DCM - A take from a vet nutrionist

this whole topic just makes me nuts, and I am so grateful Dr. Mac is updating us. I'm one of the scaredy-cats who switched to Purina Proplan. And I find to my chagrin, my dogs have lost weight on it - I did not consider the calorie count, and it is much less than the Wellness. So now I need to feed more volume and hence buy more dog food from Purina. Otherwise I have no complaints about the food, but of course I have doubts.... they did so well on the Wellness.

Having been a nurse for 21 years I can testify to the drug companies sponsoring Continuing Education, and free samples with the Docs, etc. It's the same in human medicine.

Man, it doesn't seem too much to ask to be able to trust ALL these companies to make a decent product that doesn't harm our pets.

 

I think Sandstorm may have shed a few pounds, I'm also feeding ProPlan. He was on Blue Buffalo. I thought maybe it was because SS is getting more excersize because of the puppy.

 

Feeding needs to be adjusted based on the calories of the food. Some of the kibbles I bought have 550 calories per cup, others only have around 250 calories per cup.

 

Purina Beyond is Purina’s highest end food. Unfortunately, most pet shops including big stores don’t carry it. Another thing I don’t understand is why Purina never uses resealable bags even for the smallest packages. Nonetheless, this probably is what I’d feed my dog (I like Texas Beef, Wild and Simply 9 under the Purina Beyond line) if she didn’t have colitis. She’s on Hill’s Gastrointestinal Biome.

 

Thanks for this Ann, when I was researching, I chose the food closest to the ingredients they were already getting in the Wellness, which ended up being the Proplan Lamb for Sensitive Skin & Stomachs. Since the ingredients were much the same I didn't even think about lower calories. I will check into the Beyond line. SIGH.

 

I love Chewy too. I’m getting Hill’s Gastrointestinal Biome from them because most vets don’t carry this newer prescription food. This food is more expensive than most boutique food ($39 for 8 lb on Chewy.com). But my dog is doing so well on it that I may just feed her permanently (it’s balanced and complete).

BTW, I love the dental supplement (PlaqueOff) you recommended. It helped my dog’s bad breath. I’m going to try Nature’s Farmacy Probiotic Max next. I used Rx Biotics, Purina Fortiflora and Proviable in the past. None seemed to make any difference. If you have other supplements to recommend, please let me know. Thank you.

 

550 calories! Ouch.
Ok, I realize a lot of people here research foods (shall I say Obsess) more than I do and I am willing to stand corrected, but a few observations I try to explain to clients for those who are still trying to understand.

Yes, you measure calories, not cups. Unfortunately a lot of foods do not list calories on the bag, but if you go to the website of the company you're interested in they will list all their foods and the caloric content.
As a traditionalist I expect a 'normal' adult dog food to be 380- 400 calories per cup. Maybe 450 for a puppy/active dog (herders, hunters), about 325 for a 'light less active' weight maintenance food. For weight reduction you generally have to feed 300 calories per cup or less, 250 is better.

Remember, your dog's caloric intake is MUCH more well regulated than yours. I go to the doctor, he tells me to lose weight, I'm counting the calories in the cole slaw at the 99. If a dog is on 2 cups a day of a 380 calorie per cup food she is getting 760 calories in her food per day. Every day. Period. And this can be adjusted based on how she is doing.
Finally, do not compare wet food with dry. Calories are measured on a 'dry weight' basis. You can use caloric content to measure one canned food against another, bit not to compare them to a dry.

Simplistic, I know, but hope this helps based on the last few posts.