correct diet for 9 year old cocker

Question
We have a 9 year old cocker spaniel who weighs approximately 33 lbs.  This appears to be slightly overweight.  He also has problems with hot spots due to allergies. We feed him Purina One healthy weight maintenance.  What do you suggest for his diet?


Answer
Hi Bob,
Number One would be the new "raw, dehydrated" formulas like Addiction, Sojo's Complete or NRG.
If you go online (OnlyNaturalPets.com carries these) don't fall over at $69 for an 8 lb. bag.  That makes 50 lbs. of food.

Feeding an all kibble diet isn't good.  I like Merrick canned formulas - Innova EVO canned also.  Wellness CORE (not the regular Wellness) is also a very decent food.

If you decide to transition - go slow and add a bit more of the new food every day.  This especially applies to the raw, dehydrated since that's a major diet change.

And, as I said previously, I'd most definitely get his thyroid checked.  The two issues he has are big red flags and it's quite common and easily fixed with inexpensive meds.  A vet who's good with skin conditions who sees an overweight cocker w. skin problems would have done this on the first visit.