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Diet to Lose Weight / Eating Feces

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  Shane'sDad 
#1 ·
I have a 5 year old, deep chested 100 lbs GSD that my vet and trainer says needs to lose between 5 to 10 pounds. I was feeding him TASTE OF THE WILD dry, 2 cups twice a day and a 1/4 sweet potato in the evening. I cut him back to 1 1/2 cups in the morning and 1 cup and 1/4 sweet potato in the evening.

The problem is since I cut him back I have caught him twice eating his feces in the morning after eating his dry. Any suggestion?

He has a sensitive stomach and responds best to the TOTW
 
#2 ·
Our older dog had a chronic problem with that. We tried to be diligent with picking up after him, but he was fast and determined so we weren't always successful.

When we switched to raw feeding, that habit stopped. I can only guess that there was enough undigested food passing through his system when feeding kibble that the waste was still attractive to him. Maybe the food wasn't completely digesting.

With raw it seems that there is nothing left to tempt him and his poop is much smaller. Everything good has already been used in his system.

I think the best you can do is pick up after your dog as quickly as possible.
 
#4 ·
Pick up as quickly as possible.

I had a temporary dog here who was on a strict weight loss plan. She had no history of eating feces or even showing interest in it. When her food was severely restricted, she made attempts to eat her poop, but I followed her around and removed it as soon as it fell.

Once her weight stabilized and she wasn't convinced she was being starved, the behavior stopped completely.
 
#5 ·
You could try a High Quality Digestive Enzyme (helps to assimilate the food) and Probiotic (keeps the good bacteria in his gut). Works for some dogs with Coprophagia....but not with some others!

Digestive Enzymes/Probiotic Products:

Sunday Sundaehttps://feedsentials.com/sundaysundae (click on the email to order)
Mercola Digestive/Probiotic: https://shop.mercola.com/product/2118/1/whole-food-digestive-probiotic-for-pets-94g-per-container-1-container
Gut Sense http://dr-dobias-natural-healing-usa...ducts/gutsense
Digest All Plus: https://www.thewholisticpet.com/dog/supplements/digestion/wholistic-digest-all-plustm.html
Animal Essentials: Plant Enzyme w/ Probiotics 3.5 oz 100 gm - Animal Essentials

Sweet Potatoes are higher in sugar, so you may want to cut those out if dieting.

Good Luck!
Moms :)
 
#8 ·
One thing I would caution you about with reducing food is to look at the back of the bag and make sure he's still getting the minimum recommended ration for that brand at his size -- most of the dogs that were diagnosed with DCM were underfed compared to the mfr recommendation in order to maintain their healthy weight. One theory of what may be behind the food-cardiac illness correlation is not getting enough micro-nutrients and aminos due to underfeeding. Given that ongoing research, I would consider switching to a lower calorie food to lose weight rather than just cutting back portion on a higher cal one in order.
 
#10 ·
Good advice so far...I'd get away from the sweet potatoes and try adding no salt green beans to the correct amount of kibble ...they'll make him feel fuller but not put weight on him... we've used them three times had success twice with weight loss both dogs were always hungry and would anything at any time--so the beans worked good...3rd dog wouldn't touch the beans he'd eat every piece of kibble and leave the beans laying in the bowl....if your dog has a big appetite the beans may work....JMO but I've always felt the "fuller" they feel after eating the less tendency they have to eat poop afterwards...
 
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