senior dog bit overweight..

jsabina

Hi everybody,
this time writing for Buddy
He should be around 8 years old now and he is a bit overweight.
When I got him he was around 20kg, after the summer he was 24kg :eek:

As he has bit of arthritis and such he cannot do crazy exercise, but he is very active anyway, because Jago forces him to be so

(joking, but he get a lot of running after the ball and playing inside the house).

I switched to senior james wellbeloved, and I think the vitamines and glucosamine etc helped a bit with his joins issues.
But not for losing weight

I am thinking to change for a light food and add then the extra vitamines/minerals.
They like jameswellbeloved, I know they have a light version..

any suggestions?

thanks!

muddypaws

Just reduce the amount you are feeding a little bit? The guidelines on the bags are only guidelines, each dog is different.

Zapperzy

Does he get any treats or scraps, or just his daily meals each day? Cut out treats or replace with something like bits of carrot. Use the guidelines on the side of the bag for his target weight rather than his current weight and actually weigh out each meal on a scales, you'd be surprised even using those measuring cups how much of a variance there is. Split his daily meal into two portions a day if your not already doing this.

And make sure nobodys feeling sorry for him and giving him titbits or table scraps behind your back, it happens. :rolleyes:

jsabina

thanks,
I've been using the feeding cup to check the amount, I'll buy a scale, maybe that's one of the reasons.
They don't usually get treats, just dentastick sometimes?
I'll try to cut more, sigh, sorry for him, but maybe I can try to introduce something like you said carrots just to keep him feeling he is eating more?

knarkypants

Our Lab who is also 8 was put on Hills Prescription Diet food as recommended by our vet. Our dog was developing problems with his shoulder so the weight had to come off. We cut out all treats and scraps and only fed him the diet food.

He has lost 10kg and is on maintenance but it's been very difficult for him as he just seems to be starving all the time and had started to steal our food by jumping on the kitchen table or counter tops. He once knocked over the bin and scavenged out of it! All food is now kept locked away from him.

We also give him Glucosamine supplements to help with his joints and it's made a world of difference to him. He's like a pup again.

I know it's hard but you have to strict with their diet no matter how much they beg!

ferretone

jsabina wrote: »

thanks,
I've been using the feeding cup to check the amount, I'll buy a scale, maybe that's one of the reasons.
They don't usually get treats, just dentastick sometimes?
I'll try to cut more, sigh, sorry for him, but maybe I can try to introduce something like you said carrots just to keep him feeling he is eating more?

Also, cut out the dentastix. They aren't even terribly effective at their job, and quite high in calories, so if he'd get one of those, you'd need to subtract all those calories from his meals.

Millem

I have yet to meet an overweight dog on burns! It is the only food my youngest can tolerate without have adverse effects on her skin etc
I order a 6kg each month for her on amazon and buy "burns alert" as its vat free but is exactly the same as normal burns. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B009QYPHJA/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1416810378&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165
We used to give arthriaid to our old girl in her food for her arthritis.

jsabina

ok... I'll cut dentastick then! He was getting like 1 a day, but not everyday.
Things like rawhide bones?

I'll check if it's worth to change food as well.

Thanks for all the replies!

Meemars

My girl was around 8 when we got her from the Rescue. She was a real fatty at the time, with early signs of arthritis in the elbows.
Regime of diet and exercise, particularly swimming, and within a few months her previous neighbours and staff from the rescue hardly recognised her.
Losing the weight took years off her. She's trim and energetic now, 3 years on she's still in better shape than she was when we met her first.
I feed her Barking Heads "Golden Years", and add a Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplement too. But the swimming really helped too.
She's like a young one!

spur

+1 on cutting back on he gets. I changed foods a few years ago, checked side of bag and fed my guy on what was recommended - and this was for the weight I wanted him at, he was probably 1-2kg over even then. He literally started expanding in front of me. I cut back and cut back and cut back and by the time I managed to his weight stabilised he was on less than half what the bag recommended.

It's a constant struggle for me with this dog and our other dog can eat as he likes and rarely gains anything. In fact he's usually so thin that I'm adding extra to his meals to try to put something on him - and he's more like the dogs I'm used to. #1 just loves food and it breaks my heart to see him sniffing around the floor after he's been fed.

jsabina

thanks..
when I got buddy from the pound he was overweight..
then he stayed one year with us and he was perfect weight..
not sure what happened last summer, for sure the 15 days when I was on holidays..but I understand it could have started earlier.. he put on weight again!

thanks for all the inputs!

