Dog Weight Chart"Husky or Stout" pretty aptly describes our dog. It is difficult to get people to acknowledge this, especially since some members of B.B.'s human family disagree over whether or not he is overweight. When we asked B.B.'s veterinarian, she said he was "a little" overweight, after glancing over our faces and perhaps sensing a controversial topic.
The fact is, no one wants to admit their cherished pet isn't perfect. And with so many of us struggling with our own weight issues, it is perhaps more difficult to recognize and acknowledge that our pets may be accompanying us on our journey towards obesity. However, the APOP estimates that more than half of our dogs and cats are overweight. These figures have gained media attention in recent months. According to an article in The Huffington Post:
The article blames the pet obesity epidemic on overfeeding and lack of exercise, which are two very crucial factors in the ballooning of our furry friends.Overweight pets suffer from a multitude of health issues including diabetes, kidney failure, and cancer. Last year, pets owners with one insurance company paid vets $25 million to treat obesity-related conditions such as asthma.
Another contributing factor, less publicized but of increasing concern to pet owners is the quality of commercially produced pet food. Many of these foods are high in carbohydrates and low in protein, which is a combination that aids obesity in humans as well. The primary ingredient in many of these pet foods is corn, difficult for dogs and cats to digest and comprised of 80% carbohydrate. The use of corn in pet food is so controversial that many commercial pet food retailers have added counter-information on their websites to convince consumers that corn-based diets are beneficial. According to the Dog Food Advisor, these campaigns are misleading and self-serving:
Not only most inexpensive commercial dog foods, but many of the prescription diets offered through veterinarians contain corn as the first ingredient.
- In a nutshell, corn makes any pet food you find it in less expensive to produce. And it does this by diluting a recipe’s more costly meat ingredients.
- Kibble is simply inexpensive fast food for dogs. And that’s OK. Because corn doesn’t just save money for manufacturers. It also makes dog food more affordable for pet owners, too.
- However, to advertise that corn is included in commercial dog food primarily for its nutritional benefits is misleading — and a gross misrepresentation of the facts.
We have known for a long time that corn-based commercial foods would not be good for our pets. So we chose to feed our dogs more high-quality, meat-based kibble with cooked meat added to it. B.B.'s diet consisted of Avo-Derm which the Dog Food Advisor rated as an "above-average" kibble. B.B. ate this for two years, and we switched to the low-calorie formula when he began packing on the pounds. However, not only did B.B. not lose weight but he disliked this food and had to be coaxed to eat it. Soon, he developed an alarming habit of vomiting in between meals. We checked with the Dog Food Advisor, and found out that low-calorie foods are often too low in protein to satisfy a dog's nutritional needs. Therefore the Avo-Derm Lite earned the rating of "not recommended."
When we switched B.B. back to the original Avo-Derm, but decreased the amount, he continued the habit of vomiting in between meals. Sometimes he would go outside, eat grass, and vomit bile. He was also developing some arthritis which seemed to be age-related but also probably was complicated by the excess weight. He started groaning when he was getting up and walking slower when we went to the park. Since B.B. is a shelter rescue, we don't really know his age, but we estimate him to be between 5 and 7 years old. It seemed too early for him to be having such troubles.
After doing some online research about commercial pet kibble, we went down to the Healthy Pet Pantry, a natural pet food store in El Cajon. They had been very helpful when our 18 year-old cat, Hammy, was suffering from kidney disease and refused to eat anything. The store employees are very knowledgeable and not overtly trying to sell any one product. They spend a lot of time with each individual customer trying to help them decide on the right foods and supplements for their pets.
At HPP, we learned that dry kibble in general is difficult for dogs to digest. It is so processed that it requires a great deal of energy and water to break down, and can linger in a dog's digestive tract for a long time. The store employee wondered if B.B.'s vomiting had something to do with not being able to digest all of his food. It also partly explained why B.B. heads for the water bowl and gulps half of its contents after each feeding.
As we stared at the vast array of dog foods available at the Healthy Pet Pantry, it became obvious that this was not going to be any easy choice to make. We knew that, theoretically, B.B. would do best with a home-made diet that incorporated raw ingredients. But our schedule and our budget simply wasn't equipped at this point to prepare home-made dog food. So we spent a good hour in the store reading labels, Googling, and asking questions.
Finally we decided that we would try Honest Kitchen, a dehydrated plant-based diet that would allow us to continue adding a few home-cooked ingredients. We chose the Honest Kitchen "Keen" because it was grain-free and recommended for dogs with digestive issues as well as seniors. The Dog Advisor gave Honest Kitchen 4 stars and rated it as "highly recommended." The HPP staff were happy to send us home with some free samples. Hooray!
However, B.B. dove right into this food, ate the whole portion and even licked the bowl. He didn't have to be coaxed at all.
As the weeks went by, we added different meats and vegetables to the food and B.B. devoured it every time. He stopped vomiting between meals, and didn't run to drink water after eating. We started adding a Glucosamine/MSM supplement to the food and B.B. has responded positively, pulling us along on walks as he used to do.
Although Honest Kitchen food might not be for everyone, switching from a commercial kibble made a lot of difference in our dog's quality of life. He is looking now more in between the #3 and #4 categories on the dog weight chart, and we hope that the improved diet will mean a longer and happier life for him.
