Overweight dog

[Janus]

Went to the vets today as our 12 year old lab has become very stiff. The vet has given me a very hard time about her being overweight. She is 38 kilos and 6 months ago she was 35 kilos. She has become very stiff the last 6 months and has taken to just wanting to roam in our large garden and have very small walks of about 15 minutes just a few times a week. If I try and take her any further she lays down and is obviously not happy, So I understand that she has put on weight as she has become less active.

Anyway, she is already on reduced calorie food and it recommends that a 30kg dog has 265g minimum and a 40kg has 330g. I've just weighed her food and she gets 260g a day. So she's really on what I would think is the bare minimum but I've reduced her cup size so she will get around 230g a day and start at that. I've also enrolled in their weight management class.

She's always been large, even as a puppy I bought home a barrel! Does anyone else have a dog that just seems to be overweight but doesn't actually eat that much? We have 2 other dogs that are very slim so it can't be just that I'm a totally useless owner that just happily overfeeds her dog.

The vet made me feel awful and at one stage she actually hugged my dog and said 'I could cry when I see what some owners do to their dogs'. I've never felt so shit.

Any ideas what else I can do?

A good one to get started with on raw feeding 'complete meals' is Nutriment.

No grains or other rubbish, and also contains salmon oil, which might help with the joint problems.

It scores 5/5 on All About Dog Food website.

I recently switched my dog over to it - all her allergies and digestive problems have cleared up. I ignored my vet's suggestion of Royal Canin Hypoallergenic dog food.

I use Luna and me it comes in frozen patties so you just defrost what you need takes about 2 hours to defrost, I often forget to defrost it but it only takes a minute to defrost in the microwave 😊 it's very convenient and very good quality 5 on all about dog food 😊 my very fussy dog likes it!!! As snacks he has raw carrots and broccoli loves that too 😊

Forgot to say mine has a very sensitive stomach anything can set him off but he has been fine with the Luna and me and very small non smelly poo!!! 😊😊

I think your vet sounds horrible. You are obviously a caring owner and its not easy when a dog can't exercise as much. My dog had metacam as a painkiller and this helped a lot.

Another pro RAW here! Got two dogs on it, I just get Natures Menu complete food, get it out the freezer in the morning, it's ready to eat by dinner time, I add raw eggs/raw bones/carrots/apples every now and then in meals or as snacks. My two thrive on it! Don't combine raw and kibble, they digest at different times, if you want to switch to raw then don't do it gradually as you would with other dry foods, just swap it. Raw is great for sensitive tummys and skin!

Dogs are esupposed to eat raw meat. Likely the shitty fillers in the food are responsible for the weight. Calorie restriction works just as well for dogs as it does for humans ... i.e. it doesn't long term. I suggest switching immediately to a raw meat only diet. It's what they're supposed to eat.

I second all the raw talk. Join an FB group or forum for advice.

Glucosamine is good for joints, too. Vet recommended it to us, human grade.

The weight charts they use for dogs are just like BMI for humans - generally quite useless in individual cases.

That's not true, they are the best way to figure the individual differences in dog weights body condition scoring is a very effective tool when used correctly, you need to feel all over as different breeds of dogs carry fat in different areas. Labradors particularly on their ribs and tail heads- even when they look like they have a waist. It is very good for noting changes in weight and whether diets are working, unfortunately a lot of owners are used to seeing larger pets as "normal" sized.

If you don't want to go down the raw feeding route then wet food would help with weight loss. I personally think that raw feeding can be difficult as if you don't do enough research you could end up with deficiencies (although this is worse in cats!)
Just ensure that weight loss is gradual and have a look at body condition scoring to help :) also another vote for youmove!

Do you know what, I've learnt such a lot in the past 24 hours! I am going to shine at weight loss clinic tomorrow and feel like I may be educating them!! Unfortunately we go on holiday next week so I have ordered some of Millie's wolfheart low fat kibble to keep us going (as easier to dish out for 3 dogs by pet sitter while we are away) and will see how they all go on that and then think about switching to Luna when I get home. Will be really interested to see how all the dogs change. I feel very enlightened by you all (and a bit of s fool for not liking into this earlier). Thank you so much x

Hallo Janus,
I changed my Golden Retriever from Hill's to "grain free" from ( I think it's a franchise, certainly not a big company) called Betty and Butch. Fabulous selection and excellent quality imo. Google them.
I admit she wasn't overweight, but her energy levels are now superb.
I do hope your dog is more comfortable soon.
Our Vet doesn't sell Hill's any more.

And the vets recommended Hills Science obesity food, first ingredient is corn!!
I told them I would no longer be putting this rubbish in my dog and gave her the 'allaboutdogfood' website and told her it was a good read! The only other one she could recommend is Royal Canin.

I feel much better having asked you all as I would have just signed up to one of these, I am going back in a month and hope we have really lost some weight so I can show them all!!
Thanks again.

Janus, the other thing you might consider doing is giving veg to your dog so that she has more in her stomach so doesn't think she's as hungry, even if it's not adding much in terms of calories. Mine particulalry like cooked carrot - but also like (well cooked) cabbage, sprouts, cauliflower leaves etc as well as courgettes etc.. Some people's dogs even like raw carrots as a 'treat' instead of a large biscuit or bone - nice chew!

I second adding carrot but would say leave it raw.

My girl loves whole raw carrot as a treat. She chucks it around.

I was giving my dog carrots along with other veg noted in my post below. Doggy weight management woman said to go easy on the carrots as they contain lots of sugar

Courgettes, cabbage and sprouts don't have lots of sugar though Kinky!

The sugar in carrots is naturally occurring and perfectly fine for a dog or human its not a bag of haribo

I'm just saying what the nutritionist said, and that there are better veg to give on a regular basis.

Some "nutritionist" if they can't tell the difference between artificial sugars and naturally occuring ones i suppose they think all fats are bad too

Ok. I never said never feed carrots just that there are better veg to be given on a regular basis if you're trying to get weight off a dog.

Root veg have more calories/carbs/sugars than leafy or stem veg. Perfectly reasonable thing to point out.

I give mine Natures Menu nuggets, once a week I give her a duck wing as a treat. She also gets raw carrot/blueberries/strawberries. She can sniff a strawberry from a mile away .

I second having a look at www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk - it's a great resource and you can get a much better food for the price. Also turmeric & black pepper has worked wonders for my dog's arthritis (check it out online) as has Riaflex Canine Joint Plus. Try and also get a food that has a lot of Omega 3. I use Ci's Still Going Strong kibble and I find it excellent, although I don't feed as much as the guide says.