I have a fat dog, would a change in food help?

[PikachuSayBoo]

2yo food obsessed spaniel cross who is getting increasingly tubby, though I can still feel her ribs.

When I got her as a pup she had a terrible tummy and someone recommended Burns sensitive which Ive stuck with because it seemed to sort her tummy/poo problems out and she liked it. I'm aware it's probably not the best quality. Would a better quality food help her waistline?

Or is it just a case of cut down the amount she gets?

Maybe cut her food back by 10% and see what happens. Weigh her first, of course!

Alternatively take her to the vet, but they'll rope you in to one of their feeds, and you'll be forever paying through the nose.

Thanks. That makes sense. I'm not good at measuring her food out now I just do scoops. Will get a proper measuring cup and will try cutting back.

Hi get her weighed and find out her body score from one of the nurses and they can work out the dogs calorie requirement. You can stick to your own food it will just be measuring it out. Good luck

Is she spayed? When dogs are neutered their metabolism slows down and they need roughly a third less food than before they were neutered.

Yes she was spayed a year ago.

Will get her weighed at the vets next week.

Burns is known for keeping dogs very lean, so I would say you must be massively over-feeding her to be honest.

When you do start weighing her food, take no notice of what it says she will need on the packet either - they are usually quite high.

Cut her food by at least a third, and maybe give her some veg to fill her up. Frozen green beans are good.

She loves fruit and veg. Will eat lettuce, carrot, cucumber, apple.

I have a cocker spaniel and she is always hungry! As a consequence she is a kilo or so overweight. I now weigh her food, as doing it by eye meant she was having too much. I also feed her for the weight she should be not the weight she currently is. She eats Millies Wolfheart salmon and veg.

My spaniel was getting a bit tubby so we cut his food back by about a third.

We started weighing his food out properly, rather than just chucking what looked about right into his bowl. He was supposed to have a lot less than we were giving him.

We also totally cut out treats - we were all guilty of giving him the odd crust off a sandwich, the skin off the Sunday roast chicken, etc. He gets the occasional treat, but it's included in his meal if you see what I mean.

She's the dog on the right. Other dog isn't mine. She's not huge but she could do with being slimmer.

Aww she is sweet! But a little bit of a barrel It is really in her best interest to get her weight down, as it will help her knees etc.

For sure. I don't want her having health problems.

I wouldn't say she is hugely overweight. I'd say she looks cuddly

Will see what the vet nurse says. Though last time we were there the nurse was very vocal saying how overweight she was purely because she had put on something like 3kg in 12 months.

I had to point out that any dog is going to put on weight from 6 months of age to 18 months of age because she's grown! Vet saw her the same day and said she wasn't overweight but she didn't ought to get any bigger. I think she's bigger now than she was six months ago.

But 'cuddly' in a dog that small is really not good for their hearts. There is no real definition around her waist. The best thing to do is take a photo from above, and see if she has a waist or not. Thats what I tend to go by with my dog. Vets do tend to want them to be lighter rather than on the heavier side.

The problem with spanners is they are eternally starving!

She's got such a thick, curly coat it's hard to tell! She looks a lot slimmer when she's wet.

Raw fed dogs tend to do well. I'm happy to tell you more if interested...

I can't cope with raw but thanks. I don't have freezer space and she tends to take food out her bowl and scatter it round the dining room floor. Dh is vegetarian and would die if there was raw meat everywhere!

This is the body shape guide I try to follow.
Mine was on raw and she loved it, but I didnt have enough freezer space to continue it. When I get a house big enough to have a chest freezer I will put her on it again.

That chart's really good, thanks for that. I reckon she's a 6, possibly nudging towards 7.

Millies Wolfheart do good low fat ones.

Weighing the food is the key. It's so easy to overfeed kibble. Even a few grams extra every meal can make the dog put on weight, as I've found through experience! I now weigh every single meal.

I've used Ci's 'Sweet Couch Potato' in the past, and it worked out well - and only carrots as treats!

Burns isn't a bad food... not the best but it's not bad (certainly not bakers or anything rubbish like that)
My springer had similar issue, hit 2 and packed weight on... cut her back and definitely weight her portions. It's crazy how easy it is to over feed when just scooping.