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Lowest Calorie and Best Grade Food

Brian M

Well-known member
Hi
What are members answers to above and food I can buy in the UK ,I have tried R C ,Burns and now on Arden Grange and have been looking at Fromms who advise me just feed their kibble and no need for fillers like green beans ,broccoli and carrot which I now feed.
Just weighed all three and they have all put on weight and we have just got back from the shore and a good hard hours walk ,its getting to me all I want for them is the best but this weight is depressing ,Help.
Pops only gets 20gr of kibble in the morning and evening both topped up with veg and a squirt of salmon oil a scoop of keepers mix a teasppon of natural bran a small bite size shredded wheat and a teaspoon of low cal probiotic yog and I am thinking of starting manuka honey ,but I am going wrong somewhere i know they need more exercise but i do what i can
 
Hiya,
Have you asked the vet Brian what they would advise? It seems vets are pretty *into* weight loss for pets so maybe they could help?:)
 
hI TUPUP

sorry I find vets just give the same advice cut down on food and go up on exercise ,have done both also had them checked over for any biological reason but no ,so I thought if I could poll opinion as food for Cavs people are so different on what they feed and how much ,if I could go with a really top quality food to start with in pref a low cal one and start again do I add this and that like I am or just nothing but kibble and as Pops only get 20 gr x 2 that makes her daily 40 gr now would that be dangerosly low ,I dont know so any answers appreciated . :confused:
 
Hi Brian, According to my new pups diet sheet, the breeder advises
"At 6/8 months combine the 2 remaining meat meals, thereafter your pup should have the following for life;-

1 Tablespoon hard biscuit, 4 to 6 ozs of meat, 1 Vitamin tablet.

Products used: Biscuit =Pedigree Petfoods Lamb n Veg/Royal Canin CKCS.

Meat = Pedigree Petfoods "Ceasar" or fresh uncooked beef mince.

Vitamins = Vetzyme with Garlic.

One Bonio type biscuit for bedtime.

Though I have to say that Amber,who is currently staying with me much prefers James Wellbeloved Lamb/Rice or Turkey/Rice sachets with JW Duck n Rice kibble. I also throw in whatever veggies/rice or pasta that happens to be left over from our evening meal.

Its hard to see how just one tablespoon of bics would sustain a cavvie, especially as Amber (who has a problem gaining weight) will eat duck/rice kibble by the bucketfull!!.
 
Brian,

I have a never ending battle with one of my Cavaliers weight - we got her down to 9.5kg (she needs to be about 9kg) and were thrilled and then the last time we visited the the she was back up to 10.5kg :eek:. Her diet is good (she's currently on Origen) and she is taken for a decent walk daily, plus playing at home with the others. Her treat intake is low (maybe 1/2 dog biscuits per day) and she gets no human food (except for some Shredded Wheat and the odd carrot).

I don't want to put her into "light" food because she is doing so well on the food she is on (she is prone to bouts of colitis and dodgy anal glands) but it may be the only option becuase I can't reduce her food intake much more or she will be eating nothing but air! I have started to mix Hills Science Plan Light in with the Origen, just to bulk it out without adding too many calories, which is working well so far. I am, however, always a bit warey about "light" foods becuase they can be filled with extra stuff the bulk them out. We previously had her on Arden Grange Light and it worked very well - the wieght came off nice and slowly and she was very happy on it. Am thinking of going back to it becuase it worked so well. Plus Arden Grange is a great food so she is getting all she needs without the expanding waistline!

I don't want to give her frozen peas etc. becuase she's not the biggest fan of veg (apart from carrot and cabbage!) and will leave it in the bowl, and it's just a waste (which drives me mad!).

Good luck on your search and if you find anything that works for you please let us know (y)
 
Brian, have you concidered feeding a raw diet? Looking at what you're feeding now you could substitute the kibble you give now with raw chicken - maybe wings or drumsticks & you could still give then the raw veggies too. Some of the kibbles have fat added as a flavouring to make it more attractive to the dogs.

With the chicken they will spend a bit longer eating their dinner (well Sparky does!) so might feel a bit fuller too? With the bone-in-chicken they wouldnt really need the extra fibre as the bone would help keep poops harder if thats a problem (noticed you give the shredded wheat - figured that you give that for extra fibre?).
 
