Feeding the Overweight Dog

[hauntedoblivion]

My dog is fat. :cry: The vet recommended that he lose about 15 pounds or so in order to be at an appropriate weight. I have recently (roughly 3-4 weeks ago) put him on Wellness Super5Mix Healthy Weight dog food. Before that he was on Canidae Platinum for Seniors/Overweight for a few months. I switched him for convenience purposes (it was easier to purchase the Wellness than the Canidae). He was getting 1 1/4 cups twice a day, but the vet wanted me to bump him down to 1 cup twice a day, so we are starting that this evening. She also said that I could add green beans to his food because they are low in calories but will satisfy his hunger. So, my question is: How often can I add this to his food? How much should I add? Are there any other vegetables I can add (carrots, peas, etc)? If so, how often and how much? Does anyone have any other tips on helping dogs lose weight?

As a side note, because I'm sure it's going to come up, I am going to be switching my schedule around a bit in order to allow more exercise time for him because I know that just reducing his food is not going to help him lose weight on it's own.

Thanks in advance!

[yellowbritches]

I promise, despite what he tries to tell you, if you give him a cup of food twice a day and some greenbeans (have no idea how much, but I'm sure your vet can tell you) he won't starve! Go very, very easy on the treats (I notice a lot of people seem to not think treats are calories, too). You can break up his treats and only give him a little corner of one, and he'll still think you are the greatest.

And just like with humans, get him walking. Diet alone is rarely enough. Get him out and WALKING (not just wandering around the yard). I would try at least 2 walks, 20 minutes or longer each, every day. Or one short one and one long one.

[onelanerode]

Both my dogs love raw carrots. I started giving them a whole, big carrot w/o the top, and at first they were both like WTH is this. :confused: But they quickly figured it out, and now if they hear anything that even sounds like the plastic carrot bag, they come running. They get one big carrot a couple times a week, and a few baby carrots here and there, usually when I make salad.

Other things we've tried include lettuce (the hound doesn't like it but wants to, because he sees the little black dog eating it), asparagus (wouldn't touch it), raw broccoli (not a hit), cooked broccoli (they ate it but w/o much excitement), celery (not having it), bananas (yum), apples (the little black dog liked them, but the hound wasn't keen) and raw sweet potato (meh).

Depending on the size of your dog (and I'm assuming larger, if he's got 15 lbs to lose), you can get doggie packs and have your dog carry things for you. Our little black dog *loves* his pack and proudly carries it around. We freeze 16-ounce water bottles and stick those in his pack; it helps to keep him cooler. The hound is mortified by his pack but it helps him stay focused on his "job," and he needs all the help he can get there, lol.

[goodhors]

Use a measuring cup and don't heap it up. I have the plastic ones that come in a set, so level top, is the one cup dog gets.

Get a smaller dish, that helps too. Less looks better in a small bowl.

I think you should be able to alternate vegtables, maybe cooked rice, in the food. Carrots have a lot of sugar, raw and cooked. Maybe zuccini or yellow squash, steamed could be a nice filler and alternating vegtable. Green peas should be fine. All should be lower in calories. There was a vet column in the paper and he always advocated feeding dogs vegtables and rice, as part of their diet.

My Corgi is on a very restricted diet, she can't tolerate fat in her system. She was getting rather porky on her little bowl of food measure. Husband and the kid kept it scooped up to a heaping helping. So I went to the measuring cup to make sure she was getting less. She alternates between 2/3 cup and one cup, depending on if she is plump or very trim. She gives you the dirty look, hates the no-fat generic food, but eats it anyway. For snacks she gets some cheerios or bread crusts, raw vegtables, small amounts only now and again. Not many snacks allowed, no dog biscuits. Gets to gnaw on our other dog's bones when the marrow and tissue are off. Still some flavor, no fat though.

Do check your fencing. With her slim-trim body, she now fits under the yard gate, and between some boards on the board fence. Had to go close up those holes! But she is running a lot more, looks a lot better. Amazing what 4 pounds loss will do on a 22# dog. At 18#, she looks very good, not getting winded when she goes walking. Have to keep husband away from the dogfood, keeps telling me she is TOO THIN because she gives him the sad eyes. You have to be hard though about the food fed quantity, no snacks to get results. For our dog's problems, food restrictions mean a live dog or a dead one.

Good luck with your project, takes time to get weight off slowly and safely, to regain the healthier active dog. Worth it though.

