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Overweight 12 months old

Discussion in 'General Health' started by Simba13, Mar 5, 2015.

  1. Simba13

    Simba13 Forums Enthusiast

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    Simba is 12 months old and is definitely overweight. He weights 25lbs and is 14 inches tall. I can only slightly feel his ribs. He is active and walks daily as well as agility twice a week and has began running with me twice a week now that his growth plates are closed. He gets fed a brand of dry food called clinivet. He can't eat most foods because of bad stomach problems so once I found a food that agrees with him I can't change it. How much should he be eating a day to lose weight?

    He has treats 3 or 4 days a week, although I have cut down the amount now, which include sausage and beef. What high value treats would be the healthiest? I use them for training so I don't want to cut them out completely.
     
  2. tofu pup

    tofu pup Moderator

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    I cheer you on for taking it upon yourself to help Simba slim down. Excess weight is hard on a dog, and he will feel better (and enjoy more healthy years with you) at an ideal weight.

    There is no "magic number" amount of food to feed a dog. The right amount depends on so many factors that it requires some trial and error.

    You need to start with the amount of food you are giving him now, and feed him less. If he's getting half a cup per meal, cut it to one-third of a cup. Give it a couple of weeks, and see if you feel results (ie. more ribs). If you don't feel much change, reduce the amount of food a little more. If he starts to feel too thin, add a little back. That's it. I know you are a loving owner, and he is not going to starve to death.

    As for treats... if he requires high-value, super-nummy, super-fatty treats (sausage!), I would cut them very, very small (like half a pea). If he is like every dog I've met, the treats get gulped down so quickly he doesn't really evaluate how big each bite is - it's the anticipation and the flavor (and frequency and timing) that count.

    I would also evaluate just how "high value" he needs for training. I have had dogs who are discerning, and dogs who will work for dryer lint. Shelties tend to be very food motivated (ie. not picky). Will he work for kibble? (If so, you can kill two birds with one stone and feed him part of his daily ration in training.) Will he work for a leaner protein, like turkey or chicken? Again, cut the treats small.

    The good news is that it's not really difficult to adjust a dog's condition. You are 100% in control of every calorie he eats. You can do this!
     
  3. trini

    trini Forums Sage

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    Ditto to all of Tofu Pup's advice....and I would really caution against sausage or other very fatty treats. Shelties can be prone to pancreatitis and super fatty foods are not the best bet.

    Trini
     
  4. Greenepony

    Greenepony Forums Enthusiast

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    My sheltie is a bit of an air fern too. When she went on steroids for allergies, despite increasing our distance of runs, she went up to ~23lbs at a petite 13". We've gotten her down to <20, I'd like her to be 17-18.
    This is what worked for us:
    - Finding a lower calorie food to mix in that fit her food allergies (no wheat, rice, duck, or chicken)
    - Cutting her kibble down 1/3-1/2 depending on her weight and filling the volume loss with frozen green beans
    - Making my own low calorie treats (using pieces of leafy greens on their own, green beans, or a cookie using flax or egg, partially defatted peanut flour, etc) I learned she works just as well when food isn't involved or used sparingly so it's a bigger reward. Praise is her best motivation.
    - Working on her muscle strength (sit-down-stand, repeat, balance balls, etc)

    The rescue we got her from has gotten in a lot of chunky shelties and swears by the green bean diet. I like to keep an eye on her nutrient intake since she doesn't get a lot to begin with, so aren't as aggressive with that.
     
  5. Simba13

    Simba13 Forums Enthusiast

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    Thank you for all the advice! I was speaking with hes breeder today about showing him and mentioned his weight. She told me his mam who is petite weighs 16lbs and his dad who is about Simbas size is 19lbs so that really made me think about Simbas weight. I have been giving him 2 ups a day split between 2 meals so I think I am going to half it for now and see how it goes. If he loses to much weight I will add a bit more.

    He will work for lean meats like chicken but will tire of them after a week or 2 so I will try and mix it up. He is actually more toy motivated so we use toys at agility but at obedience he gets to hyper if I reward him with his tug toy and then he circles around me and won't work anymore.

    I always see dogs on tv shows that are starving to death and that got me thinking that over feeding can cause so many health problems to and I want to do what is best for my baby.

    I was just getting the breakfast ready for all of the dogs (so I don't have to get up even earlier in the morning haha) and it made me laugh. Simba is getting half a cup and my super lean 105lbs shepherd is getting 4 :).
     
  6. Caro

    Caro Moderator

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  7. EJHUNTL

    EJHUNTL Forums Enthusiast

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    My Hanna is going to be 2 in June, and she weighs 17.2 pounds right now at 14.5" tall and finer boned. That is at the top end of what she should weigh. I like her closer to 16 pounds and we get there in the summer. Winters are cold here and so she doesn't get as much exercise. Hubby sometimes takes her cross country skiing and she has no trouble keeping up for the 13km loop - but he's only doing that a couple of times a week when it's not too cold.

    We feed her 1/4 cup kibble in the morning and the same amount at supper time. She gets a treat almost everyday. Greenies and freeze dried liver and sometimes turkey jerky.

    If you are feeding 1/2 cup per meal then your Simba is getting twice as much food as Hanna, so it's no wonder he's put on some extra. Good on you for taking control of this now. Tofu pup gave great advice about how to do it. The only thing I'd add is to measure carefully and resist the urge to "top off" the scoop. That little extra is not a big deal per meal but times 14 it adds up. :wink2:

    Another thing to consider is that if you cut back and do not see any results - then consider thyroid testing. My last sheltie was overweigh and in spite of measuring her food (down to the kibble using a scale) I was not able to get the weight off her until she started daily thyroid meds. It came off really quickly then and we had no trouble maintaining. Just something to keep in mind.
     
  8. Silaria

    Silaria Forums Sage

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    Two cups a day is a lot of food for Sheltie. You are on the right track cutting that in half. My boy is 14.5 inches and, as of Tuesday, weighs 17.2 pounds. He is currently fed a 1 cup of food split into two 1/2 cup feedings.

    Another thing to consider in the diet is the training treats. On training days, since he'll be getting food while training, is to cut that 1/2 cup to a 1/3 cup with the knowledge the missing portion will be taken up by the training treats.

    I'm forever tweaking the amount of food my dogs get; it even changes by season if necessary. Once you learn what to look for, you can make adjustments pretty easily.
     
  9. BarbV

    BarbV Forums Celebrity

    You can also supplement with a high quality wet food to help reduce calories yet help feel there never ending tummies

    Indy tubbed out at over 37 lbs. Through a combination of reducing his kibble to 1 1/3 cup per day, but also two tbsp of Weruva wet food he is now down to 31.4 Its been a long and slow process. I chose NOT to go for the fast weight loss, as I wanted Indy to get used to it. He also gets a daily treat of 4-5 baby carrots and 1 Whimzee dental chew lately. (this is new, and probably has delayed his weight loss, but his teeth needed helpd) As a result, his weight loss as slowed a little. I'd still like to get him to 28 lbs. So I will probabaly up the wet food a little and

    But remember, to check the calorie count per cup of whatever food you feed. And don't feed the recommended according to the package. Its always more than necessary. (I won't go into the whys of that in this post). And also the higher the protein, fiber and fat diet that you feed, the more efficient,and therefore you feed less as well. It digests more efficiently and poops less.
     
  10. BarbV

    BarbV Forums Celebrity

    Also, as I side note, my 1 year old Callan is also on the cusp of being a chubby puppy. He is on the petite side and like you mentioned, I'm not really feeling his rbis. He seems to be about 14.5 inches and 23 lbs. He is next on the diet list.
     

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