Farmer’s Dog - loosing weight

[kingdomCome]

Hello EB family. I first want to say this forum has been such a great source of valuable information and help for me. EB’s are a special (figuratively and literally) breed and vets tend to always want to go the drug route with solutions so I try to exhaust all measures first, because like us humans, no one wants chemicals deposited into their body to cause other issues if there are alternatives to fix a issue, so thank you for all the replies on all my posts!

Ok, on to this issue. I’ve been feeding my boy Kingdom Farmer’s Dog since January and he absolutely LOVE it! He licks the bowl clean every meal, but he’s loosing weight on it and appear smaller. He never was a big boy and now he’s getting smaller. We feed him one pack a day, so half a pack per meal (breakfast/dinner). He’s 2 and will be 3 in September. Is this normal for Farmer’s Dog? Did your dog loose weight on fresh dog food too? Prior to Farmer’s Dog he was on Acana limited ingredient and it was fine but he pooped a lot and was constantly thirsty and drank a ton of water, which I hear is normal feeding kibble, and I didn’t like it. Also, another small issue with Farmer’s Dog is their proteins are limited. Kingdom eat the beef and turkey only and I will possibly have to eliminate the beef now too because it has sweet potatoes in it, and I know that can be a culprit for EB’s and allergies, which Kingdom does have (watery eyes, paws smell like corn ships at times and he licks them).

What are your thoughts on the weight loss and what do you recommend to meaty him up a tad bit? Is Zignature a good/safe kibble to maybe add to meals? Or put him on for a little while all together? I’m not against an excellent quality dry food to rotate.

 

[Cbrugs]

I’ve never tried Farmer’s Dog. Have you tried feeding him more? Zignature is a decent brand and a few people on here feed it.

 

[kingdomCome]

I’ve never tried Farmer’s Dog. Have you tried feeding him more? Zignature is a decent brand and a few people on here feed it.

Thank you for the reply. Farmer’s Dog is proportioned for your dog to the number of days for feeding. Feeding him more will shorten his food supply for the month.

 

[helsonwheels]

How much does your dog eat per day?
How much did your dog weigh BEFORE starting Raw n what’s his present weight?

My 2 EB eats about 1lb per day of food. 3/4lb n the other 1/4 is given in fresh apples/veggies, liver treats, raw frozen mackerel.

Feeding kibbles to dogs, they will definitely drink more water compared to raw as raw is full of moisture.

 

[kingdomCome]

How much does your dog eat per day?
How much did your dog weigh BEFORE starting Raw n what’s his present weight?

My 2 EB eats about 1lb per day of food. 3/4lb n the other 1/4 is given in fresh apples/veggies, liver treats, raw frozen mackerel.

Feeding kibbles to dogs, they will definitely drink more water compared to raw as raw is full of moisture.

Good morning - he eats 1 pack a day which is portioned at 625 calories per day. Portioned for his weight which is 55 pounds for a pretty active 2.5 year old, which he is. I have not weighed him since he’s been on Farmer’s Dog which has been since January this year, so around 2 months. I’m just eyeing him and he’s slimmer/lean which is what Farmer’s Dog said is the goal but to me EB should be a little meaty, not fat because I know that can cause health issues, especially with their joints, but I think they should look nice and round. Just trying to get an idea if this is what fresh food do and that’s slim/lean them out. Also, on the Farmers Dog he still at times his paws smell like corn chips and I’m not sure why but thinking it could be because the Beef contains sweet potatoes in it.

May I ask you what you feed your EB’s on their raw diet? Do you purchase the raw from a company or do you prepare the raw yourself? I have mixed Kingdom’s food with raw chicken/beef liver but I'm not sure if he would eat an all raw/not cooked meal since he’s always eaten cooked food or kibble.

 

[2BullyMama]

Good morning - he eats 1 pack a day which is portioned at 625 calories per day. Portioned for his weight which is 55 pounds for a pretty active 2.5 year old, which he is. I have not weighed him since he’s been on Farmer’s Dog which has been since January this year, so around 2 months. I’m just eyeing him and he’s slimmer/lean which is what Farmer’s Dog said is the goal but to me EB should be a little meaty, not fat because I know that can cause health issues, especially with their joints, but I think they should look nice and round. Just trying to get an idea if this is what fresh food do and that’s slim/lean them out. Also, on the Farmers Dog he still at times his paws smell like corn chips and I’m not sure why but thinking it could be because the Beef contains sweet potatoes in it.

