Dog Community

Posted : 11/16/2006 9:55:36 PM

Nutro is pretty low calorie, I think. It's probably a good idea to cut those cups down[

] You're moving in the right direction, I think. How is miss Bogey doing, lately? Do her allergy shots seem to be helping?

jessies_mom

Posted : 11/16/2006 10:55:18 PM

Today instead of 1 c. in the morning and 1 c. later afternoon - I gave about 1/2 cup both times. She's got the round belly. Before the NB she was getting the Nutro Lamb and Rice - we switched because one of the things she's allergic to is lamb. If she continues to gain weight, we'll switch to something else.

If you were feeding her 2 cups of the Nutro Lamb a day she was getting about 680 calories; since the NB Fish probably has about 460 calories a cup Bogie was getting about 920 calories; quite a difference. If you feed her about one and a half cups of the NB Fish that would be 690 calories; but you should contact NB to see how many calories is in the Fish. One cup a day may be too much of a cutback; large dogs such as GSDs can lose about a pound a week safely but no more than that, and the smaller the dog, the less they should lose a week; maybe you should check with your vet.

Jenny Stromsdorfer

Posted : 11/17/2006 6:04:44 AM

If you were feeding her 2 cups of the Nutro Lamb a day she was getting about 680 calories; since the NB Fish probably has about 460 calories a cup Bogie was getting about 920 calories; quite a difference.

Yeah, that is a huge difference. No wonder she's noticeably "rounder". It's sort of like she's eating 3 times a day instead of 2. WOW ! Thanks so much. I will check on that. She loves the NB, so I think I'm going to keep it but just cut back. If she continues to gain, we'll definately switch foods. Thanks for asking about the shots. We haven't seen a difference yet, but, we may not for a bit. It's only been a week, but the dosage is only 0.2 mg, so it's pretty mild. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

Bobsk8

Posted : 11/17/2006 1:04:20 PM

ORIGINAL: jessies_mom

The Natural Balance Duck has 465 calories a cup, the Ultra Premium has 485; don't know about the other formulas; [linkage=3#Post253]http://forums.dogfoodproject.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=253&an=0&age=3#Post253[/link] >http://forums.dogfoodproject.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=253&an=0&age=3#Post253]http://forums.dogfoodproject.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=253&an=0&age=3#Post253[/link] but I would guess the Fish and Venison would have a similar amount of calories.

I called Natural Balance this morning and asked about the Venison and Brown Rice vs the Sweet Potato and Fish Calories

Venison and Brown Rice 404 cal per cup
Sweet Potato and Fish 390 Cal per cup

jessies_mom

Posted : 11/17/2006 4:40:27 PM

I called Natural Balance this morning and asked about the Venison and Brown Rice vs the Sweet Potato and Fish Calories

Venison and Brown Rice 404 cal per cup
Sweet Potato and Fish 390 Cal per cup

That's a lot less than I thought but I was using thier other formulas as a guide; that means Bogey's getting about 780 calories a day, up from 680. The same thing happened to Jessie when I fed her TO Ocean Blue; she had been eating Eagle Pack Fish and getting about 900 calories a day. TO does not have the calories per cup on thier website or bags but they do have kilocalories per kilogram. I used a formula found on the Merrick site and thought that the TO had about 360 calories a cup and fed it accordingly; when Jessie went to the vet a month later (forgot why) and she was weighed she had gained 4 pounds. I posted about it on here and Kelly (user name sooner) told me the correct formula and also linked me to Mordanna's site and I learned that the Ocean Blue was about 550 calories. [

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Margaret Tyler

Posted : 11/17/2006 6:17:42 PM

I have been told that the Ultra Premium NB causes weight gain, but not the trout diet. Hmmm? Well if you want to switch to something else, take a look at Pinnacle Fish and Sweet Potato. I didn't have good experiences with it (my dog poohed to much on it) but many other people rave about Pinnacle. It might work great for you.

Brittney's tend to have obesity problems anyways.

Pinnacle Trout is 380 calories per cup.

Edie

Posted : 11/17/2006 10:45:11 PM

And she doesn't get as much exercise as she should. During the week, no walks but plenty on the weekends.

There's your problem [&:] She should be getting at least 2, 1 hour off lead walks/runs a day everyday.How does she handle not getting out during the week? My dogs would go around the twist if i missed one day,lettalone 5 [&o]

You may need to reprioritise and make sure your girl gets out at least once a day,not only for her physical well being,but her mental health too...... Could you not organize a dog walker or friend/relative to take her out?Why cant you walk her?

willowchow

Posted : 11/18/2006 12:28:11 PM

Now, I've read just recently in Whole Dog Journal that they should be getting at least 30 minutes per day. (I'll re-read just to confirm). So, could you please let me know where you are hearing two one hour's. It seems like a lot of time daily two hours.

chelsea_b

Posted : 11/18/2006 2:52:01 PM

There's your problem She should be getting at least 2, 1 hour off lead walks/runs a day everyday.How does she handle not getting out during the week? My dogs would go around the twist if i missed one day,lettalone 5

I'd simmer down if I still wanted to keep my original identity a secret. [

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Jenny Stromsdorfer

Posted : 11/18/2006 8:17:06 PM

There's your problem She should be getting at least 2, 1 hour off lead walks/runs a day everyday.How does she handle not getting out during the week? My dogs would go around the twist if i missed one day,lettalone 5

You may need to reprioritise and make sure your girl gets out at least once a day,not only for her physical well being,but her mental health too...... Could you not organize a dog walker or friend/relative to take her out?Why cant you walk her?

