Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Question about losing weight
He has been on Solid Gold Holistic Blendz since Dec 2014. He has to be on a low fat diet but has gained weight while on this food. The good news he hasn't had any gastro problems. We have cut back quantity and added green beans. His treats are dried sweet potato chips.
Just curious how long it will take. I might add he isn't getting much exercise since the weather is so hot.
Thanks
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on
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A safe rate of weight loss for overweight dogs is 1 to 2% of their body weight per week.
The food you're feeding is indeed low in fat and calories, but it's also very, very low in protein. When a food is low in protein and fat, it's going to be very high in carbs. A high carb diet is not your best choice for weight loss, especially for a dog who doesn't get a lot of exercise.
I'd like to suggest that you consider switching Max to Acana's Light & Fit formula if you can. I think it would be a better choice for him.
Does he have any digestive issues with certain foods, or any other health issues besides needing to lose a few pounds? If the Acana formula won't work, I can look for another alternative.
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Permalink Reply by sandy b on
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Karen, the reason he's on this food is because he's had a lot of digestive issues over the years. He is 7 yrs old and his 1st couple years was on Life's Abundance. Was on Orijen for a few years but his annual blood test showed high amylase & lipase. I then switched to Orijen senior but still had high amylase & lipase. He then started to have soft stools, vomiting on a regular basis. he was at the vet numerous times & she wanted him on low fat/low protein food ie Prescription or science diet. So I researched all the brands listed here & found one that was comparable to what she recommended.
I do want to point out this past Dec the vet said he might have whipworms even though they didn't show up in a blood test and gave him 3 days of Panacur (i also gave him proviable). He was on boiled chicken & sweet potato for a few weeks then started Solid Gold and hasn't had diarrhea or vomiting since. He normally gets a lot of exercise but it has been so hot & humid for the last few months.
Sorry this is so long but wanted to give you his history! Tks Karen. -
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Okay, that makes sense.
Tell me his ideal weight and how much kibble & green beans you're feeding him per day, we can check the calories.
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When we first started Solid Gold he was eating about 2.5 cups a day, no green beans. His treats were and still are dehydrated sweet potato chips (which I make).
He now gets 1.5 cups of kibble and approx 1/3 cup green beans. And 5-10 sweet potato chips per day. -
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And what's his goal weight?
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Well, he should be getting only about 480 calories per day, and a cup and a half of the Solid Gold food contains 517.50 calories, and that's without the sweet potato chips or green beans. So that might be the reason he's not losing any weight.The green beans contain almost no calories, 30 per cup, but I think if you have to cut his kibble back even more, it should have a higher protein content. His diet shouldn't be made up primarily of veggies, lol. I'd definitely cut back on the chips. Maybe try Pure Bites chicken or fish treats, they're small and they're pure protein.
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Thank you Karen. As always I'm so appreciative of your time & comments.
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I also thought you might be interested in this info from Ron Hines, DVM:
Elevated amylase levels are of little significance in cats. In dogs, it is a bit more reliable indication of acute pancreatitis. Amylase blood levels can also increase in pancreatic cancer, sudden severe trauma such as car accidents and moderately when chronic kidney disease (especially in cats) is present.
Lipemic (fatty) blood samples or hemolized samples can result in a falsely elevated amylase reading.
Medications that can increase amylase levels include metronidazole (Flagyl) and the diuretic, furosemide (Lasix).
Amylase levels in your pet's blood can change rapidly (hour by hour) because the compound has as short life span. Because they vary so widely, the amylase value your veterinarian obtains can be quite hard to interpret. Values less than twice the reported normals may not be important (not significant of pancreatitis) .
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Interesting. I know the annual blood tests in 2013 & 2014'were high which is why I was switching kibble to lower fat/protein. And I thought that was the reason for the digestive problems. But maybe it was the whipworms and the Panacur helped his gut.
Other than Panacur he hasn't had any other medications listed in these articles.
I may try slowly mixing the Acana with the Solid Gold. Other than the weight gain I've been so thrilled he hasn't had diarrhea & vomiting!! -
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I'm not a fan of the slow mixing method of transitioning. To me, the dog doesn't really get the benefits of either food when you do that, and you can't really tell how the new food agrees with him.
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And basically the same thing is true of elevated lipase readings. Amylase and lipase are pancreatic enzymes. Unless a dog has pancreatitis or a serious disease, those readings aren't significant. Low protein wouldn;t be of any benefit.
Less than dramatic (1.5 - 3 times normal) increases in lipase are hard to interpret. Also, almost a third of dogs with confirmed pancreatitis have normal lipase levels. The test is even less accurate in cats. So your vet must send off other test before deciding what a change in your pet’s blood lipase level might really means. Luckily, those new tests are available; and some can be run right in the office. They are the cPL, fPL, cTLI, fTLI, TLI tests.
Acute Pancreatitis (sudden=acute), corticosteroid medications (prednisone, etc), liver disease in dogs, kidney failure (dog or cat), abdominal infections (peritonitis) digestive tract obstructions, surgery, pancreatic tumors or infection can all raise your pets serum lipase levels.
Lipemic blood samples (fatty sample), can falsely lower the lipase reading, resulting in a false-normal or subnormal blood lipase level. Hemolized blood samples can falsely raise your pet’s blood lipase readings.
Complementary Tests :
Blood amylase, pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity test (PLI, cPL, fPL), GLDH, repeat (serial) lipase tests to validate and judge progress, TLI (less valuable in cats), CBC/WBC and blood chemistry panel, urinalysis abdominal ultrasound
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