DBB

jsabina wrote: »

ok... I'll cut dentastick then! He was getting like 1 a day, but not everyday.
Things like rawhide bones?

I'll check if it's worth to change food as well.

Thanks for all the replies!

Dentastix are seriously calorific, to be avoided at all costs!
Rawhide is very fatty, also to be avoided. It also *may* depending on where you get it, be of very questionable origin :eek:
Do you shop on zooplus at all? They do a number of dried meat products, some of which are very low in fat and very much enjoyed by my dogs in any case! Dried beef tripe, lung, heart or oesophagus are great, as is bull's pizzle. Avoid pig products, they tend to be very high in fat.
I have an elderly little dog (12-13ish years old) who has autoimmune pancreatitis, so I must control her fat intake. She also has a bad leg so I have to keep the weight off her.
I was feeding her Barking Heads "Fat Dog Slim" (8% fat), but the rice content in it annoyed me. She's now on James Wellbeloved cereal-free (10% fat), which she ADORES (she is extremely fussy).
She is fed exclusively from a Kong Toy (I plug it with boiled chicken), to stretch out her mealtimes and to keep her active. It also means that I am measuring her food accurately as there's only so much I can fit in the Kong!
I have noticed quite a difference in her since changing her onto the JWB and using the Kong... she is muscling up and has definitely become more active in herself.:)

DBB

Having done a quick search, a large Dentastix is 65 calories.
A senior 20kg dog needs somewhere in the region of 850 calories per day.
So, one Dentastix in a day makes up 7.6% of his daily requirement. If you're feeding him the recommended amount of dry food on top of this, it's easy to see how he'd gain weight over a few months, even if he's not getting them every day
On the contrary, an average-sized tripe stick is 10 calories!

jsabina

Thanks DBB.
Sorry I am a bit ignorant on dogs weight loss because I always had skinny dogs.. .and Jago is super skinny
So I've cut the dentasticks absolutely and reduced a bit more the food.
I know that is for his own good so I'll do everything to make him happy but on the right weight!

I buy everything on zooplus.

Now I will compare the JWB cereal free to the senior one to check if it's lower calories.
Buddy is not fussy at all, he would eat ANYTHING really.
And jago is the skinny one and a bit more fussy

I will keep you updated on how is going

jsabina

checking on zooplus at the moment

senior says fat 7.5% while light fat 10%

?

should I look at fat or calories?
because I cannot find info about the calories apart from the light version..

DBB

jsabina wrote: »

checking on zooplus at the moment

senior says fat 7.5% while light fat 10%

?

should I look at fat or calories?
because I cannot find info about the calories apart from the light version..

Go for the senior one, as it'll contain the oils, glucosamine, chondroitin etc that you're having to add to his food already, and which could be increasing his calorie intake needlessly if it's already in the food

jsabina

perfect I'll stick with it then..
I'll buy a serious digital scale.. cut dentasticks and everything and hopefully he will go back on perfect weight!

jsabina

I proud to announce that today we went back to the vet for vaccinations and ckecup..
and and..
Buddy weight is perfect!
He is back to 21.50, that was his weight in the beginning.
The vet checked him and said he is fine now!
yuppie!
Now we'll stick with the diet!

Ashbx

jsabina wrote: »

ok... I'll cut dentastick then! He was getting like 1 a day, but not everyday.
Things like rawhide bones?

I'll check if it's worth to change food as well.

Thanks for all the replies!

Try carrots or rice cakes if you want to clean the dogs teeth. My vet told me that dentastix are nothing but calories.

If the dogs don't eat the rice cakes/carrots initially, try spread a tiny bit of peanut butter on it for flavour.

jsabina

great, Jago loves carrots but Buddy no.
I'll try with peanut butter and rice cakes..
wasn't sure about dentasticks but now I know they're not good so I'll swap to something healthier

Ashbx

Glad to see you managed to get the weight down anyway! Its very hard to get a dog to lose weight (especially a senior dog!).

jsabina

it's very hard, especially for me psychologically to see him begging for food and having to give him less..
but I know that it is very very important and especially for an older dog with back issues!
Now he is running and "jumping" as if he was a puppy! I have to stop him sometimes, I don't want him to hurt himself!
I caught him the other day trying to jump on a table to get a bone... grrr ..