Any ideas?

[heartsong12]

My boxer is a 14 month female that wieghts 47 pounds. The problem is she was always fed IAMS and she ate about 8 cups a day. Talk to the vet and has test run. Nothing is wrong with her. But she stop gaining weight. Don't get me wrong I don't want an overwieght dog. But I can faintly see her ribs, specially when she is breathing hard. And I thought that amount of food must be hard to process every day. So I have tried switching foods. Eukanuba did not work, she always had dirarah (sp). So I look for something that had more protein and less filler and now she is on Bill Jack. The problem is she is hungry. I am feeding her about 4 cups a day. I have been slowly reducing the amount of food because I thought that her tummy need to shrink slowly. Now most night she opens up her air tight food container. ( she has not figured out how to keep the lid open long enough to eat). When she does that I alway will get her a snack of about a cup of IAMS. I don't want her to lose weight, but everyone I talk to says that is still alot of food. And she has not gain any weight in about 3 months now. Any ideas or thought that could help

 

[l8krgirl08]

You need to get her on a high quality kibble like Wellness, Canidae, Chicken Soup etc... Try giving her what the bag recommends and go from there. Keep us posted as to how that works! Good luck

 

[boxer]

Yep, switch her over to a top quality kibble. All of the three foods you've mentioned so far are predominantly comprised of cheap fillers with little nutritional value for your dog. That's why you have to feed so much of it. Try her on one of the high quality kibbles instead. Sure, it looks very expensive, but when you figure you only feed half as much and your dog gets far better nutrition, the economics change quickly
There are plenty of good options - but in general terms, pick something that has meat as two out of the top three ingredients, and doesn't contain corn, corn meal or beet pulp (cheap fillers, no nutritional value, and common allergens). Canidae would be a good choice, and seems to agree with most dogs

 

[heartsong12]

I should have known to ask here first. I have spend hours at the pet store asking questions and trying to pick the right one. THANK YOU! Another quick question. Can you get those foods at Petsmart?

 

[boxer]

That I don't know - LOL I'm a bit too far away. Do they have a website you could check?
I've seen it posted often enough to know that Canidae have a website with a store locator... I think you can also buy it online and have it shipped. Try www.canidae.com

 

[courtney323]

Heartsong -

I agree with the others. The food is of pretty bad quality -- you should only have to feed your girl 2-3 cups per day.

As for PetSmart - they typically do not sell super premium kibbles. You will have to find another store to get your dog food at. Keep this point in mind though: If you find that premium kibble is slightly more that what your paying for IAMS now, just remember that your girl will be eating a lot less of it

I am located in Austin and have NO problems getting premium kibbles here, so you shouldn't have any problems in Dallas

www.canidae.com has a page where you can type in your zip code and it will tell you where to buy

Good luck

 

[boxer]

I took a look at www.petsmart.com They advertise Royal Canin, which I think is a reasonably good brand. They also have Nutro, which although not up to the standard of Canidae et al, isn't a bad food all round. Certainly a lot better than the likes of Science Diet, Bil jack, or Iams

 

[abradbury.5]

The Pet Supplies Plus stores in MI sell some of the high quality foods like Royal Canin and Chicken Soup. I don't know if you have those stores in TX, but if you do, check there.

 

[heartsong12]

THANK YOU ALL!!! I don't have a problem paying more because (like you said) in the long run it will be less, but more importantly it is better for my furbaby. I just can't stand the idea of her having to digest that much food. YUCK!