Science Diet RD

I have.  And maybe I should just follow my gut instead of falling for the vets "fix all".  I know that I personally lost 30 lbs in a short time and felt great when I stayed away from most carbs.  Maybe he is insulin resistant like me!  The SD RD is soooo heavy on grain. 

i wasnt trying to sway you from trying the sd/rd. i know from our experience with prescription food it wasnt worth it. we had our cats on hills u/d (which i think they are now calling x/d). they were on it for about 2 yrs. we switched them off of it when i was out of work because it cost so darn much, much more than most premium foods. they were on a pretty inexpensive food after that and we couldnt really tell any difference in their health. knowing that i am hesitant to put any of our pets on prescription food again.

I am hesitant about the RD just because of what I think are lousy ingredients.  But if grains really are the problem, RD would be the wrong food. 

there is another thread under nutrition
http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=67823

they are discussing the use of innova evo and most of the people there are having some success with their dogs losing weight on this food. might be worth a read.

You might want to try Solid Gold Mmillennia. It's a Beef & Barley formula, and he seems to do well on beef. I've seen a couple dogs start eating it and get trim as well as adding on some muscle in place of the fat. With any food outside of prescription or "light" foods, I don't think you're going to find a consensus on what works since it's all anecdotal evidence.

schlep: is barley more beneficial to dogs than say rice or some other grains that are common to dog food?

I had fantastic luck with the Mmellinia - just came out of a rotation and everyone remarks on how good the dogs look.  We've got one that gains just by thinking about food (even though he's the #2 working dog) and he got nicely ripped on it.

Honestly, the best change to investigate after increasing his activity,  is simply reducing the kcals, just like for us.  This may be more difficult on the regular Cal Natural versus the Mmellinia, which I think has slightly lower protein/fat?  I seem to remember having to up the bones for my hard keepers, but that could have just been our being in the middle of lambing.  It would be really smart of me to keep a journal but I'm lucky if I remember my nme from one hour to another.  [8|]

It's actually used in several dog foods, just not as prominently as it is in Solid Gold's formula. I couldn't say exactly how beneficial it is to dogs over any other ingredients, since no research has been done. There is some on-going research on its use in human food, which may explain why some dogs are losing weight on the formula.

For medical use barley is being researched for its ability to help alleviate diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity. Some evidence suggests that barley seed products in the diet may improve blood sugar levels in individuals with diabetes, possibly because the fiber in barley seeds delays stomach emptying and slows down the absorption of carbohydrates from foods. Like oatmeal, barley seeds contain both soluble and insoluble types of fiber that may help to lower cholesterol. Studies have shown that individuals with barley in their diet experienced reductions in their total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL - the "bad cholesterol), or triglyceride levels. Additionally, barley may assist in weight loss because it acts as an appetite suppressant making people feel like they have eaten more than they really have. Barley seeds may also protect against colon cancer.

http://www.nutrasanus.com/barley.html

wow. thanks for the info.

He doesn't look fat enough to be put on an obesity diet.  I've seen some faaaattt dogs, and yours doesn't compare to the fatties I've seen.  You're right about the grain based diet being the cause of his weight problem and therefore Science Diet JHKLMNOP, or what ever,  isn't a good choice.
I'd get a second opinion about the thyroids.  I know a 2 year old golden retriever with thyroid problems.  But by looking at your kiddo, he doesn't look like he has any thyroid symptoms, like curly hair greasy coat.  My vet reccomends Innova Evo for fat, but not obese dogs. 
I can't hurt to try Innova Evo for a month or so.  Just follow the feeding instructions very carefully.  You'll feed way less than any other food you've tried before.

Well put, Rebecca.
 

Here's the plan...
 
I bought a bag of the Science Diet RD.  I figure it will last just over a month.  I have gotten all his recorded weights from the vet and have created a spreadsheet to track all this.  We'll keep up with the activity and see what happens.  If in a months time he stays the same or gains...I am going to take the opposite approach.  RD is very high in carbs/fiber and if that doesn't work it's on to one of the high protein low carb foods.  I will weigh him weekly and keep you all posted.  Thanks for the information and shared experiences.  It's situations like this that make me wish all my critters could speak to me on occasion.  Just to check in and make sure they are doing allright.   
 
On an upnote...I have a cat who has been on prednisone for about 6 years.  Pancreantitis, IBD, triaditis.....all supspected and the treatment is steroids.  I have always wondered about keeping him on it for long.  I had weaned him down to the smallest possible dose to keep the vomiting under crontrol.  I went to a new vet a couple weeks ago.  Kidney and liver functions are ok...bound to get worse if he stayed on the pred.  He had other symptoms too.  New vet reccommended  California Natural Chicken and Rice Dry.  It is a very simple food.  Cats seem to either have a very rudimenty (or very sophisticated...depending on how you look at it) digestive system and often have trouble dealing with multiple protein antigens.  Ca Nat. has only whole chicken and brown rice.  Anyway, he is MUCH better.  No vomiting, dander has gone away...the thing I am most excited about is his belly fur is growing back!  He used to be bald.  He loves the new food and is obviously agrees with him.
 
Have a good weekend everyone !!

We had a goldendiagnosed with low thyroid at barely age 4 and he had every sympton from thinning, coarse hair, no energy, to change in personality and big weight gain in short time.
 
Then last year, at age 10 another of our goldens was diagnosed with low thyroid and he did not have a single sympton and we only caught thru predental bloodwork.  I would not rule it out just because of age or lack of symtpons.

Purplepets your dog doesnt even look overweight to me,lettalone fat or obese [sm=eek.gif]

Such good news about your cat,you,and he must be feeling on top of the world [] I love reading stories like that.

I don't think he looks too terribly big either.  However if he continues on this trend...he'll be in trouble.  I really want to understand what is going on and nip it in the bud.
 
As for the kitty, I couldn't be happier.  The other two healthy cats love the new food and their coats are improved too!