Zara needs to lose weight - advice please?

gettingready

Zara has been on reduced amount of food for ages now but seem to be unable to lose weight and stays just under 40kg.

She really should be around 36kg.

She is on Orijen Fish, was on 320gram per day (160 morning and 160 evening) , few weeks ago I have reduced it even further down to 300g per day (150 morning and 150 evening) but the weight is not shifting.

Last time we went to the vets, she possibly has a problem with her legs still, my vet agreed she is not how she should be past a double hip replacement, we are seeing an ortho tomorrow evening.

She had some blood tests done last year (thyroid as recommended here) and all was fine. She has blood tests last week (basic, to see her kidneys/liver as she is on Onsior permanently) all came back fine.

She does not get so much exercise now, 1 hour with dog walker middayoff lead with other dogs, another 1 hour with me split into 2-3 shorter walks, mostly on a lead now as it is dark before/after work,

2 questions

1) As I am seeing vet tomorrow, any other tests I could ask for to establish why she seems to be unable to lose weigh?

2) I am really reluctant to take her off Orijen they do not do "light" version, they do "senior" but its was not so great when we tried it. Staying on the Orijen Fish she has been on for ages and feeding only 300g per day - she is always hungry but does not lose weight so I am really reluctant to cut the amount even more, this would be crazy.

Off to bed as shattered but will check for any helpful replies before taking her to the vets tomorrow - can anyone advise please?

Thanks a lot.

Wellyboots6

I have split LS food into more, smaller meals as I am reducing his portions. It seems to keep him fuller longer rather than having 2 main meals he has 4-5 snacks now. I have to be careful he doesn't get hungry or he starts throwing up, blummin weird dog!

More training type exercises at home? I'm sure brain energy uses calories too!

gettingready

Thanks Katy,

I am out of the flat for like 11 hours per day with my current commute so feeding less more often would be difficult.

More exercise when it is dark outside and we do not have own enclosed garden is not an option either at the moment. Add to it me being completely shattered by the time I get home.. gets me 1.5 hour to get to/from work each day and this commute is killing me TBH...

Add to it Zara and my 4 cats and I do not have tme to scratch my.. forehead on weekdays

con1888

How does she cope with longer walks/runs?
At the weekend or whichever days you get off work.

Logan gets his shorther walks during the week then at the weekend we will go somewhere for the day and either walk lots with him on lead or go to some remote fields where he can run free and burn loads.

I know you don't have an enclosed garden but is she allowed in the garden at all ? Logan has a boomer ball which he chases in the garden and burns off loads of energy, perhaps if she is allowed in the garden, supervised, with one of those it will help.

trolleyrun

Random thought, but could Zara be stealing the cats' food?

minimoneysaver

Have you thought of getting a dog walker or sending her to doggie daycare a couple of days a week? I have mobility problems and have hired a dog walker. My dog really enjoys her walks out with her new friend.

begley

Jake was a bit of a porker when we first got him, so our vet suggested we join their weight loss programme with him. It was run by their vetinary nurse, and was completely free! Jake is always STARVING (or so he'd have us believe!), and has a food obsession so she put him on Royal Canin satiety which swells in the dog's stomach to help them feel fuller. We saw her every fortnight for a weigh in, and she was really helpful. It might be worth seeing if your vet runs something like that? We split his food into 2 small meals, and gave him carrot, cucumber and tomatoes if he was 'asking' for food. He reached his target weight in about 5 months, and we maintain that now. The satiety is about 12 quid for a 1.5 kilo bag, but I think you can get it cheaper online if you buy a bigger quantity. Good luck!

krlyr

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-lose-weight/

trolleyrun

Another random thought (I have a lot of them, sorry )

If Zara can eat grains you may want to try porridge in the morning. Cheapest porridge oats (not the readybrek stuff) mixed with water, only takes a minute in the microwave. Not many calories I give my mutt porridge for breakfast with some meat in it - two pieces of meat the size of my thumb nail - to flavour it. She loves it and it fills her up until the next meal.

joansgirl

My previous 2 dogs both had weight problems which got out of control for a while. We used to give them loads of veg as well as their dried. It seemed to fill them up quite well although sometimes it came out the other end looking the same as it did when it went in! We used to buy Tesco value frozen mixed veg. With the last one I took 5 kilos off him by getting him to chase a ball for 10 minutes a day. I know this isn't an option for you if her hips are dodgy. The porridge sounds like a good idea.

gettingready

Zara has a dog walker already and cat feeding is monitored with me guarding it so no, she does not steal cat food any more.

I am thinking more health issues preventing weight loss - any tests I could ask vet to do?

She can not exercise much as she limps if she does. She gets her 2 hours per day now, more in the summer but the weight issue is a long standing problem now.

As I said, she is on Orijen Fish, 300gram per day at the moment and always hungry..