Dog diet

[WaulML6]

Yes, it's true.  This precious pomeranian shown on my site is overweight and vet says he has to lose weight.  cut his food down from a cup a day to 1/2 cup a day.  He loves people food and that's where the problem is.  So no more people food.  He loves treats so I've subsituted those to cheerios when he does something special.  Cheerios are small and are good way to reward your pet and don't have that many calories.  So, he is doing good and losing some weight.  I want to keep him around a long time, so if your pet is overweight, try to take some of pounds off.

[oldbuddy]

Nope, my Chihuahua is slim and trim at 5 pounds and has dry food out all day with a custard dish of Taste of the Wild ($2.50 a can) once a day. It's real meat and not filler or by-products like the cheap stuff has. She is all the dog i need.

[BlackSheepNY]

Yes, it's true.  This precious pomeranian shown on my site is overweight and vet says he has to lose weight.  cut his food down from a cup a day to 1/2 cup a day.  He loves people food and that's where the problem is.  So no more people food.  He loves treats so I've subsituted those to cheerios when he does something special.  Cheerios are small and are good way to reward your pet and don't have that many calories.  So, he is doing good and losing some weight.  I want to keep him around a long time, so if your pet is overweight, try to take some of pounds off.

The trick there is to stay away from the people food and find a REALLY GOOD dog food.  Iams, Eukanuba, Purina, Hill's, etc. are CRAP (even though you will find your Vet pushing Hill's foods).  Look at the ingredients on the bags - if the FIRST ingredient isn't MEAT (chicken, beef, venison, whatever), your doggie is probably eating food that's no good for him or his weight.  Dogs need meat - they're carnivores.  If that bag of food starts with "meat by-products," "corn," etc., stay away from it!  Look at the CRUDE FAT content - with all the "fillers" in cat/dog foods today, sometimes it can be very high.  The first five ingredients in any dog or cat food is telling.  A better dog food is "Blue Buffalo."  They make a "weight control" food that's good for doggie and doesn't have any junk in it.  It's called, "Blue Buffalo Life Protection Weight Control Chicken & Brown Rice Dog Food."  It's good for small breeds, like your Pom.  Crude Fat content is 6.0%, and the first 5 ingredients are:  Deboned Chicken, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Chicken Meal.

I usually stick with CHICKEN or TURKEY because these meats aren't as upsetting to a dog or cat's digestive system as say, Beef, Venison, Salmon, etc.  Sometimes those ingredients can cause diarrhea.  I know my Boxer was pretty sensitive to a Beef version of food I gave him - and Venison, well, it's not something dogs or cats are USED to eating at all.  Not saying that those ingredients are bad, just that some animals (especially small breeds) are more prone to gastric upsets.

Of course, with ANY new food, switch them over slowly - incorporating a little of the NEW food in with the OLD food over a period of a few days to a week, increasing the NEW food each day.  Sometimes switching to a BETTER food (believe it or not) will cause gastric upsets - the entire reason for the slow introduction.  Also, with a better dog or cat food, you are going to spend more money but, your animal's consumption might be less because they're eating better.  What you'll also notice when your animals are eating a better quality food is that their coats/skin change dramatically.  So much smoother, silkier, brighter and shiny!

Losing weight for an animal is just as hard as losing weight for a human.  When fed the right food, you WILL see a difference - OVER TIME.  It will NOT happen overnight, and don't expect it to.  I had my cat on a diet and was feeding her Innova Low Fat Adult Food.  She lost weight, but in a period of about a year.  I will say that her weight dropped to a healthier weight and her coat is beautiful.

Good luck with the weight loss, and give the lil' fella a hug from me! 

[reiddb]

That is so interesting....what if you took your pet on more walks to burn those extra calories?

[Nancy5]

I have 5 dogs, ranging in weight from 10 pounds to 80 pounds.  None on them are overweight.  My dogs eat NO people food, ever!  They eat dry Blue Buffalo one to one and a half cup depending on the dog.  The little one won't eat dry, but eats wet Blue.  I know it can be hard putting a dog on a diet, you feel sorry wen they " look" at you, but by keeping their weight down you are keeping them with you longer!  Good luck!