Advice for a fattie please

ohmfg

Hi all,
I have been lurking for a while and getting some great education and insight - thank you all.

I have finally taken the plunge and registered and this is my first post.

I have recently adopted an ex puppy farm breeding bitch CKC. She's a senior lady of maybe 8ish. She has been thoroughly health checked and is in reasonable health considering her history.
She is however, very overweight, in fact she is obese at 17kg.

She is on a diet - Burns High Oats - and is due back at Doggie Weight Watchers in a month. I hope she may have lost towards a kg.

My problem is, she's not eating at all.
The first few days she ate fine - Burns chicken and brown rice - she went off that and became very picky after about 3 days. I tried mixing it to a paste and adding smelly stuff like anchovies and sardines to encourage her appetite but she just halfheartedly licked at it.
When the High Oats food came I hoped she may have more interest but no luck. I have no idea what she may have been fed before she came to us and no way of finding out but I more than suspect it was neither healthy nor good but possibly tasty.
I suppose in a long winded way I'm looking for advice on how to make her healthy food taste good for her whilst at the same time being aware that I can't add very many calories.:cool:

Thanks in advance.

Toulouse

Dogs won't starve themselves although they can give you a very good impression that they will sometimes. Don't keep chopping and changing or adding things to make it taste better, you'll only create a picky dog and make a rod for your own back.

I presume you're feeding twice a day. Put down her food and after 20 mins take it up then that's it until next meal time. Again put down her second meal for 20 mins and then remove whatever is left after 20 mins.

It might take a couple of days but she'll get the idea.

toadfly

Well done on taking her in, poor pet

She was probably fed bakers or pedigree which are full of colours and flavours so it take a while for her to get used to proper dog food.

All you can do is persist, she is holding out for something tasty! Put food down if she doesn't eat in 15 minutes take it up an repeat at next feeding time. Don't leave it down all day. But be consistant and dont give in as she won't starve herself, she is just testing you!

Edit: snap Toulouse!

ohmfg

Thanks guys, I have been doing that - as well as trying to make it tasty to begin with, she's just being very persistent:D.
She is drinking fine and I have been adding some rescue remedy, just to help her along, so I guess I'll just have to try to stop being so worried.

Tranceypoo

It's a period of adjustment for her as well don't forget, let's face it she doubtless had a s**t life before she came to you and was highly likely living in a dark shed with little human contact, now she has people, a soft bed, different food, light, fresh air etc etc, a whole new world!! As the OP's have said, just persist with putting the food down and taking it up after 15/20 mins and give her time to settle in. Bless her heart, it doesn't bear thinking about those poor dogs used as breeding machines, good on you for adopting her.

ohmfg

Yes, she came from a farm near Dublin - I'm in Kildare - and she is the 2nd one I've had from there.
The first lady was in an awful state and was only with me for about a month before we had to pts.


Horrid people, they just use and use the poor animals and then literally throw them out when they have served their purpose:mad:

andreac

Well done for taking them in. Can i ask how you managed to get them from them?

falabo

I just LOVE reading stories of people adopting dogs that have been through hell ....

WELL DONE

annascott

Don't want to go off topic, but I have to ask, what is wrong with Pedigree? My little dog is 6 and also has 4 kilo to lose. I changed from Pedigree complete to Pedigree weight control as well as cutting down on portion sizes. Is Pedigree bad? I've never used Bakers because it is too cheap to be credible but I thought that Pedigree was a good named brand... I love my little companion dearly and would hate to think that I was feeding her something awful. Any advice gratefully received.

ohmfg

andreac wrote: »

Well done for taking them in. Can i ask how you managed to get them from them?

A friend of a friend who works in rescue, has a contact who works there.
They literally just dump them when they have come to the end of their useful life:mad:

toadfly

Hi Anna, pedigree is not good quality food, pretty much the doggy version of feeding mcdonalds to your kids every day. I'm on my phone so cBt post links but search this forum for posts about pedigree, loads if them here!

How much do you spend on food and how much does your dog eat?

ohmfg

annascott wrote: »

Don't want to go off topic, but I have to ask, what is wrong with Pedigree? My little dog is 6 and also has 4 kilo to lose. I changed from Pedigree complete to Pedigree weight control as well as cutting down on portion sizes. Is Pedigree bad? I've never used Bakers because it is too cheap to be credible but I thought that Pedigree was a good named brand... I love my little companion dearly and would hate to think that I was feeding her something awful. Any advice gratefully received.

