Re: Weight loss when dog only eats homecooked food help!

Kim Buckley — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:46:46 GMT

I don't get why people are so soft when it comes to their animals. Leave dog food down long enough and it will get hungry and eat it! Ahhhh! lol Sorry I know that's not a lot of help!

Re: Weight loss when dog only eats homecooked food help!

Gillian Mostyn — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 20:12:07 GMT

if medicating the dog regularly is an issue, then trocoxyl might be worth considering?

Re: Weight loss when dog only eats homecooked food help!

Sal the 1st — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:24:45 GMT

what is a 'small' amount of chicken and vegetables can the owner quantify it? - if she says point blank she isnt going to use a commercial food fair enough but is she really only feeding chicken and vegetables and what vegetables are they? is she using gravy on the chicken and veg? is one of the veggies she is using mashed potato at all with hidden calories? is she giving milk or tea made with milk?

if she was eating bits of tinned food before what other 'bits' has she been eating - its so easy for owners to forget exactly what they are feeding - all those little bits add up and people just forget. What is she using as treats? could you suggest she swaps some of these for veggies? You could try letting the owner know that she isnt feeding a balanced diet but it never did work for me - I think it is more important to get the owner on side before introducing too many ideas

you might have to really work on motivating the owner - ie if she gets the weight off she may need less medication and that will save her some money (as expense rather than the dogs comfort seems to be the deciding factor from what you have posted)

would you say that the dog is a picky eater?

I used to have a very overweight min dachs in one of my weight clinics - similar story would only eat chicken and potatoes or rice (had been advised this in the past as a short term diet for d and owner decided that as the dog liked it and as a vet had advised it was the best diet to feed) - had a devil of a job with her but in the finish we kept the chicken and substituted frozen mixed veg which she cooked in the microwave and luckily the dog didnt have a problem with it. When we started the new diet I got her to promise that if the dog lost any weight in the first month that she would at least consider looking at other possibilities. The dog did lose weight (fewer carbs) and because the dog lost weight the owner started to 'trust' me a bit more

next step was we cut down on the chicken a bit and started using a bit of chappie in with the cooked veg. Was a bit 'sticky' for a while but dog did eventually get the hang of it until we were able to swap nearly all the chicken for chappie and the mixed veg.

The important thing for this owner was to praise her to the hilt when the dog lost weight and not make a big deal of it if the dog stayed the same or gained a little - if she missed an appt in the early days I used to give her a call and ask her how she was rather than the dog and that was usually enough to get her to make another appt

if you get a client that is really resistant sometimes you need to prove to them that their pet doesnt have a 'gland' problem in which case speak to your vet and maybe advise a T4.

Could you do a weight clinic notice board in the waiting room or clinic and have some photos of your best losers - owners are proud of seeing their pets on show. And for the best ones to stop them slipping back into old habits could you say to them that you are so pleased how they have managed would they mind talking to other owners and telling them how they did it - it really worked for my clinics