I hope I don't sound too upset, but suggesting that I "reprioritise" is a bit harsh. I"m not going to give you my daily work schedule, but I know that my dog's mental health is great. She is a little overweight, but I'm SURE I'm not the only person with a dog who is overweight. And, it seems that 2 hours a day is something that only someone who works at home or doesn't work would be able to do. She does get out during the week. She's in the backyard off and on late afternoon to evening - you make it sound like I've got her locked up in the basement. I'm a teacher and am off all summer, Christmas and other holidays and she gets plenty of walks them. Don't know why I am justifying myself.

Edie

Posted : 11/18/2006 8:41:53 PM

Now, I've read just recently in Whole Dog Journal that they should be getting at least 30 minutes per day.

At least,right? They usually always recommend the minimum amounts unfortunately.

Bogeydog i didnt ask for any justification,i thought i had pinpointed your dogs weight gain.If the calories going in are exceeding the output(exercise) then you,me and our dogs WILL put on weight.
I never thought you locked her up in the basement,that thought never crossed my mind actually.

it seems that 2 hours a day is something that only someone who works at home or doesn't work would be able to do.

I work full time and i take my dogs out for an hour before work in the morning,and then again in the evening,my mom comes over at lunch time if i cant and plays ball with them.I'm not trying to lay a guilt trip on you,far from it actually,i was just trying to give you some options,eg dog walker,relatives,and i also wanted to give you MY opinion on weekend walks.

Jenny Stromsdorfer

Posted : 11/18/2006 8:50:39 PM

I work full time and i take my dogs out for an hour before work in the morning,and then again in the evening,my mom comes over at lunch time if i cant and plays ball with them.I'm not trying to lay a guilt trip on you,far from it actually,i was just trying to give you some options,eg dog walker,relatives,and i also wanted to give you MY opinion on weekend walks.

I get up and do my own exercies at 4:30 in the morning and am out the door at 7:30 and get home around 5:00 and now (in Chicago) it's already dark at that time. My husband comes home at noon and lets her out to go to the bathroom and that's our week. You didn't make me feel guilty at all, just felt like you were TELLING that what I'm doing is wrong. Sorry if I took it the wrong way. I get Bogey out as much as I can and believe, me I take her for walks as often as I can.

jennie_c_d

Posted : 11/18/2006 11:02:00 PM

And, it seems that 2 hours a day is something that only someone who works at home or doesn't work would be able to do.

I work 45-65 hours, per week. Both jobs are 30 minutes from home, and I come home in between, so add an hour, per day, per job to that. My two dogs are crated and rotated, right now, because they cannot be in the same room without the instigator attacking the good dog. They each get at LEAST an hour every day. I try for more, but sometimes it just isn't possible.

Exersize is just as important for dogs as it is for people. If you spent time walking her in the morning, you'd get your exersize, too.

willowchow

Posted : 11/19/2006 2:09:03 AM

I think excercise is always good. But, I think it also depends on the breed and age of the dog too. I'm just saying that Willow does not need two hours of off leash activity per day at all. If I even tried to give her that, she'd probably zoom around for less than five minutes, sniff around some and then lay down. That's just what she does.

She does get about at least 1 1/2 hrs a day of on leash walks due to the fact that we do not have a yard.

Jenny Stromsdorfer

Posted : 11/19/2006 8:32:40 AM

I think excercise is always good. But, I think it also depends on the breed and age of the dog too. I'm just saying that Willow does not need two hours of off leash activity per day at all. If I even tried to give her that, she'd probably zoom around for less than five minutes, sniff around some and then lay down. That's just what she does.

She does get about at least 1 1/2 hrs a day of on leash walks due to the fact that we do not have a yard.

O.K. Thanks, Willow. I'm almost sorry I brought this up in the first place. I agree with you that it depends on the breed and age. Bogey does not need 2 hours of activity per day, either. As I said earlier, she's in the yard, running and chasing birds, squirrels, etc after work off and on for a couple hours (we've got a fenced yard). And Bogey does the same as Willow - some running, some sniffing and then plops down - and it's not because she's fat, that's just what she does. We play "chase" with her in the house and she gets the walks whenever we can get it in for her.

Weight gain from Nature's Balance?