Looking for a GOOD dog food for a 9yr.old over weight basset that has been eating Eukanuba Low Residue.?

Our 9yr old over weight basset has been eating Eukanuba Low Residue canned and dry food for 2 yrs.She was put on this food by the Vet to help control her weight. This product's production is very inconsistant in moisture. Sometimes the canned is VERY dry and sometimes OK. We have to buy this food from our Vet. and eventhough she will eat it, we have doubts about it's nutritional value, not to mention the inconvience and over-price. Since she was put on this food many new dog foods have come on the market. We think that some, or at least one ,of them would surpass her present food in consistancy and nutritional value. We just don't know which one to consider. Her stomach is sensitive and she does have minor skin issues.Remember that she has a weight problem. We have to use both canned and dry mixed together since feeding her only dry after so many years isn't an option. This is serious stuff, so please send only serious answers please.

Looking for a GOOD dog food for a 9yr.old over weight basset that has been eating Eukanuba Low Residue.?
Well you have a problem: I hate Eukanuba food as well as Science Diet!!! I know your vet has you feeding it. Yes vets get money for how much they can sell! I use to work for one and we where told to help push the food! I would not because I hate the ingredients and they are not much better the grocery store food.





I would try a senior formula of one of the following:


Canidea, Wellness, Pinnical, Natural Receipt, (Nutro they have one in a silver bag for seniors and also has hip help in it) My mom uses this one and both of her dog lost weight and look great and the fur just shines!





I use Canidea but my dog is a one year Akita and it dose have higher protien levels.





Those are just a few! They all work well for skin problems and why I say senior id because it will be easier on the stomack and a lite formula to help get the weight off. Hope this helps!! Good Luck
Reply:There is purina beneful that has a weight management food. I'd say stop over paying for Eukanuba. You can wean your dog off of soft food. Give her less and less each time. She might not like it, but you can then give her the soft food as a treat.





One of the best ways to get her to lose weight is for her to walk. Take her on walks with you, at least half an hour. It'll be good for both of you. Don't be surprised if it takes her a LONG time to lose the weight. This is one of the breeds that is just prone to being over weight. Like Dachshunds.
Reply:You can feed almost anything, just don't feed a lot of it. You don't necessarily need a "lite" variety. If she has a sensitive stomach, maybe try a senior food in lamb/rice. That's pretty easy on their systems. The amounts on the backs of the bags and cans are waaaay more than they need to actually eat. The companies do that so you'll run out of food faster and need to bu more. She's a basset...and a senior citizen (haha)...so she really doesn't need much more than 1 cup twice a day. That's it. And only enough canned to taste. You can add a little warm water to the food to make a sort of gravy...that way you're using even less canned. Its the canned that'll make her fat faster.
Reply:define "sensitive stomach". does she vomit, have diarrhea, gas, etc?





generally with pets that have allergies and some sort of digestive issue, you want to feed a hypoallergenic food. no chicken, beef, lamb, fish, corn, wheat, soy. proteins that are good for both of those ailments are venison, duck, rabbit, bison, and emu (just to name a few, there are more).





now, given that she has a weight problem and assuming her thyroid is normal (has it been checked?) then you want a food that is low fat (obviously). you could try duck, but it tends to be pretty fatty. i would try the venison first. good foods that use venison are natural balance, wellness, and prairie. the diet by prarie is not truly hypoallergenic as it contains chicken, but you might be able to get away with it for your dog provided she does not have ibd.





with any diet change, you want to do it gradually, especially with a dog that has digestive issues. switch over the course of a month. week 1: 75% old food, 25% new food. week 2: 50% to 50%. week 3:25% to 75%. week 4: 100% new food.





as far as her "sensitive stomach" you could try adding a probiotic to her food. that is recommended for all pets with ibd so your pet might certainley benefit from them. the ones i use for my ibd girl are mega probiotic- nd. you can order them on line. you could use any human probiotic, but most of all of them contain dairy which some dogs (especially ibd like pets) cant tolerate. the mega probiotic- nd does not contain any dairy.