Hi, I really need advice on a dog food for weight loss

[momofreese]

I have read some of the threads but none specifically tackled this problem. I even posted on someone else's thread, regard vomiting and which food are better.

I would appreciate if anyone can give me advice as to what to feed an overweight yorkie..she is about 10 lbs and should probably be 7 or 8 max. We have had her on four different brands over three years and none seem to work. Most if not all have caused her to vomit. She seems to go through phases of vomiting.

I was told by some really nice readers to give her string beans ( no salt) in a mixture of her food and maybe even some boiled chicken. I have been doing that gradually, but she is still vomiting. I have decreased her portions.. we serve her a total of 1/8 to 1/4 of a cup of the mixture twice daily. I have even at times made the portions smaller and fed her three times.

I have had the necessary tests in the past done.. thyroid, pancreatis, etc and all have come back negative.. thankfully. She does have a very sensitive stomach. She is consumed by food (it seems as if that is all she lives for) Even when she isn't vomiting she still seems hungry all of the time.

My last food change was to welleness light and she might not have vomite once in about two weeks. My vet told me to just watch her, give her flagile if she has loose stools, which she hasn't and call her at the end of the week.

I have tried vet prescribed foods, natural choice or something.. and nothing is reducing her weight or stopping the vomiting. The wellness kibbles are used and she seems to swallow them whole. Even after I soak them in warm water or break them up, she still inhales them.

Any advice would be helpful. We put her in my jacuzzi last night to give her exercise.. we were right near her, and she was scared out of her wits. My daughter even went in with her. She was paddling so fast and splashing so much. We thought that this would give her great exercise in conjunction with the low calorie diet. My daughter had to go in with her, get scratched up and splashed at. She ending up clutching on to my daughter while in the bath vs doing any form of exercise.

Please PLease Please let me know of any success stories and just stories on which healthy food I can give a three year old overweight yorkie. I also wanted to know if I cut out all dog food, would she be getting enough of a well rounded diet from boilded chicken, some rice and no salt stringbeans.

Please help..

Thanks Randy

[StewiesMom]

I think Kimberly (SimonandHallie) has her little Hallie on a diet. Maybe you can PM her and ask her to look @ this thread

[momofreese]

Thank you for your response, I will certainly contact Kimberly. Have a Happy New Year.

[PlatinumYorkies]

Originally Posted by momofreese

Thank you for your response, I will certainly contact Kimberly. Have a Happy New Year.

In the meanwhile, don't put her in that jacuzzi anymore, I don't think she likes it...do she like to walk at all! good luck

[Jaspermom]

Originally Posted by PlatinumYorkies

In the meanwhile, don't put her in that jacuzzi anymore, I don't think she likes it...do she like to walk at all! good luck

Please do not put your pup in the jacuzzi!! Can you imagine how terrified she must have been?? The noise, the water, heck my girl can't take a nice calm quiet bath without freaking out! It may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but for goodness sake, take her for a WALK so you both get some exercise!!

There are many weight management dog foods out there. I am sure that her own food may work as weight management if you cut her calories back and increase her exercise. NO high fat table scraps, cut back snacks, all the healthy things a human might do to lose weight is good for dogs too.

Good luck!

[momofreese]

Wow, I didn't realize that I had to really watch the context of my posts here. The tub is an airjet tub.. not even a jacuzzi but commonly called that. I would NEVER put the jets on. I am a mom of three daughters and would hope that I Have learned enough over the years about safety.

She needed her regular bath.. which I normally do in a small sink. She also needed exercise and the vet had recommended this form. Since my vet had recommended swimming for her, and I do not have a pool and since it is about 30 degrees in NY, anyway.. my only option was my "bathtub". We did not put the jets on.. jacuzzi's/bain ultra air jet tubs can always be used a regular tub. My daughter got into the tub with her, since she didn't even like just swimming period. I was sitting on the side holding her. I am sorry that I didn't add all of the specifics, and guess I shouldn't assume that there aren't people out there that would possibly put there dog in a running jacuzzi. Even though she did have the proper "gear" she did not get to use the jets or bath oils.

I neglected to put all of the details in, but know for sure that I would never jeopardize her safety or anyone in my family, for that matter.

