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Need quality reduced calorie food rec
First of all, thank you to those replied last Thursday as we were grappling with the final hours with our dog Marley. Obviously, that day and every one since has totally sucked. We miss him in ways we never knew we would. It was so, so hard. I held his paw and looked him in the eye until the end and I know he felt loved.
We are putting all the focus on little sister Jasmine now. She is 7, almost 8, and is about 5 - 7 lbs. overweight (currently at 27lb). She is developing arthritis, too, so we have to take it easy as we ramp up her fitness routine, but the weight is part of the problem with her knees/hips, of course, so we must work through it.
I'm sure I'm due to be lectured. Marley was with us through cancer for 7 months (pretty amazing) and he got lots of special food and treats. She, um, reaped those rewards to a certain degree, too. And we probably exercised them less because Marley got fatigued more quickly. Regardless, here we are and I'm going to get this girl back to good health.
I didn't ask vet for a food rec because he never had a problem with the Eukanuba we brought them home on (I thank you lovely ladies for educating me about premium dog food 5 or 6 years ago).
She's been on Pinnacle Chicken and Oatmeal. It's 360 calories a cup, we feed 1/4 - 1/3 cup twice daily. She's refusing the straight kibble for the past month or so, we have to jazz it up a bit with a touch of cooked chicken or jarred baby food chicken (blech...we had it on hand for Marley when his tummy was upset).
Vet recommends switching to a low cal rather than addressing through reduced quantity of current food. He thinks she's a volume feeder and I tend to agree. At least at first, she needs to feel "full," I think. Plus she's really depressed (hiding, looking sad) and I don't want to rub salt in the wound by cutting way back just yet.
In the past, we'd tried adding green beans for extra filler with reduced amount of kibble, but she wasn't too interested. She's a bit picky.
So...who can recommend a high quality reduced calorie food?
Re: Need quality reduced calorie food rec
Trying to post pic again. She's on the right. Petite runt...and very chubby.
Zeus and Bubba
Wellness Core has a reduced fat variety, but I think the calories per serving are similar if not the same as the full-fat variety.
It sounds like you might be encouraging her picky behavior by constantly adding extra yummies. If she knows that by holding out, she can get something extra (chicken, etc.), she has even more reason to refuse straight kibble. Have you tried strictly scheduled meals where you put the food down and if she doesn't eat it within, say, 15 minutes, you pick it up and don't fee until the next scheduled meal?
I used the veggie-adding technique very successfully with both of my dogs, combined with increased exercise, and they each lost 5-6 lbs. (went from 24.5 to 19 and 23.5 to 17.5) Then again, I have 2 pugs who will eat pretty much anything!
I'm guessing her grieving is also impacting her eating habits, but I don't think that means you have to cater to her every desire when it comes to food (especially if she needs to lose weight).
Ditto Caz 100%. Giving in to picky eating habits in dogs encourages them to continue to be picky so you're scrambling more and more to get her to eat.
I want to say I'm very sorry for your loss; I know it's so hard grieving a lost pet and missing them every day.
I wouldn't worry, though, about "rubbing salt" in your little girl's wounds as she misses her brother; just give her LOTS of love and attention and do the right thing to help with her weight. Even just making sure she only gets that 1/4 C each meal instead of 1/3 C might help on its own. It's a very small change that she might not even notice in quantity, but you'll notice in her physique. Giving her more attention through a little extra play and more walks will obviously help a lot, too.
Just keep in mind that if she doesn't eat what she's given, she'll be fine until the next meal when you put the same thing in front of her. She'll get the picture that you're not giving in to her wily ways anymore and she just has to eat what she's given!
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Zeus and Bubba