Diet Advice Please - sorry its a bit long.

[sharonmansfield]

For the past year I have had problems with Bella, last November she hurt her knee and this has been an ongoing health issue until April this year when it did improve. She has had lots of periods of restricted excercise and got a bit tubby. She has never got back to her bouncy self and has become a bit lazy so she has never really lost this weight. The vet says she has thickening of the stifle on the damaged leg.
I took her for a lovely walk on Saturday and she came back limping. After another trip to the vets we find that she has damaged her other knee and I know its going to be a slow process. She has also put on more weight and is 17kg and I dont know what to do. I feel very sad that this has happened but she needs to lose weight and keep it off in order to help her legs. At 17 kg she is overweight but the vet said she is very muscly and she is a large sized show cocker. I wish I had asked him what in his opinion she should weigh but I was too concerned about her leg at the time.
I have to go back in 3 weeks and I would like for her to weigh  less as regardless of muscle and size 17kg is too fat for her.
Excercise is something I cannot really give her other than a quick walk down the street and back.

This is what I feed her
She is on James Wellbeloved adult I feed her about 70g with a 1/6th tin of 400g  butchers tripe for breakfast.
She has 3 slices of chicken roll, 2 in her kong and one with her glucosamine tablet wrapped in it. She also has 1/2 a meaty low fat chicken strip in a cardboard box as entertainment during the day.
At night they have a chicken wing, drumstick or thigh each and 2 gravy bones each at bedtime.
They also have bits of human food too - after our meals we usually leave them a tiny bit each. I have cut this immediately

I am used to having German Shepherds so am I feeding them too much, I assume I must be so what cuts can I make please

Many thanks in advance.
Sharon and Bella


 

[mooching]

The Butchers tripe is what my vet recommends for putting weight on, both for puppies and adults. I would suggest cutting this back further (by half initially), and cutting the kibble down to 60g, and see if it makes any difference. And then perhaps cut the Butchers down further/altogether. Does she have the ordinary James Wellbeloved Adult food, or the cereal-free version?

Does she like any veg at all? My Alfie loves the odd carrot stick, and also likes broccoli stalk, chopped up into chunks.

[Sheryl]

I was reading an interesting article the other day in the vets newletter...the gist of it was that feeding a dog a crisp or two is equal to a cheeseburger for us, a biscuit=cheeseburger, toast=cheeseburger, chocolate=cheeseburger!  The amounts that were quoted were not huge either.  Maybe it will just take time for the effects of cutting out the human food to show itself x

[Karma]

Agree with Mooching about the tripe... also perhaps you could use some of her kibble allowance in her kong (with a small squirt of cheese spread to hold it in) and in her cardboard tube rather than treats?  That would just leave her with the one bit of chicken for her tablet and her gravy bones.

I would be reluctant to cut back her kibble, as 70g really isn't a lot, and this is her main source of good balanced nutrition... however I would probably cut the tripe out altogether - if she needs something extra on her kibble to get her to eat it, I'd look at using blitzed up veggies - great for bulking out meals without bulking up a waistline!!!    If needbe you could keep a small spoonful of the butchers tripe with this to make it yummier...

On the exercise front, would she benefit from hydrotherapy?? This might enable you to shift a bit more weight without damaging her joints...

[sharonmansfield]

Thanks for your help,

I will try cutting out the Butchers tripe I did not realise that it was fattening. The last time I did this they would not eat the kibble but I have been putting hot water on it so the kibble smells tastier anyhow. They do like veggies so thats another good idea as is kibble in the kong and boxes.
Its amazing how these things seem so simple and obvious now that you have pointed them out!

I too saw on a tv programme that human food = cheeseburger so as of yesterday that was dropped totally. It must add up a bit off my plate then a bit off OH.

They have the normal adult James Wellbeloved.

Karma I have thought of hydrotherapy I saw it on its Me or the Dog yesterday and the dogs on the show loved it. I think it would be great fun for them and certainly worth looking into to get her joints moving without any strain.

Thanks again I am feeling much more positive.

[Sheryl]

Will your insurance cover the hydrotherapy?

[sharonmansfield]

I don't know Sheryl to be honest I will have to have a look at my policy. It's with the kennel club. I am not even sure if anywhere near here does it I will have to look into it. Thanks

[mooching]

They have the normal adult James Wellbeloved.

It *might* be worth trying the cereal-free version (they call it "Turkey and Vegetable", "Lamb and Vegetable" and "Fish and Vegetable), in case the cereals (ie carbs) are contributing at all to her weight issue.

[sharonmansfield]

Thanks mooching it's certainly worth me trying her on it. They are nearly at the end of this bag anyhow. I will get a small bag this week and mix it. Thank you

[mooching]

If you go to the JW website, you can also request a free sample of the Turkey and Veg Cereal-Free version.

http://www.wellbeloved.com/products/trial_sample.aspx

[LurcherGirl]

You might also want to ask your vet to do a comprehensive thyroid test for your dog. If your dog is hypothyroid, this could explain the weight gain. Also damaged/ruptured cruciates could be a symptom of a hypothyroid dog.

Vera

[sharonmansfield]

Vera thank you I read your comment with great interest. I will ask my vet about her thyroid and getting tests done.  Bella is a bit of a couch potato. but if it is her thyroid that would explain quite a lot. Its certainly worth me asking them anyhow.
Many thanks
Sharon