I apologize for the confusion. I didn't even realize that the other poster thought the same as you had. I thought she had just meant that she was obviously terrified of swimming so do not pick her back in the bath. I better get used to posting correctly. She was holding on to my daughter and totally scratched her even when I was holding her.. no jets, no water running, the only noise was coming from the television in the bathroom and her splashing little legs.

This entire "session" lasted about three to five minutes. Again, it was a recommendation of my vet. I should have been more descriptive in my post but didn't even realize that I was misleading people.

Please understand that Reese is spoiled, loved and protected as much as any other yorkie on this site, if not more in some cases.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I am nuts and completely over the top with Reese but not that nuts. Thank you for your concern.

[Jaspermom]

Originally Posted by momofreese

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I am nuts and completely over the top with Reese but not that nuts. Thank you for your concern.

WHEW!!!!!!!!! Thanks for clearing that up!!! I nearly had a heart attack on that one!!!


Sorry if I over-reacted!!! Good luck with the weight!

[momofreese]

LOL That's okay.. my mistake. I didn't realize that most would think I was actually running the jets. It is too loud for me.. let alone her. She was scared out of her wits when we were just holding her, in the tub. I almost thought that she was going to hurt her legs.. I have been told that this is good for a low grade luxating patella which some have said she has. At the speed she was going, it could not have been good, at all.

Her swimming/snorkeling.. those were only props at a hotel pool.. are OVER. Thanks again for your concern.

[livingdustmops]

We had a rescue come in that was so obese we didn't know if he would make it with the strain on his heart and his legs. He could barely walk 1/2 block so we put him on the pumpkin diet that was recommended by our vet. He loved the pumpkin (we hated having to clean his face) but it worked. We also walked him every night, slow steps but as he started to lose weight he started walking faster and longer

People don't know how to get their dogs to lose weight without all the side effects - begging, that sad-eyed look that says "I'm hungry", etc.

Try the pumpkin diet. Reduce your dog's regular food by 33% and replace it with a 67% volume of canned pumpkin (not the kind with sugar and spices, ready-made for pies). For example based on a large dog, if you are currently feeding your dog 3 cups of food, you would instead feed him 2 cups of food and a whole cup of canned pumpkin. Dogs love the pumpkin - it has the texture of canned dog food, it provides vitamins and roughage, it makes them feel full (so they don't forage in the yard for leftovers), and they lose weight!

The only treats he got were the baby carrots.

Good Luck and remember no one can feed him treats if you want your little one to live a good long life. You will determine that.

[blades]

Hey,
One of my yorkies is 8 years old and a bit chubby. She has short legs compared to my other one who looks like a race horse next to her! We have been feeding her Nutro for overweight dogs- 3x a day about 1/4 of a cup at a time. We haven't noticed much of a difference. She swims like crazy in the summer in our pool. She is healthy, though. We don't feed her any table food at all- our other yorkie suffers from pancreatitis so we are real careful. try the Nutro- she seems to like it! By the way- my maiden name is Freese - are u originally from NY?

[momofreese]

I believe that my yorkie might suffer from pancreatitis also. I do not think my vet is even sure if it is just a sensitive stomach or that. Like I said she also might have legg perthes.. again after running to so many vets/specialists.. and top people ie: a specialist at Cornell, they have still not confirmed that.

I am now continuing wellness 1/8 twice daily mixed with unsalted canned string beans. I am ready to steam fresh string beans or boil them, bc I always grew up being told that canned vegetables are not the healthier. It might not be the case, but it is something instilled in my mind. At times I also mix in a little bit of boiled chicken.

Her weight is stable.. certainly not losing and her vomiting (foamy clear bile) has decreased but still every now and then she does do it.. She is nice enough to run to my area rugs vs doing it on my wood floors.

I am originally from New York, Queens.. now we live on Long Island, Hewlett and have been here for about 20 years. How about yourself. I did live in New Jersey for two years, in the Metuchen area. My brother in law grew up there and my husband and I followed my sister and her husband to NJ. That lasted for two years and then we ended up here.

Thanks for your post and please do feel free to PM me whenever you would like to. Have a great evening.

Randy and Reese