# High Quality Low Fat Foods



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Kibble options!

I'm not willing to do raw right now. I'm not against it, but I don't feel it'd be in the best interest of Jackson, who is healing from his bout of pancreatitis, but I also am just too lazy and too broke to do it to be completely honest and I hardly prepare food for myself let alone my dog, so bottom line: kibble/wet food is just easiest right now.

So my dilemma... the vet told me to keep him on the Purina E/N prescription food for the next 3 weeks or so and then very gradually switch him to something else. She recommend, but didn't act like it was a necessity, to feed Science Diet or Eukanuba of course. But I'm not just not wanting to go that route when I feel like there has to be better options that will work just fine. I can already see a difference since he's been eating the Purina, and not in a good way... now it's only been about, what, 2 weeks or so since he's been eating it, so I am sure a lot of other issues like dull coat, etc, will come if he eats it much longer.

Anyways, I'm just looking for some options to browse and research so that I have some kibble options to present to a nutritionist. I might hire one, still surfing around, but unsure still.

So far I've seen some of the California Natural and Innova foods that may work. The P&G buyout is a bit worrisome but nothing seems to have changed thus far. Natural Balance is another brand I'm looking at.


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

If you would like to go with a grain-free option, I would highly recommend Petcureans Now! Senior/Weightloss formula. It is the exact same ingredients as the Adult Formula, just with less fat (obviously). 24% protein, 10% fat. We sell it in the store I work at and have a lot of customers that use it for their dogs that have suffered from pancreatitis (almost all of them are yorkies). It has turkey/duck/salmon in it, here is the list of ingredients:

De-boned turkey, potato flour, apple, pea fibre, pea, potato, tomato, sundried alfalfa, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), natural flavor, salmon, de-boned duck, coconut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), whole dried egg, flaxseed, carrots, pumpkin, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, dried kelp, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, lecithin, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement) minerals: (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, DL-methionine, L-lysine, glucosamine hydrochloride, chicory extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, yeast extract, yucca schidigera extract, chondroitin sulfate, marigold extract, L-carnitine, dried rosemary.

I would use a 100% meat topper to up the protein content a bit.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

What percentage do you want the fat to be under? Orijen senior formula is 15%..
INGREDIENTS
Fresh boneless chicken*, chicken meal, fresh boneless salmon*, turkey meal, russet potato, herring meal, sweet potato, peas, pea fiber, fresh boneless turkey*, fresh whole eggs*, fresh chicken liver*, fresh boneless lake whitefish*, fresh boneless walleye*, sun-cured alfalfa, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dried organic kelp, pumpkin, chicory root, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, blueberries, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, selenium yeast, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Caty M said:


> What percentage do you want the fat to be under? Orijen senior formula is 15%..
> INGREDIENTS
> Fresh boneless chicken*, chicken meal, fresh boneless salmon*, turkey meal, russet potato, herring meal, sweet potato, peas, pea fiber, fresh boneless turkey*, fresh whole eggs*, fresh chicken liver*, fresh boneless lake whitefish*, fresh boneless walleye*, sun-cured alfalfa, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dried organic kelp, pumpkin, chicory root, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, blueberries, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, selenium yeast, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium.


I think 15% would be pushing, especially if that is a "minimum" and not a "maximum". Orijen never sat well with Jackson. When they changed the formulas, he got the runs but even before that, he got gas from the Adult formula... unfortunately. He was doing fabulous on TOTW Sierra before this... 25% protein, 15% fat.

But thanks for the suggestion!

I'd like to keep it under 11% fat. The vet said protein was not much of a concern so it'd be ideal to find a decent protein (but I still don't wanna go really high) and low fat. Someone suggested Wellness Core Reduced Fat, but Jackson didn't like the regular Wellness Core when we fed it in the past, and was also pooping more while on it, so I'm not sure.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Julie said:


> If you would like to go with a grain-free option, I would highly recommend Petcureans Now! Senior/Weightloss formula. It is the exact same ingredients as the Adult Formula, just with less fat (obviously). 24% protein, 10% fat. We sell it in the store I work at and have a lot of customers that use it for their dogs that have suffered from pancreatitis (almost all of them are yorkies). It has turkey/duck/salmon in it, here is the list of ingredients:
> 
> De-boned turkey, potato flour, apple, pea fibre, pea, potato, tomato, sundried alfalfa, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), natural flavor, salmon, de-boned duck, coconut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), whole dried egg, flaxseed, carrots, pumpkin, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, dried kelp, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, lecithin, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement) minerals: (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, DL-methionine, L-lysine, glucosamine hydrochloride, chicory extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, yeast extract, yucca schidigera extract, chondroitin sulfate, marigold extract, L-carnitine, dried rosemary.
> 
> I would use a 100% meat topper to up the protein content a bit.


I had forgotten about Now! and Go!... thanks for the suggestion! Good to know others use it for their Yorkies suffering from it, too.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Would it be possible to feed a lower fat food and then cook lightly some defatted meat for a topper? I bet he'd eat any food that was soaked in no-salt-added chicken broth, too. You could cook a whole bunch at once and freeze.. then you will get the benefit of both unprocessed food and low fat.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Caty M said:


> Would it be possible to feed a lower fat food and then cook lightly some defatted meat for a topper? I bet he'd eat any food that was soaked in no-salt-added chicken broth, too. You could cook a whole bunch at once and freeze.. then you will get the benefit of both unprocessed food and low fat.


Great idea! Yes, I'll look into it.

The NB Reduced Calorie, what I was looking at, is pretty low in both protein and fat. It almost seems too low of protein for a really active dog like Jackson. So it's going to be tough to find the right balance, I think.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Well, the problem is that most dog food that is of high protein contains a lot of meat. Pet food meat is low quality meat in general and contains a lot of fatty cuts and skin- not stuff like chicken breasts and lean cuts of steak, pork, etc. With cooking meat yourself you can cook fish, chicken, lean pork.. you know exactly what goes into it.


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## imthemonkey (Aug 8, 2011)

Long time lurker here. My dog currently has to be on a low fat food too, but im not crazy about low protein either. So far we have done Wellness Core Reduced Fat and Horizon Amicus Small Breed Senior. I recently came across Honest Kitchen's Zeal formula also but i haven't tried it yet, it is also high protein/low fat.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

imthemonkey said:


> Long time lurker here. My dog currently has to be on a low fat food too, but im not crazy about low protein either. So far we have done Wellness Core Reduced Fat and Horizon Amicus Small Breed Senior. I recently came across Honest Kitchen's Zeal formula also but i haven't tried it yet, it is also high protein/low fat.


Thanks for the heads up about Horizon -- not heard of it yet!


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## imthemonkey (Aug 8, 2011)

Caty M said:


> Well, the problem is that most dog food that is of high protein contains a lot of meat. Pet food meat is low quality meat in general and contains a lot of fatty cuts and skin- not stuff like chicken breasts and lean cuts of steak, pork, etc. With cooking meat yourself you can cook fish, chicken, lean pork.. you know exactly what goes into it.


If you supplement with cooked meat don't you have to also supplement calcium as well? Or is this fine to do as long as youre keeping it around 1:4 meat to kibble?


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

One of the first foods that Chelsy actually did well on was Innova Senior Plus. It's not grain free, but has a fat content of 10%. She did very well on it before I switched her to EVO. 

I know you are hesitant about the P&G takeover but I haven't seen any changes in their canned 95% meat foods since it's happened.


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