Diets for Dogs

[Sparkle]

I just took Bogie the Pit in for his shots and health check. Doc says, and I quote, Bogie desperately needs to lose weight.
He's up to 86 and a half pounds. Okay, I'll do it, but there is nothing worse than a hungry pit-bull! He can't go on long hikes because of arthritus. I've tried the lo-cal dog food and he eats it with his lips, if you know what I mean. So, just less food, I guess and I'll watch out for that gleam in his eye when he looks at my leg!

[Liz]

I just took Roe to vet and he was alarmed that he had lost 11 lbs. since last visit, thought he must be sick. I told him that I had cut his food and increased his exercise over the summer on trip to AK. I started out cutting food in half until he started to lose, then gradually increased it back. Now he can have an extra cup a day, because the vet doesn't want him to lose any more. He's in heaven. He's at his ideal weight and has lots of energy...hope I can keep him there.

Good luck to Bogie. Don't know that I would want to live with a hungry Pit Bull.

[sharon]

Can't be any worse than a hungry chihuahua...Vet said in an aside to her tech.."this dog is getting REALLY fat". I got the hint. She thinks her mama doesn't love her anymore and she's really deprived and I'm just glad that she's an ankle biter and not big enough to be a leg biter! We've walked and walked and cut back on food and she's still chunky. She told me it was just her body style, but....hmmmm....don't think so.

[avalen]

ok, doggy diets.............
cut their meal in half and replace the half with green beans. It really works, I knew
a lady with an overweight dachsund (weinerdog) and she swears by it. Although
she did it a little different, she did it the hard core way and that was for the
first week the dog got nothing but green beans and dropped a good amount of
weight that first week. (can't remember how much) then she just added the
green beans to each meal. Dog thought it was getting as much as usual but really
wasn't.

[BirdbyBird]

I have friends that have used the Green Beans also. Most important is to figure in TREATS in the over all calorie intake....If you use treats, you need to give less at meals ....or use part of the meal AS the treats! Motto: A measuring cut can be your best friend"....if only Herschel could control my portions as well

[Orchid]

I've had my golden retrievers on the green bean diet over a year now. They have lost between 15 and 20 pounds apiece. I just substituted 1/2 the dry food I normally give them with green beans. The vet told me it was an excellent diet for dogs. The beans do tend to make them a bit gassy! Cheryl

[dpf]

OMG...I am so lucky that Radar doesn't have a weight problem if the solution is green beans and they cause gas! Some days I feel like the wicked witch of the west...but she only gets one and one half cups of lamb and rice in her dish when it's empty and an occasional treat after she comes in from a potty break. But she's like a two year old..sometimes she eats it all in a day or it may take her two days. We manage to keep her a lean mean Boston machine and it's too bad she can't manage our diets as well!

[Barbzeee]

I feed my dogs twice a day.. (have to with the Rotties) and I add veggies to it.. and yes, green beans bring on the aroma LOL... but they need the fiber ...I do carrots, green beans and peas..(steamed). with dry food...then at bed time they get their couple of cookies broken up with some chopped apples... cookies I use are sweet potato, peanut butter molases, and apple yogurt.. all are low fat ...but when you break them up in chunks they think it's a big feast... night time with out.. is pure He77... LOL

My Zeke is 140 lbs and lean
Abby is 89 lbs ..
Joe is 15lbs
Reba is 13 lbs..

I've been really good with their program.. but now don't talk about mine...Holy Hannah... but I'm workin on it... Any one for Chocolate Cherry Cake oh yeah made home made ice cream.. as a extra... LOL


Good night all !!!

God Bless
Zeee

[retiredhappy]

Your dogs eat green beans? Tried it once and found out a dog CAN eat all the dog food and leave every green bean untouched.

[Sparkle]

Green Beans...who would have thunk it! Canned..Fresh..Frozen? But oh, the gas! Beth and I have both experienced what Bogie can produce. Poor Bogie's tummy was rumbling last night. Usually he leaves some food and goes back to it later in the day, but this morning he scarfed down his portion, sighed deeply and went back to bed.

[OutandAbout]

One of my niece's dogs will leave all the veggies in the bowl, he just eats around them. I give the puppies fresh or canned veggies, and yes we have major gas issues. My min pin is on a diet and I swear that she comes into the room sometimes just to pass gas and then abruptly leaves. Pay back I presume. LOL Now I keep a can or air freshener available at all times. The diet is working for her which is good. Sparkle, you could always split whatever you give your dog in half and see how that goes. Maybe you could trick him into thinking that he is getting more food? Worth a try? Linda

[Sparkle]

Now that its been pointed out to me how could I not see that he was chubby, nah, FAT? Beth says she told me so, but I ignored her, I didn't want to know. I had been giving him 3 scoops of dry food and countless "Kongs" of canned food. Also every scrap of human food that I didn't eat, and as I have no appetite there were lots of leftovers. So now he gets two scoops of food, one Kong in the morning, and one Kong at night, and no people food. I am also trying to encourage him to walk more. We'll try that for a month and then cut back some more if need be. I'm very intrigued by the Green Bean Diet. I wonder where that came from?
I just Googled..didn't find out where it started, but here's the advice. In the morning add half the juice and beans from a 14-1/2oz can of beans to 1 cup of dog food. Repeat in the evening. Lots of fiber makes the dog feel full and happy that he's getting people food.
This is my 2nd edit. The next google I read said if you buy canned, get the no or low salt. And that frozen is the best. The canned doesn't need to be heated, but the frozen should be microwaved to thaw them.

[sharon]

OK, so Chewy gets 1/4 cup of dry dog food morning and night....so she would only get 1/8 cup of dog food and 1/8 to 1/4 cup of green beans? She also usually gets 1 doggie treat per day.

[BirdbyBird]

Don't tell Chewy about those changes........

[VickieP]

I'm thinkin if Chewy doesn't get her food, S & the Twins might be in danger when they get home!