Anybody tried a weight-control dog food that your dog actually liked?

[Sparkly]

Seems the "diet" dog food doesn't appeal to our chubby one. She'll eat it if absolutely desperate, but I wish I could find something she actually liked.

[Curmudgeoness]

1. I don't have experience with dogs, but my cats

had to go on one of the weight control foods. I suppose that I was lucky in that, at the time, I was feeding Purina One, and they had a Purina One for weight control.....so the change was not so great, since it was not a different brand.

Is there a lower calorie formula in the food you had been feeding her?

Also, if you give me a choice, I will hold out for the fattening stuff too. So you have two choices....you feed less of the food your dog likes and see how that works, or you only feed the weight control food and that is all she has to eat. Remember to do the change in food slowly----start with just a little diet food and mostly the regular food, then go a little at a time to less regular and more diet food until you get to all diet food. This will make the transition easier and also make it less likely that there will be tummy and intestinal problems with the new food.

Good luck. Although this will seem like it sucks, a slimmer dog will be a healthier dog. Keep your eyes on the prize.

[Sparkly]

5. Good points, thanks!

I didn't make a slow transition, so that's part of the problem. Now when I mix them, she picks out the regular kind and leaves the low-cal stuff.

I've been giving her smaller portions and trying to supplement with green beans and other veggies. She just wants to eat way too much, I think! So now I'm trying to distract her by tossing a ball with her. Gives her a little more exercise, at least.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

2. I've had a bit experience with diet dog food.

I've put my GSD on it a few times, when her medication gave her a ravenous appetite, and she started getting chubby after her meds were done. She was fussy about it, so I made sure that she got no treats or table scraps, and the food sat in her bowl until she was starving enough to eat it. I don't know about her 'liking it', I just assume that she wouldn't much like the alternative.

[Sparkly]

6. Yeah, she'll eat it if absolutely necessary.

But the other dogs get regular food and she sits outside the area where the food bags are and cries! I'm too much of a "mommy" and can't stand it!

[TheCruces]

3. My dog likes the Authority Lamb & Rice weight control

You can get it at PetSmart. It doesn't have corn either, which I like about it.

[Sparkly]

7. Sounds good, thanks.

Is that a dry food?

[TheCruces]

18. Yeah, it's a dry food

It's actually the Petsmart house brand, but it's corn-free and has pretty good ratings. The ingredients are good and so is the price. It honestly has less crap that the higher price Science Diet and Eukanba.

[avebury]

4. My dogs get a combination of Pro Plan for Weight

Management (because of the probiotics) and Authority Senior for the glucosomine and chondrotin for their joints and they have done quite well on them.

[Sparkly]

8. What about canned food?

I've been researching online a bit, and it seems many people use canned food, even small amounts mixed with the dry stuff. Is there any benefit to that?

My little (fat) one is still a youngster, but I know there are small breed type foods -- I think the only difference is the size of the pieces, but I could be wrong.

[ceile]

9. My girl is Canidae Platinum

It's a combo of senior formula and weight management. She loves it.
http://www.canidae.com/dogs/platinum/dry.html

[Sparkly]

12. What's the senior formula about?

I'm not sure of the difference, but my chubby one is only about 2 years old.

[ceile]

13. It's low fat and made mainly from protein.

Also contains vitamins and minerals for joint health. I realized after I posted that I didn't think to ask how old your baby was. It may not be the best for one so young.

[phylny]

10. Our vet suggested giving our overweight dog

some pumpkin along with a bit less of his regular dog food, because the pumpkin will fill his tummy. Also, we have increased his walks, which is an important component.

[Sparkly]

11. Is that working?

Has he lost weight?

[TorchTheWitch]

14. I'm pretty sure this is what my next door neighbors have been doing

with their fatso Bull Mastiff. Bubba has noticably lost weight in the last few months since they've been dieting and exercising him, and I've seen a huge improvement in his energy and general interest in things. Before he was so fat he had trouble just heaving himself up and down the few stairs that lead into the yard and he never went upstairs in the house at all. He seems soooo much more healthy and happy just with this initial weight loss and is back to going up and down the stairs in the house whenever he wants, and he's practically bounding up and down the outside steps now. He doesn't seem nearly so arthritic now either, so I'm wondering if his weight had more to do with his painful joints than the actual arthritis. They've been able to cut his arthritis meds to less than half!

I told her about the greenbean thing too, so I think she's alternating pumpkin with greenbeans and carrots now to give him more variety (and I think because he just likes greenbeans and carrots better than the pumpkin). The hardest part for her though is spying on her husband and the youngest kid to make sure they aren't secretly slipping him treats or letting him steal them. She's pretty good at cracking the whip with them though. LOL!

If you like, I can ask her more specifics about how they're dealing with Bubba's dieting since it might help you. She likes to talk about it, and I'm pretty sure it's because she's proud and happy with the success, so I know she won't mind.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. The "treat sneaker" in our house is not the husband

[Sparkly]

16. I have no idea what you mean.

[phylny]

17. Yes, he has.

When we got him, he was 15 pounds, but I think he was a young adult/just leaving puppyhood. We got him down to 13, but then since his heartworm treatment, he got up to 21 or 22 pounds (he wasn't allowed to walk or exercise). Now, he's below 18 again. It's slow, but it's been working.

[Sparkly]

19. Okay, so I tried some of this....

Bought one can, made it last for three days between the three dogs. (Yes, I HAD to give a spoonful to each of the big ones.)

For the little (plump) one, I am feeding a dish of veggies for "lunch" early in the afternoon. Around dinnertime, I mix about 1/4 cup of the dry weight-management food with 1/4 cup (or less) of this stuff. She LOVES it.

I am also making sure she gets a walk every day rain or shine.

I don't know how long it takes a little dog to show weight loss, but I'm hoping this will work.

(And whatever is in that can is like catnip for dogs. The three of them go absolutely nuts over it, even when it's leftover and cold and has no smell to me!)

Anyway, fingers crossed the little one gets a little bit littler.

[Stinky The Clown]

20. Have you though about just allowing her to grow taller?

She'd be less apt to come in with a wet belly when it rains.