Just Labradors banner

Boone's 3 year vet check

855 views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  EMA 
G
#1 ·
we took boone for his 3 year check and he is "healthy as a strong horse" says the vet. unfortunately the vet thinks that he needs to lose 14 pounds to be at his optimum weight. he weighed in at 94 pounds !!! so we will be putting him on a diet. the dr. suggested purina om for his food and low cal biscuits. has anyone ever fed their dogs this food? i would be interested to know if it works.

just so happy that he is healthy. he was a real good boy and even was happy to be there. we are not saying the "diet" word in front of him. don't want him to have weight issues-you know like becoming bulemic or anorexic !!!! ;)
 
#3 ·
we are not saying the "diet" word in front of him. don't want him to have weight issues-you know like becoming bulemic or anorexic !!!!
LOL! Of course, you want to ensure that he maintains a healthy self-image! I will call Tucker a ChunkyMonkey and my hubby shushes me saying that I am hurting his feelings :)

Good to hear he is strong and healthy!
 
G
#4 ·
Scout put on 6 lbs over the winter. She's had surgery on both knees so even though 6 lbs doesn't sound like much, it's got to come off. I didn't change her food, just cut back on it - added green beans to each meal too. We're cutting back on the cookies and treats as well. But I don't think Scout even notices - she does backflips for a crumb!
 
#7 ·
Boone - Moose shares your woes. He too was much too heavy weighing in at 92lbs for his 3 yr checkup. I cut his food back to an even 2Cups/day and I've amped up the walking mode. Whenever possible I take him for a 2nd walk. I need to take him by the vets just to weigh him to see if we are making any progress. It has almost been a month.

He can't wait as long to eat for his afternoon meal, but seems to do fine with the 2 cups and it is harder to talk myself out of a walk because then I would feel guilty about his weight.
 
#8 ·
I don't know anything about the food you mentioned, but my parents' Kai lost 10 pounds by going on longer walks in the evenings and more playtime in the mornings. They didn't change anything about her diet except for adding in three fish oil capsules a day (she LOVES those). She's now in the healthy range and my step-dad has lost weight, too! :)
 
#10 ·
We don't feed Sam low cal food, but she is restricted to 2 cups a day. She gets small dog biscuits by Health Diet called "Mini Goldens". (Made in Canada and in Pennsylvannia so they might be available at your pet store). They're really small, so she can get more treats. Sam also gets brocoli, carrots, tomatoes, tofu, yogurt and whatever else she can mooch.

She's a small lab at 58.9 lbs, so we've really had to be careful with her weight.

I'm also glad to hear that Boone had a good check up.
 
#11 ·
A good way to help loose weight (scientifically tested) is increasing the protein amounts. I just did some in depth research on this. If you just decrease the food, you not only loose fat but also a significant amount of lean body mass. So its not just low calorie, but more calories need to come from proteins instead of carbs/fats.

I put my boy on EVO over last summer (he was 20lbs overweight - I was away at school and dad fed him way too much - he was 95lbs - he's great at 71lbs but I was happy with him at 75lbs) along with increased exercise - he lost all 20lbs and increased his muscle mass. I do have to say the my boy was running 6 miles a day (along side the bike)- running with other dogs and doing agility and obedience training. He was burning a lot of calories - I did work him up slowly to this level of activity though.

You don't have to put your dog on EVO or another grain free food, but just putting him on a reduced amount of higher protein food would be good.

At the NC State vet school I picked up a Purina "Power of Protein" booklet. It has 2 pages on Purina OM - I can scan it and e-mail it if you would like.
Excerpts from the pamplet:

Formulated with high protein levels:
no other dry feline or canine veterinary weight management diet contains higher levels of protein to help maintain lean body mass, or muscle, while losing fat.

Low calories and fat

Dietary fat contributes approximately twice the available energy per gram compared to carbohydrates and protein. OM is low in fat to help control calorie intake and encourage weight loss.

Appropriate levels of carbohydrate and fiber
OM contains appropriate levels of carbohydrate and fiber to help cats and dogs feel full while losing weight.

*This is all backed by scientific research - not necessarily conducted by Purina (I went to the source getting articles from all over including from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association).

Hope some of this helps.

Betsy
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top