labsrule Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 I am feeding my 6 year old male Lab a combination of dry food and barf with two small cups of the dry food in the morning and a variety of BARF for his evening meals. The dry food is Hills Science Diet Light as being a greedy Labrador he is prone to putting on weight and the diet liet is "low fat". However, I am a little concerned at the fact that with the two small cups he has, he can have anywhere between 3-4 poos a day BEFORE he even has his evening meal. I understand that the fibre content of the "diet light/light" brands is higher, but was surprised when I stumbled across the following analysis/comparison on the internet between Hills Science Diet Lite & Eukanuba Light, with Hills Science Diet Lite having "3 times" as much Fibre as Eukanuba: Guaranteed Analysis (as fed) Eukanuba Light / Hills Science Diet Light _______________________________________ Protein 19.00% / 22.20% Fat 9.00% / 8.10% Fibre 4.00% / 13.00% Moisture 10.00% / 10.00% Apart from the impact on the number of daily poos my boy is having, does anyone know if such a high fibre content in comparison with another "reputable brand", is potentially harmful in the long term? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashka Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 I personally wouldn't feed Science diet or Euk The main ingredients are those listed before the fat/oil. Why not check the ingredients against those in Innova, Eagle Pack or ZiwiPeak I feed ZiwiPeak as it is basically an Air dried, balanced raw diet without colours, preservatives, grains or fillers. Feed less of better quality food & pickup less. If you feel bad about the quantity fed use a smaller bowl :cool:. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Perhaps consider Royal Canin Labrador kibble? it's low GI, huge sized kibble, extra glucosimine (sp?) etc etc...might be worth a shot. But perhaps cut back on the Barf at night - eg subsitute a carrot or grated carrot for a chook wing, and just be careful about what you feed meaty bone wise due to such having a high fat content (eg, lamb, chicken pieces {not incl frames as much} pork with skin attached etc etc) Bonus being RC doesn't use by-products...lmao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Another which doesnt use by-products or chemical preservatives is Nutro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted April 28, 2006 Share Posted April 28, 2006 Does Nutro do a 'light' formula? (I haven't seen Nutro sold in Brissie so don't know it's range) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petdetective Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Does Nutro do a 'light' formula? (I haven't seen Nutro sold in Brissie so don't know it's range) Yes it's in quite a few pet stores and vet clinics now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazz Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Why not try full barf ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Hi labsrule! I've just been doing some nutrition reading myself.... found this: "A: Fiber in the diet is probably good for overall gastrointestinal health and may help some dogs keep their weight down. The diet of normal adult dogs should contain between 2.5 and 4.5 percent fiber. However, the fiber content of some "diet" dog foods is between nine and 10 percent. This may allow the dog to feel full without consuming too many calories for effective weight control. Diets high in fiber also may help in the management of hyperglycemia and the prevention of such disorders as diverticular diseases. On the other hand, too much fiber in the diet can decrease the digestibility of other important nutrients and result in loose stools, frequent defecation, and reduced palatability of the dog food. Generally, foods low in starch content, such as corn and wheat bran and barley products, are high in fiber. Conversely, dogfood ingredients high in starch, including rice and dried potatoes, have less fiber." Taken from: http://dels.nas.edu/banr/cd_dog_faq.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labsrule Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 Why not try full barf ? I have tried the full barf a couple of times, but I stuff it up by "overfeeding" him and he ends up putting on weight as I haven't been able to master the art of feeding him the correct quantities of BARF. The last time I attempted this was a few weeks before I started this thread on 26/4 and once again he put on weight. I then switched him over to 50/50 dry/BARF and after a few weeks of no change to his weight, I put him on another "diet" which he has been on for 2 weeks. I essentially halved both his dry and BARF meals. One of the good things that has happened since he has been on his diet is the decrease in the number of his daily poos. He is due for his first weigh in tomorrow, so here's hoping, he has a total of 3kg to lose!!! I have decided to stick to the 50/50 dry/BARF which I seem to be more successful in administering and hopefully am getting better with keeping the BARF component under control. I have also been doing a fair amount of research into the super premium dry foods and will try to obtain some samples of a couple I have shortlisted with the aim to change him over to one of these. Apart from the superior ingredient quality, the fibre content of these super premiums is also significantly lower. I also adopted a 10 year old Black Lab male a couple of weeks ago who is on a low fat special diet due to suffering a near fatal bout of bloat about 14mths ago resulting in a gastroplexy (tacking the stomach atainst the abdominal wall). He was a police sniffer dog (explosives) and was retired from the Police Form after his bloat attack. Despite his age, he is in extremely good condition, very agile, no weight problem, but a typical food obsessed