Best advise to get off excess weight

[Worthy]

Hi, I though Kasper was getting a bit portly so to speak, so took him to the vet for a check up and at 15.6kg he is approximately 2-4 Kg overweight. I have upped his exercise regime to include more off lead walking/running and genrally upped my pace when road walking over the last week and he is now 15.1kg. My concern is that I have reduced his kibble to only three small handfulls a day and I am now worried about underfeeding him, in  the sense that will he have enough energy to function off that amount of food. 
I have cut out all treats, although he did not really have them often (not every day). He is also more grumpy than usual and I am wondering if him feeling really hungry is the cause, it is almost twelve months now since he was castrated so I presume that this is also a contributing factor to his weight, however I was wondering, is reducing the food (Wafcol Salmon & Potato) enough of should I change to the light variety.
Also just a question re feeding raw chicken wings to keep teeth in good condition, I brought a raft of chicken wings for my freezer and thought he would relish the opportunity but to my surprise he completely turned his nose up, is there anything else that is a natural way of cleaning teeth. He will tolerate a brush and doggie paste but I feel really mean as he definitely does not like it.

Thanks in advance

Vicky & Kasper

[black taz]

re: cleaning teeth - Asda do their own dental sticks with pummice (93p for 7). I changed to these last year when Kelly (11 at the time) had a build up of plaque.  She had been on them for about 3 months when i took her back to the vets and the vet was that impressed she wrote the details down for her own dog.  Kelly's teeth are now in really good condition for a 12 year old.  Not a lot of plague and she doesnt have dog breath!

As to loosing weight, couldn't your vet advise the best combination?

[bibathediva]

Do you actually weigh his food or just guess with the 3 handfulls  ...i think exact amounts are needed if you are trying to get weight off...since Biba was spayed it has been a struggle to maintain her weight and she did gain about a kilo and half at one point and i find if her food is a little over what she should be having she starts to gain weight again  .....she currently gets 80grms of dry a day split between 2 meals ..which once in the bowl looks nothing and i would say is about 1 handfull  she is fine on this and her energy levels have actually gone up since the weight has come off  how much exercise is he getting a day  :huh
you could try changing to special diet food as i think some of it is slow release so makes them feel full for longer although Kasper's weight is going down and not up so you must be doing something right 

Forgot to say how much Kasper and Lola look alike 

[spanielcrazy]

Energy wise he should be fine on reduced rations   Tinned green beans make a great filler and are well tolerated by dogs, you can give them to fill him up and round out the meal

I'm not sure I like the "light" varieties of food, they usually have a lot of grains and filler at the top of the ingredient list and cut back on the meat. I think the reason dogs lose weight on these is that the stuff is going right through them. They are probably all right to initially get the weight off, but once you reach the weight you want, or get close, that they should be on a reduced amount of a high quality feed. Just my opinion

[Jan/Billy]

Three handfulls isn't a great deal tbh. I'd weigh his food and just check you are giving him enough. If you do think he is hungry then get some bits of raw veg and offer him this during the day, so if he is hungry he has something to fill up on. Carrots are good 

[lurcher]

re: cleaning teeth - Asda do their own dental sticks with pummice (93p for 7). I changed to these last year when Kelly (11 at the time) had a build up of plaque.  She had been on them for about 3 months when i took her back to the vets and the vet was that impressed she wrote the details down for her own dog.  Kelly's teeth are now in really good condition for a 12 year old.  Not a lot of plague and she doesnt have dog breath!

As to loosing weight, couldn't your vet advise the best combination?

Hi!
What exactly are the Asda dental sticks called? ... I've been using dentastix - but they work out quite a bit dearer.

[Hurtwood Dogs]

The volume of food you are currently feeding may be suitable depending on the brand you are using and your dog. My cocker gets about a cup and a half a day of a complete food and raw veg offcuts and occasional meat for training treats - but only small bits of it. He doesn't get 'treats' just for the sake of it and he's fine on that.

I've never had a dog that's put weight, on but I do tend to feed by eye and reduce and increase a little depending on how they're looking. Plus I factor in the weather/time of year and how much exercise they're getting etc. My Weim was 2.5 years old and about 8 Kilos overweight when I got her and basically she was just being fed too much and not getting to run enough.. I've had her a year and a half now and it's been very easy keeping her weight steady and as others have said the slimmer/fitter she got the more energy she had. Dogs do need to run a lot everyday (well, all of mine have  ) so if he's not getting much off lead time increasing that may help hugely. Dogs do thicken up as they get past their teens and castration is often blamed for this when it's not always the case..

Your best bet is probably to keep doing what you're doing until you find a level of exercise and volume of food that suits your dog and he looks good on - it's hard to know what that is until you find it yourself as they all vary. Once he's at a weight and fitness that seems good you may have to fiddle about a bit to maintain that, but once you start to spot quickly that he's gaining a bit or getting a bit too slim, you can then adjust what you're doing a little rather than having a bigger job on your hands further down the line if that makes any sense!

Good luck!
Hannah xx

[Joules]

If he is still lively then he probably has enough energy - some dogs need less food than others and put on weight more easily.  Coco became a bit of a porker so I cut down her food and she lost about 3 kg last year. I give her carrots and other veg as treats to fill her up when she is wanting something to chew on - she loves them.  It took her a while to get to like them but she goes mad for carrots now - they are great for teeth too.     I would persevere with the chicken wings too - sometimes it takes a few goes for a doggy to get the hang of what to do with them - try bashing them with a rolling pin to break the bones up and hand feeding them 'til he gets the idea. Is he getting plenty of off-lead exercise as well as the lead walking?  That will help him lose the extra weight quicker. 

[black taz]

Asda Dental Sticks - can't remember the name exactly, but their own branded stuff is called "Hero" in green packaging.  If you go to pet/dog aisle you should fine them.  Mine both love them.

[SJP]

Asda Dental Chews

I think this might be the ones you are talking about.

[Worthy]

  Thanks for all your advise, had been mainly road walking as it is too dark for the park/fields first thing in morning and again when I get the opportunity at night (after teas, baths and kids homework). So will have to make sure I organise my day better CAN'T WAIT FOR SUMMER, I have bought myself some really good digital scales so will try and gauge what is appropriate whilst shedding the pounds and then monitor him more closely in future (I blame the hair , just kidding).
I have a plentiful supply of carrots in the fridge and will take your advise re the teeth, although I used the brush again today and he was much better than last time so maybe if I persevere he can have the dental chews combined with the occasional brush.

Thanks all xx

[bracken]

My Bailey is alittle over weight 17kg  so we have got her on a diet prescribed by the vet. She is always hungry and the Satiety Diet keeps her full as it is slow release. She has already lost 1kg so really pleased 
She is allowed a few raw carrots too 

[Coco]

Try flash frying the chicken wings to start with, may make them more appetising until he gets used to them.

[black taz]

I didnt think dogs should have chicken bones - or is this just cooked chicken bones (as they are more brittle?)

[Coco]

I didnt think dogs should have chicken bones - or is this just cooked chicken bones (as they are more brittle?)

Exactly that, not cooked bones. (Flash frying won't harm) 
Chicken wings and other bones can help with the dreaded anal glands and keeping teeth healthy