Kurant

Hi, I live in Alaska and up here, those off brand dog foods really aren't readily available at most places. It costs 2 arms and 4 legs to ship things here as well.

My dogs currently eat Iams weight control food, and it just doesn't seem to be working 3 months into it. The dog I'm trying to get to lose weight, still is about 75-77 pounds.

He needs to be in the low 60's.

I know that Iams isn't the best food, but being where I live we really have a limited selection. I was also considering using Innova brand food, but I really don't know much about it. But, this is somthing we can get here. Eukanuba is also available.

-- Joe

PS, I have read this forum more then once, and I'm looking for help other then "Make it yourself" or propaganda telling me why I'm an irresponsible pet owner. If you can't offer help other then sarcastic remarks, or the "Make it yourself" response, don't let the door hit you in the ass. I'm looking for real help.

Glory's Sun

Food alone won't do it. Any weight control will help to a point, but you have to make sure you limit the intake. Try only 8 ounces of food a day for starters, then put him on a treadmill for a while. Not only will the treadmill (or other exercise) help with weight, but it will help with overall health including joint issues.

If you can find Science Diet try that.

james t kirk

Make it yourself.

Seriously though, you don't want to hear it, but it's the truth.

Commercial dog foods are loaded with carbs cause they're cheap and they fill the animal up. But dogs aren't good at matobolizing carbs. They turn them into sugar, which gets stored as fat. Even the diet dog foods are loaded with carbs.

I had my cat on Diet Cat food before I was converted, gave her a quarter scoop a day and she never lost an ounce. Reason - carbs.

If you can't feed your dog strictly meat and veggies without carbs, then find a dog food without wheat, without rices, without grains of any sort.

Basically, your dog needs the Atkins diet for dogs.

Acetylene

Kirk speaks the truth.

All the dog foods are pretty similar in nutritional content. The lowest-carb ones are better. "weight control" dog foods are high-carb, low-fat--NOT what dogs need. They attempt to starve the weight off the dog by restricting calories.

If you must use kibble for whatever reason, try using innova or nutro ultra puppy food. Those are higher in protein. But it would be a good idea to restrict the kibble and supplement with lean meats.

And EXERCISE!!!!

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Willravel

I'd strongly suggest you exercise more for good health. Dogs can go miles and miles a day without any difficulty, and those that do live longer, healthier, happier lives.

Boil some chicken breast every few days. Throw it in with dry kibbles from Nutro (my favorite brand).

Kurant

Exercise just wasn't something really practical until now, it's just been too damn cold this winter, even then, it's still hard with my yard being so wet in places, and full of soft snow. We just moved into this house at the beginning of last winter so there is no grass to speak of, and it's a freaking mess right now.

With that said, how do I go about making my own food? What should I use? Links? Tips? It would be a lot easier if it's not too complicated, and I don't have to buy a lot of things. I don't live in a place where you can just drive down to your local store and pick up items. It's a good drive to get to a decent store. I work for Fish and Game, and work very close to where I live, which is kind of in the boonies.

james t kirk

Very simple - think what a wolf eats in the wild.

Meat of any sort. Doesn't have to be choice cuts, just fresh. A wolf eats the guts, organs, flesh, everything. There's nothing wrong with that. You need to mix in some fresh veggies (a small proportion) for vitamins and minerals.

Apparently the carnivores in the wild get this from eating the stomach contrents and intestinal contrents of their kill.

Just remember, no wheat, no carbs, no rice, no grains, no barly.

Just meat / fish / chicken. You can probably find this pretty cheap at the butcher's.

Willravel

My beagle can navigate 2' deep snow in -0 degree weather without too much difficulty. He can swim. He can climb. Most dogs can. Grab the leash and run up and down the street. Make sure your buddy can get some room temperature water when he or she gets home.

If you can't exercise your dog, you probably shouldn't have one because it's not fair to him or her.


Speaking to diet, Nutro kibbles are fine. If you want to save money, it's not going to happen by buying fresh meat for all your dog's meals.

Kurant

They get exercise, it's a brand new home, it's only about 5 months old there is no yard, there is no fence. It's a mud hole, and it will be for at least another month. They will not be in the house wet, and muddy. The garage will be finished next Thursday when they come and put the door one, and then part of that problem will be solved. The fence is at least 2 weeks to a month away.

I've already spoken to me vet about the weight problem, I was just looking for other food options. He got fixed, and began to gain weight after, and now it's reaching a point where he needs to shed weight before bird season begins.

My dogs are used, and are very active doing so (Well, the male anyway, since the female had puppies last year, she became very gun-shy so now she's basically my 2 year old's pillow and play toy. ) for retrieving birds, mostly ducks and Ptarmigan.