Hi Brian,
I used to feed Arden Grange and if you give the recommended amount they shouldn't put on weight.You need to look at other sources of calories.Any oil will be high in fat so I'd cut the salmon oil.
The vegetables should be fine to feed as snacks or treats.
When you feed Arden grange you don't need to give supplements.They have prebiotic supplements and glucosamine already added so you can cut the yougurt if you wish.It's a food that produces small compact stools so that's good too.
It's also a food which is dairy free,gluten free and soya free so you're not getting the hypoallergenic benefits if you're feeding dairy and wheat products alongside the kibble.
If you want to maintain the benefit of salmon,you can get arden grange salmon instead of the rice and lamb variety and they have salmon crunchy bites as treats which are good for their teeth.
So summing it all up,
I would suggest to stick with the Arden grange,get AG salmon crunchy bites or kibble and chop and change between lamb and rice kibble.
Feed frozen veg as before and keep up the exercise.
Eliminate all the other foods.
Sins
 
Arden Grange is one of the best Brian, esp the light version, but being a high quality food you can get away with feeding less, harley has 30 grams twice a day and thats it. Yes he is hungry all the time, and its very hard. He will even attempt pigs ears, and really hard chews which he used to ignore. Last weigh in he was 11.6 kg, thats over 2 kilos hes lost. They did say when they reach their optimum weight they wont lose any more weight no matter how little you feed. He does look good though, di
 
1 Tablespoon hard biscuit, 4 to 6 ozs of meat, 1 Vitamin tablet.

Products used: Biscuit =Pedigree Petfoods Lamb n Veg/Royal Canin CKCS.

Meat = Pedigree Petfoods "Ceasar" or fresh uncooked beef mince.

Interesting -- that's such a tiny amount of dry food -- keep in mind vets would be concerned about maintaining teeth -- that's virtually all mushy soft food so dogs would need raw bones or dental chews or something supplementary. I feed almost the exact reverse most days -- mostly a crunchy hard food with some meat as an addition. I'd opt for the mince but like to at lightly cook it myself rather than give raw.

For folks feeding raw meat, don't forget dishes all should be boil-washed every day after each meal and observe kitchen hygiene. (y)

For people who like giving an evening biscuit or biscuit treats, James Wellbeloved do an excellent quality one. Fish4dogs hard fish skin rolls are great too -- lots of alternatives to the supermarket brands which are mostly filler (some dogs may have allergy issues with the grains in these too).
 
BTW this is simply a breed that will stuff its face constantly :lol: and really has little to do with being hungry. All my dogs would eat themselves ill if given the chance -- owners absolutely cannot judge what to feed on the basis of the dog seeming hungry. They aren't hungry, they are greedy -- seems to be something genetic as some other breeds, including labs, are like this. Vets say about 6-7 breeds seem to just have this inability to control the need to feed! :eek: That's why I'd never free feed a cavalier.

I walk a neighbour's collie regularly and while my dogs are head down searching for food on the ground, Sam the collie has virtually no interest in stuff lying in the street. ;) Same for my partner's GSD and another neighbour's collie (she owned a collie and cavalier and the cavalier would stuff itself silly on anything; the collie was simply not interested in much after it's regular meal and also didn't scavenge off the streets). Cavaliers seem to have no 'fullness' trigger... :rolleyes:
 
Hi
With regard to mince which I have fed boiled occasionally but I look at the fat content, even though I ask for the leanest the Butchers have ,and that puts me off.My problem is I know nothing about food so I only go on what I read which often is probaly a load of tosh ,I also feed them often boiled Coley is that fatty or is that OK as an additive to Arden Grange Light a quantity of 12-15 gram twice daily with veg but I will stop the Kronch and the Yoghurt.:confused:
 
