Best food for slimming down a tubby Staffy x

[Idlikeabunchofbananasplease]

Hi guys quick question, I need to get some weight off my Staffy x not a huge amount, he's on Harringtons at the moment any suggestions for a slim dog food? Thanks in advance from myself and Buddy

[glenthebattleostrich]

No idea but he's gorgeous! I'd bloody love a staffie but my mutt hates them for some reason the git!

[AvocadosBeforeMortgages]

Have you tried reducing the quantity of his current food? If he's still starving, many dogs like a raw carrot to chew on.

[BookWitch]

My retriever is about 5kg overweight and as she is elderly upping her activity levels is tough.
The vet has got us adding shredded raw cabbage to her food, (while reducing the amount of went food) to keep her satisfied (retriever =always hungry) , she's lost about 3kg and looking in good shape

[BookWitch]

And zero treats - except a raw carrot

[Idlikeabunchofbananasplease]

Shredded cabbage and raw carrot good idea. He's such a greedy guts. Im sure he thinks hes constantly starving. awww glenthebattleostrich thank you.Was your poor dog attacked by one?

[OverFedStanley]

Harringtons is a pretty low quality food so full of fillers and carbs so this will not be helping your dog feel full or lose weight.

Would you consider raw food? If so nutriment would be easy to do and would help him be nourished and less hungry.

If you want to stick to kibble consider phoneing Milles Wolfheart and they can suggest a food that would be better for you guy and help him to lose weight.

Do be strict and weigh out his food amount each day and make sure that you do not go over this

[OverFedStanley]

phoning!

[JonestheMail]

Second the idea of adding extra veg. Reduce the amount of his main meal and add some veg, cooked or raw, I use a mixture.

I have successfully slimmed a very chubby dog I am looking after long term for some elderly neighbours this way. He is very food orientated but I don't think he even noticed his food had been reduced.

[Madvixen]

What does he eat his food out of? Bertie has a tendency to tubbiness and making him work for his food seems to stop the seeming constant hunger. He eats raw food but I stuff his long with it and freeze it so that he really has to work for it

[OverFedStanley]

Personally I would not feed cabbage

[mumofthree321]

Gorgeous dog! The best way to slim an overweight dog down is to look on the bag of food and see what he should be eating for the weight you want him to be, not the weight he is now. So if he's 25kg and should be 20kg, weigh out the food amount for a 20kg in the morning and keep it on the side. Use it for treats and meals throughout the day ... and no cheeky extras! Also, check the food you're feeding him isn't too high in carbs for his exercise level. We use the Arden Grange 'Light' one for our dog that's got a bad back as we need to keep her weight on the lower side.

[Chesneyhawkes1]

I have a chubby staffy x too! I went today to buy some barking heads fat dog slim. But I've decided to feed him raw instead.

Hopefully he will have his beach body ready for summer 😂

[BookWitch]

@OverFedStanley - can I ask why you wouldn't feed cabbage? My vet recommended it, but interested to hear another opinion.
I was warned it could make her farty but hasn't so far

[Cherrysoup]

Less food (treats should be abolished) and up his exercise. Kongs are great for prolonging meals and keeping them entertained.

Cooked green beans are a common addition to food to increase bulk and keep the dog from getting hungry.

[Satsumo]

It really is the same principle for all animals.. Feed his less per meal. Feed him only once a day. If he gets any treats cut his meals down. If you can afford it, try a decent food like Millies Wolfheart, Eden or Akela or a raw diet. Up the exercise if he's not getting enough but he's likely just being fed too much of the wrong stuff. It's a bit like scoffing Mcdonalds all day and just strolling to the pub and back.

[Idlikeabunchofbananasplease]

Thankyou everyone, I didn't know Harrington's was crap 😲😕 . Let me know how you get on ChesneyHawks1. I'm thinking about the raw option. Isn't it super expensive and time consuming tho? Thoughts please

[Chesneyhawkes1]

We are on day 2 of it so far. I think it will work out a bit more expensive than kibble but not too bad. I've swapped all 3 of mine on to it.

I've bought ready made completes with offal and bone in.

He loves it! And no runny tummy etc so far.

The most difficult bit is remembering to get it out of the freezer to defrost in time for the next day.

[Idlikeabunchofbananasplease]

Ok I'll look into it x

[powershowerforanhour]

I think Harringtons is fine!! I've seen loads of dogs do very well on it. If your Staff has good skin and ears, feels well and has well formed poos on it it then if it ain't broke don't fix it! It's worth feeding less- agree with PP re weighing out the food but you can cut back harder than what the back of the packet says- he won't die of malnutrition. After a couple of weeks on a smaller ration, if it looks like the cutback needed to make headway with weight loss is making him miserable and hungry all the time, perhaps change foods.
Also, if he is not feeling full enough you could try presoaking the food in warm water. I had a client get over 10kg off a Doberman once- going from more or less obese to a healthy body condition score- and this was the only change she made.

[TheCrowFromBelow]

Feed him about 5 or 10% less volume of kibble. We find our dog needs quite a bit less than the serving size recommended on the bag.
Also swap any kind of raw hide, pizzles etc for vegetables. Raw hide is very high in calories.
Raw carrot, cabbage stalks, broccoli, peppers, courgette and cucumber all go down well with our dog.

[NewYoiker]

Millie's Wolfheart tracker dry food or goat and lamb wet food.

We managed to get our podge to lose 7kg in about a year on that