It's not about saving money either, it's about whats available, and it's about an hour-hour and a half to the nearest town with a Fred Meyer (Kroger's in some parts of the nation.). They don't carry many brands of dog food, so I'm trying to figure out what other substitutes I can use.

I don't have to justify a thing to you, I don't even know why I'm bothering. Oh, I must mention, it's quite a bit colder then 0 out in the winter here, chief.

Willravel

Dogs aren't always smart enough to give themselves enough exercise on their own. Walking is an excellent way to regulate their daily exercise, and also a great way to maintain a healthy relationship with the dog. I walk my dog several miles a day, every day. It's just something you have to decide to make time for, like exercising yourself. Ultimately, I've found that it's the best way to regulate weight.
Well Alaska is a big place. I do know that they have Petco pet stores in Anchorage and Juneau, if that helps, but I can understand shipping being a bear. Plug your zip code into this site, and see if there are any retail locations near by.

So far as non-dog food dog food, you can find web pages with info here, here, here, and here.
This is the kind of response that's going to make people think twice before trying to help you out. When I typed out "-0" I meant to say below 0. I used to have a family cabin up in the Rockies, and I've taken both my dogs up there in cold weather.

Kurant

Anchroage is about 3 1/2 hours from me, Petco is in south Anchorage, so it's probably closer to 4.

Juneau is in SE Alaska, it's a 3 hour plane trip, and you can't drive there.

As for walking, they are with me all day at work. I work in a state park with Fish and Game doings mostly environmental studies in the field, but apparently it's not enough walking.

However, it is close to summer, and they will both be putting good amounts of work in with the duck trainer too.

Willravel

Ah, well I tried. Can't blame a bloke for trying.
What's this "apparently it's not enough walking" business? Did you give a clear indication in earlier posts that you worked for a state park and had your dogs with you walking all day? No? Then I had no way of knowing. Usually, pets being overweight is a result of too little exercising. If they are walking and running all day, and are still overweight, it's possible they have another source of food, or have some digestive problem ('cept for the recently pregnant one, that's normal).

Kurant

Whoa, calm chief. I didn't mean it like that.

What I meant, is that it's clearly not enough walking. It obviously needs to be more, along with a diet adjustment. I began working on it today. I went out and bought the Eukanuba RC from my vet based in Wasilla, Alaska today. I bought 4 30 pound bags, so I don't have to make the drive back anytime soon.

I also bought some carrots and green beans, and going to substitute a little bit of that in the food.

Can you tell me, if I substitute those veggies in with the food, do I also feed less dog food? That was a little unclear when he explained it to me today.

Willravel

Oh, lol, my bad.
Yes. The idea is to control the amount as well as the quality of the food (just like when a human improves his or her diet). Also like a human, the large meal should be in the morning, medium in mid day, and small in the evening. As for the specific amount, I'd strongly suggest you speak to a vet. I'm not a vet, I'm just some businessman who watches too much Animal Planet and Dog Whisperer.

Glory's Sun

The key to feeding your dog (yes I feed Eukanuba) is to not just let them eat when they want. Don't put a bowl down full of food and let them just eat whenever and however much they want. If I'm trying to lean down a dog, then I don't feed any more than 16 ounces of dry food a day. I seperate this over 3 meals. Check the Eukanuba bag to see what they recommend as far as how much to feed. Even if you went up to 20 ounces, then you still just need to spread it out a bit.

Also, since it's hard for your dogs to get exercise sometimes, then perhaps you could see if you could find a cheap used treadmill. It doesn't have to be fancy and this way you could give them a good brisk walk without having to get into the mudhole that is your yard.

I would substitute an even amount of veggies throughout the day in all of your dogs meals. Adding them to the total amount you want to feed. For instance, if you add 2 ounces of veggies a day, you only need 14 ounces of Eukanuba per day.

If you're dogs are large breed the normal intake is 3 cups per day. So by limiting a few ounces, you don't create hunger shock and you streamline their diet a little better.

cyklone

At the risk of lots of criticism for being too simple I just chuck a stack of vegetables into a big pot (don't bother peeling them and NO onions) some salt, left over meat or bones and boil the shit out of it for a while. When it is cool I dole it out as necessary. If the dog loses weight I give him more and vice versa. I've had dogs my whole life and they have all lived healthy and to ripe old ages. Don't get too complicated.

Vitalsigns2000

If you can find it try "Pedigree Lean" canned food and mix with dry food, my dogs have had good success with this and I still use it for two of them to maintain their weight. My vet was very impressed we were able to gat all three of our dogs to their ideal weight range.

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Vitalsigns2000