My dog's grain-free food for dry skin causes weight gain. Low protein?

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! It is not known at this time if grain free diets are actually better than diets with grain. I usually recommend feeding a high quality diet. Purina is an excellent diet but if you do not have access to this diet, there are others that you could consider that are also excellent such as Hill's Science Diet, Royal canin and Iams foods. Grain does not necessarily make dogs gain weight so I would be more focused on the quality and balance of the diet per se. Good luck and have a great day!

It's difficult to know, because it really depends on the calories. Grain free is not necessarily good for weight management and there is no good reason to feed boiled chicken if you have a formulated diet. There are some products in the pet store that are actually formulated for weight loss and these would be the best ones to feed. I know Hills, Purina and Royal Canin all have good products, but don't know of any other. The best thing to check on the bag is the AAFCO statement, which is just below the guaranteed analysis. This will tell if the food has actually demonstrated what it claims. I've included a link to an article below that explains all of this. Make sure you feed the food according to the bag's instructions and cut out all treats and table scraps. If you still want to feed treats, then you should account for that by feeding less food. https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ The hardest thing for pet owners is that they feel like they are starving their dog. Trust me, you are not starving them, despite how bad they may make you feel. If your dog likes any vegetables like celery, carrots or green beans, then these are great, low calorie options to give as treats that can make you and your dog feel a bit better about the diet. In the end, know that a skinnier dog will be healthier and live longer, so it's well worth it. I hope that helps. https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-ways-to-help-your-dog-lose-weight/

Grains are very rarely the cause of any skin issues so switching Kyya to a normal, grain containing diet is recommended. Keep in mind that the link is not understood but as long as the pet is not showing signs of heart disease, changing the diet will help avoid any heart pathology. The brand I like best is Royal Canin. You would pick the large breed formula. I also like Purina ProPlan. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

As far as commercial breeds that come to mind, Wellness would be a good choice to meet your requirements. It is a little pricey, but I feel that it is a very high quality diet. A raw diet would also be an option, but would definitely require a significant amount of financial and time investment (though there are commercially available raw diets as well now). Hope this helps.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Cooper. You have several options regarding the risk of DCM from feeding the grain-free diet. In these cases, DCM results from the diet being deficient in taurine. There is a blood test that your veterinarian can submit to measure Cooper's taurine levels. He could also have an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart) to ensure he does not have any structural changes. Lastly, you can change his diet. You can consider Purina Proplan Sensitive Skin and Stomach as it is a trust worthy brand and will help any underlying skin disease. I hope this information helps!

If Charlie has that bad of allergies I would recommend a hydrolyzed protein diet. This is a prescription diet that has the protein broken down to where the body can't recognize it. Otherwise you can try Salmon flavored food although, it is not hypoallergenic it has fish oil in it to help with his skin. I would eliminate all treats and human food to help with weight loss. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.