Author Topic: Lower calorie dry dogfood  (Read 1214 times)

zxcvbob

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Lower calorie dry dogfood
« on: December 17, 2019, 10:25:21 AM »
My dogs eat either Kirkland or Member's Mark, depending on whether I go to Costco or Sam's for it (they look and smell the same), Chicken and Rice kibble.  Also Costco dog biscuits for treats.  Penny (30-something pound mini Aussie) is about 9 years old, and got really fat from stealing puppy chow and hasn't really lost the weight.  Shadow (60-something pound Lab/Pitbull) is 2.5 and is still looks trim but is starting to get thick around the middle and I can just barely feel her ribs now.  A lot of that's muscle, but not all of it; it came on too fast once they were cooped up in the house a lot for winter.  And Penny has been a real butterball for over a year.

I've cut back the dog biscuits; when they ask for one I break it in half instead of giving each a whole one.  And I'm thinking about switching to a lower calorie kibble.  The stuff they are on now is almost 400 calories per cup.  The Kirkland "Mature" formula Chicken-based kibble is 330 calories per cup, and the "healthy Weight" formula (also chicken) is 275 calories.  Start with the senior dogfood and see how that goes first?  I can try the diet dogfood later if need be.

They don't get a lot of table scraps except when I roast a chicken or turkey and that's not very often; mostly just licking the pans and plates that I've already licked pretty clean ;)
« Last Edit: December 17, 2019, 03:05:34 PM by zxcvbob »
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charby

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Re: Lower calorie dry dogfood
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2019, 11:19:30 PM »
Might want to make sure the senior dog food has all the nutritional needs for the younger dog.

You could always just feed less dog food in general, what I do when hunting season is over and my dog gets a little chubby. I feed twice a day, so half a cup is not noticed by the dog.
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zxcvbob

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Re: Lower calorie dry dogfood
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2019, 11:45:13 PM »
Thanks.  We generally just leave food out all the time, and both dogs eat from the same bowl.  (we try feeding them separately whenever we have a puppy, but it never works well)  I bought one bag of the senior food today; figured it was a less drastic change than going straight to the diet food.  I will open the bag tomorrow and mix it with their old food.  I don't think they will notice the difference since they are both chicken & rice formulas.

Is there anything I need to look for specifically for the young dog?  Probably I should be asking my vet this, huh?
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charby

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Re: Lower calorie dry dogfood
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2019, 11:53:28 PM »
  Probably I should be asking my vet this, huh?

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