Zara needs to lose weight - advice please?

krlyr

Fairly easy to prepare in advance though - blitzing a week's worth and freezing in freezer bags, these could be taken out the night before for the next day's worth of meals. I know GR has to operate on a fairly tight budget so depends on which she has more of to spare - time or money.

gettingready

Thanks a lot everyone.

So, first what the vet said:

Can go down to 280 g per day split into 3 meals and when I had clear head I realized it is possible as dog walker comes mid day so can feed Zara once for me. So 95 gram 3 times per day, sorted. Was not thinking straight while at work and sneaking on here, sorry and thanks for suggestion.

Swimming - nope because of the sine, he had a report from her MRI from FR and no swimming.

Her right leg is weaker than left and uncomfortable when being manipulated, so I was right all along and not "overreacting" - she will have Xrays to see if a reason can be found for it.

Water treadmill - Zara had few sessions on one, did not enjoy it at all (first session was "what is that" and after she was digging her heels in). Now, considering it is 2 bus rides away each way (and a good walk too),total of over an hour each way, buses sometimes refusing to let me in with Zara, Zara not enjoying treadmill - I really can not see it working to be honest.

Now, the veggies - interesting as Zara never shown any interest in any veggies in any shape or form raw or cooked(Fred does but he does not need them). Also, she is on dry food alone with sardines in oil from time to time.

So - how would I sneak veggies into her???? Which ones? How much?

Any ideas here?

Thanks a million everyone and Krlyr - thanks for the helpful calculations. Money is not an issue at all at the moment, thanks to a lovely contract I started in July (big grin) but contract dues to finish in Feb so may have an issue (read: no job) then LOL

krlyr

Have you ever tried her with blended veggies? Casper will eat anything (he's scoffed a bowl of salad before - no dressing or anything!) but Kiki can be picky and won't eat a lot of veg as-is. However, blended veg seems to be as sought after as their raw meat, they go absolutely nuts for it! I used to prepare my mum's puppy's raw meals and my two would hover around waiting to 'lick the bowl' like kiddies and cake batter. I often blend veggies for their Kongs, I do add a bit of fish or an egg usually but you could do this and reduce her biscuits slightly to lower the calories.

You could maybe try soaking some of her biscuits until soft and blending them in with the veg? This could be a good way to bulk out her meals actually, even without the veg - blended with water into a sloppy paste, you could work up to freezing this in a Kong (I'd start with a thick paste mixed with some biscuits, stuffed in the Kong, then slowly begin to freeze it (so freeze it 1/4 full and add more unfrozen, then 1/2 frozen, etc.) and then water it down more prior to freezing. You'll be feeding a greater volume of food and the frozen Kong will take her longer to eat, yet she'll be getting the same calories.

gettingready

Cool - thanks.

What veggies though?

And how much?

Really have no idea.. friend';s dog will kill for a raw carrot but Zara.. hmmmm

Just caught Fred having a go at my okra/dahl/rice and papadoms.... sigh.. Fred likes Indian...

krlyr

I tend to just use frozen mixed veg. Green beans are quite high in fibre so good at making a dog feel full.

Given her breed and the slightly higher risk of bloat, avoid too many gas-causing veggies, so careful on things like cabbage, brocolli, cauliflower etc. Carrot is fine, but it is one of the more sugary veg so slightly higher in calories.

Just be careful of some - onions are a no-no, tomatoes are thought to aggracate things like arthritis. There are quite a few 'toxic to dogs' food guides available you could check out. You could probably find some lists of veggies that BARF feeders feed, since they include a fair amount of vegetables into the diet.

krlyr

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/105230-blended-veggies-meat-barf-diet-warning-gory-pics.html

gettingready

krlyr wrote: »

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

Using the recommended guidelines, overweight or obese dogs should lose about 1% to 2% of their body weight each week.

aiming for the lower 1% a week and Zara needing to drop 4kg which is 10% of her body weight

week 1 at 40kg - 400 gram loss
week 2 at 39.6kg - 396 gram loss
week 3 at 39.2 - 392 gram loss
week 4 at 38.8 - 388 gram loss
week 5 at 38. 41 - 384 gram loss

etc etc

Assuming 1% weight loss based on "week before" - it would take 11 weeks for Zara to get to just under 36kg


40.00- 39.60
39.60- 39.20
39.20- 38.81
38.81- 38.42
38.42- 38.04
38.04- 37.66
37.66- 37.28
37.28- 36.91
36.91- 36.54
36.54- 36.18
36.18- 35.81

gettingready

krlyr wrote: »

http://www.petforums.co.uk/dog-health-nutrition/105230-blended-veggies-meat-barf-diet-warning-gory-pics.html

Brilliant - so raw blended?

I wonder if I mixed those with her dry food and added some coconut oil to hold it together..hmmm

Need to check calories in coconut oil though

krlyr

Wikipedia says 117kcal per tablespoon (14g) - I give mine about a tablespoon, but I'd maybe give half, or slightly less than, a tablespoon to cut down the calories a bit, given her size cutting down lower may not have as much benefit but equally you don't want to use up half her daily calories in coconut oil!

gettingready

jezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz that is a lot...

also, need to check those sardines...