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  1. #1
    Puppy
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    Question Weight Loss Question

    So I have a 1/2 Lab/ 1/4 Shepherd/ 1/4 Walker hound mix. He's a big boy, bulky and heavy. I want to lean him out a little bit. He's currently at around 112 lbs! He only gets 2 1/2 cups of food a day and he gets two daily walks each one two miles long. I was looking at some weight loss foods, like Wellness Core/ Grain-Free - Reduced Fat, and Hill's Prescription Metabolic advanced weight solution. The Wellness almost has the same amount of calories, so I don't see how he would lose any weight with that food. Are there other factors to a food being a weight management food other than calories. It just doesn't make sense that my dog would be overweight eating 2 1/2 - 3 cups of food a day. He started gaining weight after getting fixed. He's currently 2 years old and on Dogswell - Vitality.

    Any suggestions or ideas on how to get this guy to lose weight without starving him?

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Georgia's Avatar
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    Sam has lost 11 pounds since April. He was 99 pounds and is now 88 pounds. The vet wants him to lose 3 more pounds. We cut his food back, watch his treats and upped his exercise. Sam now gets 1 cup of kibble, a scoop of canned food, and a half can of no salt green beans twice a day. For treats, we now buy small sized biscuits and usually break them in half. We also give fruits and veggies for treats. Sam has always had plenty of leash walks during the week, but every evening we try to walk over to the elementary school by our house and do at least 15 minutes of fetch with the Chuck-it. Sam does have a solid recall and can be trusted off leash, but you could play fetch like this in a field with a long leash you can quickly grab if you need to. We also try to take him swimming at least once a week. Sam wasn't impressed with the cutting back of his food at first but the green beans add bulk to his meals to make him feel fuller. He is now used to his food portions and doesn't even beg. Good luck!
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  3. #3
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Walks really aren't exercise. Get him MOVING. What does he like to do? Run, swim, fetch. Don't change the food.

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  5. #4
    Senior Dog charliebbarkin's Avatar
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    A 2 year old shouldn't need weight loss food. Sounds to me like he needs more off leash exercise. Swimming or hiking. Good luck!
    Charlie and Burton


  6. #5
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    We've had seniors in our homes for years. What I learned from the board is senior/weight loss food is not the answer. Lower the amount of food, add green beans (frozen or no salt canned), and fruits and veggies for treats. Special treats are carefully doled out. Most important, up the exercise, as active as possible.

    Been feeding Fromm for quite some time now and found that even at 11 years old and limited in mobility, Mardi lost weight on Fromm Whitefish. It's lower in calories.

  7. #6
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    I'm not sure what formula you're feeding, but most of the Dogswell Vitality formulae look lower calorie than what I'm feeding, which is 400-450 calories per cup. My 8 year old gets ~2 cups per day and maintains at about 88 lbs. We don't do too many snacks and what we do use are pretty tiny, broken up dog biscuits or banana or tiny bits of cheese. He ate closer to 3 cups before he was neutered. I think the walks probably aren't enough calorie burning exercise for your guy, as others have said. Do you have a safe place he can go off lead to run, fetch, or play? When we got our younger dog, Chase's activity level definitely increased and he lost about 5-8 pounds without changing his food or the quantity of his food. He still looks like a big chunk but the vet said not to try to get him any thinner. I use canned, unsalted green beans also to bulk up the quantity I'm feeding if I'm trying to cut back on the food a little without making them think they're starving.
    Sue

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  8. #7
    Best Friend Retriever xracer4844's Avatar
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    My dog is really lean 24"tall and 70 pounds. We keep him lean and mean. Going out for walks isn't really exercise. I agree with everyone here - I wouldn't switch to a weight loss food. I feed 3 cups a day. He gets a lot of exercise between practices for his show team, agility, search and rescue etc. This is better than a walk because he is running, usually flat out. Walks are OKAY for a lab, but not ideal. Labs need to run. It's what they need. A tired well exercised lab is a happy lab! Think about trying something new like agility, or some type of program to get your dog moving. These kind of activities build strength and muscle while giving them a lot more physical activity than a walk. We also don't really give him any treats. At practice he will get treats based on what we are working on but that is pretty much it.

    Building strength and muscle is what gets a dog lean. Diet is important as well, but more so the exercise. Teaching a dog to jump and climb, and walk a ladder all requires a lot of strength - they will build it over time. Yesterday at search and rescue, we had a sweater hidden on top of a pile of rubble. Piles of concrete blocks and demolition etc. My dog entered the scent cone and realized it was on top of this mound of rubble - he maneuvered his way up the side of it and then found himself with a concrete wall at about 75- degrees. He jumped. Got his paws on the top of it, and pulled himself up it - I know my dog is strong but this was remarkable.

    Try to think of activities that can build strength! If you have a lake or a pool, think about swimming. Swimming is a great, low impact way to exercise. Think about buying a life jacket so the dog can float and have him chase you or retrieve something - this way he won't be looking to get out of the pool or out of the water. They will learn to trust the life jacket to keep them afloat and they will just stay in the water and swim around. If your dog doesn't like the water, or this isn't an option, try to look for things like agility classes or some type of whistle recall class or something different and fun for you both.

  9. #8
    Senior Dog doubledip1's Avatar
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    Ditto JenC's advice. Run, swim, fetch. Green beans are a great filler.
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