Royal Canin Obesity Diet

foreign_correspondent

I agree, I would just go onto the wet food alone at the moment, and see how she does - do check how much wet food a CKCS should be fed, and stick to that, split over 2 meals. If you do decide to add in something ike scrambled egg as an occasional treat for her, reduce the amount of wet food fed accordingly.

vicx

I have just weighed her on the bathroom scales which was quite difficult to get all 4 of her paws on. She is around 15kg. On the tins it says 5kg = 1 tin per day, 10kg = 2 tins per day. If I go by her weight, I am under feeding her but as she can't excercise to burn these calories off her food has to be cut down. If I gave her less I would have to give her something light, maybe cooked veg or scrambled egg?

foreign_correspondent

You should feed her for her ideal weight, not her current weight - if her ideal weight is 5-8kg she should be on between 1 tin per day, up to just over 1.5 tins per day - as she is very inactive, I would perhaps go for 1 tin a day, and if she seems hungry, perhaps bulk it up with some cooked carrot, cabbage (may make her windy!) or similar mixed in - however, 1 tin a day may well be enough to keep her feeling full.

Scrambled egg is quite high in calories, so may be best to look at veg you can add instead - a lot of american sites advise cooked pumpkin or squash, but they are not always easy to get hold of here.. although if you got one, you could always cook it all and freeze it in small portions to mix in!

Do avoid onions, garlic, grapes, raisins etc though, as they are toxic to dogs.

ETA - this may well make feeding her a little more expensive as she is actually eating more tinned meat than she was before - a good dry food is often cheaper, but I dont know how much of an issue that is for you.

- Also, is she particularly big or tall for a cav, other than being plump? - as you said, she is currently 2-3 times her ideal weight unless she is a very big cav to start off with...

vicx

She gets 1 tin per day sometimes a bit less depending if she gets any extras like chicken. She always wants more and she always tries to pinch my other dogs dinner if he gets distracted and walks away from it - there is just no filling her. I think she may be eating fast so she can try and eat my other dogs dinner too.

My Yorkshire Terrier used to be a very fussy eater until he started copying of my King Charles, he is quite greedy now too, hoping for left overs but he doesnt bark for it like she does. I don't think she is tall or long for a Cavalier, just over weight. The ideal weight is 5 - 8kg so she is almost double her ideal weight.

She has to take 3 tables per day for her heart and fluid problems so she is getting little extra's like ham and chicken to get the tablets down her which will all be adding up. I cant mix them in with her food as they have to be taken on an empty stomach, an hour before food and one late in the evening.

foreign_correspondent

You are going to have to be strong and resist her pleas for more food! Do try adding carrot or other cooked veg - you may also have to feed her and your other dog seperately so she cannot pinch his too!

vicx

I always stand over my Yorkie while he eats his dinner to make sure the King Charles doesnt get his dinner too but she eats so fast then stares at him ready to run to his bowl. I've just slow fed her, adding a little bit in to her bowl at a time. My yorkie finished his dinner first for a change and he was expecting more when I was adding bits to her bowl. I've got two greedy dogs!

I never give her more food but its the fact she is barking for it, sniffing about the floor and making me think she is starving that is quite irritating. If I go to make something to eat she races to the kitchen, always there before me!

Fire_Fox

vicx wrote: »

I have just weighed her on the bathroom scales which was quite difficult to get all 4 of her paws on. She is around 15kg. On the tins it says 5kg = 1 tin per day, 10kg = 2 tins per day. If I go by her weight, I am under feeding her but as she can't excercise to burn these calories off her food has to be cut down. If I gave her less I would have to give her something light, maybe cooked veg or scrambled egg?

vicx wrote: »

She gets 1 tin per day sometimes a bit less depending if she gets any extras like chicken. She always wants more and she always tries to pinch my other dogs dinner if he gets distracted and walks away from it - there is just no filling her. I think she may be eating fast so she can try and eat my other dogs dinner too.

My Yorkshire Terrier used to be a very fussy eater until he started copying of my King Charles, he is quite greedy now too, hoping for left overs but he doesnt bark for it like she does. I don't think she is tall or long for a Cavalier, just over weight. The ideal weight is 5 - 8kg so she is almost double her ideal weight.

She has to take 3 tables per day for her heart and fluid problems so she is getting little extra's like ham and chicken to get the tablets down her which will all be adding up. I cant mix them in with her food as they have to be taken on an empty stomach, an hour before food and one late in the evening.

As FC says scrambled egg isn't light, IIRC eggs are around 10% fat. Sounds like one tin per day is about right to feed for her ideal weight, so the suggestion to cut out the mixer seems about right. Ham is very high in salt same as tuna, and could put pressure on her heart. You can get a 'pill giver' (perhaps from the vet??) which are sort of like a syringe which you pop into their mouth. They are great for cats who just spit them right out unless you have a good aim!

vicx

I never thought.. I could get the first tablet down her with a tiny bit of dog food, just enough to cover the tablet as that one needs to be taken on an empty stomach - an hour before food. The second one aint a problem as I can pop that in her morning meal. Then the one late evening can be taken with a bit of dog food too

I have cut her mixer out so she will be getting 1 tin a day now. When I was adding the small bite mixer I cut her canned food down to get 3 meals out of it. I could add cooked veg with her meals if that will be more healthy for her, obviously not putting as much dog food in with it.

foreign_correspondent

you can add cooked veg as an extra to the dog food, (rather than reducing the amount of dog food) as it has so few calories but will help fill her up - you can then make her meal larger, but not really any more fattening.

The fattening bits are the mixer, egg etc... I would not reduce her dog food below 1 can a day as she needs the nutrients in that.

Popping her tablet in a bit of dog food is a good idea, or chicken should be ok too, but as firefox says, the ham is a bit salty and probably best avoided with her heart condition.

UKTigerlily

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?

Agree, my Dog weighs less now than when she was Spayed 8 months ago, she was 13.45kg then & is 13.05kg now, and she's a very lean Staffy. FC we know the tripe sticks are to lure other Dogs! lol Chaya loves yours, she doesn't seem as excited by the ones I found for her lol

Chay has 100g a day in total of Orijen, costs £2.50 a week, no grains, excellent food!