[momofreese]

Sorry to repeat this post but Reese is an overweight yorkie with a sensitive stomach. Seems to be a contradiction but she is. We had her on a prescription weight reducing food a year or two ago and it did nothing to help her lose weight. We then switched to wellness lite since I had wanted a more natural and so I had thought healthier food. To make a long story short when I took Reese to my vet she said that she does not like Wellness.
She feels that they put too many vegetables in it and not enough protein and other things that she needs. Also she felt that the caloric content of Wellness was not as low as Hills RD another prescription food that HER OFFICE sells.

While I would like to think that my vet is not greedy.. since it is almost double the cost of any store bought weight reduction food, I am wondering how different it is from an IAMs product that is weight reducing.. which someone had told me about. Taste is not a factor since Reese will eat ANYTHING. She loved wellness, which by the way, made her breath smell horrible.. terribly fishy at all times. Now the Hills doesn't smell too fishy but it has its own unusual odor. She is doing well on it, at least for the past three days, but obviously I do not know if it will enable her to lose weight, yet.

I did notice that on both foods the first ingredient is Corn meal, which I had always thought was a terrible ingredient.. fattening and one that can cause problems for yorkies. They both also have by products in them, which again I thought wasn't good. Could someone please shed some light on this for me. I by no means want to keep changing her foods.

One thing I will say with the Wellness she was having acid reflux.. I don't know if that was a coincidence but now she is on pepcid to see if that will hopefully help her forever sensitive stomach out.

If anyone can offer their opinions on foods for weight loss and can make sense out of the ingredients and caloric intack.. please let me know.

Thank you so much!!!!!!

Randy

HILLS RD
Ingredients
Corn meal, peanut hulls 28.2% (a source of fiber), chicken by-product meal, soybean meal, soybean mill run, chicken liver flavor, dried egg product, vegetable oil, taurine, L-carnitine, preserved with BHT, BHA and ethoxyquin, minerals (salt, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), beta-carotene, vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (a source of vitamin C), niacin, thiamine mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement).

Metabolizable Energy¹ (Caloric Content)
Dry 2699 kcal/kg (220 kcal/per cup ² )
¹Measurement of Usable Energy in a food, which differs substantially from gross caloric content.
² An eight fluid oz. measuring cup of Canine r/d® contains 2.9 oz. by weight.

Average Nutrient Contents
Nutrient
Nutrient Guarantee
% As Fed1
% Dry Matter2
% As Fed, Caloric Basis3
g/100 kcal
Protein 20.0 min 22.8 25.1 8.4
Fat 5.5 min 7.9 8.7 2.9
Carbohydrate (NFE) 34.5 37.9 12.8
Crude Fiber 26.0 max 21.1 23.2 7.8
mg/100 kcal3
Calcium 0.50 min 0.60 0.66 222
Phosphorus 0.35 min 0.49 0.54 182
Sodium 0.27 0.30 100
Potassium 0.73 0.80 270
Magnesium 0.122 0.134 45
Carnitine 200 ppm min 279 ppm 307 ppm 10


¹Differs from label guarantees which are either maximums or minimums.
²The nutrient in the product after moisture is removed. It is used to make direct comparisons of nutrient profiles of products with differing moisture contents.
³Nutrient intake for every 100 kilocalories consumed.



IAMs store bought weight reduction
Ingredients
Ingredients
Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Fish Meal, Chicken, Dried Beet Pulp (Sugar Removed), Chicken Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Ground Whole Grain Barley, Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Flax Meal, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), DL-Methionine, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Fish Oil (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Choline Chloride, L-Carnitine, Rosemary Extract

Caloric Distribution
Protein 22%...Fat 27%...Carbohydrate 51%

Guaranteed Analysis

Nutrient (percent)
Crude Protein not less than 20.0%
Crude Fat not less than 10.0%
Crude Fat not more than 12.5%
Crude Fiber not more than 5.0%
Moisture not more than 10.0%
L-Carnitine not less than 30 mg/kg*
Omega-6 Fatty Acids not less than 2.00%*
Omega-3 Fatty Acids not less than 0.20%*


* Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile.

Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that Iams® Weight Control Formula provides complete and balanced nutrition for Maintenance.

Manufactured under U.S. Patent No. 5,616,569 and 5,932,258; other US and foreign patents pending.


Feeding Guidelines

Weight (lbs) Weight Maintenance (cups/day) Weight Loss (cups/day)
3 1/3 1/3
10 3/4 2/3
20 1 1/4 1 1/4
30 1 2/3 1 1/2
40 2 1 3/4
50 2 1/3 2


These guideline amounts are a starting point and your pet may need more food depending on age, activity and temperament. In order to reach optimal body condition, you may need to adjust food intake. This represents the total recommended volume of food per day. You should divide the total recommended feeding amount by the number of times you feed your pet per day to get the actual portion size per feeding.