Overweight Dog

[MamaBear]

Hello,
Please excuse me, but I am new to this and hope I am doing this right. I would like any advice on the best diet dog food you have used with good results. I have a large German Shepherd who weighs about 115-120lbs. The vet wants her to be around 90lbs. The prescription dog food I bought must taste like cardboard or worse because she gives me this look like " You must be kidding if you think I'm eating this stuff" Thanks for any help. MamaBear

[Hanajunsmom]

Hi MamaBear and welcome to petlovers. I too had a chubby bubby. My Zach. He was about 10#'s overweight and was put on a Rx diet. He too did not want to dive into it but if there is nothing else to eat they will eat it. Just don't give into those sad puppy dog eyes! I know it is hard but it for their benefit. He did eventually start eatting it and lost the weight. He is now a little plump and needs to get back on it. He has hip dysplacia so exercising him, aside from swimming, is not an option.

So I guess what I am trying to say is tough love. If he is hungry enough he will eventually eat it. He'll just have to get used to the taste! Hope this helps. Do you have any pictures?

[Magnum]

Hi MamaBear and Welcome!! You are doing this just perfect. ;) I agree with Hanajunsmom. Just like humans would do....poo-poo the diet stuff...give me the tasty morsels.....lol. If you gradually switch the food by blending the old with the new, your dog will still taste the old stuff, and his tummy and taste buds will get used to the new. Gradually change the percentage of the mix to eventually be 100% new. Sometimes they will only eat the old out of the bowl and leave most of the new. That's okay, leave it there and he will eat the remainder when he gets hungry.

Glad you joined and would love to see pics of your furkid.. :D

[MamaBear]

Hello Magnum,
I was so excited to get a reply and that my post went thru OK. Thank you for the encouragement. One thing I tried was sprinkling a little low fat shredded cheese on the diet food. It was too fine to lick off, so she had to eat the dry food to get the cheese.
I feel so bad because my Gracie doesn't understand where are her treats. She would always take me to the cabinet for Milk Bones, the refrigerator to see what's in it that might be good, or to the laundry room door, because she knew the canned food was back there, or just stare at ME eating with this sad, hurt look on her face. I wish she could understand that she's not being punished. I give in now and then with a treat and try to keep her playing and walking more. I know I have to do it for her sake for her joints. Would be glad to hear back from you.
Thanks again for your help. MamaBear

[MamaBear]

Hello Hanajunsmom,
Thank you for your reply and words of wisdom. You said it perfectly....Tough Love....I have to remind myself of this. That was great advice. Thank You! Right now she's giving me the silent treatment. I can wait it out, it's for a good cause. Thanks again. This seems like a friendly group of people. Hope you all have a good week. MamaBear

[petlover2004]

My Sister's Pug was huge. She started feeding him the Zone Diet and when I saw him about 6 weeks later he was like a new dog. He was much thinner and didn't just lay around being fat and lazy. He was playful like a puppy again. You should consider this wonderful healthy food.
Pet Foods Comparison (http://www.wesitpets.com/HPN/comp.htm) ;)

[Jerica]

My dad's girlfriend has a hugely overweight rottweiler, I mean this dog is probably 50 lbs or so overweight give or take a few lbs and it is because she feeds her everthing including chocolate bars, ice cream, etc. Usually the dog would get about half of my dad's girlfriends breakfast/dinner and also treats and a two cans of dog food (with some kibble) throughout the day. She was told she has to be more strict and make the dog lose weight or it will die, she's 4 yrs old and has hip problems already. Rose (my dad's girlfriend) has tried to limit the diet to one can of dog food with some kibble and a few treats, she quit feeding the junk, but the dog will not really lose weight. I wish she was more dedicated to making her lose weight, I think she feeds some human food still, but she feels bad not giving the dog junk. Luckily since they got a little sheltie to be Schazee's (the rottie) "sister" she gets some more exercise, but the poor dog is still greatly overweight. If I lived there I would make sure Schazee would get fed better, I can't stand to see her suffer. My beagle (Shiloh) is a bit over weight (5lbs?) but he does good and loses it on and off, he's a bit taller and longer than the regular 15 in. beagle, so he should weigh a bit more, but I exercise him every day and feed him just the amount he needs and a treat here and there (Purina dog chow and small rawhides). He is a purebred, but for some reason a bit bigger. Kit, our chihuahua can't seem to eat enough, she always is thin, unless she gets leftovers or something. Both get leftovers sometimes, and Shiloh also gets fish that we catch and don't get cleaned soon enough. (he likes catfish over all fish with scales, even though he will eat small Shad and other small fish because they have tiny scales). Shiloh is almost 11 yrs old though and I expect weight gain, when I got him at age 4yrs he was very overweight (I don't think he was exercised much) so he's kinda always had a problem, but I mostly fixed it. Anyway, It's almos 3 am here, so I'm blabbing. Good luck with your dog :)