bc4ever Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Sooo, he just needs to lose weight. I still wonder what could have caused him to gain 6# since January. Vet is sending me a copy of the test results. She also wants to put him on prescription Hill's Science Diet RD for weight loss, at around $47.00 per 20# bag, which she thinks "should last about a month and a half." She thinks he should be on this for around 3 months. Anyone ever use this? Am I being ripped off? Is there another brand that would work just as well for weight loss? Sorry--I tend to be a little cynical when it comes to doctors--M.D.s or DVMs. I see the drug reps in and out of the vet's office just like my PCP. They're not immune to a good sales pitch. Anyway. I'm glad it's not his thyroid. One less thing to make him feel miserable. HD is bad enough. On another note. This is not the vet he usually sees (she's one of six vets in the practice), but she seems to have just taken over. The two have very different ideas on meds, ideal weight, etc. Would she have consulted with his original vet before prescribing this regimen? Should we talk to the other vet to see what she thinks? She's always been the one to take care of him for the last four years. Although, she's also the one who kept telling us Scooter didn't have hip dysplasia till a few months ago, and also told me he wasn't obese. "He could lose a few pounds." AAARGGGHHH!!! Okay. I need to shut off my brain for a while. Been a long day. SIL's mom was found dead today. Police are calling it "suspicious." Maybe I'll toast Pansmom a day late! I know I have some wine around here somewhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 I'd avoid the RD if you can stick to a tight diet for him; if that doesn't work then consider the RD. Whenever I've had a dog that needed to lose weight, I made sure I was feeding to ideal weight vs. current (using the bag as a rough guideline to start), used kibble from the daily ration for training treats, and added green beans (frozen) or canned pumpkin to the food if the animal seemed over hungry. The above worked to get my parents' dog, Oreo, from 78lbs to 56lbs! We also tried a diet food, but now I think that's a lot of hype and too many carbs and fillers, so all other weight loss needs went with the above plan and regular dog food. You could probably try a senior version of your current food if you want to cut calories but not feed any less. FYI here are the RD ingredients. There is a ton of filler stuff in there - the cellulose jumps out at me because it's indigestible by dogs so you're paying for something with limited nutritional benefit. At least with veggies they have some nutrition in addition to the fiber. I'd be asking your vet why she suggests this food instead of reducing current rations and adding veggies. Ground Whole Grain Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Powdered Cellulose 10.4% (source of fiber), Soybean Mill Run, Soybean Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Iron Oxide, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Potassium Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Taurine, minerals (Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols & Citric Acid, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertranger Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 I wouldn't feed my dog Science Diet or anything else with grain or soy in it after what I've read over the past few days. Not good for the dogs. As soon as we're finished with what we have it's gone. Your vet recommends Science diet because that's what the reps sell him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Thanks everyone. That's pretty much what I figured. I've heard negative things about Science Diet in the past. I'm supposed to pick up my first "virtually free" bag today. We're going to have a talk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailrider Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Just wanted to remind you that there are several ways to test the thyroid. It would be helpful to see what was tested, and the actual numbers and ranges for normal. I had a vet check one of my dogs that was staying too heavy, and he tested several items in the thyroid sequence. She4 was in need of the hormone. I went by symptoms also, and gave her the supplementation. Helps a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted May 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Just wanted to remind you that there are several ways to test the thyroid. It would be helpful to see what was tested, and the actual numbers and ranges for normal. I had a vet check one of my dogs that was staying too heavy, and he tested several items in the thyroid sequence. She4 was in need of the hormone. I went by symptoms also, and gave her the supplementation. Helps a lot. This is the sheet I was given yesterday: Total Thyroxine (TT4) 27 [15-67] nmol/L Total Triiodothyronine (TT3) 1.4 [1,0-2.5] nmol/L Free T4 dialysis 22 [6-42] pmol/L Free Triiodothyronine (FT3) 9.2 [4.5-12.0] pmol/L T4 Autoantibody 5 [0-20]% T3 Autoantibody 3 [0-10]% Thyroid Stimulating Hormone 13 [0-37] mU/L Thyroglobulin Autoantibody* 7 [0-35] % Endocrinology Interpretation See Below Circulating concentrations of thyroid hormones and thyroid stimulating hormone are normal and do not provide support of a diagnosis of hypothyroidism. The negative autoantibody results further decrease the likelihood of lymphocytic thyroiditis in the thyroid glands of this dog. *Thyroglobulin Autoantibody: <20% Negative 20-35% Inconclusive >35% Positive Am I right in thinking that the "L" after most of the above indicates "LOW"? I also talked with another vet yesterday and said I wasn't going to go with the Hill's Science Diet R/D for weight loss--from what I've heard and what I read on the package, it's pretty much crap. First ingredient was corn. ??? Still trying to figure all this out. Your opinion would be much appreciated. Pam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurae Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Am I right in thinking that the "L" after most of the above indicates "LOW"? nmol/L = nanomoles per liter pmol/L = picomoles per liter mU/L = milliunits per liter The L is part of the unit. On each line, the first number is Scooter's result. The following numbers in the brackets are the range of what is considered normal for that particular testing criterion. It looks like Scooter is well within the normal range for everything tested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted May 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 nmol/L = nanomoles per literpmol/L = picomoles per liter mU/L = milliunits per liter The L is part of the unit. On each line, the first number is Scooter's result. The following numbers in the brackets are the range of what is considered normal for that particular testing criterion. It looks like Scooter is well within the normal range for everything tested. Wow! It's a whole new language, isn't it? I never heard of nanomoles or picomoles! Thanks for the info. Now the hard part--getting the weight off and deciding which food would be best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane allen Posted May 3, 2009 Report Share Posted May 3, 2009 Yeah, the corn is not so great; yeah, the "meals" (esp. the by-product) are bad. But I just love that they put cellulose in there! Why not just grind up some wood or paper and add that to your dog's food?? I live by the pumpking and/or green beans theory - just like us, less food = less weight. I took a mixed breed dog I had from 88 t 74 pounds mostly on green beans. No, he wasn't excited about them at first, so I added a little low-sodium chicken broth. Pretty soon, he thought they were treats! diane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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