Fiber vs. Protein

So I have a few questions about what to feed. This mostly pertains to my dog[I know this is a cat site... but], but this would be helpful to those wanting to feed cats and aren't sure which way to go.

Anyway on topic. My one dog is currently on t/d. I like the dental benefits, but mostly I got it to slow her down when she eats because the pieces are so huge, so she has to chew some of them [LOL sometimes] and it has slowed her eating down a great deal, and I thought that might help her feel a bit more full too.

Well... I am thinking of switching foods and I was talking to a tech I work with. Now I have tried SO hard on here to argue that vets know about nutrition, and the practice owner [main vet] does, but the guy working for him [other vet] is the "I know all" and he knows ntohing about nutrition, and the tech I happened to work with that day thinks she knows it all. I had mentioned I thought I would go higher protein. The vet shook his head in the background, and the tech said I should get something higher in fiber.

I know fiber is supposed to help you feel full, however regardless of what the studies may show, I can eat cereal [high fiber kind] or real oatmeal, and in 1-2 hours be starving again. If I eat an egg I can go 4-6 hours without feeling hungry.

I've always heard to feed higher protein. When my cat was on an all meat diet he would totally regulate himself without scarfing all of the food down at once...

My initial thought is to try Innova EVO with both of my dogs [if it ends up being cost effective] and then feeding some RAW meat alongside of it. Do you guys think that would help fill her up so she isn't so hungry? Or is fiber a better way to go, if so, what should I feed?

LOL..I think you know we think alike re most aspects of what to feed a cat. I don't know as much re dogs except as omnivores I'm a lot more comfortable re feeding them veggies and not concentrating just on higher protein content.

So.......my only tip I know for dogs needing to lose weight, it helps to give them a snack or as part of their meal, plain green beans. Too bad there isn't a dog site equivalent to catinfo.org! (or maybe there is...)

Protein is a better filler than fiber. Protein fills up three times as good than fiber or fat. That's one of the reasons why Atkin's diet works so well when people wanna lose weight. The diet is rich in protein and the protein fills up and you end up eating less food. Less food means less energy -> weight loss.

So, protein is a better filler than fiber.

So.......my only tip I know for dogs needing to lose weight, it helps to give them a snack or as part of their meal, plain green beans. Too bad there isn't a dog site equivalent to catinfo.org! (or maybe there is...)

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Hahahaha I do know about green beans, I guess I hadn't thought about adding veggies to her diet. Although dogs are omnivores, my own are pretty picky about what kind of things they eat. Although LiLo might eat them since she thinks she's starving anyway.

So, protein is a better filler than fiber.

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THANK YOU!

I guess my other question then for people who feed EVO, is it really cost effective?

No Evo wasnt cost effective evan for my 12lb er ... she needed a six lb bag a month ... She eats 90% raw and lost a bit of wt ... remember dogs need a little grain ( I use a food with rice and oatmeal for her dry)... I have Gigi on a puppy( it is an all stage) dry with moderate fat but a decent protien leval ... You could try one of the high protein high fat ones with larger dogs ... High fiber I have found over the years causes more issues than it solves... As for dental care there are food OTC that can help with that ...

Thanks for the info. I looked up some stuf on Innova EVO and my concern is that with the high protein content if it doens't agree it could cause some ill effects on my dog, and I don't want her to lose muscling her get sick.

I'm not worried about dental stuff. I have her on dental chews, my main concern is feeding her a food that will help her to not be so hungry. I would make her a raw diet but I don't have time.

My guess is your dogs are about 60lbs each?? If so many companies make good premade raw in 5lbs chubs ... I would guess each 60lbs would need about 1.5lbs a day for a raw diet .... i will tell you Gigi eats about 3-5 ounces a day ...


I would suggest a high protein and fat one... but dont just go by "high energy or high protein"... Lot s of good one s out there ... Are the dogs sensitive??

LiLo is about 50lbs [almost fat LOL woops], Sofie is about 30lbs.

What would be a good food to feed them? Sofie is getting Exclusive Lamb and Rice, LiLo is on the t/d. LiLo and Sofie are allergic to Science Diet, I'm assuming it's the corn, but I don't know. They've been successful on the Canidae, Natural Balance, The Exclusive Lamb & Rice, and Exclusive Chicken and Rice.

Are the pre-made raw foods cost effective? Looking at Nature's Variety it's pretty expensive for my taste. Although I was thinking of feeding it maybe alongisde a kibble? What kibble do you think would be best?

It depends ///lol// I feed Gigi Natural choice chn rice and oatmeal puppy but she is very sensitive...

Canidea is good due to moderate to high fat with the higher protein .... I like Solid Gold s beef and barley as well as there Wolf formulas ( my vet thought about for Gigi)... Royal canins holistic is good and Gigi liked Ultra by Nutro ... Exclusive is good also as I think they have good protein and fat ratios ....

I find premade raw very reasonable ... I use about 4lbs a week and the highest cost is rabbit at 2lbs for 9$ ( 4.50per lb = 3 days per lb = 1.50 a day or about .75 for gigi .. I used to pay 1.35$ per day on a can for gigi .. So It is quite a savings and since beef and chn are about 5$ for two lbs it is very cheap to feed those...plus with yours being bigger you can buy 5lb or ten lb chubs of raw at better prices///

example .. when I buy 5lbs of chn with organ and veggie it is 8.75$ which is $1.75 per lb and Gigi eats about two lbs a week so 3.50 a week or .50 cent s a day ... try feeding quality wet on that money