# Wellness CORE Reduced Fat for over-weight dog



## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Would you say this is the best food to give an overweight dog?

My dad and stepmom adopted a Dachshund mix in May of 2009 and became overweight very quickly. My dad has a bad habit of just giving the dogs treats for no reason, and not in small amounts. Their JRT mix has a great metabolism and she's in shape (for the most part - she could maybe stand to lose 1lb or so) but Buddy, the Doxy, is a big pudgeball.

So my stepmom is determined to get him to a proper weight again.

Should I tell her to go with Wellness CORE Reduced Fat? Or is there something 'better' for weight loss? She realizes she will be feeding less treats as well, and has already started buying low-cal treats (she used to buy those Milkbone nugget things, and he would often get 5 or more in a day, and those calories add up!!)

I most likely will be buying the food for them, and they'll just pay me back. So I have most high quality foods available around me.

Not the best pictures for body type, but this was Buddy at the shelter:









And this is Buddy now:


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

All three dogs look cute together:smile: I don't think you need a lowfat diet. I would just pick a good high quality diet. Just cut back on the feeding amount and no treats.


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## Devils of York (Jul 28, 2010)

cast71 said:


> All three dogs look cute together:smile: I don't think you need a lowfat diet. I would just pick a good high quality diet. Just cut back on the feeding amount and no treats.


I agree on all points, including the picture. :smile:

My understanding of low fat dog foods is that they are like diet foods for humans. While the fat content may be reduced, something undesirable usually takes its place, making it less nutritious and less conducive to being converted to energy for the body to burn. Reduced fat foods are often less filling/satisfying and may lead to bigger problems overeating. The person serving the food also may be tempted to overfeed because the food has fewer calories and fat.


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

Problem is that it is hard to feed those tiny amounts of food. My sister didn't think one can of Cesar was enough for her yorkie and stuffed two cans into her every day. Poor thing looked like a piglet. Maybe one can wasn't enough but two cans was far too much.

Wellness Core is 430 calories per cup and Reduced Fat Core is 350 calories a cup. Your parents might have trouble giving a scant 1/2 cup of food per day but a heaping half cup might be doable. The difference is the RFC hasn't any canola oil. 

My ideal diet kibble would be a high protein and fat one that is puffy. Fat to keep the appetite sated, protein to build muscle and volume to satisfy the human. Are there any high volume quality kibbles out there? Like 30% protein, 15% fat but less than 350 calories per cup? And a cup is less than the usual 125 grams?


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

TOTW and before grain are a couple. I agree that cutting back is not a good idea, for people that will think there starving there dog lol


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

I think wellness core reduced fat is pretty decent though. A lot of low fat foods do end up using something else to make up for it which in turn may make the dog even fatter, but the wellness one has a very decent amount of meat. It has a bit less chicken, but more Turkey if I remember correctly.

Overall, just have them feed less, and no more unnecessary treats . Some of those treats are calorie-packed. Don't worry about rushing the weight-loss, it will happen slowly on it's own with just a few changes in feeding habits.
Also, instead of low-cal treats, maybe some chew able treats, like bully sticks or antlers might be better? Keeps him entertained longer and they take a long time to wear down, so he'll be eating less calories than would probably be in a few treats.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

I have used the wellness core reduced calorie food. On my labs. I like the results and it really did the trick. I actually fed less than recommended and the labs were satisfied and enjoyed the food. But I always in the evening meal do mix wet with the dry food. I also use Charlie Bear 3 calorie treats and have bout low fat treats along with asking my own dehydrated liver or chicken treats. But all in all it is good for weight loss. My chocolate lab went from 88 lbs down to 73 lbs. Still working on the rest! Right now though to be honest I do have to weigh her to see what point she is at right now! But yes this does satisfy the dog because your giving a generous amount and its a great product! So if you want great results I would say yes to using this. But as others have suggested you can reduce the intake of the food the dogs receiving now. But for me I wanted the dog to feel full and satisfied and it worked!


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## Huskyluv (Jun 25, 2010)

I think the Core Reduced Fat would be a good step. I've only fed Regular Core but back when I was feeding Innova Evo (long before the buyout) I tried the Evo Reduced Fat along with Innova Reduced Fat and that allowed me to keep their normal portion sizes the same so the dogs didn't feel overly hungry all the time and they lost weight just fine.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

I used Wellness Core Reduced Fat on my lab mix back when she was pudgy and it really helped keep her weight down. I don't think that Core really sacrifices ingredients for lower fat content like many other brands do. I did try my girl on the regular Core formula once and boy did she get fat again quickly! I had to cut her back by almost 1/2 cup of food a day (and when you only get 2 cups and LOVE to eat, that is quite a bit) and she wasn't very happy about it so I just went for the reduced fat from then on out. 

That dog is absolutely adorable btw!


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

It really doesn't matter what food you feed, just cut back on the amount. Choose a high quality food that's in your area that they can afford, and feed based on what the dog SHOULD weigh not what she actually weighs and cut out the treats (if they have a NEED to give treats, then I'd recommend SMALL pieces of boiled chicken breast), and start giving her 1-2 walks per day. You should start seeing results in a month or so. If you don't start noticing weight loss, then reduce the amount fed by1/4 cup or so and replace that with 1/4 cup no salt added green beans (low calorie but helps to fill them up).

Good luck.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

rannmiller said:


> I used Wellness Core Reduced Fat on my lab mix back when she was pudgy and it really helped keep her weight down. I don't think that Core really sacrifices ingredients for lower fat content like many other brands do. I did try my girl on the regular Core formula once and boy did she get fat again quickly! I had to cut her back by almost 1/2 cup of food a day (and when you only get 2 cups and LOVE to eat, that is quite a bit) and she wasn't very happy about it so I just went for the reduced fat from then on out.
> 
> That dog is absolutely adorable btw!


I did the exact same thing as you did! I went from the reduced, to the regular, back to the reduced! It is a great food for them! and I agree the regular core I had to feed so little My one lab (chocolate) was actually digging in the garbage  for food. So back to the reduced and No garbage picking! It is a nice good quality food!


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

It really depends on the dog, when I had Uno on Orijen and he gained weight, I cut back, he lost the weight, but he started counter surfing, chronically begging when I was eating and scavenging outside for any food (or poop), the small ammount was simply not filling him up. 
He did really well on wellness RF and lost weight pretty fast (with regular exercise), so definitely paws up and I recommend it for anyone looking for high protein grain free kibble for chubby dogs.


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