Even the leanest mince will have a 4 or 5% fat content and a lot of that will be saturated fat.Boiling it will reduce the fat content if you drain it well.
The idea of feeding a complete premium dogfood like Adren Grange is that it is a complete food.You don't need to add anything to it.
I'm sure a bit of boiled Coley is fine as a replacement for a meal but not as a mix with it.
Weigh each of your girls,look at the feeding chart on the bag and weigh the food on the kitchen scales.The calorific and nutrition content is calculated by the manufacturers to deliver the correct level of calories and nutrients based on the dog's weight and activity.
Each dog depending on their weight may need a different amount to the others so feed them separately while dieting.
If the girls are neutered you may need to reduce the amount slightly further.
Initially maybe just stick to the kibble itself and just feed a bit of veg if they get extra hungry.
You'll just have to become a blackhearted brute and ignore all pleading eyes and faces:p:p:p
Just because a food doesn't look appetising to you doesn't mean the dogs will find anything wrong with it.
Sins
 
Hi Sins
The other (actually lots ) thing I cant do is iron shirts ,when I divorced from Jackie and lived with an adorable rescue 10 yr old GSD for two years I could feed myself as there happened to be a couple of good take aways handy ,but good old Mum came to see me every day and tidy up and do my ironing ,I think thats because as Margaret said you females are so good at multi tasking and who am I to argue when I got so well looked after.:p
So sometimes ignorance is bliss.:)
 
For what it's worth Brian,I suspect your dogs are better fed and groomed than my poor neglected husband!!:D
Sins
 
I know the weight debate is very important but I had to chuckle at Brians quote -

'the same advice cut down on food and go up on exercise '

I've been to the doctors and she's just told me the exact same thing. There must be a cavi inside me fighting to get out. :dgwlk:
 
Cavaliers seem to have no 'fullness' trigger... :rolleyes:

Karlin - I think im a cavalier!!!!

Also have to agree with the boiling of stainless steel bowls for raw feeders is a must - I also use an anti-bac washing up liquid - just incase any of that nasty bacteria would dare to live through the boiling water!!!:D
 
Hi
With regard to mince which I have fed boiled occasionally but I look at the fat content, even though I ask for the leanest the Butchers have ,and that puts me off.My problem is I know nothing about food so I only go on what I read which often is probaly a load of tosh ,I also feed them often boiled Coley is that fatty or is that OK as an additive to Arden Grange Light a quantity of 12-15 gram twice daily with veg but I will stop the Kronch and the Yoghurt.:confused:

have you tried turkey mince? I believe coley being a whilte fish is pretty low in fat (my nan feeds this to her cats too!) - it's the oily ones like sardines etc that are higher in calories.
 
Brian, I know you've been struggling with her weight, I say KEEP IT SIMPLE: Keep feeding the Arden Grange, top with a small handful of frozen green beans, mix it up, and serve. Don't add anything else! If you take out the yogurt, bran, and whatever else you're adding (which sounds really good by the way!) and increase her kibble to about 1/4 c twice a day, then you should be able to better gauge how she's doing. Anytime you add, you lose the ability to accurately maintain calorie intake and proportions.
 
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I'll second chloe response. You may tihnk you're only adding a wee bit here and there, but it can really add up! One of the best weight loss instruments for humans is faithfully keeping a food diary. If you absolutely can't stop yourself from giving your pups extras, then write everything you're feeding them in a journal.

Ditch the yogurt and give a probiotic tablet instead. That will save calories and provide the beneficial bacteria. I feel any good the honey would do would be outweighed by the extra calories it adds. If your girls do well on most diets, then trying Hill's RD may be helpful if you can get it in the UK. Of course you'd have to speak with your vet on this.

I'd rather my dog become a healthy weight on a slightly lower quality food than be fat/obese on a higher quality food. Once the weight drops you could find a better quality food that works for weight maintenance.
 
Reuben hardly eats a thing! He is being given 2 meals of 30g a day but sometimes he will eat half, sometimes none and very ocasionally (once a week) he might finish the bowl. Doesnt really bother me as i am one these folks who think that he will not starve himself so there it is.

As to TYPE of food, he came away from breeder with eukaneuba puppy so i used that. Then a neighbour i met on a walk with 2 cavs said she had a sack of arden grange that her dogs didnt like so she gave it to me.

I mixed it with the eukaneuba and almost immediately his stools were so much better, darker, harder and easier to deal with from a human point of view. Now i am at the bottom of the box and its mainly eukaneba and im seeing the stools go back to sloppy and yellowish again.

So its Arden Grange for me from now on!!!!
 
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