# What to feed a Golden who is fat due to thyroid?



## RESCUE Dad (May 19, 2014)

My career was spent in national advertising agencies, where I did some work on dog food. Frankly, we are all getting ripped off. Most manufactures will put anything on their label to sell their junk. Let's face it who is going to sue for improper ingredient labeling to dogs?

Teddy came to us from RESCUE and is 103 pounds. He should be about 85 per the vet's computer measurements. Based on the information we had from the vet, Petco, and the CEO of a pet toy company, we decided to investigate Avoderm Chicken, Hills Prescription Metabolic diet, and Nature's Balance for fat dogs. Hill's Prescription is nearly the same content as Nature's Balance. Hill's is $80 a bag from the vet, and Nature's Balance is $40 delivered on the internet. 

So, until I am corrected, I believe Nature's Balance is the medium priced dog food with top quality ingredients for fat dogs that I have been looking for. I hope someone here who has more experience than I do will feel free to make some recommendations here if they know better than I do.

We had a German Shepard when I was a boy, and it broke my heart that I fed him Purina Dog Chow everyday, only to learn recently that it is mainly filler that the dog excretes. Ralston-Purina, could they be any more of an American company? Well yes, there is Procter & Gamble with Iams that has had more than it's share of recalls too.

Pet food is a nasty business where big bucks are made based upon lies. I may have told some of those lies myself without knowing it. Based upon my research Nature's Balance was developed by a vet, and celebrity Dick Van Patten, (an avid dog lover, part owner, and spokesperson for Nature's Balance). The only recall Nature's Balance has had was for a fish product that they pulled off the shelves immediately upon learning of a problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tincTKPfpw









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## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

Personally I would use a high quality food and supplement with green beans or other veggies. Cut down on amount of food and increase exercise. A good starting point on food is dogfoodadvisor.com.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Just being on the thyroid medicine will probably bring his weight down.
At about 4 years of age, our Brooks started putting on weight, but we attributed it to the summer being hot and neither he nor we wanted to do our usual long walks (he kept wanting to stop to rest, which we thought was due to the heat, but in retrospect, it was probably his low thyroid induced lethargy).
The vet had us restrict his food by 25%. After 6 weeks on that controlled calorie diet, he did not lose a singl ounce (plus the weather cooled and we were walking further each day). 
So after thyroid testing revealed low thyroid, he was put on soloxine. Without restricting calories (but feeding appropriately), he lost 20 lb in a year.


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

Dogs that are fat do much better on lower carbohydrate foods. High protein and high fat and the dogs stay thin with great muscle tone.

Mentioning Natural Balance makes me ill actually. That is not a high quality food at all. Most of the diets have the same nutritional profile as breakfast cereal and are just mass marketed big box products. For years they were made by Diamond Pet Food and are now part of Del Monte.

I have a few favorites for high quality foods but right now you couldn't pay me to switch from Farmina N&D. The stuff is that good.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Cutting back on the amount of dog food you feed and supplementing with Green beans is a easy way and usually a fairly quick way to get the weight off of a Golden. I have used it myself on my girl when she needed to drop some weight. She gets a total of one cup twice a day. When I cut her food back, I cut it back by 1/4 to 1/2 cup, then supplement the remainder with green beans to equal one cup per feeding. 

You can use any type of Green bean, fresh, frozen, or canned. If you buy canned or frozen, be sure they do not have salt in them. I prefer fresh greens when available. 

I give my guys a variety of fresh fruits and veggies, basically whatever is in season and locally grown. 

Start your boy's exercise out slowly. Increase the amount of exercise gradually as he drops weight. If you can take your Golden swimming, that is a great form of exercise and won't put stress on his joints.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Give the thyroid medication a couple of months to work, he may lose the weight just from having the medication on board. I would also bet before he came to rescue he was just plain being over fed, so I would suggest feeding him 2 or 3 cups of food a day and see how it goes. If he doesn't lose weight, cut the food back to 2.5 or just 2 cups a day. You can add unsalted green beans in place of of the food removed to help him feel more full.


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## ang.suds (Apr 1, 2014)

I second the green beans and high quality k's. You would think they wouldn't eat them but oh no, it's a treat! Makes them feel nice and full without the fillers and gives an extra antioxidant kick.


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## RESCUE Dad (May 19, 2014)

Tayla's Mom said:


> Personally I would use a high quality food and supplement with green beans or other veggies. Cut down on amount of food and increase exercise. A good starting point on food is dogfoodadvisor.com.









​ 
Not only do I agree, but saw the vet today, and she agrees that the anti-oxidants in green beans are excellent for dogs! This includes other vegetables, but stay away from onions, (dog poison). Our vet's VCA hospital pushes Hill's Prescription diet in 28 pound bags for $80 each!








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By making uncooked, thawed, frozen vegetables 30% of Teddy's diet vegetables, (the remainder Natural Balance for fat dogs), *Teddy has lost 8 pounds is two weeks!!!!* Our vet says there are 50,000,000 obese pets.


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## RESCUE Dad (May 19, 2014)

Rob S. said:


> Dogs that are fat do much better on lower carbohydrate foods. High protein and high fat and the dogs stay thin with great muscle tone.
> 
> Mentioning Natural Balance makes me ill actually. That is not a high quality food at all. Most of the diets have the same nutritional profile as breakfast cereal and are just mass marketed big box products. For years they were made by Diamond Pet Food and are now part of Del Monte.
> 
> I have a few favorites for high quality foods but right now you couldn't pay me to switch from Farmina N&D. The stuff is that good.


