My dog has allergies and needs to lose weight. What dry food is best?

HI there. I would recommend using a true weight loss diet and not a "weight management" or "healthy weight". You should use the weight loss diet until he is his ideal weight then you can transition to a management diet. These diets are expensive but they are not meant to be a long term solution so keep that in mind. If you feed the correct amount it shouldn't be too horribly expensive. You must feed him to his "ideal weight" and not the weight he is currently. So read the instructions on the bag of food carefully. Feed him this diet only - no treats or bones or people food. I would suggest Puirna OM or Hill's w/d. These are prescription diets and should be prescribed by your vet but I have recently come to find out you can buy them on Amazon without an Rx. They should not make his coat or skin poor. If that is a recurring theme then he may have an underlying condition like hypothyroidism causing that (could also be why he is heavy) so you may want to consider having his thyroid levels checked. These links are from Chewy.com. I don't know if they require a Rx but you can check Amazon too or just ask your vet for a prescription. https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-om/dp/50028 https://www.chewy.com/hills-prescription-diet-wd/dp/54717 Hope this helps. Best wishes!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! All the good allergy foods have a comparable price. The best in my opinion is the Royal canin Ultamino. This is the one recommended by the dermatologists at my hospital. Good luck and have a great day!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach! I have had great luck with using Natural Balance Fat Dog formula as well as Science Diet Adult Perfect Weight. I would remove all treats and only use her food as a treat instead. If she is not losing weight on either of these foods within 2-3 months, I would talk to your veterinarian to discuss other options such as thyroid testing and prescription weight loss food. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

I am sorry to hear about Charlie. I would recommend a prescription diet manufactured specifically for this issue. There are several novel protein diets and also hydrolyzed protein diets available by Royal Canin, Purina Veterinary Diets, and Hills. These diets have gone through feeding trials and are balanced and healthy for your pet. Your vet can choose a diet they feel will best fit your needs. I will mention that while there are allergy tests for food, they are not considered truly accurate and the only way to tell for certain if a food allergy is present is by a diet trial. You can read more about food allergies at https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951526 and diet trials at https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952600

A hydrolyzed therapeutic diet might be the best option for a dog with food allergies and potential heart disease. Hills makes a version called z/d, Royal Canin makes HP and Purina makes HA. Your vet would know more details however and might make a different recommendation based on Champ’s history so you should contact them before changing the diet.

For an ideal diet trial for a suspected food allergy, it is typically recommended to feed a hydrolyzed protein diet (proteins are broken down to the point where they can't trigger the immune system) exclusively for 6-8 weeks. After that point, some dogs are rechallenged with their original diet to see if signs recur or started on a novel protein diet (one protein source/one carbohydrate source). If signs of a food allergy are still present, some dogs need to remain on the hydrolyzed diet indefinitely. The hydrolyzed diets are prescription based and include Royal Canin Ultimano, Royal Canin HP, Science Diet Z/D ultra, and Purina HA. There are many pet food companies online that can also dispense these diets with a prescription from your vet (chewy.com is one example). If the cost of a hydrolyzed diet is still not feasible for a diet trial, talk to your vet about starting Rico on a novel protein diet. Many of these are still prescription based, but I have also been impressed by the Dick van Patten Natural Balance limited ingredient line, which is available over the counter. With any diet trial, it can take 2-3 months to determine if it is effective and you need to be strict in that Rico would only receive his dog food with no other treats or table foods. I hope this helps! :-)

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Sage. Most over-the-counter foods are contaminated with ingredients not listed on the label. For example, if the diet lists the main ingredient as salmon, there could be small amounts of chicken in the food. This makes it very difficult if a patient has a food allergy. Prescription veterinary diets such as a hydrolyzed or a limited ingredient diet will be most successful for a food allergy. They are more expensive, but in the long run typically end up saving you money. If she is not constantly seeing her veterinarian for exams and medications due to skin disease, this will save you money. Hydrolyzed diets have the protein source chopped into such small pieces that the body's immune system does not recognize and react to it. Examples are Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Ultamino, Purina ProPlan Veterinary Diets HA or Hills ZD. The same companies make limited ingredient diets with one protein and one carbohydrate source. It can be some trial and error to find the best food. I hope this information helps!