Overweight dogs! How much to feed?

beccaze · 05-11-2008, 09:27 AM

I have owned my cairn terrier since he was a puppy (going on 4 years now), and until we brought home a second dog (a beagle around the same age as him), the terrier never had any weight issues. We left his food out at all times, and he ate when hungry, but didn't seem to have any issues with overeating.

The beagle was a rescue dog, and had been kept in a home with around 25 other dogs. Because he was so incredibly timid, he didn't get much to eat there, and was quite severely underweight. It took us weeks to convince him to eat from the bowl in the kitchen, and months after that before he would eat with anyone else in the room.

And then, suddenly, we realize that both of our dogs are REALLY overweight.

Our beagle is sitting at around 30 lbs now, but should be closer to 18 or 20. Our cairn is around 22 lbs but should be 14 or 15, considering his larger than normal build. We've never separated them for feeding, but are now considering it our only option, since it's too difficult to determine who is eating, and how much.

My question is - how much to feed them. The amounts on the bag seem far too high to me - 1 1/2 cups of food a day for the cairn seems excessive, and 1 cup for the beagle seems a little low?

Any advice on an (easier) way to determine how much I should feed them?

melgrj7 · 05-11-2008, 09:52 AM

I always start out with what the bag recommends for their ideal weight (not their current weight) and see what happens. If they don't seem to be losing weight, I cut it back a little more. You should notice some weight loss within 2-3 weeks, if your not, reduce by 1/4 cup and see what happens. Remember to increase the exercise too.

Motebi · 05-11-2008, 11:19 AM

First off: Don't feed any of those "light foods" - they are crap and contain more carbohydrates, which dogs do not need.

Get some high quality kibble, feed about a third of the recommended amount twice a day, cook some chicken tenders and add a few spoonfuls of pumpkin (non seasoned variety) or low sodium cooked green beans. Add one chicken tender piece to each meal (cut it up and mix it in with the food.) Once a week you can also add a spoonful of joghurt, some egg-yolk, cottage-cheese....etc. And foremost: Take them for at least two good, long walks every day. Slowly increasing of course, since they are overweight now, they probably can't 'stomach" a full hour's walk.

When I adopted my dachshund, he weighed a whopping 39 pounds. Now, a year later he' a perfect 22 pounds.

beccaze · 05-11-2008, 03:38 PM

Thank you both for your replies. =) I will try the advice for just reducing what the bag says by about two 3rds. They do both get plenty of exercise - we have a fenced in backyard and they adore spending a good hour running along the fence to bark at the kids next door. Walking can only happen once a day, in the morning, since our Cairn is extremely dog aggressive, and our Beagle has issues with his sinuses that flare up in the heat.

I will also try adding some things to their diet - I think they'd enjoy that too! Any advice on how to wean them from eating out of the same bowl? I'd like to be able to keep them in the same room for meal time, eventually.

allab · 05-11-2008, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccaze

t
Any advice on how to wean them from eating out of the same bowl? I'd like to be able to keep them in the same room for meal time, eventually.

You will have to train your dogs to eat from their own bowls.It might take a few days or a few weeks,but they should learn.you'll just have to stand there and supervise while they are eating and correct them if they will try to eat from each other bowls .
As far as how much to feed? I'll just give you an example, we have 2 dogs at about 60-62lb each, we feed them 2 cups a day each.
Hope this helps.

briteday · 05-11-2008, 07:25 PM

My dogs are probably closer to your cairn, ~ 10-12 pounds each. They each get 1/4 cup twice per day of a very high protein kibble, Solid Gold, Barking at the Moon flavor. If you feed a higher quality food you will need to feed less that something with lots of grains in the top 5 ingredients.

Currently my dogs get two 2+-mile walks/day. If they don't get their walks then I give them a scant 1/4 cup 2x/day and absolutely no treats.

My dogs eat side by side. However, a beagle is a very food oriented breed (when healthy) so you may have some problems with feeding at the same time in the same room. You could also try letting one outside to potty while feeding the other, then vice versa.

beccaze · 05-11-2008, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by briteday

My dogs are probably closer to your cairn, ~ 10-12 pounds each. They each get 1/4 cup twice per day of a very high protein kibble, Solid Gold, Barking at the Moon flavor. If you feed a higher quality food you will need to feed less that something with lots of grains in the top 5 ingredients.

Currently my dogs get two 2+-mile walks/day. If they don't get their walks then I give them a scant 1/4 cup 2x/day and absolutely no treats.

My dogs eat side by side. However, a beagle is a very food oriented breed (when healthy) so you may have some problems with feeding at the same time in the same room. You could also try letting one outside to potty while feeding the other, then vice versa.

Actually, our beagle is a rescue dog that was taken from a home where he was trained as a hunting dog using old and cruel methods. We don't know EXACTLY what types of abuse he suffered, but he is extremely timid, especially when it comes to his food. Our biggest problem with feeding him on a strict schedule is that he won't eat when we're moving around or sometimes even in the same room as him. Some people have told me to just put him on a schedule anyway, and if he doesn't eat, he'll learn to eat when the food is available when he gets hungry enough. This sounds cruel to me - but anyone else have any opinions on that? I can seperate the dogs to eat in the evenings, but in the mornings, it's not as easy to seperate them for long enough to eat, since neither one of them can be left unattended upstairs, since "upstairs" is the cat's territory, and not totally dog-proof.

