Is my boy too overweight?

[MiOzzyBoy]

Wow, very thats great djheitz! Thanks for your input!

Unfortunantly, all the places I called were OUT of Blue Wilderness (when I got there) and didn't know when they were getting it back in. But they said they were for sure, they just didnt know when. They told me its a fairly "new" brand. I didnt think it was? Anyway, I had to go ahead and buy him Eukanuba BOXER again. For now. But I bought him a 40 pound bag cuz thats all they had. Atleast I'll have some to mix with the blue wilderness when I can get my hands on some But he is feeling wonderful for now anyway, so that makes me feel good. I'll keep you all posted

****MiOzzyBoy****

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

There wasn't ANY other better quality food than Eukanuba on their shelves? I mean even regular blue is better than that stuff. Eukanuba is owned by Iams and they also do animal testing. I honestly would take that crap back and get something higher quality, even if it's just regular blue or Canidae (even since they downgraded it's still better than Eukanuba), Solid Gold, Wellness, Chicken Soup, I mean there are a ton. Eukanuba rates like a 1 star on dog food analysis, honestly I wouldn't feed it to a stray dog I didn't know much less my pet. It contains known carcinogens, common allergens, feathers, feat, horns, GROSS!

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I would run away from Eukanuba also. Buying a small bag to do a switch might be ok, but putting more money into that company is really sad (as well as all the above mentioned consequences to your pup). If you are really having that hard of a time finding a quality food you should look into delivery. It can be costly, but the benefits to your dog will be well worth it.

Or home cook temporarily until they get the gran free in that you want. Home cooking isn't much more expensive if anymore expensive than grain free kibbles. Wal-Mart has the chicken quarters in a bag, 10 pounds for $5 and then you can get veggies, potatos, etc on sale.

 

[djheitz]

If you're having trouble finding a better food in your area, you can find most of the top rated foods online. Having it delivered will cost a little more, but also saves you from having to drive around looking for it.

 

[sasmeow]

You could also call local feed stores, or pet stores and ask them to order whatever food you want, for you. I go to Complete Petmart (not sure if they are all over), and the carry wellness, Innova EVO, and other good quality foods. I feed mine EVO. They order any food for me if they do not carry it (they order Wellness CORE for my cats, and make sure it's there every month when I need it . Also, there is a local feed store by me that will order wellness or Innova foods for you. They do not stock them, but will order it for you. I am sure you could find some place around you that would order it, just call around. Or , as others suggested, order it online.

It makes such a HUGE difference to feed them higher quality food, especially when you need to get weight off them. Both of my boxers are at a very healthy weight and hard to keep weight on. They have never ever been overweight, probably because they are on a good food (and they are young, Izzy is 3yrs old, 23.5 inches tall, 55 pounds, Gus is 18 months old, 27 inches, and 60 pounds). But my sisters labs and my moms cocker spaniel were all fat. My sister fed her dogs Iams for years, didn't know any better. When I told her to start feeding them something higher quality, they dropped weight. She feeds them Wellness. My mom also started feeding her dog Innova, and he lost weight too. We look back at old pictures of the labs, and they were chunkers, not as fat as you see some labs, but they were fat. Now, people ask her all the time how she keeps her labs at such a healthy weight. They are 5 and 9 years old. Exercise is VERY important, but with the better food, it will help sooooo much.

 

[SpartanBoxer]

Personally I wouldn't choose that product. It is probably a little better than that you're currently feeding, but it's not great.

So-called "lite", "diet" or "senior" products are not normally great quality - and they're loaded with carbohydrates (which dogs don't have the digestive enzymes to actually digest - so usually end up breaking down only as far as complex sugars, which get stored as fat. In short, counterproductive).

Petsmart does not usually stock any high quality dog foods - they stock the lower quality stuff that they can shift in bulk. If you want to feed good quality, you're usually better off with feed stores or smaller, non-chain, petstores. The best most Petsmarts have to offer are Blue Buffalo or By Nature (though it's worth checking if yours happens to be one with foods such as solid gold or others in the 5 and 6* categories on DFA).

The problem with the higher quality dog foods is that they are more difficult to locate on a consistent basis. I feed my little guy Merrick Puppy Formula which is 5 Star, but I actually have it mailed to me b/c I don't know where to get it in my area. It's a little bit of a pain but I enjoy knowing that I feed him the best stuff I am capable of.