Royal Canin Obesity Diet

Fire_Fox

Why not use the mixer up as treats and to wean her off treats entirely? The kibble will presumably be smaller than a Bonio, therefore lower in calories.

foreign_correspondent

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Why not use the mixer up as treats and to wean her off treats entirely? The kibble will presumably be smaller than a Bonio, therefore lower in calories.

Good idea! Healthy and moneysaving!

My dog will do tricks for bits of kibble, she loves all food equally it seems!

Fozz

Vicx, your dog sounds just like mine!! Food is her main obsession!
I think part of the trouble is that they get used to food and treats at certain times and it makes you feel guilty to refuse them, but I guess they will get used to the new regime. I have bought some Bakers Light food (got this before I read the post about the CSJ food) and have cut all her remaining Dentastix in half.
She is used to having a Dentastick after her evening walk, and pulls all the way home in anticipation,so will just replace with a lower calorie treat.
We are lucky that she is healthy with no joint or heart problems so far so losing weight isn't urgent, but would like her to be lighter to prolong her life and prevent future problems.

vicx

Fozz wrote: »

Vicx, your dog sounds just like mine!! Food is her main obsession!
I think part of the trouble is that they get used to food and treats at certain times and it makes you feel guilty to refuse them, but I guess they will get used to the new regime. I have bought some Bakers Light food (got this before I read the post about the CSJ food) and have cut all her remaining Dentastix in half.
She is used to having a Dentastick after her evening walk, and pulls all the way home in anticipation,so will just replace with a lower calorie treat.
We are lucky that she is healthy with no joint or heart problems so far so losing weight isn't urgent, but would like her to be lighter to prolong her life and prevent future problems.

Hi Fozz, how old is your dog? Mine is 9 year old, unfortunately she has heart problems and fluid on her lungs which I only found out 2 weeks ago. She is now on medication for life.

Yeah food is her main obsession! All Cavaliers must be the same. I have never known a dog be so greedy though. She just loves to sit in the kitchen while I make meals and follows me to the table, expecting left overs all the time.

She is used to me feeding her at certain times, usually around 8am and 4pm. I am sure she can tell the time because she will wake me up and run to the kitchen if I am not up before 8am. Then she tells me when its her tea time feed!

I wish I knew her exact weight but I am too scared to ask the vet to weigh her!

foreign_correspondent

do ask the vet to weigh her - then you will be able to see how the changes you make to her diet impact on her weight. Or, as she is a small dog, you may be able to get her to sit on the bathroom scales, but it is likely to be less accurate than professional scales.

Fozz

Hi Vicx, my dog is 9 (birthday in September), the vet did say she is lucky not to have heart problems by now, it's really common in Cavaliers. She too knows exactly when it's time for her food, and follows me around for half an hour at least before her mealtime.
I know it's very difficult to get them to lose weight, especially if they are as greedy as our two are. :rolleyes:I have started to scatter her food around the floor instead of in her bowl, gives her a bit of exercise and slows down her eating. She potters around for quite a while making sure she hasn't missed a bit! What colour is yours, mine's Blenheim.

vicx

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

do ask the vet to weigh her - then you will be able to see how the changes you make to her diet impact on her weight. Or, as she is a small dog, you may be able to get her to sit on the bathroom scales, but it is likely to be less accurate than professional scales.

I did actually do that a few month ago but she wouldnt fit on our small scales. I can't remember how much she weighed, I will try again tomorrow - shes snoring her head off right now :rotfl:

Fozz wrote: »

Hi Vicx, my dog is 9 (birthday in September), the vet did say she is lucky not to have heart problems by now, it's really common in Cavaliers. She too knows exactly when it's time for her food, and follows me around for half an hour at least before her mealtime.
I know it's very difficult to get them to lose weight, especially if they are as greedy as our two are. :rolleyes:I have started to scatter her food around the floor instead of in her bowl, gives her a bit of exercise and slows down her eating. She potters around for quite a while making sure she hasn't missed a bit! What colour is yours, mine's Blenheim.

She is black & white. I would upload a photo if I knew how to add one to this post.
I'll have to find her documents to find out her birthday, I'm sure its around October. She was actually my sisters dog but with her working full time I was dog sitting most days then ended up taking her to stay at my house when she was about 1 year old. I had two yorkies at the time both males so had to have her spayed. One of my yorkies died 3 year ago coming up new year, but I still have the other, he's 13.

I was putting her meal into one bowl then addin a spoon full to her bowl to try and get her to eat more slower but she would still eat fast and cry for the next spoonfull. She would expect more after shes ate it all too so it didnt seem to be doing much good. If I scattered it all over the floor she would run around fast then sniff at the floor all day :rotfl:

foreign_correspondent

getting b1tches speyed not nly protects the from unwanted pregnancies, it prevents them from getting pyometria, a potentially fatal womb infection, and also drastically reduces the risk of mammary cancers, so you did the right thing.

It does make their energy needs slightly lower, but the speying is not the cause of her being overweight, it is most likely to be down to the fact that she is eating more than she needs... get her weighed, then you will be able to see if what you are doing is working!

I know it is not easy if you have a hungry/greedy dog (I do too) but her being so overweight will put her health at even greater risk... has your vet given you any advice re: her diet and weight at all?

vicx

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

getting b1tches speyed not nly protects the from unwanted pregnancies, it prevents them from getting pyometria, a potentially fatal womb infection, and also drastically reduces the risk of mammary cancers, so you did the right thing.

It does make their energy needs slightly lower, but the speying is not the cause of her being overweight, it is most likely to be down to the fact that she is eating more than she needs... get her weighed, then you will be able to see if what you are doing is working!

I know it is not easy if you have a hungry/greedy dog (I do too) but her being so overweight will put her health at even greater risk... has your vet given you any advice re: her diet and weight at all?

The vet has not given me any advice about her diet or weight. I've never had to take her to the vet since she was spayed - around 7 - 8 year ago (I've been lucky). It's only since then she started to put weight on so I thought being spayed may have something to do with it aswel as eating more calories than she needs.

I took her to the vet a couple of month ago and I mentioned her weight and how taking her for walks twice a day doesnt seem to help. He didnt seem too concerned and just made a fuss of how lovely she was.

She loves going for walks but drags me back home after 5 minutes and I couldnt understand why. Then her cough started 2 weeks ago so I took her back to the vet and thats when I was told she has a heart problem which they see too often in King Charles Spaniels. The vet told me to avoid excercise as she gets out of breath too easily - like walking up and down stairs. Now that she can't burn these caleries off with walks I am going to have to cut her food down and change her diet. I will leave the mixer out from now. I could give her her normal dog meal on a morning and something light for her late afternoon meal, like tuna or scrambled egg.

Fire_Fox

Tuna or scrambled egg isn't a complete meal, there aren't the essential fats and minerals needed for health, and tuna is quite salty which puts extra strain on the heart. Stick with the complete wet food twice a day and cutting out the mixer.