# Diet.



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I am very new to raw feeding, but I have been looking into the calorie content of the different raw meals I feed, and the variation between different sources (chicken, lamb. beef, pork) and different parts (neck, tripe, breast) is much larger than I had thought. You may find a slightly different combination may help - calorie and other nutritional content information here - http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

I wish I had an answer for you as your always so helpful in this area. 

Ours gained right off the rip from Raw. I think we feed a similar diet but I am wondering if adding in veggies would help give him a low cal "filler" so to speak to at least have some substance in between proteins? 

It seems his down time and steroids would cause some weight gain but I can certainly understand not wanting to put strain on his healing leg. 

Hopefully some others have a bit more experience, in the meantime I am glad he is getting better after having a bum leg for so long!


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## SnorPuddel (Jul 8, 2010)

Have you tried going on the rawdogs on yahoo ?? They may have some better answers for you.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Sensible advice here DogAware.com Articles: Weight Loss Diets for Dogs
but I suspect you have already tried the suggested options.


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## Vibrant (Dec 7, 2009)

Poor Riley. How sad for him that the medication he's getting increases appetite, but he needs his food intake to be reduced! Oh, how I empathize with him!!!
It has already been suggested but I would increase his veggie intake. Raw carrots, cooked green beans, sweet potato...whatever he likes. Also, how about giving him some meaty bones that keep him occupied for a long time. My dogs got beef ribs for supper last night, and Troy was still working on the bones this morning! 
There are a number of good raw feeding forums that may be of help.


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Thanks for the suggestions guys!! The veggie idea is good! Lets hope i can get him to eat them. He HATES veggies, and will Not eat any of them whole! Perhaps i can add some yummys to the veggie pulp. I tell people all the time to add in choped veggies, but my dog will not eat them!


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

bigpoodleperson said:


> Thanks for the suggestions guys!! The veggie idea is good! Lets hope i can get him to eat them. He HATES veggies, and will Not eat any of them whole! Perhaps i can add some yummys to the veggie pulp. I tell people all the time to add in choped veggies, but my dog will not eat them!


Neither will mine! Yeah, may have to get the chopper out for that. I bet if you can work it in it will at least help satisfy him for a while. Let us know how this goes, might even be something I try if Suri starts gaining some weight again.


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

I will let you know how it goes. I am waiting to cut his food back anymore until i get his thyroid test back (send it out to MI, so will be a couple weeks). He isnt acting starved now, which i am greatful for. I have just never had to worry about his weight before! He has always stayed very steady, even on a raw diet where he doesnt eat the same thing all the time. I think i will punch the refferal doctor at his next appointment if she tells me he is fat again! Even though he has gained some weight, he is not Fat!!


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## taxtell (Sep 17, 2009)

Perhaps try trimming the fat and skin from stuff?


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## Poodle Lover (Mar 24, 2008)

bigpoodleperson said:


> Now, he is on prednisone for his addisons. Theoredically his dose shouldnt cause him to gain weight, but my vet did say it could cause metobolic issues. He is on pred for life though, so i cant stop it.
> I am going to send out a full thyroid screening this week to check that. He has no other symptoms, but his sire is hypothyroid (developed at Rys age). He only gets small treats too. I really cant increase his exercise either yet.
> 
> If the thyroid comes back normal, then i really dont know how to cut his food intake down even more. He will garbage surf Bad if he gets too hungry (like we found while on too high a pred dose). This extra weight is really bad for his leg, so i want to get him down. I would even be willing to put him on diet kibble. The couple things with that are Riley will not eat kibble for more then 1 day or so. He would crash diet himself even worse, and with his addisons i dont know how it would affect him. Also, raw agrees with him. With is allergies i dont want to put him on kibble. His eyes, ears, skin, teeth, etc would all get worse.
> ...


I think poor boy already gets so little food to eat, I am afraid if you cut back even more, he will continually garbage surf. Veggies are a great idea, but my spoos hate them, period. If he is having a problem with his thyroid and the test comes back positive form hypothyroid then one little pill will solve the problem. If his thyroid is normal I think the problem lies with prednisone. There is a spoo in our park who has addisons and when he was put on prednisone he gained lots of weight. When my english setter stopped eating because of his cancer, the only thing that helped for a while was prednisone. I really don't think Riley's weight gain has anything to do with over eating.


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## Olie (Oct 10, 2009)

bigpoodleperson said:


> I have literally cut his food in half! He normally eats 2 chicken quarters a day (he doesnt get chicken everyday, but this is the amount he usually gets). I cut him down to 1 a day! Literally in half!


I was wondering, how much does he weigh? 

Olie and Suri average about a pound give or take a day - neither are high-high energy and depending on walks and trips to the DP it can fluctuate. Neither are under weight and recently are filling in much better. Olie is 48lb and Suri around 50lb.


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

Riley usually eats 1-2lbs a day, usually more like two. He now eats less then one. He is 78lbs (normal is 73lbs, and has been 73 for years). We were active with many walks, hiking, tracking, play dates, yard play, etc. Now it is 2-3 10min walks a day per therapist. 

I really appreciate the ideas guys!! I too am afraid of cutting him back more for his garbage surfing. When he was on a higher pred dose he did it bad!


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