I would strongly suggest Canidae silver. It is for senior dogs and it is light years better for your Golden's than Iam's!
I fail to understand why the dogs thyropid levels need to be check so often. Especially if they haven't changed signifcantly over the past year or so. It should be done annually not every 2 months or at the very least every 6 months.
Personally if he cant get this under control with all the blood work he has done already then IMO he never will. You need a new vet!Advice as to what kind of diet foods to help my two Golden Retrievers?
WHOA,,, 3 cups a day for a golden at that age is TOOOOO MUCH FOOD... stop the meds and stop overfeeding your dogs..
switch to a high quality dry kibble .... such as canidae or INNOVA...... feed per package instructions...i would start with 1/2 cup twice a day to get the weight off..
HAVE YOU CALLED YOUR BREEDER?? regarding the thryoid issue?
remember, goldens always act like they are starving,,, they are not.... 1 cup of dry kibble isn't going to look like much,, but to start that will be fine.. because i am sure they also get snacks during the day too.
walking on a leash really isn't enough exercise for a golden,, do you have a place where you can throw a tennis ball for an hour or so??
Iams is a horrible diet!!!!!!
Your vet is milking you for all its worth. For some reason people don't think vets are crooks, let me tell you, they are no different than other business.
Feed your dog Innova Senior 1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup in the evening.
You will see a huge difference.
No table scraps, no grocery store treats!
First, stop feeding Iams. It is unbalanced because it has lots of synthetic vitamins and bad meat sources, along with undigestable corn.
I would suggest switching to a high quality food, such as:
Innova Evo (Comes in low fat, with no grains, one I think is best)
Solid Gold
Canidae (Another Great Choice, not as expensive
Orijen
You can find all of the foods I listed at local pet stores, and to find one near you, go to their website.
As for the exercising, I would keep doing the 25 minutes, but add about 10 minutes of jogging for each. If you can't job with each dog, simply play fetch.
Once they start losing weight, I would take them off the low fat food, because dogs actually do better on a high fat, high protein food, with low carbs.
When they become more fit, play more fetch, or do a more rigorous exercise than just walking.
And I agree, each dog could be on about under one cup morning and night of food.
Iams is full of grain and filler, try Nutrience Natural for weight control, of Medical Sr. Weight control from the vet. Labs need primarily meat, try a boiled chicken breast once in awhile or the broth from boiling it. Grain causes kidney, liver and thyroid issues as they get older. My Lab is on Nutrience...and I don't plan on changing her!
I also think your feeding them a terrible food! 3 cups per day is way too much for over weight Golden's.
I would also suggest the Canidae silver for senior dogs. They make a high quality food for dogs. I feed the Lamb and Rice to my dogs.
I too think you need to find a new vet. All that blood work for thyroid testing is totally unecessary! Annually is plently for them!
They do more excersise than just walking perhaps you can find a neighborhood child who can come and play with them you can pay himor her a nominal fee to get your dogs off their butts durring the day too.
Talking to your breeder makes no sence to me at this point. They are 6 years old. What can your breeder possibly offer to say to you except do what your vet has recomended! I think it is a waste of time. Esppecially if you have not kept in close contact with the breeder over the whole time you have had your dogs.
Our dog is part Golden Retriever, the other is part Sheppard. They both get one cup morning and evening and run twice a day. They are about 55 lbs each and very trim! What do your dogs weigh? We also give them biscuits throughout the day and about 1/4 cup of soup/leftovers mixed in with their food for both meals. Supposedly we buy the ';best'; food on the market--made by a local company that specializes in animal feed that we mix in equal portions with a less expensive brand. Will your dogs run? It makes a difference. Please don't starve them with only a half cup like someone suggested. If you are overweight, go on a diet with them. Walk faster and/or run together.
I'll agree, 3 cups a day is WAY to much food,especially since they are overwieght. I fed my labrador retriever about 2 cups per day and it kept her at a healthy wieght. Since your dogs are overwieght, you need to reduce the food they are getting by more than t5hat, I would suggest maybe 1.5-1.75 cups per day each, until they reach an ideal weight, then up it to 2 cups for maintenece, if they fail to lose wieght on 1.75 or 1.5, lower it some more. They will get the same nutrition, but less calories. I also think you should choose a better quality food- Canidae platinum is a good suggestion, eagle pack holistics senior, chicken soup senior would be good alternatives. www.dogfoodanalysis.com provides a good guide to dog foods- anything over 3 or 4 stars is a good food. They are old enough to be on a senior formula, and should be. Senior formulas contain extra glucosamine and other supplements to help senior bones and health. With your boys extra wieght, they'll need that support even more. It will also help them to drop wieght. Finally- walks are great, but obviously not enough. Do they play fetch? Thats a great way to add intensive exercise to thier day even if you're not in top shape yourself. 10 minutes of fetch on top of thier walk would be great. Alternately, try walking briskly for 10 minutes, or adding some type of play that they enjoy- tug, chase, whatever gets them going. You could possibley look at adding a third walk, or hiring a dog walker to give them a longer work out if you need to. Give it time to work- I would go at it a month or two before expecting to see wieght loss. Also, what kind of treats are they getting? Cut out all table scraps and comercial treats. If you must add them, then reduce the amount of kibble you feed to account for the treats. Things that keep dogs full without alot of calories- carrots are great! they also make nice, crunchy chew toys. I've also heard of using canned pumpkin to add bulk to thier diet without dding alot of calories. Ice cubes and apples can keep them busy as well. If it makes you feel better, measure out thier kibble in the morning and give it out throughout the day as treats and snacks, then give whatever is left at night for thier dinner. This way they will always be digesting a little, it will help thier metabolism and keep them satiated. Hope that helps. -Neb
the best advice i can give is ask a vet. They know the most about animals. If the food the vet gave you doesn't help then talk to another vet. Another way to get them to lose more pounds is maybe on a not to cold and not to hot day, take them to a dog park and bring a ball to play fetch with. I think the best thing to do is get advice from another vet.
Don't feed them Iams. It may no be off the market anymore but still don't trust it. READ THE LABLE BEFORE BUYING THE FOODS. Hope this helps!!:)
Science diet (weight control formula)
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