Keeping weight on with a fish based diet?

[ACooper]

Orson has never been what I would call "difficult" to keep weight on, and he doesn't get over weight easily either. He's always been a fairly easy dog to keep at a steady weight.

That said, he has dropped 4lbs (from 84 down to 80) since his last yearly. He doesn't look too thin (to me or the Vet) and I haven't noticed him eating less or exercising more. If anything, I expected him to be UP a pound or two since the winter has been so bad, we've laid around the house....A LOT for the last 3 months!

He is going to be 9 eek in a little more than a month and the only thing different for the last year is fish based kibble thrown into the rotation. I'm going to cut the fish out of his diet and hope that's all it is.

Has anyone else has had issues keeping weight on with a fish based food?

 

[*blackrose]

I've noticed that fish based kibble seems to be lower in calories/protien than a different protien source (with the exception being lamb). I know that my mom's dogs are on a Salmon and Potato food and I specifically chose it *for* weight loss due to the kcal content.

 

[ACooper]

Hmmm, I'm guilty of not studying the calorie content compared to his red meat kibble or his chicken based kibble. He's never had weight issues (that I recall) before so I just figured I'd 'mix it up' a bit more and add fish for variety.

That's probably it. *duh moment* LOL Thank you BR

 

[PnZmom]

If he's still a good weight, I wouldn't worry over it. 4lb in a year is NOT a significant loss and considering his bladder/bowels could have been full at the last visit and empty at this one, or even his last meal being in his stomach, it may not even be a very big difference in his normal weight. (Unless he was fasted and "empty" both times) If you wanted you could even just rotate it less often. *shrugs* Main thing is a healthy weight and growing older, keeping him a few pounds lighter might not be an awful idea anyways assuming he looks ok still. Jm2c.

 

[Toller_08]

Ripley eats a mainly fish based diet and I had to cut gim back because he was getting a little too heavy for me. Keira also ate mainly fish. Neither she or Ripley had difficulty keeping weight with fish.

 

[kady05]

Completely depends on the brand of kibble.

Ex. TOTW Pacific Steam is only 360 cal/cup (25% protein, 15% fat). Yet Orijen 6 Fish is 478 cal/cup (38% protein, 18% fat). So, huge difference there. Nutrisource Seafood Select is 451 cal/cup and the same protein & fat content as TOTW PS.

When I fed TOTW PS years ago, my dogs had issues keeping weight on. I fed Nutrisource for awhile and they kept weight on just fine without eating a ton per day.

I'm feeding 6 Fish right now (got a great deal on 2 big bags) and have significantly reduced the amount they're eating (was feeding Victor Hi Pro Plus before). I try to keep mine on over 400 cal/cup (usually closer to 430), regardless of what brand they're eating.

 

[naturalfeddogs]

Anything with red meat is going to have a higher fat/calorie content than fish. Fish is a lean protein.

 

[Barb04]

Once we went grain free and also used fish, they all lost weight. I now mix the fish with a duck formula (surf & turf every meal) so it helps. The grain free diet takes weight off just like it would for us.

 

[PuppyInMotion.com]

>>Has anyone else has had issues keeping weight on with a fish based food?

It depends on the recipe. You will typically find fish based dry food recipes are susceptible to higher carbs b/c they don't add enough fish boast the protein level, which may result in higher carbs.