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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Recommendations for a slightly tubby dog

12 replies

Sonolanona · 23/08/2023 08:43

I'd like to put my dog on a better quality kibble. She has a sensitive stomach and most dry food has chicken in it, which is the main culprit for upsetting her stomach. We tried Orijen but that was actually too rich for her. Currently she's on Canagan but she's not overly keen.
She flatly refused raw from puppyhood (plus my son is immunocompromised so raw meat is a bit risky)
I'd like to try cold pressed or similar. I have heard good things about Millies Wolfheart but would love to hear any recommendations please!

Since being spayed she is a kilo overweight.. she has lots of exercise and reduced kibble but I don't want to cut her any further as she gets hunger pukes!

OP posts:
BigBundleOfFluff · 23/08/2023 09:07

I'm a Millie's fan! They sorted my goldies poo out after trying so many things.
In terms of richness they have lots of varieties. They arrange their kibble according to meat content from 80:20 being 80% meat and 20% veggies. All the way down to 50:50. They do a couple of lower fat options and none of them have chicken in them. Whilst I don't think my goldie is allergic to chicken, I don't think she tolerates it well.
Best of all they have fab customer service so call/email them and they will give you a detailed response.

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 23/08/2023 09:25

No advice on food, but if she gets hunger pukes you could try splitting her meals into smaller, more frequent portions. We do this with our beagle as otherwise he wakes us at 4am to vomit bile under the bed 🙄

MissRainbowBrite · 23/08/2023 09:27

Millie's is fab, give them a call and they can advise. Our springer has been on it since she was a pup and she's now 9.
The 60/40 mix suits ours, they have lots of flavours. It's good for her tummy and poops are much better.

BigBundleOfFluff · 23/08/2023 09:39

cinnamonfrenchtoast · 23/08/2023 09:25

No advice on food, but if she gets hunger pukes you could try splitting her meals into smaller, more frequent portions. We do this with our beagle as otherwise he wakes us at 4am to vomit bile under the bed 🙄

Mine gets a very civilised "supper" at 10.30pm after her last wee. Otherwise it's a 5am puke here. On the only accessible bit of carpet to her. And she wakes me up to show me as well....

Newpeep · 23/08/2023 10:36

Millie’s is very good. Speak to them and they’ll recommend a food to try.

My dog used to get pukey in the mornings so she has a substantial snack at 9 pm (meals are 7 am and 6 pm ish). That sorted it.

We feed the 70:30 range. They recommend to change every so often to avoid intolerances building up. Currently we have the countryside and turkey and veg. I mix with a bit of barking heads wet. Dog is 6 Kg so she eats about 100g a day! I buy the 700g bags.

Sonolanona · 23/08/2023 11:44

Thank you everyone... I rang them and they were very helpful! I've ordered a selection of the 700g 70/30 range to see if she takes to it!

OP posts:
ScattyHattie · 23/08/2023 12:08

Vet doing talk said the feeding guides are based on research using entire active dogs and when lose those sex hormones by spaying/neutering should cut food back by 25%, I was surprised it was so much. Easiest to weigh out the daily portion (can then split how you like) as by scoop can vary calories significantly.

I always take bag RDA as just a starting guide as activity/metabolism is so variable find its better to assess dogs body score regularly by eye and feel along with weighing every so often (vets/pet stores for big scales) so can alter feed accordingly and track changes before becomes significant. The cheapest way to improve dogs health & reduce future vet bills is to keep them slim.

Millies is good food and if contact customer service many brands will advise which product will be most suitable and may send samples to try. I've used Markus Muhle and Lukullus (zooplus/Bitiba own brand) cold pressed which scored well on All About Dog Food site, sure both have non chicken versions but not checked the finer ingredients to know if 🐔free. They're compressed into crayon shapes so it actually looks less by eye than same weight of kibble. Smelled nice to my nose & dogs enjoyed it, I liked that CP doesn't absorb water and swell up loads which is what happens to kibble in gut but it's less handy to use daily portion as training treats and wouldn't fit in some of my activity feeders.

