If your dog gets a unexpected treat do you reduce the size of their meal?

[Hiredandsqueak]

Preface this by saying Bella is a small dog weighing 4kg.
So this morning dd didn't eat her sausage, Bella loves sausage so I chopped it up and put it in her dish with half a portion of dog food. Bella didn't seem to notice anyway as she was happy getting sausage but I realised that if Bella gets a treat I reduce her meals does anyone else?
Should add that Bella gets her recommended daily food allowance split in two then a couple of gravy bones and a dentastix each day so she isn't starved. It's anything over this like leftover chicken or meat that I reduce her food.

We deliberately give less at meal times to allow for treats

We would be much more likely to do with with the JRTs (6kg) than the spaniel (25kg), just because of size and the lower overall kcal requirement.

But mostly the dog's meals are measured to allow space in the day for treats, as with pp.

Yep absolutely but my dogs would not get a treat unless they did something for it. You could train her to do double somersaults for a whole sausage.

I would also cut out the dentastix and gravy bones and give a more nourishing treat rather than empty calories. Dentastix are full of horrible ingredients. Iron Oxide which causes skin issues,E451 which lowers iron content are just a few of the nasties.

No I don't reduce dinner if ddog gets a treat.
Treats are generally tiny bits of my dinner / cheese and ddog is slim, fairly fussy with food and very energetic on her off lead walks.

No - but we have a greyhound who is skinny anyway. If she starts getting so I can't see her back 3 ribs I cut down on treats full stop until she's back to racing weight (using the term loosely - she does not race, she mainly lies upside down on the sofa).

No, because it wouldn’t be an exact science. Also some days he gets walked for 2 hours, sometimes 2.5, sometimes 1.5... would you amend portion sizes to account for more or less exercise?
He’s a fairly big dog (25kg) and has been the same weight since he was around 2 (now 9) so it obviously hasn’t made any difference to him.

For my dog (Labrador) yes I would. I'd say this is important for any dog prone to weight gain or who is the correct weight- as otherwise the extra weight begins to creep on.

I want to give him the best chance of a long life without joint pain so he is kept slim. Loads of people seem to think he is too thin but he's at the correct weight- people are just used to seeing overweight labs and it's becoming the norm'.

As a dog walker I see the benefits of dogs being kept lean, especially as they age. It's all too easy to harm them with love in the form of extra treats.....

I factor in treats in the amount I feed them, and if I know I'm going to visit my mum I don't give Ddog breakfast as she won't be told and buys boxed of the massive bonio biscuits for her. She's worse with the dog than she used to be with chocolate for the kids.

Yes as we have labradors, 1 of which puts on weight very easily!

I don't. But I don't know how much they eat anyway... if their bowl is empty, I fill it. They aren't greedy and just seen to eat what they need, neither are overweight.

Yabu for not posting a photo of Bella, please rectify

I have a new dog her size and am struggling to get her to stop putting on weight - she needs a fair bit of vf training so she is getting training treats, and yes absolutely I reduce her food to compensate.

Can I ask you how much of what food you give her, so I can compare mine? She's down to 60% of the manufacturer's recommended amount of kibble, and she doesn't get that many treats in training

No I don’t but my dog is a whippet and I struggle to keep weight on him at times so he gets treats every day when I leave the house. Wish I had his metabolism !

Also some days he gets walked for 2 hours, sometimes 2.5, sometimes 1.5... would you amend portion sizes to account for more or less exercise?

I absolutely do do this!

adaline really? I’m starting to feel pretty lax in my dog care . Like I said though he’s been at the same weight for the past 7 years despite me not accounting for treats and exercise so I don’t think it’s harming him too much!

@SoyDora yeah, absolutely. But he's a neutered male beagle so prone to weight gain and joint problems so we do have to be careful.

It's not an exact science but if I know he's had extra treats that day I do cut his evening meal down a bit to compensate.

We have smaller meals to account for the fact that we use treats for training.

I agree peoplepleaser1 that people are used to seeing fat labs rather than healthy lean labs.

I don't cut the food down but that's because BiteyDog self regulates his food in that he leaves it if he isn't hungry and he has maintained his weight yes he really is a dog

I don’t reduce unless the treat is part of the meal. Plus it depends, some days dog seems starving constantly, and others meh.