Annascott, this may be a good place to start.
Lots of opinions and advice.

andreac

As Tillygirl said, Pedigree is a rubbish food, made up of terrible low quality ingredients with very little meat content and is full of artificial colours and flavours.
You should really consider changing to a good quality food that you can get in the pet shop or order online too.
Any dog food that can be purchased in the supermarket really isnt good at all.

What type of dog do you have and what would be your monthly budget for dog food?

tk123

I had to get weight off my guy when we found out he had a joint problem. I tried Burns first then as it was running out I decided to try high oats to see if it'd work a bit faster but it made him poo a LOT. We went back to normal Burns and the weight dropped off him. He's now on Luath from Land of Holistic Pets which is pretty similar to Burns and he's really thriving - they do another dry food called Robbies which is like a bag of dried rice, meat and vet and you add water to rehydrate it. I think you might have better luck with the Robbies because you add warm water they can smell it and also it's wet - which they seem to assume is tastier lol! I got him (Retriever) from 33kg to 27kg last year and he's filled out and grown a little this year (he's 2 this week) and is 28.5 kgs now.

Toulouse

I use Robbies too, you can get it online from Dog Training Ireland.

Although it's not cheap my girl loves it, and a little goes a long way. She lost weight on it, no more itchy skin and her coat is in great condition. She's also in much better form.

ohmfg

tk123 wrote: »

I had to get weight off my guy when we found out he had a joint problem. I tried Burns first then as it was running out I decided to try high oats to see if it'd work a bit faster but it made him poo a LOT. We went back to normal Burns and the weight dropped off him. He's now on Luath from Land of Holistic Pets which is pretty similar to Burns and he's really thriving - they do another dry food called Robbies which is like a bag of dried rice, meat and vet and you add water to rehydrate it. I think you might have better luck with the Robbies because you add warm water they can smell it and also it's wet - which they seem to assume is tastier lol! I got him (Retriever) from 33kg to 27kg last year and he's filled out and grown a little this year (he's 2 this week) and is 28.5 kgs now.

Thanks a lot tk123, I might try the Robbies later, sounds like she would love that.
I hope she doesn't have that reaction to the High Oats but as was mentioned up thread, I don't want to chop and change again.

annascott

I have just checked out a link to a dog food board which listed what meat and animal derivatives are. I feel sick and weak from shock. I will throw away the Pedigree stuff today. I give her a Pedigree Dentastix each morning and also Pedigree Smackos as treats. Are these bad too? If so, can any of you recommend a good tooth protection alternative to Dentastix?

Her main diet consists of a handful of Pedigree Complete Light in the morning and a sachet of Cesar with a handful of Pedigree Complete Light in the evening.
If I am cooking and have beef or chicken, then she would get this instead of the Cesar.

I have tried to give her tins of salmon and tuna which she absolutely loves, but it must be too rich for her and gives her a terrible tummy upset which can be very challenging to deal with if we are away from home /the shower due to her long hair.

Robbies seems to be a popular choice from a lot of you. I have never heard of it but will check it out.

toadfly

Dont throw it out!! You will need it to gradually change her over onto a new food. If you start with a new food without introducing it over a week/10 days you could cause an upset stomach.

What weight is she and we can give you a rough idea how much to feed her and what it will cost.

Toulouse

Whatever food you switch too make sure to switch it gradually to avoid giving her an upset tum. So mix alot of the old food with a bit of the new and increase the amount of new food at each meal until she's completely switched over.

Luaths is by the same makers as Robbies and is a more afforable option. http://www.landofholisticpets.ie/ I have a dog in foster at the moment and he's thriving on it. I saw him the other day for the first time in 3 months and the change is notable.

ohmfg

I have just checked out the Land of Holistic pets and see that George Burns is mentioned, is that the same Burns as in Burns Dog Food?
Is the holistic an offshoot of Burns?

toadfly

ohmfg wrote: »

I have just checked out the Land of Holistic pets and see that George Burns is mentioned, is that the same Burns as in Burns Dog Food?
Is the holistic an offshoot of Burns?

2 brothers owned Burns, fell out & one brother now has Luath's.

ohmfg

TillyGirl wrote: »

2 brothers owned Burns, fell out & one brother now has Luath's.

Thanks for that.

boomerang

I wouldn't be worried too much about over-pooping on the Burns High Oats - it is deliberately high-fibre (and quite low meat content) to help the dog feel full without too many calories.

Ditto here on the Robbies - both my girls lost a little weight on it and have never been better. They have a new salmon variety which has spearmint in it and it smells gorgeous! You can get it in Dog Training Ireland or order it online from the Mobile Pet Shop, who are based in Cork. If I buy two 10kg bags from the Mobile Pet Shop I get free shipping and Margaret is always adding in little treats and gifts to the order. If you email DTI, Mobile Pet Shop or even George himself at Land of Holistic Pets, they will send you out some free samples.

