 10% or so I would agree to just feed less. The problem is as American pet owners we don't address the issue till pets are sometimes grossly obese, presenting all kinds of health issues. Dogs carrying around 15,20,even 30 lbs! feeding less to such an animal would almost be inhumane to both pet owner and dog. can it be done? Yes, but feeding a diet designed to address the issue is so much more effective and humane. The causes of obesity are very emotional or it would be easy to solve. Did you know over 50% of American pets are overweight and obese? very sad.


I don't mean to feed a drastic amount less. But feeding a bit less and less so they slowly lose weight over time is not inhumane. No need to change the diet.


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

auntiemissa said:


> if i switch back to the purevita her serving size was 1/4 cup in am and 1/4 cup in pm, i cant imagine feeding her any less than that?


When Rosie was 28 lb. (ideal weight 14-15 lb., according to her vet), she was fed 1/4 c. of Wellness Core Reduced Fat twice a day, along with the no-salt green beans and baby carrots, I mentioned in my earlier post. Core is nutrient/calorie dense and high protein, so it was enough. I don't know about PureVita's stats. That would make a difference.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

I second wellness core RF, although I would not use it long term, I don't think it has enough fat for health coat/energy.


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## Jan Fred (Jul 23, 2013)

> Like human obesity, dog obesity is one of man’s worst enemies. Recent statistics show that more than 40% of canines in the US alone are overweight. And just like in the case of humans, dog obesity can lead to serious health issues like arthritis and heart ailments. To prevent and/or stop this from happening, regular exercise is a must. The great thing about this is that when you exercise your dog, dog owners get to have their own exercise, too.
> 
> Here are some of the most common and highly recommended types of exercise that you and your dog can do to avoid human and dog obesity.


 I read this at Fighting Dog Obesity - Hundido do you think, this can be an effective method for weight management among dogs? Please help!!


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## Georgiapeach (Jan 24, 2011)

Unosmom said:


> I second wellness core RF, although I would not use it long term, I don't think it has enough fat for health coat/energy.


I agree. Once Rosie lost the desired amount of weight, we switched over to Innova Red Meat, and just kept a close eye on her weight. Of course, exercise is also key. Start out slowly, and increase as the dog is able. We started out with a simple walk up and down the street (Rosie was so obese, that she panted just standing still, poor thing), and progressed to 3 mile walks and playing spirited games of fetch over the course of 7 months.


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## auntiemissa (Apr 19, 2010)

My bad. She was on natures recipe


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## auntiemissa (Apr 19, 2010)

We r doing wellness rf now


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## Kikki (Jul 27, 2013)

Our 7 year old Daschund mutt girl (Belly) was over 10 lbs overweight when I received her last summer after have been living with my ex and his family while I was working abroad for 2 years. They didn't have time for her and left her home alone from early morning to late afternoon, she was free-fed with very little to no exercise.

When I took her back, we started feeding her the right amount of food twice a day and took her on many walks. That alone made a HUGE difference. However, she always seemed hungry so I started feeding her some blanched peas on top of that which did the trick. She loved the peas and we'd make her do tricks for them.

Anyways, fast forward. Last month I asked my vet what she thought Belly's ideal weight was and she said Belly could loose 2-3 lbs (she was 22 lbs at the time). She's been on Wellness Core Reduced Fat formula for roughly 2 weeks and is currently 21 lbs. I bought a big bag and she'll be on it until the bag is done and she'll go back to eating what the other 2 dogs are eating. She's currently getting 1 cup a day divided in 2 meals. She really liked it the first day (because it was something new, I guess) because then she hated it for almost a week and was fussy about it and would only eat around half of the meal if I handfed her. It seems she warmed up to the food though because she eats it well now, I don't even pour it onto her bowl anymore, I let her eat it straight out of the 1/2 cup measuring cup. The other 2 dogs always lurk around hoping I'll throw them a kibble or 2 of her food LOL!


Edit: DFA has a great calculator for how much to feed your dog. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-food-calculator/


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