It haven't really posted here since my mom passed away in February, followed by my grandpa at the beginning of April - but hopefully I am back!
Anyway, the dog in question isn't a yorkie - he is a pomeranian x pekingese, but I don't know where else to ask about this.
When my mom was in the hospital (January 1st - Feb. 20th) there was a major miscommunication between my dad, brother and my brother's girlfriend. My brother didn't know my dad fed the dogs half the amount in the morning and the other half at night, and my brother's girlfriend didn't realize my brother was coming home from work at dinner time to feed the dogs, so she was coming when she finished work. Basically, Jackson usually eats 1cup of food a day but for almost 2 months Jackson was eating 2.5 cups a day. Jackson went to the vet for his needles and they became very concerned with his weight. He put on 7lbs since December and now weighs 22lbs and his maximum weight should be 15lbs - which he was at until the miscommunication. We noticed he has been gaining weight, but unfortunately all of us just assumed a lot of it was fur and to be honest, no one was really around the house that often during that time.
Our vet uses a scale for obesity/heart attack risk and he rated at 4.6 out of 5 - so he is on a food from the vet, and because he is so overweight he is on restricted activity as well. He isn't allowed to get overly excited, we are just supposed to take him on a short/calm walk 2 times a day for now and when he loses a little weight he can go to the dog park.
Anyway, my dad is unhappy with that vet (they basically said they didn't care that my mom has passed away and they could report my dad for animal cruelty and will if he doesn't get him to the proper weight) so has been trying to decide if the food from the vet is worth it or if we should try a higher quality diet and change vets - which we are doing regardless.
Right now, Jackson is eating Medi-Cal Calorie Control
Calorie Control Dry / Veterinary Therapeutic Formulas / Canine Nutrition / Veterinary Exclusive Nutrition / Home - RoyalCanin
But we have been looking at Acana Light and Fit
Champion Petfoods | ACANA | Our Products
And someone recommended Authority Weight Management:
Authority Dog Food - Adult Real Chicken | PetSmart
(I don't think I would want to use this food though)
Which one is probably the best for him? I personally want to use Acana because I don't like that the one from the vet has corn in it and I like how the Acana one is limited simple sugars and carbohydrates. If anyone has another food to suggest, we are open to anything, as long as we can get it in Ontario, Canada.
I don't know though, so I am hoping for some input - we have a sample of the Acana and he definitely likes it and he has a strong stomach so switching his food isn't going to bother him.
He has about a week left of the Medi-Cal, so we are trying to figure it out before we need a new bag of food.
I know some people may agree with the vet's opinion about animal cruelty, but I just want food advice as this wasn't intended and our minds were focused on my mom at the time. Lowering his weight is a family task we are all involved in now, and we are doing what we can for him to lose the weight.