Food for a very overweight dog

[CrunchyMand]

Oscar is severely obese. It happened whilst he was staying at my mums, he was podgy to start with but all the treats and the 20 minute walks meant his weight has piled on. The vets recommend Hills Diet Metabolic, but I've looked at the ingredients at All About Dog Food and it scores very low. I'm currently feeding Lily's kitchen of 90g twice a day but his weight is just not shifting. He walks for an hour a day mostly on lead and even off lead he stays close by me, he doesn't run and he won't play fetch . What other food can I try, I just don't know how much to be feeding him and I don't want him hungry as he scavengers food from everywhere he can. I thought about Tails.com as they do a weight loss food. Any ideas what I can do, he needs to lose about 12KG

[wendall]

Thats a lot to loose  I had to put Honey on a diet to loose 2kg and found it difficult to know what to do. In the end, I reduced the amount of food by a third and bulked it out with chopped up carrot. If she was asking for food between meals she got a carrot. It worked quite quickly. Good luck

[Jane57]

Eden is good for weight loss. 80% meat /fish  20% veg, fruit , herbs etc,
Feeding amounts are low as there is no fillers, bulking agents, cereals etc.

How much does Oscar weigh now ?

[elaine.e]

Could you try hydrotherapy for Oscar? Your vet would have to give written consent first, but if he thought it was safe for Oscar it could be a good way of getting him fitter and losing some weight without putting the strain on his body that normal exercise must do at the moment. If he's insured you should be able to claim.

Does Oscar like kongs? If he has to work for his food by getting it out of a kong it will make the food and the satisfaction of eating it last a bit longer, as long as he enjoys doing it.

[BobnDot]

If he needs to lose 12 kilos that would indicate that he's about twice the weight he should be 

I'd go with all of the suggestions given but also buy a digital scales so that you can accurately weigh his food out and, most importantly, keep a daily record of what, and the weight of, everything that goes on the doggy side his teeth 

You may find a kibble would be easier to weigh out and you can then make sure that any treats come out of his daily allowance or are strictly limited to slices of carrot. It may also help to spread his daily food allowance over three or four feeds rather than the two he's on at the moment.

If he's a bit of a scavenger then you may have to resort to a soft muzzle to keep control of his extra-curricular snacking 

Bob.

[Cockertime Blues]

When we adopted Skye last summer (she is a springer age 13-1/2) she was obese and weighed 27.5 kilos.  She's now between 20 and 21 kilos, which is about right for her.  She lost 7 kilos in 6 to 8 weeks - can't remember but not very long.  We did this by feeding her her regular food (Wainwrights Senior and a spoonful of tinned in her case) in a much smaller amount (80 grams twice a day in her case).  We weighed it out for the day every morning, gave her her breakfast, and any treats came out of her daily ration.  She also got plenty raw veg and fruit as treats.

I think we overdid the exercise a bit to start with so just let him do as much as he's comfortable with.  The vet told me that rapid weight loss does not seem to affect dogs health-wise.  It gets easier as I think their stomachs shrink and they stop expecting vast amounts of food.  She's capering around like a puppy now and lives for her walks.  She could barely walk when we first got her.

12 kilos is a lot to lose for a wee cocker.  You'll have to do it though, or he won't live long.  Good luck and let us know how he's doing.

[Cockertime Blues]

Sorry Bob you posted same time as me.  Didn't mean to repeat what you said.

Also meant to say we weighed Skye once a week and kept a record.

[BobnDot]

Sorry Bob you posted same time as me.  Didn't mean to repeat what you said.

Also meant to say we weighed Skye once a week and kept a record.

No problems at all, you've given advice and details based on actual experience which is much more valuable than my more general post 

Bob.

[tenaille]

Beau needed to lose a bit as he was getting tubby, a tip we got was to reduce his kibble and add in some green beans.  The beans took the edge off his hunger and let him lose weight. He lost a kilo and a half  in a couple of weeks.
Tinned green beans are very cheap in France, but a bit pricier in the UK.

[8 Hairy Feet]

Barking Heads "Fat Dog Slim" you get
quite a decent amount at 90grams.

[Archie bean]

I'm in a similar boat at the moment. Due to my broken wrist Archie is only getting walks in the fields in our village. It's not that short but he doesn't run around either. He just potters about close to me. At home he has been lounging around keeping me company on the sofa.  We visited the vet last Friday and he's put on a kilo.  he has always been big but now weighs 19kg. He already only has waaaay under the recommended amount of his food. He has two thirds of a tray of wainwrights wet trays. The recommended amount is one and a half trays. I have bought the low fat version of it to see if that helps first of all and am trying to cut out his treats (he has other ideas). Luckily he is obsessed with broccoli and he is quite a fussy eater and not a scavenger. Yesterday he swapped a loaf of bread (unwrapped French stick  ) that I dropped on the floor for half a milky bone. I thought it was a gonner for sure!
Fingers crossed we both manage to get our portly pooches slimmed down for the spring. Good luck. In my case, I'm pretty sure it will be my inability to ignore "those" eyes that lets Archie down!

[LurcherGirl]

I once put one of my dogs on CSJ Senior/Lite because he put on weight very easily... but I soon had to move him to another food again as he lost weight so quickly (he wasn't overweight to start with, I just had to watch his weight all the time so I thought a lite food would make life a bit easier). So it might be worth trying that one. The kibble are also a shape that makes them feel fuller, so they are not as hungry. 

[rubybella]

Gosh that is a lot of weight to use - my cocker girl only weighs 12kg!

I think you should be looking at a lower fat food, as I think Lilly's kitchen is about 12% fat ? I would be suggesting something like tinned Chappie which is low fat or Millies Wolfheart Tracker mix is 8% fat.

[JennyBee]

Burns is meant to be good for weight loss, it certainly helped keep Brodie's weight in check when she used to be on it. I know it doesn't suit some dogs though.

A lot of the senior dog foods are low in fat; NatureDiet, Nature's Harvest, and several others wet foods have senior versions if you are interested in trying that.

My last cocker was very overweight at one point (due to my dad ) and I didn't find the prescription weight loss food any good. He was always hungry, and my vet said to let him have as much veg and fruit as he wanted. He loved his fruit .

[sodpot2000]

12Kg to loose! OMG! That is one seriously portly pooch.

Just to endorse the suggestion of hydrotherapy. Due to owners' matrimonial problems we had to care for an arthritic and obese labrador for a time. The vet wanted weight off her joints and she was able to go to a hydrotherapy pool at a nearby kennels. It really helped to slim her down and made her a lot more comfortable. It has to be part of a package of course but they burn a lot of energy swimming without the same stress on the joints that a long run would cause.