Should we switch from weight control food?

.red.

Hi folks.
We got a collie cross a while back from a rescue. The poor thing was massively overweight and we put her onto Burns weight control dry food. She was 34kgs and our vet reckoned 22/23 kgs would be a good weight to aim for. She's now at just over 22kgs so has lost almost 12kgs in just over 3 months. She's like a different dog. Full of life and energy again.
We've got about 2/3 weeks worth of food left and unsure what to do.
Would people recommend to start her on a normal food now or should we stay on the weight control.
She has more than enough excersise every day chasing the ball and she gets a good walk in too so I'm not too worried about her piling it back on for now but she's gonna be spayed in about 2 months as she's just after coming into heat for the first time in over 3 years, probably due to her weight. I know a lot of dogs can get a little heavy after that so we're just unsure what to do regards her food.
Any suggestions from people who've been in a similar situation?
Thanks.

DBB

Well done! That's a fantastic achievement with her weight loss. Not easy to do... it takes fair discipline. She will benefit hugely from it too.
Is there any reason you particularly want her off the weight control food, other than she's not controlling her weight any more? Maybe you just want her on a normal food? Fair enough! I prefer grain-free food with a high meat content, but I also like to keep the fat content within reason.
So, I think I'd be using up the last of the old food by gradually giving her less of it every day, with a corresponding increase in the new food.
Keep an eye on her waistline, as you may need to adjust the portions up or down, as you get used to the new food and how it suits her.
Re the neutering... there's a message I'm determined to help get out there about timing of spaying! Note the first day she started bleeding on this heat, and plan to get her spayed 19-20 weeks after this date.
Yes, that gives you a window of 1 or 2 weeks to get her done. Why? Well, it has fairly recently been discovered that the "traditional" time for females to be spayed, which is mid-cycle, somewhere around 3 months after the last heat, means that they are bring spayed whilst pregnancy hormones are still at work in their bodies. ALL female dogs go through a pseudopregnancy following heat, all of them. They don't all show symptoms, but at a hormonal level, their bodies think they're pregnant.
If you spay them whilst these hormones are still at work, there is a danger of causing "persistent pseudopregnancy", the female's body unable to break out of the hormonal cycle, and it has been the root cause of many more cases of future female aggression and anxiety than anyone dares to think.
The solution? Spay them during the short window that occurs after the hormones are gone, and 4 weeks before the start of the next heat... that's 19-20 weeks after the first day of bleeding at the last heat.
Persistent pseudopregnancy is treatable, but I'd prefer to avoid it altogether!

volchitsa

DBB wrote: »

Re the neutering... there's a message I'm determined to help get out there about timing of spaying! Note the first day she started bleeding on this heat, and plan to get her spayed 19-20 weeks after this date.
Yes, that gives you a window of 1 or 2 weeks to get her done. Why? Well, it has fairly recently been discovered that the "traditional" time for females to be spayed, which is mid-cycle, somewhere around 3 months after the last heat, means that they are bring spayed whilst pregnancy hormones are still at work in their bodies. ALL female dogs go through a pseudopregnancy following heat, all of them. They don't all show symptoms, but at a hormonal level, their bodies think they're pregnant.
If you spay them whilst these hormones are still at work, there is a danger of causing "persistent pseudopregnancy", the female's body unable to break out of the hormonal cycle, and it has been the root cause of many more cases of future female aggression and anxiety than anyone dares to think.
The solution? Spay them during the short window that occurs after the hormones are gone, and 4 weeks before the start of the next heat... that's 19-20 weeks after the first day of bleeding at the last heat.
Persistent pseudopregnancy is treatable, but I'd prefer to avoid it altogether!

Sorry for briefly hijacking the thread, but does this apply to cats too, and if so, what are the windows?

I ask because we found a young female cat a while back, who (of course!) has had kittens, and we have made an appointment to have her spayed next week - the kittens will be nearly 5 weeks old. She seems to have come back on heat this week (not 100% sure, as she's not clearly showing the signs, but I'm pretty sure all the same). We're keeping her inside until the surgery, but is the date likely to cause the problem you mentioned in dogs?

volchitsa

.red. wrote: »

Hi folks.
We got a collie cross a while back from a rescue. The poor thing was massively overweight and we put her onto Burns weight control dry food. She was 34kgs and our vet reckoned 22/23 kgs would be a good weight to aim for. She's now at just over 22kgs so has lost almost 12kgs in just over 3 months. She's like a different dog. Full of life and energy again.
We've got about 2/3 weeks worth of food left and unsure what to do.
Would people recommend to start her on a normal food now or should we stay on the weight control.
She has more than enough excersise every day chasing the ball and she gets a good walk in too so I'm not too worried about her piling it back on for now but she's gonna be spayed in about 2 months as she's just after coming into heat for the first time in over 3 years, probably due to her weight. I know a lot of dogs can get a little heavy after that so we're just unsure what to do regards her food.
Any suggestions from people who've been in a similar situation?
Thanks.

And well done on getting poor doggo's weight down like that, OP - not an easy thing to do, I'm sure.

Our bitch was spayed quite young and hasn't put on weight since, but she is very active. So it doesn't have to be an issue, and you've done such a brilliant job getting her weight down that you probably won't find it that hard to keep it down after spaying. IMO it's a lot easier than having her actually lose weight.

.red.

Cheers for the replies.
The weight loss was surprisingly easy. We weighted her food out daily and she got 3 low calorie treats a day. This has been upped lately to a little more but she deserves them.
If she never got brought for a walk again she wouldn't care. All she wants is the ball. We have to hide it on her when we're indoors. We live in a small quiet cul de sac so shes out the front a good few times a day off lead playing fetch and then her walk varies from 5-6kms.


As for the food, I think we'll keep her on it, for now anyway. Its doing her no harm and has done the trick.
Thanks again

DBB

I don't know! I'm not anywhere near as familiar with the cat's reproductive cycle as I am with the dog's. I'm not sure if it has been investigated in cats yet!

volchitsa wrote: »

Sorry for briefly hijacking the thread, but does this apply to cats too, and if so, what are the windows?

I ask because we found a young female cat a while back, who (of course!) has had kittens, and we have made an appointment to have her spayed next week - the kittens will be nearly 5 weeks old. She seems to have come back on heat this week (not 100% sure, as she's not clearly showing the signs, but I'm pretty sure all the same). We're keeping her inside until the surgery, but is the date likely to cause the problem you mentioned in dogs?