I did a spread sheet directly from the labels of Hill's Prescription Metabolic dog food, Avoderm Chicken, and Natural Balance for fat dogs. Avoderm came out weakest. Hill's prescription was almost identical to Natural Balance.

It is my opinion that all of us are forced to "PLAY GOD" with our dog's health. From my experience in marketing I know that giant food corporations dump all the garbage they can not put into human food into dog food, cook all the vitamins out of it to kill ecoli, salmonella, etc., and charge a hefty price. I even caught Avoderm misrepresenting the actual contents of their product on the phone verses their label. Your best bet is cheaper, frozen, raw vegetables which dogs as "Omnivores" love as much as meat.

Yep, dog food is a con job that makes big bucks. And, some of the most respected American corporations are the worst offenders, (Ralston Purina, and Proctor & Gamble are two I know of first hand). I am not going to disagree with the experience of Rob S. Fact is, none of us know the truth for sure. God bless the American Advertising industry where I spend 40 year of my life before retirement. You think there are problems with dog food? Look into the way soft drink companies, and cereal companies are prepping your children for diabetes and obesity. It is truly shocking.


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## RESCUE Dad (May 19, 2014)

CAROLINA MOM said:


> Cutting back on the amount of dog food you feed and supplementing with Green beans is a easy way and usually a fairly quick way to get the weight off of a Golden. I have used it myself on my girl when she needed to drop some weight. She gets a total of one cup twice a day. When I cut her food back, I cut it back by 1/4 to 1/2 cup, then supplement the remainder with green beans to equal one cup per feeding.
> 
> You can use any type of Green bean, fresh, frozen, or canned. If you buy canned or frozen, be sure they do not have salt in them. I prefer fresh greens when available.
> 
> ...


I looked into this recently, and you are correct, (with the possible exception of canned vegetables). As I recall a dog should only have about 1,200 mg of salt a day, a human about 2,400 mg a day. 2,400 is about one level teaspoon of salt. FYI, according to the label on Lay's Kettle Cooked chips, (the low fat stuff), one ounce, (16 chips) has 90 mg of Sodium.










Looks to me like this product 
should not even be in my home, 
and this is supposed to be the health chip! :no:​


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## MercyMom (Dec 19, 2011)

I just found out that my dog has a low thyroid as well. She is (whispering) 20 pounds overweight. I have already been feeding her Wellness weight control (only two cups) and she goes on long walks and still...:no: I pray that the thyroid medication will work. I will try giving her green beans from a can, since she turned her nose up at frozen green beans before. She already started putting on weight as of last October. She's low energy and she's only 2 years old, plus she snatches food from my roommates who fail to keep food out of her reach. I really pray I can get this weight down! We are starting agility next week, so we will see if this helps too. I also have a couple of playdates coming up too.


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## RESCUE Dad (May 19, 2014)

MercyMom said:


> I just found out that my dog has a low thyroid as well. She is (whispering) 20 pounds overweight. I have already been feeding her Wellness weight control (only two cups) and she goes on long walks and still...:no: I pray that the thyroid medication will work. I will try giving her green beans from a can, since she turned her nose up at frozen green beans before. She already started putting on weight as of last October. She's low energy and she's only 2 years old, plus she snatches food from my roommates who fail to keep food out of her reach. I really pray I can get this weight down! We are starting agility next week, so we will see if this helps too. I also have a couple of playdates coming up too.


My thought is to educate your roommates to your dog's health problem, no more treats. Watch the salt too. Our vet suggested carrot slices for treats, perhaps some of those in the frig might help.

Teddy has been on a diet of 1/3 vegetables, and 2/3 Nature's Balance We go heavy on green beans, (antioxidants), supported by broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. This week at the vet said Teddy had dropped from 103 to 95 pounds in two weeks! Our Teddy enjoys having a full stomach, he can have all the veggies he wants, and frozen veggies are actually cheaper than the processed dog food.

When Teddy slows down on veggies, I cheat and put in a dash of olive oil or bullion in his food. He licks the bowl clean! However you must watch the salt in a dog's digestive track. They is not used to the spicing we humans use. 

Your roommates spaghetti sauce probably contains garlic and could make him sick. By the way I am no vet, but I read everything I can get my hands on about Golden Retrievers. Owner's must play "God" with their dog's health. I suggest listening to the vet for advice. 

The internet is loaded with bad information about dogs, most of it planted by greedy corporations who just want you to buy the food they rejected for their human products. It is about the almighty dollar. Ralston Purina and Proctor & Gamble are two of the worst. Don't take my word for it just Google, "Pet food recalls."


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

RESCUE Dad said:


> I looked into this recently, and you are correct, (with the possible exception of canned vegetables). As I recall a dog should only have about 1,200 mg of salt a day, a human about 2,400 mg a day. 2,400 is about one level teaspoon of salt. FYI, according to the label on Lay's Kettle Cooked chips, (the low fat stuff), one ounce, (16 chips) has 90 mg of Sodium.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I don't use Salt when cooking nor do I eat it. I am on a salt restricted diet. 

If I buy canned vegetables, _*I always buy unsalted.*_ 

Definitely do not eat chips........... nor give them to my dogs.


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