Need diet help for my overweight boy.

[LAbully]

Hello everyone, I am new around these parts. I have a 7yr old English bulldog (Hercules) who has been under the care of family in Florida for the last 18 months due to me breaking my femur. Because of the lack of exercise and possible over feeding plus various table scraps he has put on a TON of weight. He’s eating JFFD 1 cup 2x a day. Although I would like to switch him over to raw to help in his weight loss journey. Any recommendations on good raw brands that are reasonably priced or any advice in general would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! Here is Mr. Hercules

 

[Cbrugs]

Some good brands of commercial raw are Stella & Cheney’s, Steve’s, Primal, Answers, Small Batch just to name a few. You can also check fir local raw food co-op or local company in your area.

In the meantime, I’d cut back on the amount of food you’re feeding and then throw in a handful of green beans which will help make up for the decrease in food.


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[helsonwheels]

Hello n WELCOME!!!

What’s JFFD? Just food for dogs? As if is, that’s why too much rice, wheat pasta etc. too much carbs!! Dogs simply needs protein n NO grains...

Yes as Citti mentioned raw diet will put him back on track. How much does he weigh! Raw diet is one pound PER DAY for a 50lb dog. My white face Jake is just under 70lbs n he gets 1.5 per day which includes his noon snack which is usually a small whole frozen sardine. He’s very muscular n I purposely feed him less to keep him fit. Since you hurt yourself & probably not ready to lip walk yourself, have him run or play in the backyard or a field....baby steps is the key. But definitely cut the portions out as he’s already 7yrs old n not healthy as you already know. It is what it is so simply cut back. 2 cups per day should be 1cup per day with a 1/2 of green beans or a healthy veggie. Get some fermented sauerkraut or fermented veggies in the fridge section as it’s full of probiotics which he will need to clean his gut flora. If you’re not going to go with raw stick to Acana single protein bags. 1/2cup 2x a day BUT add 1/4 of raw organs from your grocery store as a topper. But raw will keep him more on the slimmer side. My brindle Nyala was a good 5lbs over so I lowered her raw to 1/2 per day n still has her snack. Took 3 months. Slowly but surely. . BTW where in Canada are you?

 

[LAbully]

I apologize for the failed acronyms, I am in Los Angeles. Thank you for all the thorough responses, much appreciated. He is between 55-60 lbs at the moment. And yes JFFD- Just food for dogs. Yes he will be going strictly raw now, and believe it or not green beans are about the only thing he doesn’t eat. Would carrots be a good alternative? He loves those! Ok great, so 1 cup a day of the raw and half cup of healthy veggies. Thanks for all your help, it breaks my heart he’s fallen so out of shape out of my care but his retirement in Miami is over. Back to Los Angeles ��

 

[helsonwheels]

I apologize for the failed acronyms, I am in Los Angeles. Thank you for all the thorough responses, much appreciated. He is between 55-60 lbs at the moment. And yes JFFD- Just food for dogs. Yes he will be going strictly raw now, and believe it or not green beans are about the only thing he doesn’t eat. Would carrots be a good alternative? He loves those! Ok great, so 1 cup a day of the raw and half cup of healthy veggies. Thanks for all your help, it breaks my heart he’s fallen so out of shape out of my care but his retirement in Miami is over. Back to Los Angeles ��

NO.... not one cup per day of raw but one “POUND” PER DAY... BUT....now that you gave us his weight, if he doesn’t get any exercise whatsoever, you might have to go down to 3/4LB of raw. Idk your routine.

Example

Beef (Cooked & Diced). 3 cups = 1 pound
Beef (Ground). 2 cups raw, 12 ounces cooked. =. 1 pound

Make sure the raw you buy is like what Citte mentioned as it needs to be balanced with organs, muscles, bones, blood n not just a slab of meat.



https://dogsfirst.ie/raw-faq/raw-diet-for-dogs/

If you buy it from co-op or elsewhere it’s already balanced out

 

[Cbrugs]

To lose weight while on a raw diet, it’s usually recommended to feed 1.5% of their body weight. Jax needs to lose a few pounds and I actually had to go less than that.


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[helsonwheels]

True but I start a bit lower n slowly bring portions down not to freak out the dog.. Also snacks needs to be included in the portions as it’s not an extra..

 

[LAbully]

roger that, thank you for the clarification. Took a long flight home today (MIA-LA) so he didnt eat in the morning and just came home and had a half pound turkey patty from Answers. Im assuming since the Answers is already fermented he will not need the added saurkraut? im a bit nervous to be in the same room as it is with all that fermentation going on in his gut, i shall signal for help if the fumes become too intoxicating
STAND BY

 

[helsonwheels]

roger that, thank you for the clarification. Took a long flight home today (MIA-LA) so he didnt eat in the morning and just came home and had a half pound turkey patty from Answers. Im assuming since the Answers is already fermented he will not need the added saurkraut? im a bit nervous to be in the same room as it is with all that fermentation going on in his gut, i shall signal for help if the fumes become too intoxicating
STAND BY

Loll. No my dogs won’t smell anymore than normal. Mind you they’re us to it loll
I’m not familiar with “Answers” Not sure if we have it up here. I did google it. And you don’t need sauerkraut. It’s already in the food. Now I’ll go do some reading on that food. Very interesting. Ty!

 

[LAbully]

Loll. No my dogs won’t smell anymore than normal. Mind you they’re us to it loll
I’m not familiar with “Answers” Not sure if we have it up here. I did google it. And you don’t need sauerkraut. It’s already in the food. Now I’ll go do some reading on that food. Very interesting. Ty!

yes, iv read nothing but good things. i received the recommendation on here as well

 

[Cbrugs]

yes, iv read nothing but good things. i received the recommendation on here as well

Answers is in my rotation. I also use their goats milk and fermented fish stock with other raw food brands I give. It is an excellent food.


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[KrysA724]

I can vouch for answers. Have heard good things about that brand as well. I use their brand of goat milk as well as primal. No issues and have not heard any negatives thus far.

 

[Max]

Some good brands of commercial raw are Stella & Cheney’s, Steve’s, Primal, Answers, Small Batch just to name a few. You can also check fir local raw food co-op or local company in your area.

In the meantime, I’d cut back on the amount of food you’re feeding and then throw in a handful of green beans which will help make up for the decrease in food.


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Has the green beans helped We started Max on string beans and broccoli to hopefully have him his lose weight

 

[Max]

Has the green beans helped We started Max on string beans and broccoli to hopefully have him his lose weight

We just added home made chicken broth, I pour it into ice cube tray’s and give max 2 at night for his snack He loves them

 

[anatess]

Oh man! Florida has a great Prey-Model Raw Co-op! Wonder if your family can ship a cooler of raw food through the Flat Rate USPS boxes. hmmm...

In any case, LA has several local butchers. There's probably a PMR co-op there too.

I always recommend going the extra step into Prey-Model Raw. Especially when you're tweaking dog issues. It just gives you full flexibility with the food. And because it is 100% carnivore, close to 100% of it is bioavailable to the dog which means the dog is very responsive to any "tweaking" like - amount of food, fat content, fiber content etc. with changes observable within a few days.