Dog on low fat diet put on 2kg in 4 months

dawnie1972

HELP! My dog was diagnosed with pancreatitis in August and ever since has been on Hills Prescription Diet I/D Low Fat. She has 110g of dry biscuits in the morning and a tin of wet food in the evening. Took her for a check up on Saturday and she's put on 2kg in 4 months! I was gobsmacked. Vet said it is because there are no yukky ingredients in the I/D food so the body doesnt get rid of as much waste so it takes in more of the food so I am to reduce her food - but feel like I'm starving her now - she's always licking her food for something to eat! I need to do something though as she's been making a snorting noise from her throat - she's always done it but only once every blue moon but has been doing it pretty much every day recently and vet said its a common soft palette problem and because of the weight increase its restricting her more!

krlyr

Firstly, I would possibly be requesting a thyroid panel, as hypothyroidism can cause weight gain in dogs even when fed very little. Hypothyroidism can also apparently make a dog predisposed to pancreatitis, so worth considering the test. However, not all vets in the UK will know the best way to test and interpret for hypothyroidism - in dogs, it's important to not just look at TSH or T4 results on their own. This link is worth a read - http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/January-2012/How-To-Test-Interpret-Thyroid-Function/

I'd ask the vet about foods you could use to bulk out meals. Blended veggies are often well accepted, and add bulk without many calories. Avoid sugary veggies like carrots in large quantities, but be a little cautious with veggies that may cause gas (brocolli, cauliflower, etc). I tend to use a bag of frozen mixed veggies, with some green beans.

When one of mine was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, she had some excess weight to gain that had crept up on her - I made 'light' Kongs with the veggies and a little bit of frozen fish, all blitzed together in a processor and then frozen into a Kong. Kept her occupied as well as being lower in calories.

You could also look into alternative diets, but obviously tread with care and do your homework. The prescription foods won't be your only option with pancreatitis, but it means a bit of work your end.
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/11_12/features/Healthy-Low-Fat-Dog-Foods_16088-1.html

GwylimT

As doggy is eating a high carb diet she will gain weight, she would be better with a good quality wet food with added veg so she feels more satisfied after a meal.

Paradigm

I've just had a quick look at Hills Prescription Diet I/D Low Fat & while it does contain less fat it has a whopping 59% carbohydrate content which will almost certainly lead to weight gain.

Vet said it is because there are no yukky ingredients in the I/D food so the body doesnt get rid of as much waste so it takes in more of the food

I'd take that statement with a large pinch of salt

dawnie1972

Thank you for your answers so far - whilst I do trust my vet totally I am a little concerned about the weight gain. She developed pancreatitis very quickly and according to my vet a dog with blood results like hers should have been collapsed on the floor! I didnt want to take any chances. I took her back this weekend to get the bloods repeated although he was very reluctant to redo the bloods but I insisted as, apart from anything else, I wanted to see that we were heading in the right direction. They had improved although not as much as I'd hoped but are no longer off the scale. She likes boiled white fish so could I perhaps lessen the I/D food and replace with white fish. Is there any other food I could feed her that would not cause the pancreatitis to return but would reduce the weight gain?
I am also not convinced her pancreatitis was caused by high fat content as they never have scraps & tit bits and weren't over-fed on treats, she had however been on steroids for long periods of time due to a skin allergy.

Paradigm

As Krlyr said above, substituting some of the hills with white fish + selected blended veggies would be useful, hardly any carbs there.

Turkey & Chicken breast are also low in fat but Duck, Lamb & Beef tend to have a high fat content.

It's a lot of work but making your own food for one meal a day could well be worth the effort.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

My dog was diagnosed with Pancreatits a few months ago. Vet suggested Wainwrights. I already had my dog on Wainwrights kibble and wet food. I just started buying low fat version of the meat. I now feed him 3 times a day and I add more meat to kibble ratio. I find this combo is fine for my dog.

As for showing the need for more food, my dog does this. I could feed him a huge amount of food and he'd still look for more.

Slinky

I don't know if its the same for dogs as humans, but thinking about what they would eat if they caught it themselves, not too many dogs would be eating carbs naturally.

I cut out carbs and increased fats in my food consumption in April and have lost 1.5 stones. If I had an overweight dog I think I'd be inclined to give it a go.

Fat gets the blame when often it's carbs that are the real cause.

the_devil_made_me_do_it

When I suffered with gall bladder problems, which eventually led to my gall bladder being removed, it was fats which made matters worse. The gall bladder has to work a lot harder if I ate too much fatty foods (couldn't face eating fresh cream at all through out my life).


I think it's a similar issue when it comes to the pancreas. However, the vet did say it's modern diets given to pets that certainly doesn't help. He was particularly referring to dog treats.

Rev

I assume you mean the IDA dry food?


The vet lied. Here's the ingredients.




Corn Starch, Brewers Rice, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken By-Product Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Flaxseed, Oat Groats, Cracked Pearled Barley, Dried Beet Pulp, Lactic Acid, Ginger Root Powder, Soybean Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Beta-carotene, Phosphoric Acid, Natural Flavors


The first 4 ingredients, IE the majority of the food is crap fillers. The first line is a who's who of crap fillers for dog food.

sheramber

you don't say what weight your dog is and how active she is, both of which will determine how much food she should have.

I have two dogs , both of whom are 28kgs. One is fed 1/3 less than the other to keep them both at this ideal weight.

I used to have two retrievers who were 22kgs and 30 kgs respectively. The 22kgs one was fed twice as much as the heavier one. both were again at their ideal weight.