Hills Prescription Diet Dog Food R/D

Sequeena

Tell your vet to sod off, you can find a much better quality and cheaper food elsewhere

If you're looking for a different food (rather than feeding less and exercising more) a good brand I recommend is Burns

chris_n_tj

Sequeena wrote: »

Tell your vet to sod off, you can find a much better quality and cheaper food elsewhere

If you're looking for a different food (rather than feeding less and exercising more) a good brand I recommend is Burns

I agree that Burns is a good well made food (although its no good for my dog. Yes before you ask we have used it before)
I think no matter which food you use, a well balanced diet and excerise is the best for any man or beast.
Again, i must add sometimes we just dont realise just how many calories there are in the titbits that most of us hand feed our dogs/cats. Nor do many of us deduct treats from daily food alowance. I used to be guilty of this myself, but not any more.
Chris n TJ

Sequeena

chris_n_tj wrote: »

I agree that Burns is a good well made food (although its no good for my dog. Yes before you ask we have used it before)
I think no matter which food you use, a well balanced diet and excerise is the best for any man or beast.
Again, i must add sometimes we just dont realise just how many calories there are in the titbits that msot of us hand feed our dogs/cats. Nor do many of us deduct treats from daily food alowance. I used to be guilty of this myself, but not any more.
Chris n TJ

I agree I admit my dogs get the odd treat whether it's a gravy bone, liver cake or even the last bit of my curry but they don't get it several times a day. There has to be balance.

ETA my dogs didn't like Burns either. They've now settled on Arden Grange

trudij

My dog put weight ON with r/d - and i changed to the royal canin one. the "light" versions of foods arent diet food as such - they are aimed more at the dogs that find it easy to keep weight,so they dont need such high calorie foods,where the diet ones have things in that make the dog fuller for longer. The weight advice on the sides of the packs is written assuming that dogs get 2hrs of good excercise a day - (so the vet told me) most people can immediately cut the amount down,because most people dont have the time to do 2hour excercise sessions (off lead running about for the most of it) every day. bulk out with cabbage or veg if you need to (mine was convinced her throat had been cut too!!) - and feed to the weight that your dog should be, not what it weighs.

that coupled with excercising more - we chucked a tennis ball up the stairs so she had to run up and down them,easy to do, quite good fun,and she got LOADS of excercise! should help.

good luck !!

susanann_2

Sorry for delay in reply, my computer has been playing up all weekend could not get on the internet at all.

My dog is on Bakers Chicken and Vegetable, not sure if Bakers do a light version am going to have to look. Interesting what people are saying about cutting the food down by 25%, my dog gets lots of exercise but not 2hrs a day, so could probably try cutting her down on the food she is on and up the exercise some more. I do feed her the full amount it says on the bag, so am probably over feeding her. We have cut out all family leftovers unless they are veg. You feel so cruel they know there are bits left on your plate and are looking for them.

There_Goes_Trouble

Bakers do a light version, but it's not the best food in the world... hope that's not too controversial!!

If it were my dog, I'd switch to something like James Wellbeloved Senior/Light, follow the guidelines on the packet but be prepared to adjust as necessary. Always weigh the food, it's too easy to be generous if you use a measuring cup. Go to the vets every week and weigh the dog and write it down, (they shouldn't charge you for that) that way you can accurately see what is happening to their weight and not relying on memory. Gradually increase the exercise and see what happens. What breed is your dog and how much does she weigh now?

No treats is best, but if you must give treats or if you simply cannot stop the family from doing it, then the best way is to weigh out her next meal in advance, then if you want to give a treat you take a bit of kibble out of her bowl. At the end of the day her meal is what is left in her bowl, and she will have had the right amount of food over all. Also, some dogs like ice cubes... plain water, nothing extra in it.

susanann wrote: »

We have cut out all family leftovers unless they are veg. You feel so cruel they know there are bits left on your plate and are looking for them.

Personally I'd cut this out too. If a dog sometimes gets leftovers they will always look for them which leaves you with that 'cruel' feeling you've experienced. If the dog is never given left overs you're less likely to have this problem. It's also easier for the family to stick to a blanket 'no' rather than a 'sometimes'. It's not so easy for a dog who has already learned about left overs, but they'll get there in time. Also, left overs can upset the balance of a dried dog food which doesn't help with a weight loss programme.

Fire_Fox

I'm going to be even MORE controversial, I don't think James Wellbeloved is much better than Bakers, the dog kibble is pretty low in meat. Studies have suggested fat loss is greatest with a high protein, low carb diet:
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/134/8/2087S
Note that this would ideally be animal protein as this is more bioavailable (digested and absorbed) than that from cheap fillers. Therefore consider a kibble that boasts a high meat and reduced grain content - Fish4Dogs, Orijen, Applaws, some of the Hills variants.

I'd rather see leftovers fed to a dog than thrown away :money: but these should only be high quality leftovers (no processed food or salty gravy, no fat or skin off meat), only in moderation and ensuring that you reduce the rest of the diet accordingly. I cannot see how a 100% processed diet can be healthier for our pets than including some fresh food. When we had dogs we'd never feed leftovers directly from our plates, they went in the kitchen for the next scheduled meal.

Sequeena

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I'm going to be even MORE controversial, I don't think James Wellbeloved is much better than Bakers, the dog kibble is pretty low in meat. Studies have suggested fat loss is greatest with a high protein, low carb diet:
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/134/8/2087S
Note that this would ideally be animal protein as this is more bioavailable (digested and absorbed) than that from cheap fillers. Therefore consider a kibble that boasts a high meat and reduced grain content - Fish4Dogs, Orijen, Applaws, some of the Hills variants.

I'd rather see leftovers fed to a dog than thrown away :money: but these should only be high quality leftovers (no processed food or salty gravy, no fat or skin off meat), only in moderation and ensuring that you reduce the rest of the diet accordingly. I cannot see how a 100% processed diet can be healthier for our pets than including some fresh food. When we had dogs we'd never feed leftovers directly from our plates, they went in the kitchen for the next scheduled meal.

As usual I couldn't agree more JWB has gone down a lot in quality since they were taken over by MARS.