Weight control food comparison

[Russellterror]

I've been doing some research and wanted to see if I could find a better food for our chunky bulldog. He has been on Hills Science light for years now to keep his weight in check, on recommendation from the vets, but on finding that it only scores 2.4 in the directory, I thought we should be able to find him something better for the money...
I thought I would share my findings, perhaps they will be useful to someone else.

The main thing I found is that the fibre content of the food he is currently on, is 3 or 4 times larger than almost every single other food, and I am wondering whether this is what keeps him feeling full, and perhaps we shouldn't switch to food with much less fibre, even if the protein and fat content of the others is similar? (I haven't gone through every single food, just the first page of highest scoring foods) Unfortunately you can not search for foods with high fibre content, as the slider only goes up to 6% and HS Light is 12.5% - this is a shame.

Notably some of the foods are not marketed as light options, but their nutritional content is similar, at least what you can see in the directory. I do however believe that the carb content is important, but this isn't listed for any of the other foods, so it makes it difficult to make a fair comparison.

Anyway, I have made a little table showing the data for the foods I was looking at, to save someone else going through the same process: (I hope that the table will display properly, as I couldn't paste the formatting)

                                              Protein   Fat            Fibre   Carbs   Score   Cost
Hills Science Light                       22.20%   9.20%   12.50%   43.20%      2.4   £1.02
James Wellbeloved Lt              26.00%   10.00%   4.00%                 3.4   £0.50
Wainwrights Lt (Salmon)        21.00%   8.00%   3.00%                 3.7   £0.72
Gentle                                       25.20%   9.80%   3.00%                 4.9   £0.71
Country Kibble GFr Lt             26.00%   8.00%   4.00%                 3.7   £0.49
Ancestral Canine Pr Sen Lt     21.00%   7.00%   5.00%                 4.0   £0.37
Pooch & Co Lite                       20.00%   7.50%   3.00%                 3.9   £0.92
Gelert Ctr Chc GF (Salm)       26.00%   9.00%   3.00%                 4.2   £0.80
Millies Wolfheart Trk Mix       28.50%   8.50%   3.00%                 4.5   £0.71
Wainwrights dry mat GF       24.00%   9.00%   3.00%                 4.0   £0.92
Guru                                       25.70%   10.90%   3.50%                 4.9   £0.66

After all this I am still none the wiser, not sure whether to leave him on Hills Science, or switch to something else - any thoughts...?

[Russellterror]

Ok - I can see that the table columns are completely out of sync - I don't suppose there's a moderator who could help sort it, as they looked right in the posting window..? Thank you

[Dottie]

Although the columns are awry, like you I can't straighten them up.  There is a table option on the formatting bar but I have never used it so would need to spend a bit of time on that - something for a rainy day perhaps!  LOL  Anyway, we can certainly see your figures and you have clearly worked hard on this one.   

I can see your point about the fibre and filling the dog up - AFAIK Burns food has a similar effect.  Suitable cooked vegetables can also be given to sate the appetite/add fibre.  I haven't looked at individual recipes but judging by your protein and fat figures I would probably go for those with a higher protein content.  Dogs need fat for condition and coat so I wouldn't want to go much below 10%.  These are JWB Light, Country Kibble, Gelert and Millie's Wolfheart.   It is easy to top up protein with lean meat, poultry, fish or egg. 

The cold pressed foods Gentle and Guru are well worth considering and would be a good choice - both score highly.  However, they are quite dense and the amount that you give your dog will probably look very small. If you have a speed eater it will be gone in a nano second. You can easily get round this by soaking it for 10 minutes before feeding - it looks far more substantial.  The RDA of these is 1% to 1.2%  of body weight.  I use cp food and my experience is that I need to set the RDA at the ideal body weight.  For dieting purposes I think it would be best to seek further advice from the company staff.

[Russellterror]

I just thought I'd add an update, in case anyone who is reading this was wondering about the outcome...
We ended up with Gelert country choice in the end, with fabulous results. Feeding the amount indicated, and don't even bulk it out with veg anymore. Bulldog is keeping his weight down and skin problems have got better as well, so higher quality ingredients e clearly better than all the grains in the diet food recommended by the vets!

[Dottie]

Thank you very much for providing the feedback on your choice - it is very useful. As you say, it is good that your dog's appetite is now satisfied.
For anyone who wants further information, the Gelert Country Choice Adult Grain Free review is here. There are three varieties, lamb, turkey and salmon, the latter having the lowest dry weight fat (8%). The company website is here.