[Dailydrool] Wellness vs. Blue Buffalo for Weight loss

[Jennifer Martin]

You didn't say which specific diet of either brand you were thinking of
using.  They both make several different diets.  Here are a couple of
things to keep in mind: The higher the fat level, the more calorie dense
the diet will be.  In general, a dog needs about 10% fat to have a decent
coat that doesn't shed all the time.  Dogs with allergies or constant ear
problems (the ears are an extension of the skin) do better with a little
more fat--I always try to feed at least 12% fat.  It is a battle though
because bassets do like to put on weight.  You would not want to feed this
much fat if the dog was prone to pancreititis however.  Fortunately, my
allergy dogs have never had that problem.  As long as the dog does not have
a kidney or liver problem, you can have a decent protein level so that the
dog loses fat and not protein.  I would go for something above 20%.  Both
Wellness and Blue Buffalo are excellent products.  It might come down to
actual calories per cup.  The heart of the matter is calories do count.
Lots of dog foods will now say on the bag how many calories per cup they
have.  If not, check the website.

Unless the dog has been grossly overfed in the past, you really don't want
to reduce the amount being fed b more than 25% at a time.  Some bassets
will resort to eating non-food items if their food intake is decreased too
muh.  This is why so many of us like the green bean diet.  You just add a
half to a full can of green beans on top of the food.  I am a big fan of
feeding whole carrots as a snack.  My dogs adore most fruits and veggies.
They adore spring mix salad.  The other thing to keep in mind is that a
walking program is most helpful to weight loss, just like in human.  Start
slow and add slowly, especially in this heat.

Our first rescue, Elwood, was 7 years old and 96 pounds when we adopted
him.  We managed to get him down to a slim and trim 72 pounds in about 8
months using the above techniques.  Because of food allergies in the house
we were actually feeding him Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.  Our biggest
challenge was that he had some pretty severe arthritis when we got him.
So, we had to work on that.  It isn't like we were able to ever walk miles
with him.  The people before had his nails clipped once a year at his
annual exam whether they needed it or not so he had some really bad
arthritis in his toes and feet.  I did a lot of passive physical therapy on
that dog just to get him where he could walk around our two acres at a
painfully (for me) slow pace.  At least he was moving though.  If we hadn't
done all this work with him I don't think he ever would have managed to
live to 13.  Good luck with the weight loss plan!

Jennifer, momslave to Beauford, Bugsey and Browyn
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