diet food ?

[Frenchy]

I went to the vet this week. Sam has gain weight , so much I was speachless. He was already obese when I adopted him last year. I was able to make him loose a few pounds but he gained it back and more. :sad: I know he will need more exercise . I was thinking about vet diet food. I mean the reduce diet ones. My vet carries Medi-Cal and Eukanuba (will not go with the second one) I heard about Hills and Waltham....any ideas ? He reaaally needs to loose weight. BTW, Sam is an 9 yr old golden. Thanks.

[Scott_B]

What are you feeding now? Personally, I would put him on a quality kibble, feed less and exercise him more. How much of what your feeding now is he getting? Whats he getting for exercise?

Most diet kibbles are junk.

[Tommysmom]

When I had my cocker spaniel Mickey, we had to use diet food on him. He had so many issues... he was a rescue dog who'd been abused in several homes before we got him, poor thing. We couldn't restrict his food much due to several food issues he had, so feeding less wasn't possible, and he was somewhat limited in what kind of exercise and how much he could do. Anyway, this was years ago and the foods may have changed since then, but we went with Medi cal - at the time it was the only diet food without byproducts and seemed kind of the best of the lot. It worked fairly well, too, and he stayed nice and healthy on it and still had a fabulous coat. He really liked it. Good luck!

[Frenchy]

ScottB ; There is no quality kibble sold in my area unfortunatly. I was just asking about the reduce diet ones that I could get at the vet.

[technodoll]

i think kibble is the culprit, period. those carbs are just killer for packing on the pounds, and the grain-free kibbles are pretty calorie-dense so you'd have to feed very little and sam would feel "starved" alot if he's used to eating bigger quantities of food. ... although over time, reducing his portions sloowwwly and adding calorie-free bulk such as canned green beans can work wonders!

really the diet foods are just filled with chaff (think sweepings off the mill floor ), they're a gimmick and they don't work. if they did, you wouldn't see so many fat cats and dogs around

exercise, exercise, exercise! give one small meal per day of grainless kibble, give calorie-poor snacks such as steamed veggies, NO carbs, and the 2nd meal should be a lean raw meaty bone such as a skinless chicken quarter (yes, you heard me!). do that and soon you will see the fat melt away and be replaced by lean muscle. you'd be hard-pressed to find a fat raw-fed cat or dog, let me tell you.... that's proof that it does work

bonne chance ma belle!

[~michelle~]

did the vet look in to reasons why he might be overweight opposed to the obesity being the problem? i know you prob feed a hight quality food. maybe reduce the amount a little and increase the exercise by 30mins of vigarous excersice a day and reweigh him in a month if he hasnt lost weight by then, then i would look in to possible causes of weight gain.

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by technodoll

skinless chicken quarter (yes, you heard me!).

you mean un quart de poulet sans la peau ? Everyday ???? I don't think I can afford it !

[Frenchy]

Yes Michelle, I have to try the diet first but if it doesn't work, we will look into a thyroid problem.

[Scott_B]

Can you tell us what kibbles you do have?

Canned pumpkin is an excellent filler to add to a meal. As Techno said, get a good quality kibble, feed less, exercise and if you need to, add the pumpkin (NOT THE PIE FILLER) to help keep him feeling fuller.

[technodoll]

Originally Posted by frenchy

you mean un quart de poulet sans la peau ? Everyday ???? I don't think I can afford it !

ah but how much is the diet food, and how much will sam's health problems end up costing you in tests, meds, etc later?

chicken (or chicken legs) is often on sale for 0.99/lbs or less, check the online flyers to see all the stores http://recettes.genieciel.com:8888/listeCirculaires.php, or find a nice farmer nearby that can give you stuff for cheap. where there's a will, there's a way!

[rainbow]

Frenchy, I'd add cooked green beans mashed up to his kibble as they help to fill him up without adding calories. The bagged frozen ones are best. If you use canned make sure you rinse them really well with water to get rid of the salt.

[Prin]

Frenchy, even if you don't do the raw thing, I think putting him on a food like Evo would really help. Yes, it's expensive, but it cuts out the carbs. Diet foods are WORSE than regular foods because they pack in even more carbs.

If you can't afford Evo, just cut back how much he is eating gradually.

[coppperbelle]

I don't remember what you are feeding but Mondou is now selling Eagle Pack Holistic foods. There is a Mondou not too far from your work in Greenfield Park. I would feed this before looking into any vet food or diet food.
You will have to cut back on what Sam is eating. A golden with little or no activity at his age should be getting about 2 cups of food per day, not per feeding. That is measuring cups and not your coffee mugs.
If you are giving more than 2 cups per day now then you will have to gradually decrease what he is eating. You can give him pieces of carrots and other vegetables to compensate for the difference.