Levi needs a DIET ! Help

[kyredneck]

So my vet just left and says Levi needs to shed some weight but other than that he is a perfectly healthy 2.5 year old bouncing boy ! My question is this,, he absolutely turns his nose up to raw food for some reason, I’m giving him Stella & Chewy Grain Free Lamb kibble which he loves,,,he got bored with Acana Red Meat Formula. I am only feeding him 1/4 cup twice a day along with frozen green beans and 1/4 to 1/2 an apple as his treats But still not shedding the weight. He is a semi active boy chasing squirrels in the backyard and our morning walks. Vet said to cut his meal to once a day,, that seems very little to me but I’m not sure. Anyone have any suggestions to help this roly-poly boy back in shape. Vet says he needs to look down his back and see a “ V “ and not a tree trunk,,, I agree 100%

 

[Bulldog2001]

So my vet just left and says Levi needs to shed some weight but other than that he is a perfectly healthy 2.5 year old bouncing boy ! My question is this,, he absolutely turns his nose up to raw food for some reason, I’m giving him Stella & Chewy Grain Free Lamb kibble which he loves,,,he got bored with Acana Red Meat Formula. I am only feeding him 1/4 cup twice a day along with frozen green beans and 1/4 to 1/2 an apple as his treats But still not shedding the weight. He is a semi active boy chasing squirrels in the backyard and our morning walks. Vet said to cut his meal to once a day,, that seems very little to me but I’m not sure. Anyone have any suggestions to help this roly-poly boy back in shape. Vet says he needs to look down his back and see a “ V “ and not a tree trunk,,, I agree 100%

I would try a better lower carb kibble or a lightly cooked food as the carbs is what keeps them from losing weight.

And yes fasting him is a option, some dogs don’t do well with it and some do fine, my dog is one of them who can’t fast.

Good kibble brands;

-Orijen- lowest carb kibble available, multiple proteins used.

-Carna 4- oven baked, has probiotics in it and no synthetic vitamins only whole foods used.

-Natures Logic, no synthetic vitamins used.

Which raw food brands have you tried?

Cause raw diet is best for dogs and especially if they are overweight.
Home cooked is next best.

N&D brand also makes a weight management kibble dog food that’s good quality too. It’s lamb based.

 

[gobronco]

Bruno is about 55 lbs (54.5 at last checkup) Betty (Crazy) is 43 lbs. They both get the Costco Salmon & sweet potato dry food. Bruno gets 2 rounded cups a day, Crazy gets less than 2 cups a day. They are both nearly perfect weight. The salmon & sweet potato is what we found kept the skin itching to a minimum with previous dogs.

 

[benny]

Second what Bulldog2001 said - especially the Orijen, it's very rich and no carbs, I would try to determine how many kcal you're giving of Stella and Chewy and try to transition to the same amount of Orijen, give it a week and then adjust again depending on which direction the weight is going. Use a scale for feeding as well as for measuring his progress (two different scales).

 

[Max]

So my vet just left and says Levi needs to shed some weight but other than that he is a perfectly healthy 2.5 year old bouncing boy ! My question is this,, he absolutely turns his nose up to raw food for some reason, I’m giving him Stella & Chewy Grain Free Lamb kibble which he loves,,,he got bored with Acana Red Meat Formula. I am only feeding him 1/4 cup twice a day along with frozen green beans and 1/4 to 1/2 an apple as his treats But still not shedding the weight. He is a semi active boy chasing squirrels in the backyard and our morning walks. Vet said to cut his meal to once a day,, that seems very little to me but I’m not sure. Anyone have any suggestions to help this roly-poly boy back in shape. Vet says he needs to look down his back and see a “ V “ and not a tree trunk,,, I agree 100%

Hi Max is close to 3 years old and the vet said the same to us. We feed Max blue buffalo life protection For breakfast one cup and string beans with Salamon oil middle of day 1/2 apple with peanut butter dinner one cup of dry food plain boil chicken string beans For a snack I use the broth from chicken make frozen ice cubes and other snacks not many hills natural I would say in about 6 weeks he has lost 3 lbs Slow yes but it is working

 

[kyredneck]

I checked with both manufacturers,, Orijen is 22% carbohydrates for their grain free,, Stella & Chewy is 28% carbohydrates for their grain free lamb / raw coated which is what he is on now,,, would 6% difference be worth changing foods for ? If it is best for him than of course I will but not sure if 6% is a deal breaker. I really like the taurine, glucosamine and chondroitin in the Stella & Chewy brand as well

 

[Bulldog2001]

I checked with both manufacturers,, Orijen is 22% carbohydrates for their grain free,, Stella & Chewy is 28% carbohydrates for their grain free lamb / raw coated which is what he is on now,,, would 6% difference be worth changing foods for ? If it is best for him than of course I will but not sure if 6% is a deal breaker. I really like the taurine, glucosamine and chondroitin in the Stella & Chewy brand as well

Yes I would definitely still switch to the Orijen cause it’s a better food and the less carbs the better for them, especially for weight issues.

Also the meat is rich in taurine, not synthetic so it’s much more absorbed when it comes from meat.

Strange how they say S&C kibble is only 28% carbs, I just checked Orijen Tundra which is lamb and some other proteins and that’s 16% carbs(not 22%).
It depends on the formula of how much carbs are used.

The amount of glucosamine and condrointon being added to the Stella chewy kibble would be very minimal.

I personally would make they switch cause it’s better quality food.

 

[2BullyMama]

I checked with both manufacturers,, Orijen is 22% carbohydrates for their grain free,, Stella & Chewy is 28% carbohydrates for their grain free lamb / raw coated which is what he is on now,,, would 6% difference be worth changing foods for ? If it is best for him than of course I will but not sure if 6% is a deal breaker. I really like the taurine, glucosamine and chondroitin in the Stella & Chewy brand as well

You could also try a lower fat proteins with the Stella/Chewy.... like fish or turkey based

 

[kyredneck]

Thanks for all the replies but,, can you elaborate more on why Orijen is a better quality kibble than Stella & Chewy ? They both received 5 ️’s from Dog Food Advisor and from reading ingredients, reviews, ect. on both I can’t see where Orijen is “better“ quality. If it actually is better than I will change but I need to be reassured,, only the best for my boy.

 

[helsonwheels]

Thanks for all the replies but,, can you elaborate more on why Orijen is a better quality kibble than Stella & Chewy ? They both received 5 ️’s from Dog Food Advisor and from reading ingredients, reviews, ect. on both I can’t see where Orijen is “better“ quality. If it actually is better than I will change but I need to be reassured,, only the best for my boy.

Orijen n Acana both made from the same company Champion. They only use high quality ingredients. Raised farm animals/grass fed, organic, wild caught fish etc…. Some people might not see a difference but there is. Also made in Canada which is illegal here to give any antibiotics or hormones to any farm animals. You might also look into Acana single protein. Lots of choices.