Old, overweight lab - what food pls?

[Millie1]

just looking for food recommendations for 13 yr old, very overweight lab who is about to go on a diet! She's on Beta Light at the moment but it's not great from a poo perspective and I'd really like to get her onto something which will not only help with the weight loss but also firm up and reduce in quantity, her poos! Have looked at Burns, JLB, Skinners etc online. Can anyone recommend anything (she has always had a funny tummy and we have tried lots of vet recommended foods, to no avail) - it's hard now coming into summer as she poos all over the place so the garden can be a minefield for the kids if we miss a couple! Would raw food help?

Thanks!

A raw diet will help firm up the poos considerably

We went over to raw earlier this year and I honestly wish we'd done it much sooner, especially as one of ours has a VERY sensitive tum, and looking back, i can see that the kibble just wasn't working for him.

You can ease in gently - that's what we did and there are lots and lots of threads on here about raw feeding - may be worth a browse. I'd also be strict on things like snacks/cheese/treats - does she get many of these? Good luck !

Thanks Scuttlebutter, that's really useful information. I've had a read over lots of old threads - is it best to buy online or locally from greyhound men as I have seen suggested elsewhere? Oh, and no snacks etc but she has always been prone to weight gain, especially since she was spayed, then (long story) someone else was feeding her for a while and really really overfed her so we need to get her back on the straight and narrow!

Hi Millie, there's lots of ways of doing it. PAH have a freezer section with varied things such as beef chunks, tripe, rabbit stuff ready minced etc. We also did chicken wings from the supermarket, plus things like fish, eggs, various cooked veggies etc.

We've been browsing freezers for the garage, and are just about to buy one. This took longer than expected as we've had a run of illnesses in the (human) family and then we are moving over (following recommendations) to ordering meat stuff direct from companies like Landywoods (they have a website). Very, very much cheaper but you do need to be able to receive it in bulk quantities. It is also worth talking to your local butcher (if you have one) about bones, chicken carcasses, lamb necks etc. There are also various other companies on the net that will do effectively a premixed raw diet for you - see Natures Menu as an example - again you can order in varying quantitites. It really depends on what your dog likes, and how much effort you want to put in to sourcing/mixing etc. If you have a good source of raw stuff locally then mix and match to suit.

A few years back my parents adopted a retired guide dog ( yellow lab 10yo) and she had to lose weight to have surgery.
The GDA adviced them to mince/grate carrots,turnips and gravey into her food to bulk it out.
It did the trick.She liked her food and wasn't fussy as long as there was lots of it.
It did make her a bit windy though

Thanks Scuttle and Lord ... This info is really really useful. I've got Beta Senior for her to do us the next few weeks then we have a new pup coming and I'm considering raw food for the pair of them. We have a fridge/freezer in the garage but we thought the freezer wasn't freezing properly ... I put some mince in it yesterday as an experiment so if it's frozen, raw food it is! Had a look at Landywoods website and it looks great! Great tip re the grated food - shall try that over the next few days as the dog would eat from Dawn til dusk if you let her!!

Thanks again!

Woohoo! The freezer works, we're on!

Scuttle ... this is a really thick question but how does the pricing at Landywoods work? If it says, for example, minced Lamb tripe, 454g, £7.70 x 20 - does that mean you're getting 20 x 454g packs for £7.70? This is how I'm reading it but it seems too cheap! . Especially when Natural Instints is about £2 or more per 400g pack.

Thanks

As I understand it, that IS the pricing structure! I just had a look again at the price list and I see what you mean. But don't forget this is animal grade food, not human, and many of these items are practically waste products as most people these days don't want to eat things like tripe (!!!) or hearts... Why not drop them an email just to make sure?

We haven't ordered from them yet, as the freezer hasn't come yet, but the site is bookmarked and I know loads of people who do order from them and all say that they are very cheap. I think this illustrates the humungous markup on pet food generally. Also, don't forget you'll be having a big parcel of goodies - I saw a very funny pic of someone's first delivery from them (nearly as sad as all the chat about poo ) and they were surrounded by packages; the minimum order value means that you'll be getting a LOT of stuff. We've got three dogs so it's not so bad, but if it's a bit overwhelming why not share an order with a friend?

it seems right.

might order some stuff off there myself once the freezer stock is depleted.

i get 13.5kg of chicken carcasses from the butcher for £2.

Thanks Scuttle and Misdee. I'm not short of freezer room now that the outside freezer works and with two dogs, it would be good to order just once every 3-6 months and the prices seem unreal. It's good to hear of personal recommendations too. I am going to need advice about what to order ! Think I'll start by talking to the pup's breeder and see what she thinks would be good for him now - he's on raw at the minute as this is what she feeds her dogs - and they look fantastic on it!

Thanks again!

Bloody hell ... They don't deliver to Northern Ireland, wouldn't you know it.

do u have a local butcher? thats who i go to, cheapest price around here.

hey folks - I don't have space for a freezer - but still would like to do raw food. How do I go about it? Also I have 3 dogs, so would it get pricey?