Overweight Dobie - Page 2 - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

Rouleaux · 12-21-2012, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGranger Ph.D

First- quit benefit it is full of fillers! I feed exclusive brand they have an overweight food that has very little fat content- they use no fillers or by products either. Benefit is like junk food

I agree completely as do the rest of us that Beneful is a crummy dog food. Rule of thumb- anything they sell in the human grocery store is normally cheap and over advertised. Cats and dogs could care less about color, shape and sizes. Plus as stated, Beneful has too many fillers, by-products and is LOADED with sugar.

SGranger Ph.d- What brand is it exactly that you feed your boy? Maybe OP is interested with your recommendations?

I am feeding FROMM to my boy- grain free and excellent ingredients IMO.
He was on Orijen Large Breed Puppy, but this food was recommended by another user and has been great!

Also- DON'T LISTEN TO THE FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PACKAGE!! Especially those BIG NAME BRANDS like BENEFUL! Purina IMO is a great company for their Veterinary Diets ONLY. Same goes for Royal Canin, IAMS and Hill's Science Diet -- Best products are the Veterinary Exclusive products for disease support.

Julie W · 12-22-2012, 01:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alienz8mypopcorn

Thanks guys! I got him an appointment for just after the holidays for his annual shots and a thyroid test. We went to a vet in SA for the first time last night with our little dog, and we noticed immediately that no one was in the waiting room. I asked if that was typical traffic for the time period we went (6:00 p.m.) and they said yes. So I explained about Duke and asked about getting him an appointment at the same time. So yay! Hopefully I'll be able to rule out his thyroid.

Also, MeadowCat, that link was AMAZING. Apparently the second behaviorist down for TX works on the same military installation I do, AND because of my job, I'm ALWAYS in the building he apparently works at. I'll have to go over there and see if I can get a contact number for him. You guys are the greatest!

As for the flirt stick, it's a post-Xmas present for Duke heehee. I hope he likes it!!!

I actually hate flirt poles, they are ACL disasters waiting to happen, especially in an large/overweight dog.

SGranger Ph.D · 12-24-2012, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rouleaux

I agree completely as do the rest of us that Beneful is a crummy dog food. Rule of thumb- anything they sell in the human grocery store is normally cheap and over advertised. Cats and dogs could care less about color, shape and sizes. Plus as stated, Beneful has too many fillers, by-products and is LOADED with sugar.

SGranger Ph.d- What brand is it exactly that you feed your boy? Maybe OP is interested with your recommendations?

I am feeding FROMM to my boy- grain free and excellent ingredients IMO.
He was on Orijen Large Breed Puppy, but this food was recommended by another user and has been great!

Also- DON'T LISTEN TO THE FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PACKAGE!! Especially those BIG NAME BRANDS like BENEFUL! Purina IMO is a great company for their Veterinary Diets ONLY. Same goes for Royal Canin, IAMS and Hill's Science Diet -- Best products are the Veterinary Exclusive products for disease support.

The food is called exclusive- comes from the feed store $50 for 35 pounds

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Rouleaux · 12-24-2012, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGranger Ph.D

The food is called exclusive- comes from the feed store $50 for 35 pounds

Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App

Ah hah. Sorry, I thought you were telling it is was an Exlusive brand. Silly me

SGranger Ph.D · 12-24-2012, 08:13 AM

Lol yeah- I figured thought about it later lol-

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mfkelly66 · 12-24-2012, 08:45 AM

Good Luck on working things out! Like EmilyB said in one of her posts green beans are great to help him feel full and add some bulk in his tummy while losing. I don't know anything about the brand of food you have chosen but I know its better then the Beneful. Also, make sure that your vet does a COMPLETE thyroid panel, not just a free t3 or t4. You need a total picture of his thyroid, and the simple tests don't always give you that! Again good luck with him.
Mike Kelly

Alienz8mypopcorn · 01-12-2013, 12:21 PM

Update: Took Duke and his sister to the vet on Thursday, and got him UTD on all of his shots plus a Thyroid test (HOLY COW THOSE ARE EXPENSIVE!!!!) We'll get the results of his tests in a few weeks. Unfortunately he weighed in at 114 lbs and the vet rated his obesity on a scale of 1-9 at a 7.

We switched his food to Iams Naturals with Wholesome Chicken because right now we can't afford the other food. Based on dogfoodadvisor.com it's a three star food, and the Beneful was a one star, so we're hoping that's enough of a step up to help him until we can get the other food. We've downed his food from 4 cups a day to 3 1/2, and he doesn't get treats as much anymore. We've also been taking him on more walks lately, and we're going to try to stick to at least once a day on the weekdays, and twice on the weekends.

Anyhow, he goes back to the vet in about 3 weeks for his booster shot for Canine Influenza. I'm going to post pictures of his progress so if anyone has a quick moment on their hands, maybe they can offer some insight/tips to help. But thanks everyone for everyone's suggestions. We appreciate it.