gutsy Lab :rolleyes: and I now have 4 greedy brown eyes watching my every move when around food So I now have two Black Labs that have to be on low fat diets for differing reasons, so I am having to be a hell of a lot more vigilant now on food/portion controls and nutrition in general, hence all my research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labsrule Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 Hi labsrule!I've just been doing some nutrition reading myself.... found this: "A: Fiber in the diet is probably good for overall gastrointestinal health and may help some dogs keep their weight down. The diet of normal adult dogs should contain between 2.5 and 4.5 percent fiber. However, the fiber content of some "diet" dog foods is between nine and 10 percent. This may allow the dog to feel full without consuming too many calories for effective weight control. Diets high in fiber also may help in the management of hyperglycemia and the prevention of such disorders as diverticular diseases. On the other hand, too much fiber in the diet can decrease the digestibility of other important nutrients and result in loose stools, frequent defecation, and reduced palatability of the dog food. Generally, foods low in starch content, such as corn and wheat bran and barley products, are high in fiber. Conversely, dogfood ingredients high in starch, including rice and dried potatoes, have less fiber." Taken from: http://dels.nas.edu/banr/cd_dog_faq.html Thanks feralpup for this info - I will checkout the link :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Kitkat Have you located any Nutro in Brissie yet?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabrador Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 (edited) RC might have a little too much fibre for my dogs... I've been cleaning up a lot of shyte (or hosing it in ). Something in it doesn't sit right anyway. Thank goodness it was a giveaway. Congratulations on your new lab Labsrule! What's his name? Edited June 8, 2006 by blacklabrador Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labsrule Posted June 9, 2006 Author Share Posted June 9, 2006 Congratulations on your new lab Labsrule! What's his name? ;) Thanks Blacklabrador - his name is Thomas and he is an absolute darling and I love him dearly. He is a very smoochy boy, very gentle and just loves his new life of being an inside pampered house dog and I have been relegated to the other couch as both my boys now share the big couch and they both sleep on my bed with me squashed in the middle . He is an American Lab, born and trained over there and brought over by the Aus Police for the Sydney Olympics. Being an American Lab he is a sleeker slimmer model with a narrower deeper chest, smaller head/muzzle and paws than my boy Fitzy who is an English Lab with a stocky solid build, big boof head, wider muzzle, broader chest and large paws. It's very funny, but their personalities match their size, with Fitzy being a very outgoing, fun loving, boisterous, excitable type, whilst Thomas is a gentle, quieter, more reserved type, but he does get excited when it is feeding time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 No probs Labsrule I've got my own doggy weight problems with mine and she's only 1/2 lab!! Would've been nice if the kelpie 1/2 of her kept her thin but no such luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazz Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 (edited) I found breaking the meal into two (morning and night) is beneficial, esp. for dogs the weight issues edit: the = with Edited June 9, 2006 by Hazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklabrador Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Labsrule - My two labs are different builds too. Tbone is from the working type labs we have here in Australia. Different from the American type - Tbone has a great big head!! Poppy is the stockier type. Correct for conformation showing. The US conformation labs are the "English" type. BTW I love the name Thomas. My Dad's black lab that he had growing up was "Tim Thomas" (his Mum's surname was Thomas at the time). I've always considered calling a pup "Thomas". It's a nice strong name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 KitkatHave you located any Nutro in Brissie yet?. Not yet, thinking of sending an email to find out if they have regular suppliers up here or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel774 Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 They should do, I think Brissy and Sydney are the main states they supply to. My local pet supply place stocks it now and is promoting it above RC and Eukenuba, it's not too expensive either. I'm really happy with it, I also struggle to keep the weight of my Goldie on BARF. I've had to just stick with the bones, very occasional BARF pattie and majority Nutro and carrot now. He's happy, I'm happy. He's got his waist back (still needs a bit off the chest) and his coat is in good condition. When I had the RC and Nutro mixed together to ease him onto the Nutro, he always went for the Nutro first. He's not thrilled with having a mostly dry diet now, but if I add a bit of carrot in he gets stuck into it like he would the meat. He's still getting bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Are bones an issue with weight? I.e lamb leg bones, beef ribs etc with minimal meat on them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel774 Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Most bones will still have a lot of fat on them, I find the ones we get at woolies have loads of fat on them, particularly the brisket, which I try to cut as much off as possible (but it's not easy!) I believe the lamb flaps are quite fatty too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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