fat dog needs diet!

rowdiebrindlepit · Member Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 64

I rescently came into a female 18month old pit. the previous owner never did too much with her other than feed her so she is a bit over weight in my opinion (67lbs) i was wondering what is a good diet food for a dog. I am not sure if it matters but she had a litter of pups on xmas day (mutts the dumb ass old owner left her in the yard in heat!) so i am not too sure if she just needs to loose the weight from the pups still or what. any advice would be nice.

MyPetTherapyDog · Senior Member Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 667

What brand, how many times per day and how much are you feeding her now?
Also, how much exercise is she getting?

rowdiebrindlepit · Member Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 64

i am feeding her a high protein dog food i cant think of the name but it has 27% protein and it has been helping her loose a little weight but not enough in my opinion. i just got her about a week and a half ago and the guy i got her from gave her a ton of tabel scraps.

Shineillusion · Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 2:29 am Post subject:

I think one of the easiest ways to take weight off a dog is to replace part of the regular food with canned green beans. The dog still gets adequate nutrition, but with a reduction in calories, and the green beans make them feel full.

MyPetTherapyDog · Senior Member Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 667

It is always good to begin with a vet check! Get clearance from the vet before you begin a weight loss program.
How many times a day are you feeding her?
How much at each feeding?
What quality food are you using? This will all matter.

This is what I do it works very well for me. My dogs were overweight weighing in around 72 - 75 lbs. Very overweight.

I began to feed my dogs 2 cups per day of Iam's weight loss dog food. I feed once a day (just due to my time limit) but optium is two or three small feedings as opposed to one large feed.
I mix in with the dry food canned vegetables . I use green beans, carrots, cabbage, squash, stewed tomatoe. Not all at the same time, I vary it.
I also mix into the feed, one can of canned salmon. (for all of the dogs to split)
Twice a week, I mix an egg into their food. (individual)

Two of my dogs were very overweight and this combined with an exercise program (not just running around my yard but actually taking the dogs out on long walks) has made all the difference in the world. Walking also helps them mentally.
It has taken a few months but they look great, and have beautiful fur!
Good luck to you.

Ps how are you doing with your abused dog that you were going to train?

rowdiebrindlepit · Member Joined: 12 Dec 2005 Posts: 64

actually the abused dog i was going to get ended up going to a different home. i went to pick her up and she growled at my daughter so i didnt take her. she went to a good home though. right after that i bought a new house and my neighbor had a female pit walk up to his door a few months ago and he was gonna keep it but he realized that he already had too many dogs so he ended up giving her to me. she has been a good dog other than what i think is that she was passed around or something because she is always scared to get into the truck and when new people come over she gets scared and hides for the first hour. but she has been doing great. she is actually the fat one i am worried about. but i have been feeding her once a day and she is now looking very good and alot more active. the only problem i have had with her is she has gone after rowdie once or twice. but i think the tables have turned, i believe he has accerted dominance over her finally! so he is actually liking her now wich is good. the only thing with him is that he is jelous of her. i cant pet her without him jumping on my lap (wich before she came along he never did) but we are working on that right now. but yeah she is a very loving dog and very eager to please. i just need to earn her trust i think and she will be almost as good as Rowdie!

True_Pits · Super Senior Member Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 1438

You don't know what brand of food you feed?

I'd recommend a feed that is not a high protein, high fat or high energy feed. As she does not need this (at least not right now), I'd feed a regular adult food or try a weight management food. You also need to give her daily excersize, not anything extreme just a short walk everyday will take the weight off and get her in great shape in just a couple weeks.

27% does not seem high for a high protein feed? Our regular feed is 26% protein and 12% fat and our high feed is 30% and 20% fat. You don't want above 30% otherwise its too much, their are foods with up to 34% I've seen and not enough fat, you don't want to give them too much as its hard on them and can lead to health problems, especially with the kidneys. Also you don't want to give a dog more protein then they can use, I'd say 27% might be a little high for her right now if she is not being active so you might want to cut down.

I'd also use a brand of dog food that is high quality and natural, doesn't contain wheat (which can cause allergies in dogs one side effect to this is bloating or weight gain) and doesn't have fillers like corn which is non digestible, doesn't provide nutrition and can also cause allergies.

Some good foods are Nutro, Black Gold, Life Abundance I'ver heard is good, Flint River, among others. Bil-Jac is supposed to be good but does contain corn. Most of these have weight management or reduced fat labels.