Best advise to get off excess weight

[Worthy]

  Can I just ask if I was to feed him the chicken wings I presume that would replace his evening meal, but given that he is on a strict diet how many would constitute as a meal I was thinking 1-2 or would that be too much?

I have been weaning his kibble over the last week from Wafcol Salmon and Potato onto Arden Grange Salmon & rice and he is now completely on the new food and really enjoying it, I have been weighing his food and rationing him to 120grams a day split over two meals. He is getting a minimum of 90-120Min's off lead exercise each day and his weight has gone up slightly to 15.2kg. I am now thinking maybe I need to reduce his portion size further or do you think that I am expecting too much to soon (I did expect him to have lost since his last weigh in).

[Jan/Billy]

Can I just ask if I was to feed him the chicken wings I presume that would replace his evening meal, but given that he is on a strict diet how many would constitute as a meal I was thinking 1-2 or would that be too much?

I have been weaning his kibble over the last week from Wafcol Salmon and Potato onto Arden Grange Salmon & rice and he is now completely on the new food and really enjoying it, I have been weighing his food and rationing him to 120grams a day split over two meals. He is getting a minimum of 90-120Min's off lead exercise each day and his weight has gone up slightly to 15.2kg. I am now thinking maybe I need to reduce his portion size further or do you think that I am expecting too much to soon (I did expect him to have lost since his last weigh in).

oo eerr ! 120 grams a day doesn't sounds a lot to be honest    Billy is on AG and I'm sure he gets about 250-300 grams per day. I certainly would not reduce it any further especially with the amount of off lead excercise he is getting right now.

How often are you weighing him? If he's on just 120grams per day and geting that amount of excercise there is no way he should have put on weight. I wouldn't worry about it to be honest, I'd leave it a week or two and weigh him again and see what happens. It may just be a fluctuation. Are you weighing him at the vets?

Re the chicken wing, yes I'd feed them as a meal replacement rather than in addition. I'd say two wings should suffice 

[Worthy]

  Thanks Jan, I looked at the bag and it said approx 165-217g for 10-15kg so I thought giving him 120g would be fine (at least for a couple of weeks). He is still full of energy at the moment but I am keeping a close eye on him. I did weigh him his time on my own scales with him in my arms, so not necessary accurate I will give it another week and incorporate a walk past the vets to put him on their scales

[Jan/Billy]

Thanks Jan, I looked at the bag and it said approx 165-217g for 10-15kg so I thought giving him 120g would be fine

I'd say it's way too little to be honest.  What weight are you trying to get him down to? I'd be feeding him somewhere in the middle probably about 200grams if he was my dog  If he's getting excercise too that should be fine and the weight will come off.

He may not have lost weight because his body is adjusting to the reduction in his food and his metabolism has dropped to compensate.

Yep I'd weigh him at the vets but I'd leave it a week or two

Good luck 

[debrand]

When I took Jet to the vet she said 200g was far too much He has been cut down to 180g then will go down to 150g. Milly who is a smaller dog (height and build) is on 200g a day but at 10 is still very active. One of the other vets in the practice had told me to up her feed as she is underweight but give her any more she just leaves it.
I felt a bit miffed as it was a new vet who hasn't seen my other two skinny dogs and it was obvious she just thought I was an owner who gave their dog lots of treats and not enough exercise! I don't think she really took me seriously at all.

[Jan/Billy]

When I took Jet to the vet she said 200g was far too much He has been cut down to 180g then will go down to 150g.

The AG feeding guide says for dogs that weigh 10-15kg the amount should be 165-217g per day. So if you want to get your dog down to 10kgs you should be feeding 165g or if you want it to get to 15kg then it should be on 217g per day. I really don't understand why the vet would say to feed  less than this? Of course the feeding guides are just guides, they may need to be altered to suit the individual dog but the starting point should be the manufacturers guidelines.

I was told not to reduce a food below the manufacturers guidelines, as if you are feeding only 90% of the suggested portion then you are only giving your dog 90% of the nutrients he needs. Instead you should look to feed an alternative brand.

it was obvious she just thought I was an owner who gave their dog lots of treats and not enough exercise! I don't think she really took me seriously at all.

    I've heard that a few times from people 

[Worthy]

  Thanks Jan had not though of it like that, but it makes perfect sense will increase his rations a little. As far as how much I want to get off I was aiming for approximately 12.5kg give or take a little depending on how he looks. My mums worker Baily is 8/9 months and he is 13kg and looks great a little skinny IMO (but they all go through the leggy/lanky stage). My vet suggested about 12-13 for Kasper although others dog owners (no one on here by the way) have advised 10kg as being the ideal weight, but Kasper does not have 5kg to loose he would be a walking bag of bones .
Thanks for the insight though xx

[black taz]

Taz was 14.5kg last time we went to the vets in August, and she said he was fine but not to let him put anymore on.  But he is at the higher end of the height for a cocker.  A couple of people have said that he looks stocky, but i think most of that must be his coat - when he is wet he has a lovely slimline shape.