Thank you for the serving size suggestions, I think those might be a good starting point for me, since his weight should be around that general area.. though he's a bit long for his breed, and should weigh closer to 13-14.

zimandtakandgrrandmimi · 05-12-2008, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccaze

Thank you both for your replies. =) I will try the advice for just reducing what the bag says by about two 3rds. They do both get plenty of exercise - we have a fenced in backyard and they adore spending a good hour running along the fence to bark at the kids next door. Walking can only happen once a day, in the morning, since our Cairn is extremely dog aggressive, and our Beagle has issues with his sinuses that flare up in the heat.

I will also try adding some things to their diet - I think they'd enjoy that too! Any advice on how to wean them from eating out of the same bowl? I'd like to be able to keep them in the same room for meal time, eventually.

if you won't separate them then supervise and put one bowl on one end of the room and the other bowl on the opposite. keep an eye on them at mealtime.

Aggie · 05-14-2008, 11:16 PM

You can also try feeding in the crate, or a doorway if you can't stand there, with a baby gate in between.

melgrj7 · 05-17-2008, 12:42 AM

I would put him on a schedule. Dogs can easily go a few days without eating with no harm done (as long as they are drinking water). Put the food down, give him 15 minutes to eat, take it up. If you have to leave the room, thats fine, but he still only gets 15 minutes. Most dogs will learn within a few days to eat when you put down their food.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccaze

Some people have told me to just put him on a schedule anyway, and if he doesn't eat, he'll learn to eat when the food is available when he gets hungry enough. This sounds cruel to me - but anyone else have any opinions on that?

Patt · 05-17-2008, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motebi

When I adopted my dachshund, he weighed a whopping 39 pounds. Now, a year later he' a perfect 22 pounds.

Your Dachshund is GORGEOUS! You did a fabulous job in reducing his weight.

Thank you for caring.

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccaze

Some people have told me to just put him on a schedule anyway, and if he doesn't eat, he'll learn to eat when the food is available when he gets hungry enough. This sounds cruel to me - but anyone else have any opinions on that?

It is not cruel, it is much better for their health to not be overweight. Overweight can cause all sorts of health problems along with shortening their life span, and I think that is cruel. It is better from a health perspective to be a little too thin than to be a little too heavy. As a precaution I would have them examined by a vet first before dieting, just to make sure they are in good health and just need to lose a few pounds.

Here is a weight chart that should be helpful. Note #5 being ideal.
http://www.placervillevet.com/canine...0condition.htm

Good luck and keep us posted on your dogs progress.

Ashweekins · 06-06-2008, 02:10 PM

I don't meant to "threadjack", but I have a few questions.

I have a 3 year old spayed shepherd/terrier mix. She is currently 72lbs, and very overweight. I feed her one cup of California Natural Low Fat Rice & Lamb Meal Adult Dry Dog Food every morning in her crate for the last year and a half, and she has gained weight. I took her to the vet last week to have a thyroid panel run, and it has come back completely normal. Once every two weeks or so, she will eat a little out of our other dog's bowl in the kitchen (same food).

Should I switch back to just a regular food instead of a diet food? I do not have the time and cannot convince my husband to help me try a raw diet. I don't know what her ideal weight should be since she is a mixed breed, but I do know what physical characteristics to look for in an appropriate weight.

Also, can anyone point me in the direction of how to start walking her without overdoing it? I'm really worried about this part because she does get winded really quickly. We play fetch every day for about 20 minutes in the yard, but she doesn't last very long.

Thank you!

beccaze · 06-07-2008, 05:57 PM

Thank you all so much for your advice!

While I don't have time to cook meals for my dogs (full time job and full time school leave me with no time for anything), I have taken the advice of switching them to a higher calorie, better quality natural food. They eat much less a day (3/4 a cup for the cairn and 1 cup for the beagle), and are up to a mile of walking in the morning.

Not only have they each lost 3 and 4 pounds, but they are feeling much more energetic and happier in general.

I hope they can keep up the weight loss. =)

In response to Ashweekins, I would recommend what others have advised for me in this same thread. Skip the low calorie diet food and switch to something much more wholesome, just feed her a lot less. And are you only feeding in the morning? A dog, just like a person, should have their meals split up to at least twice a day, or their metabolism will not be even over 24 hours.

For the question of walking.. what I'm doing for my fat boys is walking them early in the morning, when there is less excitement and the weather is much cooler. Start small - even if you just walk her down the street and back, it's better than nothing. When that doesn't leave her out of breath, add some more to the walk.. and rinse and repeat.

Ashweekins · 06-09-2008, 10:15 AM

I have to buy dog food today, so I will ask the kennel what they recommend. My dogs cannot handle Innova... it is too rich and they have sensitive stomachs. I will probably just switch to the regular California Natural instead of diet. I'll start feeding her twice a day, too.

I bought a Gentle Leader yesterday (she zig-zags a lot), so the plan is to walk her this evening for about 15-20 minutes and see how she does.

golden&hovawart · 06-09-2008, 10:32 AM

How much should she be and how tall is she?.
I was told to multiply the ideal weight by 10 calories and then devide that number,by 2 meals!.I didn't change the food,she stayed on Innova Evo which is a rich diet!.I also increased her exercise by an hr!.A lot of that,was swimming,which she loves anyway and it's gentle on the bones!.