[Small Change]

Purina makes a fat dog food that is really wonderful for taking weight off a dog. It is the Purina O/M (obesity management). We adopted a beagle that was about three dogs wide when she first arrived; she was so chunky that she couldn't roll over, and if you put her on her back, she was more or less stuck there until you tipped her back on to her side. With the O/M food and plenty of exercise, she's down to about 1.5 dogs wide and actually has a visible waist!

[deltawave]

I've never fed a dog (we used to breed Siberians and I've had multiple other large breeds) more than about 2 cups of food a day, other than nursing mamas and racing sled dogs, and usually quite a bit less. Never had a fat one, either. :) Just feed less, exercise more. It really IS that simple. Hunger is an emotion for most people, not an actual physiologic state. The same, I daresay, goes for dogs. ;) Nobody ever died from thinking they were hungry. :)

[bdj]

Use a measuring cup and don't heap it up. I have the plastic ones that come in a set, so level top, is the one cup dog gets.
She was getting rather porky on her little bowl of food measure. Husband and the kid kept it scooped up to a heaping helping. So I went to the measuring cup to make sure she was getting less.

A small piece of advice if like goodhors (and myself) you have family members who are more "generous" in their measurements than they should be...

If SuperPup is supposed to get 1/2 cup of food per feeding, but DH (or DearestMom in my case) thinks it should be heaping, rather than flat - swap the 1/2 cup measure out for the 1/3 cup measure, and let them heap it up. This is how I'm keeping our airfern Corgi a little trimmer, and it really works, without me having to constantly remind/nag DM, "Flat scoops only, NO heap-y ones!"

Other than that, gradually introduce more exercise (which you already know about), cut out as many 'snacks' as possible (rawhides and pig's ears and Greenies aren't just chew toys - they add calories, too!) - we have many Nylabones and chew toys of the non-edible variety if mouths need to be busy without adding junk calories.
Agility and obedience training are also great ways to add exercise (for both dog and owner) in a really fun way - especially if you use some of the pup's dinner kibble as training rewards!

[FatPalomino]

I've never fed a dog (we used to breed Siberians and I've had multiple other large breeds) more than about 2 cups of food a day,

Great point!!!

My 95 pound Anatolian Shepherd eats around 2 cups of food a day... out of a measuring cup :) NO table scraps... but he gets to chew on a big femur bone while I study :)

All my dogs love raw carrots. One of my puppies eats a piece of tomato every day. My dobie puppy used to love potatos... and they would provide him lots of fun by chasing it around then eating it.

Also, check the protein levels. Some of that "higher quality" food is super concentrated. When I started vet school and started bringing in lots (more) of dogs that needed help (and food), we switched the majority of pack over to Purina. I hated to do it, but could afford to help a lot more that way. They are still shiny and happy... and my wallet is happier too :)

Good job trying to get the weight off. It will help your dog so much in the long run.

[caevent]

I've heard that canned pumpkin is also very good as a healthy filler for dogs needing to lose pounds.

[Simkie]

It's been a long time since I had an overweight dog, but we would feed her half cup food and half cup brown rice twice a day, rather than a full cup of kibble twice a day. It helped!

She needed about a cup of food in her belly to keep her from doing that "hunger puke" thing.

[Mav226]

Are you anywhere near a major city? My husband started a 'dog running' business here and it has really taken off. Between a change in diet and paying someone else to do the exercise, his clients have slimmed down quite a bit ;)

They have these kind of companies near most major cities (Philly, NYC, Atlanta, Charleston, etc.)

Or maybe just find a dedicated runner/walker who would like the company of a canine companion!

[Hampton Bay]

For those of you saying you never feed more than 2 cups of food a day, what if you have a very hard-keeper dog? I have a boxer/mastiff mix that gets 5 cups a day of Costco's food, and if I cut her back she drops weight almost instantly. She is not even close to chunky. I can see the ribs by her waist easily. She is wonderfully muscled, but no fat anywhere on her.

I am truly curious. This dog was a rescue in bad shape, but has been wormed 3 or 4 times in the past 9 months, and is otherwise in great health. Just a hard keeper.

[jherold]

I have a hard keeper. He gets Diamond Extreme Athelete. I think it's 28% fat and 32 % protein (or vice versa). Nothing wrong with giving a high protein/hi fat dog food if the dog needs it. Check the percentages on your dog food. Alot of compaines make a diet for extremely athletic dogs. You may need to switch to something more concentrated.

Mine gets two margarine tubs of the per day. I think it works out to about 3 cups per day. He is also not a good eater. I have to add cottage cheese or a little canned food to get him to eat.

