Well as some of you who read Alfie's castration thread will know, i was told on Monday that Alfie is fat I think he needs to lose 2-3 kgs according to the vet... i don't think he looks too fat but losing a couple of kgs can't do no harm especially now he's castrated.
My vet advised me to feed hills which is a special type for over weight dogs and is suppose to make them feel full up - i was told it should only take 16 weeks on this food for him to reach his ideal weight. They did give me a bag to feed Alfie to see if he likes it before i decide whether to buy a big bag of it but is that really necessary? can't he lose weight on his current food?
I have only been feeding Alfie the recommended amount for his weight and age of the skinners so it must be the couple of dog biscuits and couple of treats he has throughout the day that has caused the problem. So my question is should i feed him just the recommended amount of skinners twice a day with absolutely nothing in between? surely that must be boring for him... i do give him pilchards, tuna, mackeral or sardines twice a week (not all at once ) but surely i don't have to cut that out too?? would changing his food from skinners to another brand help?
Any advice/tips to help my little boy lose weight would be helpful.
Oh Hills - funny your vet should recommend that If vets had their way I am sure all dogs would be on it!
I would cut down the Skinners if it was me as I need to give Doobs treats to help him with his lead training. And I like to give him mackerel once a week.
Anyway - I bet he isn't fat! Poor love......
Edited to add: Doobs put on weight while he was on JWB, but lost it all quite quickly on Autarky. And all of this when he was on restricted exercise! Now he is back to normal I have upped his daily intake and he hasn't put weight on (not that I can see anyway)
Last edited by Sonia on Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:14 pm; edited 1 time in total
I wouldn't bother changing his food.
What i would do is cut out all treats, reduce his current portions of food slightly, and up the exercise.
Upon doing this you will certainly notice a slimmer, fitter dog.
Vets all have different opinions on whats fat, whats thin and whats ideal.
Recently, i changed one of my cats to a different vets. My previous one said the cat was overweight, whereas my current one said he is perfect weight. Spot on.
I wouldn't go by what the vets say, i'd go by my own judgement.
If you can feel the ribs but not see them, hes fine. If you can't feel them, or you feel a lot of flab around them, hes a little overweight.
More exercise will definitely shed any excess pounds though!
I'm suppose to be taking him once a week to a "fat club" (not sure what it's really called) meeting at the vets to get him weighed and to discuss any other things i can do to help with his weight loss.
I think i'll try just reducing his food and treats and take him along to the meetings just to get him weighed
I'm just a bit paranoid about his weight now, mainly because i don't want to put any unecessary pressure on his joints
Maybe keep aside a small portion of Alfie`s Skinners to use as treats, thats assuming its a meal type food!.
You could also slightly reduce what the bag says is ideal for Alfie`s weight, they tend to over estimate I feel, but can`t be sure of course.
I`m sure you can get Alfie`s weight down without having to get "special" food for him, won`t be long now before you can build up his exercise a bit to and that will help a lot, it certainly did for CJ, since he`s been out everyday running around he`s turned into a lovely lithe boy
Hi Lacey
I have usually found that the recommended amount given on the packets is too much anyway - so I would cut out treats and cut back on the amount you are feeding him. Vets do make a commission on Hills - and generally, most of their training is sponsored by these firms, hence they're the ones the recommend. I would stick to what you're feeding him and just cut back.
regards
Jenny
How old is Alfie, how much does he weigh, how much are you feeding him (in grams) and how much exercise is he getting?
Avoid the Hill's food. It is poor quality and weight loss pet foods are a real con --full of cheap fillers. The first ingredient of Hill's Adult Light weight loss food (I looked it up online) is 'corn grain' --I rest my case! with ANY dog food, the first ingredient should be meat based. If you see any "corn" or "animal by-product" on the ingredient list, it is a poor quality food and should be avoided like the plague.
There are MUCH better foods on the market. Many people have success with the holistic brands. Burns, James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange and Autarky all come to mind. Decent foods, good prices. Alternatively, there are some other good non-holistic foods on the market --my lot thrive on ProPlan and Nutro Natural Choice. EXPERIMENT and find what works best for your dog.
Try to avoid treating your dog during the day. As someone has already mentioned, set aside a portion of his meal for treats or use something healthy like baby carrots. Avoid commercial dog treats --the ingredients are terrible.
Thanks everyone, Alfie is coming up to 9 months old and he weighs almost 30kgs I don't know how much i feed him in grams, i'll have to work it out and let you know but he gets over the recommended amount of daily exercise - roughly 30 mins in the morning and 45mins - 1 hr in the afternoon/evening although his walks aren't constant walking/running, he spends alot of time sniffing around.
Ok, well, as I am sure you already know, it is not great for a young dog (or any dog) to be carrying that extra weight.
As you are not sure on the amount you feed, for comparison one of my dogs, my 3 year old black male, weighs 27kgs (60lbs), gets several hours exercise a day and eats 400 grams. This keeps him in top condition.
I always go by the look of the dog rather than whats on the bag. As you know Alfie is overweight, cut his food down by a quarter and weigh him every few weeks.
As for exercise, it sounds like he is getting plenty but my only advice would be to make it a "harder" form of exercise --he is not getting a proper work out if he is stopping to sniff every few seconds. Running, swimming and retrieving are excellent forms of "hard" exercise that are also the most effective. To put it into context, 20 minutes of running with another dog is far better than an hour walking on lead.
Thanks Trickster, that's helpful, he does run around and play with other dogs everyday offlead I think i need to reduce his food and cut out all treats and use fruit/veg instead like you suggested.
Will be weighing him regularly to see how he's doing and hopefully soon he'll be at his ideal weight. The vet said that would be 26kgs, does that sound about right for a nearly 9 month old?
It's so confusing, i can feel his ribs and he does have a waist but he also does look a little bit chubby
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I think he needs to lose 2-3 kgs according to the vet... i don't think he looks too fat but losing a couple of kgs can't do no harm especially now he's castrated.
) but surely i don't have to cut that out too?? would changing his food from skinners to another brand help?
If vets had their way I am sure all dogs would be on it!
