Low-Protein Diets???

[BarbV]

Well,

After being admonished by both my vet and my breeder for succombing to "dog food fads" (e.g. grain free, high protein, etc.), I was faced with the decision as to what lower protein diet to move the boys to.

I must have spent 1/2 hour going up and down the aisles at the pet food store examining every label.

I still wanted to stay grain-free, so I finally ended up with Now! Senior and Weight Maintenance. This has 24% crude protein, 10% crude fat and 6% crude fiber. I went with the weight maintenance because both these boys are creeping up to 30 lbs, even though I'd been gradually cutting back on their daily intake.

I looked at TOTW, Eagle Pack, Holistic Select, Fromm, Innova, Merricketc. etc. Eyes spinning backwards in head, I finally went with this.

Do you think this was an ok choice? The store clerk suggested that when summer hits and they are more active, I can swith back to regular adult formula which would be 26% protein and 14% fat without too much fuss.

 

[Ann]

Barb... I LOVE the Now! food! It is chock full of good things and mine have thrived on it. Bacca will be fine on the Senior. I've been told by numerous vets that Shelties in particular don't need all the stuff packed into regular adult foods because they are...ahem, such "easy keepers". Hence the frequent necessity for diets! I think you'll be very happy with this choice. Good call!

 

[granite]

Well I'm hoping for the best for you and your pups in all of this Barb

 

[HopeShelties]

I'd actually looked at Now! and liked their ingredient list. The only reason I didn't try it is it's not carried in my area. I tried to get the country store, which does a lot of specialty foods, to carry it, but they never went forward with it.

 

[Chris]

"Easy keepers"???? What the heck does that mean? Eats everything in the yard that appears organic and gets fat at the drop of a hat??

 

[Megansmom]

Just back from the vet, and we talked about options. Because he's healthy in all other respects, she does not want to proceed too aggressively for the moment.

So we agreed:

- get him off the high protein diet (transition over 3 weeks)
- keep with the Milk Thistle supplement
- stick with the Thyroid meds (because he still has this issue to deal with as well!)
- come back at end of January for another round of testing, including the bile acid test again.

Then we see. If the ALT levels have not gone down, then we are into ultrasound/biopsy, or perhaps x-ray to measure the size of his liver.

So, now my homework is to decide what I'm going to switch too. I wish the dog food analysis site was up and running, it would make it alot faster to go through my options.

Crossing fingers and paws!

Thanks for your support everyone! It's been an upsetting week for me all around!

Hi There....even though my sheltie is young and healthy right now, I went through a lot of similar issues with my beloved Tyler (Golden Retriever). He was diagnosed with prostate cancer which was absolutely devastating of course. Keep your chin up, you sound like an awesome sheltie mom!!

 

[Ann]

"Easy keepers"???? What the heck does that mean? Eats everything in the yard that appears organic and gets fat at the drop of a hat??

Oh gosh, Chris, sorry...that's a horse term we use for those equines who can blow up like a balloon on weeds. Shelties, I'm told, have the same propensity, so unless they're performance dogs, can pack on the pounds pretty easily.

And yes, that does include eating everything in the yard! And then returning it! And they can still get fat on that....

 

[goldensable]

Lower protein diet

I was feeding my 12 year old Wellness Core Grain Fee with 33% protein. Blood work showed that his kidneys/liver were working TOO hard with all that protein. So, I switched him to Wellness Just for Seniors with a protein of 18%. I give a little less than recommend (per meal) so that I can add can food to his meals to equal to 25% protein. It does take a little calculations to be sure on the total percentage. He will be getting another blood test next month to see if this works. So, he was up to about 37% and now I lowered it to 25% protein. Good luck!

 

[BarbV]

Update....

I'd actually looked at Now! and liked their ingredient list. The only reason I didn't try it is it's not carried in my area. I tried to get the country store, which does a lot of specialty foods, to carry it, but they never went forward with it.

Well, Now! Adult Maintenance is what I finally settled on. Its got 24% protein and grain-free. I mix it 1 tbsp of Merrick's Thansgiving Day Dinner. Mixed with 1/2 tsp of Inflight supplement daily. They are both fed twice per day - still transitioning from Legacy to Now!

And my little finicky eater, Bacca, has turned into a chow hound! It's now a race to determine who will finish first - Indy or Bacca! And just a few months ago, I was thinking about hand-feeding Bacca to get him to eat!

On top of that he gets his Greenie pill pocket 2 x per day. The pill pocket has both his hypothyroid medecines as well as his liver supplement

To see Bacca now you would question why I ever worried about him. I've never seen a dog jump so high!

Well, I guess I'll know when we get him retested at end of January for his blood levels.

All to say guys....I'm backing away from the hype of certain diets. There are definite "fad" diets out there. I guess that I was 'fortunate" in that I found issues with Bacca early.

His face is still lopsided and still shows signs of facial paralysis. Without that symptom, I might have still blindly gone along feeding him inappropriately.

I'm not saying that high protein is wrong, just that it may not be for every dog. Stay atuned to any changes in your dogs and be persistent....

Sorry for the long post....just thought to share!

 

[Megansmom]

Well, Now! Adult Maintenance is what I finally settled on. Its got 24% protein and grain-free. I mix it 1 tbsp of Merrick's Thansgiving Day Dinner. Mixed with 1/2 tsp of Inflight supplement daily. They are both fed twice per day - still transitioning from Legacy to Now!

And my little finicky eater, Bacca, has turned into a chow hound! It's now a race to determine who will finish first - Indy or Bacca! And just a few months ago, I was thinking about hand-feeding Bacca to get him to eat!

On top of that he gets his Greenie pill pocket 2 x per day. The pill pocket has both his hypothyroid medecines as well as his liver supplement

To see Bacca now you would question why I ever worried about him. I've never seen a dog jump so high!

Well, I guess I'll know when we get him retested at end of January for his blood levels.

All to say guys....I'm backing away from the hype of certain diets. There are definite "fad" diets out there. I guess that I was 'fortunate" in that I found issues with Bacca early.

His face is still lopsided and still shows signs of facial paralysis. Without that symptom, I might have still blindly gone along feeding him inappropriately.

I'm not saying that high protein is wrong, just that it may not be for every dog. Stay atuned to any changes in your dogs and be persistent....

Sorry for the long post....just thought to share!

So glad your finding foods that work for your furbabies! It sounds like you have done a lot of research in trying to figure out what's best. You're research and results I am sure will be able to help someone else in the future!