He's still thin, but at least he no longer looks like he needs rescueing! He's a shepherd with a fenced yard that likes to race the cars. He goes out and runs as fast as he can for at least an hour every morning and evening and the dog walker comes and plays with him in the afternoon. There isn't an ounce of fat on him anywhere.

[Simkie]

For those of you saying you never feed more than 2 cups of food a day, what if you have a very hard-keeper dog? I have a boxer/mastiff mix that gets 5 cups a day of Costco's food, and if I cut her back she drops weight almost instantly. She is not even close to chunky. I can see the ribs by her waist easily. She is wonderfully muscled, but no fat anywhere on her.

I am truly curious. This dog was a rescue in bad shape, but has been wormed 3 or 4 times in the past 9 months, and is otherwise in great health. Just a hard keeper.

You need to compare calories, not cups.

Innova (what I feed mine at 2 or 3 cups a day) has one of the highest kcal/cup I've ever been able to find. It's at 504 kcal/cup.

Most dog foods are in the 300 range. If I had to feed my more active dog a food that had only 300 kcal/cup, I'd have to feed her 5 cups, too.

[yellowbritches]

re: hard keepers. My dog, Stella, eats at least 4 cups of food a day (sometimes more). I HAD been feeding her a higher quality food, but could barely get her to eat it. I switched her on a whim to Purina ONE, and she eats it with relish (well, Stella relish, not normal dog relish) and looks fantastic.

[Milocalwinnings]

I've only read the first post... but we have a 12 y/o basset hound who was quite overweight. He's still a little on the chunky side but he's def. lost some.

First, I would test his thyroid levels. Hypothyroidism can cause dogs to become overweight and make it really hard for them to lose.

With our basset, we tested thyroid levels 2 years ago but the vet claimed they were normal. So we cut down the food and added 1 small can of green beans (non salted) to his food. We only feed 1x a day, so he got 1 1/4 cups plus the green beans 1x/day. We have a yard and he was pretty active with our other dogs but we began walking him each day as well. From this he lost a small amount of weight but not enough for our or our vets likes (big risk for joint problems since he has stubby legs).

At that point we tested thyroid levels again and sure enough they low. We put him on thyroid meds and continued the altered diet listed above and noticed a small change in weight (2 lbs the first month) but that was it.... vet assured us to give it more time as sometimes the meds are slow to work. He's been on them for about 5 months now and we've seen decent improvements.

So that's what I would do first... check thyroid levels. Of course, an altered diet and increased exercise can't hurt, but it won't do much good if the thyroid levels are out of wack.

[deltawave]

Never had a "hard keeper" but of course if I did have an animal that was getting too fat or thin on "standard fare" I'd be very ready to make adjustments either way. Our racing sled dogs got really high protein stuff during the winter, and a more modest feed during the summer. Brood bitches got the racing stuff, plus cottage cheese and some meat.

Just like with horses (and people!) one size definitely does not fit all. But 95% of the feeding I've done for large-ish dogs (50-80 pounds) was in the range of 2 cups a day, give or take a bit. I'd rather feed too little regular food to allow for a modest amount of goodies. :)

[FatPalomino]

Check a fecal sample (or two), for things like hookworms or whip worms :)

[CDE Driver]

No offense intended, but, I had Danes that I thought were hard keepers. My big male was eating 6 - 8 cups a day! When I switched them to a higher quality food they became not so hard keepers! I did still put some yogurt or cottage cheese on their meals though.

My boxer, Archie Moore, has lots of food allergies so I am careful what I feed him. This winter he got a bit, well, thick, so we cut him back. He was NOT amused. So now with his dinner he gets a can of green beans (20 calories) and some diced yams. He is happy and full and not yelling at me for after dinner snacks! :)

[Go Fish]

Did I miss this? What kind of dog and what does your vet say is the ideal weight?

My mother, who used to raise show dogs would feed her fatties canned string beans and cottage cheese until the dog was at it's ideal weight for the ring. Never saw any ill effects from this "diet." If the vet says 2 cups total for the day, I would reduce the kibble to about 1/2 cup and add 1/2 can of string beans. If you add cottage cheese, kibble is not necessary. My mother raised cocker spaniels...if I recall correctly, she substituted 1/2 cups green beans and 1 cup cottage cheese, twice a day (no kibble). Again, I would adjust this recipe depending on the dog's breed/size and what the vet says is its ideal weight. Once the dog achieves its ideal weight, you can alternate the string beans with kibble to maintain.

Avoid canned food like the plague.