Remember with the Robbies that 10kg makes 20kg of food so actually I think it's very well priced against Luath, Burns, James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange and other good brands.

boomerang

annascott wrote: »

can any of you recommend a good tooth protection alternative to Dentastix?

I use a combination of Plaque Off, Virbac enzymatic toothpaste and they get a raw meaty bone from the butcher every two weeks or so. (I would give them bones more often but one of them has kidney issues so I have to watch her phosphorous intake.) The Plaque Off is brilliant for preventing plaque formation and it softens up tartar so it's more easily removed. You'll get Plaque Off in most pet shops and also in some vets.

Raw meaty bones are just about the best thing you can give your dog to keep their teeth clean, and they cost nothing! Just ask your local friendly butcher. Steer clear of large beef bones as they are so hard they can break the teeth. The bone should be big enough that your dog can't swallow it. I've started buying lamb shanks for my two and the size is perfect and they're not too hard. I let them gnaw on them til they have picked off all the meat and then I throw the bones away. Depending on the size of your dog you could also consider chicken thighs. Just swap out their usual meal for the bone so they don't double up on calories.

Aside from the teeth-cleaning benefits, dogs LOVE to gnaw on bones, they find it very relaxing and it keeps them occupied.

ohmfg

boomerang wrote: »

I wouldn't be worried too much about over-pooping on the Burns High Oats - it is deliberately high-fibre (and quite low meat content) to help the dog feel full without too many calories.

Ditto here on the Robbies - both my girls lost a little weight on it and have never been better. They have a new salmon variety which has spearmint in it and it smells gorgeous! You can get it in Dog Training Ireland or order it online from the Mobile Pet Shop, who are based in Cork. If I buy two 10kg bags from the Mobile Pet Shop I get free shipping and Margaret is always adding in little treats and gifts to the order. If you email DTI, Mobile Pet Shop or even George himself at Land of Holistic Pets, they will send you out some free samples.

Remember with the Robbies that 10kg makes 20kg of food so actually I think it's very well priced against Luath, Burns, James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange and other good brands.

Thanks, yes, the girl I spoke to in Burns did say that the food was formulated to make the dogs feel fuller for longer. I did not equate that with more poo but it's no biggie. Just more to scoop.
Thanks for the heads up on online ordering for Robbies, I really think that might be the food for Daisy in the future.

the_syco

tk123 wrote: »

I had to get weight off my guy when we found out he had a joint problem.

Ask your vet if Sashas Blend (http://www.sashasblend.com) would be of any use to your doggie? Use if on top of my westies food, and it allows her to be a lot less stiff.

annascott

After my shocking realisation today that I am not doing my little dog any favours by feeding her Pedigree Complete, I thought I would switch to Robbies as it seemed to be such a popular choice. Unfortunately, it is not available where I live and it isn't practical for me to make a monthly 6 hour round trip to get it. So, must choose something else. About to leave office now and go shopping. Can anyone recommend something else which is good for her, will help her weight problem and isn't full of chemicals or scary stuff?

toadfly

You could try Burns Anna, several flavours available I usually get salmon or chicken with brown rice. I also feed a tin of sardines once a week between three dogs.

cocker5

annascott wrote: »

After my shocking realisation today that I am not doing my little dog any favours by feeding her Pedigree Complete, I thought I would switch to Robbies as it seemed to be such a popular choice. Unfortunately, it is not available where I live and it isn't practical for me to make a monthly 6 hour round trip to get it. So, must choose something else. About to leave office now and go shopping. Can anyone recommend something else which is good for her, will help her weight problem and isn't full of chemicals or scary stuff?

try burns from zoolpus... they deliver to your house...

or any brand on zooplus...

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/burns

annascott

Yes, have just found a stockist near me who do Burns. Will go there now. Thank you so much to everyone who has advised me here today. I am absolutely horrified to think that I trusted Pedigree. Although, while my little friend is overweight, she is extemely bright eyed and glossy, so I don't think that any lasting damage has been done.

paultf

Just wondering about Robbie's dog food. Some of the posts on this thread have given the food good comments.

I have my dogs on Burns - they like it but I am wondering should I change it to Robbie's. Burns is a very plain food, whereas Robbie's has more ingredients that might make the food more interesting. Also its better value than Burns.

Funnily enough when I google Land Of Holistics/Robbie's I don't get back much information. In one way this is a good thing i.e. no bad comments, but in another way where are all the good reviews?

I am wondering should I change food or is it best left as is? What do you think?