Dog Community

Food Advice Needed

Posted : 4/19/2010 3:12:27 PM

Hi everyone,

I'm in need of advice on food recommendations for my Chi Roxy. Currently, she's eating Acana Pacifica mixed in with Acana Light & Fit. She's getting 1/4 cup morning and night, mixed with 1 tsp Wellness Wet food.

Roxy had her yearly vet check yesterday and the vet is quite concerned with her weight. She's gained 1.5 lbs since November, pushing her to approx 13.3 lbs, which is rather heavy for a chi. I must add, she's a big chi to begin with but the vet recommends she lose about 3 lbs.

How do I help Roxy lose the weight in a healthy way? The vet recommended a diet food from Hill's, but I'm opting to do my own research and find another type of food, hopefully with the help of everyone on the board.

During the winter months Roxy hasnt been very active, she hates going for walks in the cold. The spring/summer months are totally different as she she loves running around the backyard and she's at the cottage most weekends through out the summer where she's always outside wondering around with us.

I plan to increase her nightly walks to about 45 min in hopes this may help her (and me) shed a few pounds.

I should also note that the vet detected a slight heart murmer which, prior to yesterday, was never noticed before. The vet thinks it could be related to her weight and we will keep an eye on things. I also had a full blood work up done to test her thyroid etc and should get the results back later this week.

Any recommendations on food/exercise etc would be greatly appreciated.

glenmar

Posted : 4/19/2010 3:28:46 PM

If she is doing well on her current food, just cut it back, a few kibbles at a time and add a few low sodium green beans. Those will fill her up without the calories. You don't want her to loose weight quickly. Slow and steady will win the weight race. And absolutely, up the exercise since that will help greatly. Severely limit the treats throughout the day too.

Xebby

Posted : 4/19/2010 3:32:16 PM

I've never been a fan of Hills diet food. I know the vets I have worked for have recommended it but if you read the ingredients it's mostly junk. I use to get free samples of the stuff from the sales rep and refused to feed it to my own dog. For store bought food, I look at the first ingredient and if it’s anything other then a real meat I have no interest in feeding it to my dog. Why pay for somethng that is just filler and has no nutrional value?

Another thing to consider is home cooking for your dog. I like this because you get to choose what goes into your dog's food. Especially if your dog has food allergies then this works great. I would cook up a huge batch and then portion it out into Ziploc baggies then freeze them. I would just take them out as I needed. It really isn’t as expensive as you think, especially if you cook in large batches and for a small dog.

Now, I’m not an expert on nutrition but I know what works for my dog. Each dog is different so it does become a challenge finding the right balance. Good luck and I hope you get some good advice here!

PrincessPenny

Posted : 4/19/2010 5:33:08 PM

I would cut back her kibble down gradually. My 7 lb Chihuahua only gets around .5 cup of kibble per day. I'd keep the canned food, as canned is almost always lower in carbs and higher in protein than kibble. Perhaps you can replace a kibble meal with canned? Or half/half meals? If you find that she is still acting hungry, offer her filling, yet low fat treats like veggies. As someone mentioned, low sodium green beans are great.

erica1989

Posted : 4/19/2010 9:01:08 PM

My 14 lb VERY active dog eats only 1/2 cup a day (Blue Buffalo). I would cut out some of the kibble...

jennie_c_d

Posted : 4/19/2010 9:05:12 PM

My 13 lb, active dogs eat 1/2-3/4 cup a day. One is young, and the other is a senior. The senior eats less, because she's older. I'd cut back, too. Their kibble is 420 kcal/cup. It's SO easy for them to get chunky.

erica1989

Posted : 4/19/2010 9:59:37 PM

Casey was eating 3/4 cup, but he started to get a bit chunky, even with all the running he does (that dog never stops...) so we cut back. he's slimmed down - most of his weight is muscle, it's amazing how solid he is!

romeoharley

Posted : 4/20/2010 7:39:37 AM

Thank you for all the responses! I'm going to cut down her food, how much shold I cut back if I'm only feed her 1/4 cup each meal. Should I just remove a few pieces of kibble and as one person suggested throw in some green beans?

Regarding the beans, do you cut them up into smaller, easier to chew pieces or just give them whole? Low sodium- is that all green beans or just a specifc type.

Thank you again for the responses, I'm feeling a lot better about this situation now :O)

JackieG

Posted : 4/20/2010 9:01:55 AM

Low sodium green beans aren't any particular brand. Here in the states, several major companies have canned veggies labeled "low sodium" and it should be fairly visible on the label.

Another thing to consider is treats and how many you give daily and what their calorie content is. They can add up to quite a few calories if given often and they are sometimes overlooked as a source of those extra pounds.

shamrockmommy

Posted : 4/20/2010 9:55:35 AM

I have 16 and 20 lb bichons that maintain weight on 1/4 cup kibble twice daily, so what I would do with your little guy is keep using your 1/4 cup scoop but fill it half to 3/4 full for each meal. good luck!

tiffy

Posted : 4/20/2010 7:27:50 PM

Tootsie, my corgi, gets 1/3 of a cup 2x daily and the only treats she gets are freeze dried, unsweetened banana chips during the week. Treats on the weekend are an RMB and maybe a bully stick.

romeoharley

Posted : 4/21/2010 10:53:37 AM

Thank you for the additional advice, I'm going to stop the treats (she gets 2 a day right now) and try and work in healthier treats (bananas, carrots, apples etc- she loves fruit!).

The blood work came back and the thyroid, though on the high level or normal is fine, there appears to be a liver issue. The vet said her ALT values are elevated and she will be going back to the vet Friday morning for further tests (liver function, bile acid). I should probably post this question in the health section, but does anyone know about elevated ALT levels, from what I've read online, this is a very serious issue and has me worried.

I'll search through the forum to see if others have posted information regarding ALT.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 4/21/2010 8:09:04 PM

It can be serious, it can be nothing. Quite a few Chinese Cresteds have elevated ALT and no symptoms, no issues at all. IDK about Chis, but I've heard of it happening. My Emma had liver issues. SAMe and milk thistle helped, tremendously. Also, diet...

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Dawnben

Posted : 5/3/2010 7:51:16 PM

Maybe cut out the wet food and cut back a little on dry and substitute steamed veggies. There no fat and their filling. veggies have to be cooked for the dogs to be able to digest them. I grade them with a food processor then steam or saute in olive oil. I use broccoli cauliflower zucchini carrots. My dogs love all veggies.