Overweight dog- feeding advice

UKTigerlily

I can't get Chay to try carrots! Mind you if I give her a bone type treat she leaves it a week or more sometimes before eating it, so I couldn't leave a carrot that long! (Not an animal bone) i'd love her to have some carrots!

NoAngel

Hi, we've got 2 Norfolks and they must be the greediest breed around.

They really are, aren't they?!! He obsesively looks for food, he's sooo greedy!:rolleyes:

The OP walks him 3x a day, I think the 20 minutes is his off lead time only but might be wrong? I'd think with 3 walks a day it'd be more like at least an hour of walks?

Thanks for pointing that out- he has three walks per day, I meant the 20 mins is off th lead once we get away from the roads. In total probably about 1hr30mins per day.

Thanks for all the other advice! An extendor lead would be perfect, think we'll go sort one out this week along with some new food. Also may start giving him some raw carrotts as suggested by a few people. Should I limit these, I presume that too many could upset his tummy?

olias

I give my Lab maybe 2 a day at most, and he has never had an upset stomach

Olias

MrsTinks

My mums GSD had about 2-3 good sized ones a day easily and her stomack was fine but maybe build it up gradually
She was given carrots because of medication she was on basically making her constantly hungry - being constantly on the look out for food meant she had loads of treats etc and her weight exploded - so her normal treats were exchanged for carrots - mum used to cut up the carrots in the morning and put in the fridge in a tub - these were then used in place of treats and a handful with each of her meals - just to help bulk it out for her

Kerriebaby

if he is seriously overweight, then pop him to the vets for a good check pver ( including thyroid and bloods ) to make sure there are no health problems.

Then check out your foods, I would recommend Burns in this instance, very good quality food, that will ensure that he gets all that he needs. I would bulk out his meals with veggies ( cheap frozen ones ) Up his exercise as much as you can ( if he cant be let off the lead, then think of other ways you get exercise him, get him to chase you, play hide and seek, use a long line on him in quiet areas, and play ball )

Good Luck

suki1964

I have to agree with the advice Kerrie has given, check up at the vets for a good overhaul to make sure there is no underlying cause for the weight.

Btw - the weight he has lost so far is in dogs a great amount so you are obviously doing something right

I personally wouldn't feed Bakers either. In his case I would recommend Burns as its a great quality kibble and it also has the knock on of keeping the weight down.Use cooked and raw veggies to curb his appitite

If you are going to buy an extending lead, only use it when away from roads. Its all to easy to sleep into dolly day dream when walking and the dog then gets enough lead to let him run out in the road leaving you no chance of reigning him in.

If you have tennis courts, slip in with a couple of balls and play for ten mins. I find 10 mins, two balls and a chukitt wears my cocker out no end.

Swimming is also great exercise. Im lucky and we have a few slow rivers close to us which my lad loves to swim in. You can leave him onlead and let him swim close to the edge as you walk along if you have a pond or slow river you can use

foreign_correspondent

Well done, he is shifting it gradually, which is great!!

I would avoid Bakers, as others have said for the colours. I feed Wagg which suits my dog fine, but as yours is overweight go for the ordinary variety (not working dog) or the light version.

Maybe have a look at CSJ online too, I know a lot of people swear by it, and apparently they will happily send out free samples if you contact them and let them know what sort of food you are looking for (very MSE!) http://www.csjk9.com/

You can also add cooked veg to his food to bulk it out (a good use of leftovers) but don't put salt in the cooking water ideally (better for you too!!) - too much cabbage makes them windy tho, and apparently they should not have too much broccoli (a bit is fine!) but no onions (toxic to dogs)

NoAngel

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I found a good priced low calorie food whch he seems to love (though he eats just about anything, including bird poo!) and he already seems better for it. Have gradually eased it into his dinner.

Have also been taking advantage of the weather and we've had 3 walks per day, two of them long one hour walks, mostly off the lead and if nothing else, I'm feeling much better for it! Beats those expensive gym memberships! So money saving all round and one happy dog that will hopefully be less chubby soon.

UKTigerlily

NoAngel wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I found a good priced low calorie food whch he seems to love (though he eats just about anything, including bird poo!) and he already seems better for it. Have gradually eased it into his dinner.

Have also been taking advantage of the weather and we've had 3 walks per day, two of them long one hour walks, mostly off the lead and if nothing else, I'm feeling much better for it! Beats those expensive gym memberships! So money saving all round and one happy dog that will hopefully be less chubby soon.

Sounds great! I'm sure he'll soon be much healthier & it sounds like you're doing everything you can to help him, what a lucky Dog he is! lol I had to laugh at the eating bird poo, so far i'm lucky with Chaya as she will only eat actual food she sees, so if we walk by dropped chips etc she'll go to them (Though I look out for things like that anyway & glass & whatever) but sometimes she gets in there before I can stop her & looks at me all smug, she's not tried bird poo yet though!

It has been great weather hasn't it, i'm looking forward to going to Chaya's new trainer soon, but she needs surgery first so i'm impatient to get that done (3 weeks today!). I'm glad he's enjoying his new food, I personally feel it's important they enjoy their dinners! I think you should post his current/before pics & then again when he hits goal! Well done both of you x

NoAngel

UKTigerlily wrote: »

Sounds great! I'm sure he'll soon be much healthier & it sounds like you're doing everything you can to help him, what a lucky Dog he is! lol I had to laugh at the eating bird poo, so far i'm lucky with Chaya as she will only eat actual food she sees, so if we walk by dropped chips etc she'll go to them (Though I look out for things like that anyway & glass & whatever) but sometimes she gets in there before I can stop her & looks at me all smug, she's not tried bird poo yet though!

It has been great weather hasn't it, i'm looking forward to going to Chaya's new trainer soon, but she needs surgery first so i'm impatient to get that done (3 weeks today!). I'm glad he's enjoying his new food, I personally feel it's important they enjoy their dinners! I think you should post his current/before pics & then again when he hits goal! Well done both of you x

He eats bits of old food too- his beady eyes usually spot them before me. He had a stone in his mouthearier too, i'm not sure how long he kept it there for before realising he really couldn't eat it and spat it out! I hope Chaya's surgery goes well!
I tried to put some pictures on, but honestly can't figure out how to attach them to my post! I think all my uni work is making me dafter!