I have a rescued 2(ish) year old spayed female shih tzu.
I rescued her in June and she was 14 lbs.
I took her to get weighed a little while ago and was shocked that she now weighs 19 LBS!
Since noticing her weight gain, I am changing things for her to be healthier. She is quite the couch potato but she does get two 15-20 minute walks per day and she does run around in the house and play with her toys. I am cutting back on her “training treats”, which I know I had been giving her way too many of, and we also cut back the portion size of her kibbles.
Other than the weight gain, she is an awesome, sweet and very healthy dog.
Since I am changing so much about how we are feeding her, I wanted to ask about a good pet food, especially for weight loss and especially for smaller dogs. Right now she is eating 1/4 cup of Iams small bites dog food. However, doing some research tonight, I read that iams isn’t very good food in general.
I was planning on getting her a weight control small bites Eukanuba dog food, but then I read bad reviews on that tonight as well.
I have been reading a lot about EVO dog food. Is that good for small dogs? Is it good for weightloss but also good for dogs that are couch potatoes as well?
If any one has ANY tips, I’d greatly appreciate them!
Thanks so much! =)
She had the thyroid panel done with I got her in June… and was fine.
So unfortunately, it’s pretty much my fault she’s a bit tubby. =)
Is all natural food better? I would love to be able to feed her fresh food, but it’s just not a practical situation for me. She does get to eat frozen and cooked veggies and some fruit pretty often in additon to her dry food.
I’m looking for the most nutritional dry dog food I could purchase.
I had heard good things about the EVO and the Canidae foods, but I also read they weren’t good for couch potatos so I’m reluctent to purchase them because I don’t know how well it would work for her. Also, I heard EVO is like $50 a bag?
Asked by:ღemilyღ
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The best dog food for an overweight dog is low carb. I had an overweight Dachshund and just about killed him with commercial diet food. I now make all his food and feed fresh. If there is lots of corn in your dog food, avoid it. May people will tell you to add green beans. In fact just about any vegetable will do. I use fresh blenderized veggies or canned pumpkin. There are also those who adhere to the BARF or other type of prey model food. Their dogs are thriving. There are also good dry foods too. Just get the ones without fillers.
Iams and Eukanuba are both crap. Please feed a good quality dog food. I like Canidae. You might want to have your vet run a thyroid panel on her.
Evo has a reduced calorie food. Being grain free is is high in protien and low in carbs. Its the light blue bag and it works with weight loss very well. You just have to be sure not to over feed! I have a 65lb dog and he gets 1 cup and 1/4 a day!! Not very much! I would try 1/4(or just under) twice a day. Also the training treats don’t have to be very big. about the size of a pencil eraser cut in half. Good luck. All the Innova foods are good as well. They have a reduced fat (light green bag) if the grain free EVO is too rich for your dog.
I live in Canada, but a 5 lb bag of Evo is $18. 20lb bag is $36 and a 33lb bag is $60. The Innova is abit cheaper
I have three shih-tzu’s, two of which are fairly proficient couch potatoes. I feed them Science Diet small bites lite– I know Science Diet isn’t always the best food, but the lite has made a huge difference in the size of the dogs. When you have a small dog, even two pounds of extra weight makes a huge impact on their health. I also have cut back on the number of treats that the dogs get, and they are content to munch on veggies or low-fat treats.
Whatever food you are going to feed your dog, keep in mind that it will be pricey compared to a brand that you can pick up at the local store. I suggest joining one of the frequent shopper clubs that you can find at stores like PetSmart or Petco–through their frequent sales, you should be able to save a little bit of money.
Also, you can’t always blame yourself for the dog being a little chunky– Shih tzu’s were bred to be lap dogs and small companions.
i would try artemis weight management
or artemis sm breed adult
also innova reduced fat,
evo can be to high in protein to be good for couch potatoes
Those brands are fine. Just feed your pup 20% less food than you usually do. He’ll be fine.
High quality & less quantity will keep your dog healthy and trim. Let him run around a lot for exercise.
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