[ollie1]

Our dog Ollie is over weight he was 21kgs plus now after 1 month of being on Arden grange adult 115g in the morning and 115g in the evening . He now weighs 19.1kgs we have also cut out treats we give him carrots now . We also increased his walks from 15 Min's three times a day to two hours per day .. it's not a quick fix but it works we have noticed he's a lot happier and moves faster and can now keep up with our other dog . Oh he doesn't snore as much either . Ollie is 17 inches tall a big cocker so both us and the vet agree he's never going to be 15kgs we are aiming for 17-18kgs .

[ollie1]

Oh just to add my other dog is thin 8kgs jack Russell I've never over fed and always follow the manufactures recommendations. I've never understood why Ollie my cocker has put so much weight on . But at least we are  making a difference he's worth it i love him so 

[emderpenguin]

I'd say it's way too little to be honest.  What weight are you trying to get him down to? I'd be feeding him somewhere in the middle probably about 200grams if he was my dog

You'd balloon Pepper then! Her food gives similar reccomendations... I give her 80-100g per day (if she's having an all dried food day/before I started giving meat each day, she usually have 50g dried 100g meat) and she still sometimes is a little over (you can feel fat between her skin and ribs). Last weight check she was a little over 10kg

She has been spayed, which I knwo can make a difference, but even so. She's an energetic dog who, among other things, does flyball training once a week. BUT she sleeps solidly. Once she's gone not much wakes her up again.

My other dog, Kye, is almost always alert and is hard to keep weight on as he worries it all off again given have the chance!

ETA: Something that might be worth looking into is if there is a hydro therapy pool close to you. I'm going to start taking Kye for his fitness levels, but it's also a good way to loose weight

http://www.canine-hydrotherapy.org/

Have look on here for a registered one

[bluegirl]

My dogs are fed a raw diet so can't really comment on certain brands as I know nothing about them but I do weigh my dogs on an approx 3 mthly basis and depending on results I just adjust meals accordingly. Logan looks good at 13.5 kg and looks skinny nearer 13 and fat above 14kg so if he's gained say 500gs I'd reduce the amount of cereal I give in the morning slightly and I'd also slightly reduce the overall amount of meat I gave at night time too. I don't give treats or titbits so I know rations are definately reduced. I'd also be careful to minimise the foods which are known to increase weight so go easy on any oils or fats for a while. The weight loss is gradual but it does come off then I just stick nearer to the amount of food needed for his desirable weight. I do the same with the others and other than pregnancy weight gain they don't really tend to fluctuate more than about 500gs either side of their ideal weights. When I reduce portions of meat I will usually alter they way I feed too so that the reduced portions give optimum nutrition but with fewer calories so adding eggs and offal I can reduce amount of meat so reducing calories but keeping the food highly concentrated with essential nutrients.
Along with dietary changes I would also increase their exercise routine too with plenty of off lead running around to burn more calories.

As others have said maybe a diet change is required or maybe a vet check to make sure he isn't ailing with say an underactive thyroid gland as this will make weight loss very difficult but can be rectified.

If you were going to give wings and dried food I'd give half his daily allowance of dried food in the morning for example followed by 2 larger or 3 smaller sized wings as a substitute for his evening meal allowance but to this you may wish to add a raw egg say 2 - 3 times per week, a small slice or 2 of offal and a kelp tablet.

[Worthy]

  Thanks again will keep all the good advise in mind and will definitely pick up some chicken wings when I food shop and give them another whirl. I wasn't gonna weigh him again so soon, but as it has been almost 3 weeks since I weighed him accurately at the vets I thought I would incorporate walking past there during our walk this morning. Kasper was 15.6 kg last time and 14.7kg today so the weight is coming off steadily, I think that his lack of off lead running combined with too much kibble was the main reason for his round belly, as I stupidly had avoided the mud baths and stuck to road walking during the winter. Luckily for us we nipped it in the bud before it became a real problem for Kasper and he has only about 1-2kg to loose (give or take a little), once again thanks for all the advise it is much appriciated. I will post some new pics of my little man when he gets back in shape .

[jessnjimmy]

just wanted to add that arden grange is a great food but both mine got tubby on it.  They are back on Burns lamb and rice in the morning now and half a pack of naturediet in the evening.

my two are golden bitch aged 5 - Jess (spayed) and blue roan doglet aged 4 (neutered)  Honestly if you want your dog to lose weight feed it Burns.  (very controlled fat and protein)  It's worth a try.
Hope this helps

Linda

[bibathediva]

Thanks again will keep all the good advise in mind and will definitely pick up some chicken wings when I food shop and give them another whirl. I wasn't gonna weigh him again so soon, but as it has been almost 3 weeks since I weighed him accurately at the vets I thought I would incorporate walking past there during our walk this morning. Kasper was 15.6 kg last time and 14.7kg today so the weight is coming off steadily, I think that his lack of off lead running combined with too much kibble was the main reason for his round belly, as I stupidly had avoided the mud baths and stuck to road walking during the winter. Luckily for us we nipped it in the bud before it became a real problem for Kasper and he has only about 1-2kg to loose (give or take a little), once again thanks for all the advise it is much appriciated. I will post some new pics of my little man when he gets back in shape .

Thats a good amount to have come off him...well done