Best dog food for senior dog's weight/joints & young dog to share?

Hi there and thank you for using Pet coach! You have some pretty cute dogs in those pictures! If you were to feed all of them the same science diet food as Lizzy, this should be absolutely fine. If they begin to lose weight and become too thin, I would consider increasing the amount of food being given or change food. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

He does indeed look overweight, my preferred range is hills metabolic as this promotes healthy weight loss whilst also preserving muscle mass and strength and is formulated to allow them to eat a reasonable volume of food so they do not feel hungry. Your vet tech can help you work out the correct amount to feed him and monitor closely for the first 6-8weeks, if he does not start to lose weight then blood tests to rule out hormonal conditions such as cushings, diabetes or thyroid disease may also be recommended

Hello. This is a great question! She should be eating about 500 -550 calories PER DAY which includes all food and treats. She can eat any food as long as she stays inside that calorie window. If you feed her a lower calorie diet then she will get to eat more food and be less hungry. Purina ProPlan Weight Management Dry Food is 337 calories per cup so if you feed her this food she can eat 1.5 cups per day with a little left over for a treat or two. http://www.petsmart.com/dog/food/dry-food/purina-pro-plan-weight-management-formula-adult-dog-food-5148013.html?gclid=CKrvp4aRkdQCFZBgfgodPccMzA If you don't like this food you can use any diet. Just check the bag, it will tell you how many calories per cup. Take the 525 (using the middle of her calorie range) and divide it by the number of calories in each cup of food and that will tell you how many cups of that food she can have PER DAY. Example as above 525 / 337 = 1.55 cups I hope this helps. Best wishes. Dr. Amber

Weight loss will definitely help with back trouble - sounds like you're already on the right track. I think that a prescription diet sounds like a great idea - talk to your veterinarian about options available through them. Hill's makes a Metabolic diet for weight loss that might be a good option. The other option might be to decrease the amount of food you are offering and eliminating all treats, chews and table foods. You could talk to your veterinarian about what R's estimated ideal weight would be, and formulate a diet plan based on how many calories are in her current diet.

Oh yes. I would highly recommend Hlil's Metaboilc diet because it causes weight loss and can help with weight management. This is a highly successful diet that causes weight loss in over 79% of pets within the first 2 months. Royal Canin low calorie, Hill's R/D are two other options for weight loss. THese are all Rx diets and require a vet visit to get your pet started on the weight loss plan in mind. Also if your pet has any overt signs of hypothyroidism, then checking for a metabolic disease like this is recommended; however this is not common in small breed dogs like the Parson Russell Terrier. And of course it goes without saying that daily regular exercise for 30 minutes is recommended to encourage metaboilc break down of stored fats in the body.

Iams is a great brand of food, and it's not as expensive as Hill's. I also like Purina ProPlan, and Purina One. All of these are healthy, and cheaper than Hill's. I recommend trying Layla on one of those foods. You will have to transition her slowly to prevent GI upset. Mix together the new and old food, and over the course of two weeks, gradually increase the amount of new food and decrease the amount of old food until she is eating the new food only. Good luck, I hope this helps!

I would consider putting them both on a prescription diet food if you can afford it. Science diet makes two that are really good - Science diet metabolic and R/D. Your vet can write you a written prescription for this. If you cannot afford this food, then I would look for a LIGHT diet NOT weight management. "Weight management" and "healthy weight" food usually just keep them at their current weight. Science diet also has an OTC light diet you could look into. I would feed less than what the bag recommends and if they seem hungry, you can give them some canned green beans to help fill them up. I would also make sure no one is giving them ANY human food besides the green beans and NO dog treats. If you want to give them treats, give them raw carrots, raw broccoli, or canned green beans. As far as increasing their exercise, this can be difficult in your situation. You can try to feeding balls that they push around to make the kibbles fall out. I have some clients that feed at least one full meal with one of these balls which helps them to stay more active. You can also purchase an indoor treadmill and train them to use that if you wanted to go all out. Finally, if you are staying on a strict diet and increasing their activity a little, but they are still not losing weight, I would have your vet check their thyroid. If their thyroid is low, it will be almost impossible for them to lose weight without thyroid supplements. I hope this helps! Feeding Ball suggestion: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/petsafe-busy-buddy-treat-dispensing-kibble-nibble-dog-toy-1586980?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=1o1&scid=scplp1586980&sc_intid=1586980&cm_mmc=PLA-GG-_-PTC_P_BND_PLA-GG_FY17_SCShopping-TM-_-Non+VIP+-+TM-_-92700027187667220&kwid=p27187667220&device=c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6J-3ipDJ2AIVWbnACh2YTQ_bEAQYASABEgKg9fD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds