Weight loss suggestions

[Cathy, Josie and Piper]

My 2 yr old medium size  F2B bred back to a retriever gained wt last winter. Josie weighed 59 lbs this spring and her vet recommended that she lose 9-10 lbs. She has the delicate poodle legs and he is concerned about her joints with her heavier body. I was feeding her 2 cups of Horizon Pulsar chicken formula for past 1 1/2 yrs, so I reduced her amount to 1 3/4 cups and increased her exercise for a month and she lost 1 lbs. so that was good, but then I switched her over to Hills prescription diet-Advanced metabolic weight solution dog food, as was suggested by the dietician at the vet clinic. She lost another pound when I was switching her over. She has been on the Hills now for about 4 wks. I don't like the smell of the Hills, it smells very mediciney, she doesn't like the taste too much. I now have noticed that she is itchy, and sneezes a lot. She has vomited a couple of times as well. So I want to get her off the Hills food. I also give her zero fat natural yogurt with fruit every morning. I haven't weighed her for a month, but I think she has lost more weight. We continue to exercise her almost daily. I was wondering if you have a recommendation of what type of dog food I should be giving her. Should I look for another weight loss dog food or go back to Horizon? The Orijen that you recommend is very expensive in Canada. 

[Vivian & Mojo]

Years ago I had a Siberian Husky and she was 20 pounds overweight, I changed her to a grain-free kibble diet and she lost 5 pounds in 8 weeks but still had so much more to go so at the suggestion of a animal naturopath I changed her to a raw diet and really cut back on treats giving her cooked carrots and green beans. She dropped all the extra weight in a few months and after the diet I fed her the raw for one meal and grain-free kibble for the other and she kept the weight off. Of course lots of walking and running if possible will help.

Hills is a very poor food. I feed my Doodle grain-free Orijen and because you feed less than some other foods it's not that expensive plus the health benefits alone will pay for itself. Before I feed The Orijen she often had some stomach issues and spend so much $$$ on vet visits. Mojo loves the The Orijen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Orijen is too high in calories, though. The Hill's garbage contains only 260 kcal/cup. :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You definitely need to get her off the Hill's, it is garbage. It's loaded with by-products and very unhealthy fillers, no wonder Josie is itchy and nauseated. I got nauseated just looking at the ingredients. 

Orijen is far from the only brand we recommend. Horizon is on our recommended brands list and is a very good food.

Unfortunately, they do not appear to make a low-calorie formula, or even a senior formula ( usually lower in calories) in their grain free lines.

Switching to the Pulsar Turkey formula would save you a few calories per cup, but not really enough to make a big difference.

Did the dietician give you any information as to how many calories per day she should be getting for optimal weight loss? How many cups per day of the Hill's food are you feeding? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, are you giving her plain yogurt with fresh fruit added, or yogurt that already contains fruit? That may be adding extra calories she doesn't need. 

[Cathy, Josie and Piper]

I agree that the Hills is garbage, I should have returned it as soon as I opened the bag and smelt the medicine odor. No wonder poor baby isn't thrilled with it.

I give her zero fat natural plain yogurt with her fruit in the am. And I don't give her any other treats either. except occasionally some vegetables. carrots, etc.

The vet dietician recommended 670 Kcal/day.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Go back to the Pulsar, either the chicken or turkey. Give her three-quarters of a cup twice a day with a half cup of canned, low-sodium green beans, warmed. 

How much yogurt is she getting, how much fruit, and what kind of fruit? 

[Cathy, Josie and Piper]

She is getting 2-3 tbsp. of yogurt, maybe 1/2- 3/4 cup fruit of bananas, strawberries, blueberries, or pineapple. I hadn't heard about giving her green beans.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

"The green bean diet" is a very common and easy way to help a dog lose weight. Many people here have used it. Because green beans are so low in calories (only 20 in a half cup), you can substitute a good sized portion of green beans for a tiny portion of kibble, in this case, a quarter cup, and still save about 80 calories per meal; yet the dog gets more food in terms of volume, and because the green beans are mostly fiber, it helps satisfy them. 

I would eliminate most of the fruit you are giving her, especially the bananas, which are just about the most caloric fruit out there; pineapple & bananas are higher in sugar, too. Try just giving her the yogurt with maybe just a few berries. 

[Cathy, Josie and Piper]

Thanks so much Karen for your suggestions. We will try the green beans, Josie likes pretty much anything so that shouldn't be a problem. I will go to the pet store tomorrow and check out the Pulsar and Orijen again. It's funny how her fruit bowls have gotten larger over the past. I didn't really think about it until you asked how much she is getting. We will definitely have to relook at how much and change her fruit selections. You have been a great help. I'll let you know how we make out at the next weight check.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If she really loves her fruit and you don't want to eliminate it completely, you might swap a very small amount of cantaloupe or watermelon for the bananas and pineapple. But berries are still your best (and lowest cal) choice.

Please do keep us posted. 

[Stella]

Acana, also made by the same people who make Orijen, make a "Light and Fit" variety that is lower in calories (360 per cup). I feed it to my more labby doodle as he has a tendency to put weight on easily. He has gone from 79lb to 75lb and I am aiming to get him to 74lb. He only gets 250ml per meal (sorry, the cups measurement wore off my cup!!), two meals per day.

Interestingly, the vet said his weight was fine, but I knew he was carrying a bit too much!!

[Abigail *George & Juno*]

I've never used it personally, but have a friend who switched his GSD mix to natures variety instinct weight management (salmon variety) his dog LOVED it and lost a good amount of weight as well. I just looked it up and it's about 350 kcal per cup. Worth looking into if the green bean diet doesn't work out?