I've got two Corgis that can gain weight on air. I've tried the reduced calorie diets and found them to be totally useless in reducing their weight. I feed the low cal stuff about 4 days a week and feed the green bean/cottage cheese the other 3. Works well and I've seen no ill effects at all...even with my bitch who tends to have a sensitive stomach.

[hauntedoblivion]

Are you anywhere near a major city? My husband started a 'dog running' business here and it has really taken off. Between a change in diet and paying someone else to do the exercise, his clients have slimmed down quite a bit ;)
No, unfortunately, I am nowhere near a big city. However, I am planning on taking him to the barn with me in the evenings and then to a local park/walking area for some exercise.


Did I miss this? What kind of dog and what does your vet say is the ideal weight?

Sorry, I guess it would have helped if I had mentioned that, lol. My dog is a Husky/German Shepherd mix. Right now he weighs 80 pounds and we want him at about 65.


Use a measuring cup and don't heap it up. I have the plastic ones that come in a set, so level top, is the one cup dog gets.
Don't worry, I don't heap it. Actually, I had to measure it out and put it into baggies because sometimes my dad feeds him and he "feels so bad" that the dog doesn't get much food that he gives him too much. :no:

[Milocalwinnings]

Haunted: Has your vet done bloodwork to check thyroid levels?

[Hampton Bay]

The Costco food is very good. I keep my little dogs on it, and both of them have digestive issues. No by-products, corn, etc. Its 400kcal/cup. She is a good eater as long as my little fat white dog doesn't try to steal her food :)

No worms or anything, I have had her checked recently. She looks great, just a hard keeper.

[Sing Mia Song]

I am actually writing my master's thesis on managing the overweight dog (or, more accurately, managing the CLIENT with the overweight dog!).

First, portion control. Reduced calorie foods are the veterinary equivalent of Snackwell's Syndrome (you know--you feel like you can eat twice as many cookies because they're "reduced calorie" ;)). So your vet is correct in reducing his daily consumption by 20 percent.

Wellness is an excellent, high quality food. I wouldn't change anything there.

You can add a small handful of green beans to his food every time you feed him. Watch for gas or a change in stools, as sometimes increasing fiber too quickly can have some transient but painful GI effects.

You can use pretty much any other vegetable he likes, although corn and potatoes are basically carbs, not fiber. The only fruits and veggies I advise my clients to avoid are:

-onions/garlic (can cause Heinz body anemia)
-grapes/raisins (can cause acute renal failure)
-whole apples or apple cores (the seeds contain cyanide)
-tomatoes (depends on the dog, but some find them too acidic and they may cause an upset stomach)

Count on about 3-6 months to achieve the 15 pound weight loss with your dog. As with people, you don't want it to come off too quickly.

A word of caution on exercise--don't do too much too soon. If he's out of shape and overweight, then he is a perfect candidate for a cruciate rupture. He's better off doing some steady walks, especially up and down hills, for the first month or so. Also, letting him loose at the barn means he can potentially glutton himself on horse manure. Yum! :winkgrin:

Actually, I had to measure it out and put it into baggies because sometimes my dad feeds him and he "feels so bad" that the dog doesn't get much food that he gives him too much. :no:

The most common factor in undermining weight loss is another family member who feels guilty about having the dog on a diet. Give dad a bag of baby carrots and tell him he can feed as many of those as he wants! Good for you for measuring it out--we've actually put some clients on SmartPaks when they can't reach consensus in the household!

[hauntedoblivion]

Haunted: Has your vet done bloodwork to check thyroid levels?
No, she hasn't. I don't think a low thyroid level is his issue. He has always been a little hefty, and he loves to eat. I think his problem is just lack of exercise and a little too much food. If the weight doesn't seem to be coming off like it should, then we'll get that checked. Thank you. :)



Sing Mia Song - Your post was very helpful! I added some green beans to his food this evening; he loved them! You are right about the horse manure gluttony at the barn. :lol: I always thought that was why he was 'bigger'. Everytime I take him out there, he eats horse manure or cat food or horse feed that my horse dropped, and at home he tries to sneak into the litter box whenever he gets a chance. Now, I have been making sure that he is not able to get into any stalls or get near the cat food, and I try to make sure he stays busy (he usually stays near me anyways). Also, what exactly is cruciate rupture?

[lalahartma1]

Look into a raw, natural diet.

[Ben and Me]

Make sure you buy the "No Salt Added" green beans.

[Equibrit]

I have a terrier that doesn't need to eat much. I serve her dry food and fill the rest of the bowl with water. Not only does it stop her inhaling the food but it insures that she gets liquid with the dry food and makes her feel REALLY full. Carrots are a good treat too.