If she'll eat it you can also add veg to meals to bulk them out with fewer calories, I mainly used green beans as low sugar and easy to get big frozen bag cheaply, but also cauli, brocolli. kibble that's been pre-soaked also increases in volume and aids hydration but some dogs dislike the new texture. Splitting meals helps to feel fuller over day and avoid hunger pukes and feeding with activity feeders slows eating along with enrichment.

Senior dog food is usually less calories than adult as assumed lower activity levels and bulked so can feed a more normal portion size than the adult version. Can check with manufacturers advisors if would be a suitable swop nutritionally for your dogs needs

My dogs appetite increased due to medication side effect into a whiny hungry hippo so I had to employ all these tricks in order to keep her lean & my sanity intact. Vet nurses run weight clinics so useful source of tips if find you now have a dog that's more effort to keep trim than before.

Newpeep · 23/08/2023 13:14

Food amounts are very individual. I don’t feed on numbers. I go on body condition and as I use a lot of treats for training I have to adjust a lot on those days. That’s why I use good quality natural treats. Kibble doesn’t cut it in a stimulating training class for most dogs.

I keep my dog and cat at 4.5. They’re never hungry.

My last dog was spayed at 6 months. We spent 16 years struggling to keep weight ON her. She had double what was recommended for her size plus treats. My cats have always been the same. Fit and lean. All neutered. Quality of food plays a part as does exercise. Same as humans.

Sonolanona · 23/08/2023 16:04

Thank you for the advice ScattyHattie... it is appreciated.
She won't touch veg at all.. never has even as a puppy, she would carefully eat around any offered Grin
She's a rare breed dog and we are friends with her breeder and see them regularly and they don't feel she is overweight, but the vet disagrees. It's very very difficult to assess her body score as she has the thickest double coat and looks and feels like a furry cube.. however when she is wet she does go in at the right places so I don't feel she's terribly overweight. She was nice and slim before spaying tho and ideally I'd like her back to 23.5 kg..she peaked at just under 26kg and we reduced her kibble by a quarter, but didn't reduce her snacks/training treats. She's now just under 25kg so is going in the right direction, much to her disgust !

She gets a decent amount of exercise.. an hour in the morning (part off lead) and at least an hour off lead in the afternoon.. they are not a massively dash about breed unless there is something exciting to chase and then flops for the rest of the day.

Splitting the meals is a great idea thanks..I'll try that today and see if it wards off the vile bile..she doesn't do it that often but it hasn't half ruined my upstairs carpet!

OP posts:
MillWood85 · 23/08/2023 16:06

Mine are on Forthglade cold pressed and I've always been happy with it. My eldest gets colitis easily, and touch wood we've not had one single episode since he's been on (we get the duck variety, not chicken).

But my DD feeds her cocker spaniel on Millies and she's doing great on it.

Bovrilla · 23/08/2023 16:15

Mine has pooch and mutt (chicken free, also intolerant to it) and I feed under portion as he is neutered and gets fat on fresh air. It also allowed then for treats and chews.

He should be around 225gm a day, but I feed 150gm.

He's shiny, healthy and a good weight

Tiddlywinks63 · 23/08/2023 16:36

Newpeep · 23/08/2023 13:14

Food amounts are very individual. I don’t feed on numbers. I go on body condition and as I use a lot of treats for training I have to adjust a lot on those days. That’s why I use good quality natural treats. Kibble doesn’t cut it in a stimulating training class for most dogs.

I keep my dog and cat at 4.5. They’re never hungry.

My last dog was spayed at 6 months. We spent 16 years struggling to keep weight ON her. She had double what was recommended for her size plus treats. My cats have always been the same. Fit and lean. All neutered. Quality of food plays a part as does exercise. Same as humans.

This is what I do too. My rescue, Labrador sized, is on Fish4Dogs kibble and she has a small amount of cooked chicken added. Fed once a day, only gets natural treats. She’s a fussybum, but does well on this. She’s 31 months old, 20.2kgs and reasonably active. She has an hour’s walk in the morning, often off lead, and a further 1-3 hours walk later.

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