May I ask you what you feed your EB’s on their raw diet? Do you purchase the raw from a company or do you prepare the raw yourself? I have mixed Kingdom’s food with raw chicken/beef liver but I'm not sure if he would eat an all raw/not cooked meal since he’s always eaten cooked food or kibble.

can you pot a photo from over top of your boy so we can see his waistline? He will eat the raw, .. give it a try as a topper to farmers dog.

 

[benny]

I would weigh him so you have something to compare against.

The shape of a bulldog comes from muscle tone and bone structure, you can build the muscle tone with exercise but the bone structure is what it is. A nice barrel chest is hallmark, but not given. As you touched on, fattening the dog up isn’t the way.

If he has lost weight and looks too thin to you, he may just need more calories. After getting a weight, I would contact farmers dog and explain the amount of weight lost, how long it has been, and where you believe the ideal weight should be. They should be able to modify your current feeding schedule.

 

[helsonwheels]

@kingdomCome
I buy my dog food straight from a raw dog food producer on his acreage. You can’t get that anywhere n I’m in Canada.

Regarding “EB should be a little meaty” well yes n no. Like @benny mention if he’s losing weight n mass like ex, you see his spine, you might up the food. When it comes to raw, we need to remember something, a well balanced raw diet, a dog will definitely be lean n more muscular. You can’t compare to a kibble diet. Even if it’s higher in calories, raw isn’t digested the same way as kibbles, very rare a dog gets fat on a raw diet. Unless you feed them other foods that’s not meat/protein. I give my dogs apples but it’s calculated within the ratio they need to eat. 90ish % of their meals is on the meat/organs side.

Like humans when they do the carnivore diet, they’ll lose all the fat they started with n the body knows to keep the muscle mass. You can’t lose muscle mass on a protein diet. Same for dogs. Like @2BullyMama mentioned, take a photo of your dog from the top view. Chest should be wide with a waistline.

btw, my brindle Nyala is a Bantam Bulldogge so not as wide as an English but a taller breed. She’s 8.5yrs old.

 

[Bizzymammabee]

My Bella has been on Farmers going on three months now. She too has lost some weight and is not as thirsty as when she was on Kibble. I discussed upping her calorie count with them for my next order. I am having surgery on Tuesday and will be home for about 8 weeks. I am prob going to start making the food myself at home now that I will have time to experiment. Adding calories/amount of food in each packet increases the price. I am currently at $220 for 29 packets shipped for her current meal plan and I believe they told me it would add an extra $14 per month. One downside on the calorie change is that they can only ship 26 packages in the box vs 29 since the packages are a bit larger.

 

[helsonwheels]

On a raw diet, dogs lose fat n builds muscles. Also they do drink less cause raw is full of moisture. Don’t worry about the water it’s totally normal. .

it takes more than 3 months to see results on a weight scale. If you’re over feeding with raw a dog can get fat too. If they’re losing too fast n you see the spine n a few ribs, you need to up the portions. You need to find the ratio for your dog. Something what’s recommended on the product is not for all dogs. Every dogs are different.
@Bizzymammabee

 

[Bizzymammabee]

On a raw diet, dogs lose fat n builds muscles. Also they do drink less cause raw is full of moisture. Don’t worry about the water it’s totally normal. .

it takes more than 3 months to see results on a weight scale. If you’re over feeding with raw a dog can get fat too. If they’re losing too fast n you see the spine n a few ribs, you need to up the portions. You need to find the ratio for your dog. Something what’s recommended on the product is not for all dogs. Every dogs are different.
@Bizzymammabee

I was planning on making it myself once I returned from my vacation. I am sure I can spend less per week and add even better things to the food. I needed to keep it simple for the kids to feed her. I like that she is a little leaner and her allergies seem to be getting better. So I am definitely going to keep her on home cooked and not go back to the kibble. I want to do everything that I can to keep my girl healthy.

 

[helsonwheels]

I was planning on making it myself once I returned from my vacation. I am sure I can spend less per week and add even better things to the food. I needed to keep it simple for the kids to feed her. I like that she is a little leaner and her allergies seem to be getting better. So I am definitely going to keep her on home cooked and not go back to the kibble. I want to do everything that I can to keep my girl healthy.

Home cooking is also great. When I got Nyala, as a pup with continuous crystals in her urine n on antibiotics, I had enough n started to cook for her. Wasn’t too bad either. Boiling a huge turkey for hrs n kept the broth to top her meals. I would freeze her meals in medium sized ziplocks. Made batches for 3weeks n more. A week later her crystal were all gone n never to come back. 👍