Its been a while since ive been on. For those who dont remember i have a cavalier male who is now 1 year 4 months or so and was neutered about 7 months ago. At his last check up the vet told us that he was slightly overweight (about 11.9kg) and they wanted his weight between 10-11kg. Since then we have changed his food to Wainwrights low fat kibble which we were told would be the best food for him and cut down the treats. He gets a long walk (at a quick pace) once a day and other excercise in th garden during the day. The only problem is that he doesnt really seem to be losing weight. He did lose some intitially but it seems to have slowed down now.
Is there anything else we could be doing for him? Or is it just a long process?
overweight
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: overweight
You need to cut down his food a little more and raise his exercise a little more. Out on walks, walk a little faster, as long as he isn't becoming distressed. Weight loss is difficult because it plateaus after a certain time, which is what his has done - so you have to kick-start the losing process again.
How about playing some games with him at home so that he gives himself more exercise? Some tracking games or a mini agility course might appeal to him. This is as well as not instead of his walks.
How about playing some games with him at home so that he gives himself more exercise? Some tracking games or a mini agility course might appeal to him. This is as well as not instead of his walks.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: overweight
One of VS suggestions to help dog lose weight is to replace 1/2 food with green beans or other low calorie veg, carrots, etc. Up the walks to 2/3 a day, one obviously isn't enough
Re: overweight
Thanks for the replies!
We dont really want to cut down the amount of food we're giving him if we can avoid it as he's only getting about half the recommended amount on the side of the pack (obviously we'll do it if we have to!) but I'll definately try substituting some veg in there. He loves carrots and some small slices of fruit
We've been increasing his exercise a bit over the last few days, hopefully he'll get more now the weather is starting to clear up
We dont really want to cut down the amount of food we're giving him if we can avoid it as he's only getting about half the recommended amount on the side of the pack (obviously we'll do it if we have to!) but I'll definately try substituting some veg in there. He loves carrots and some small slices of fruit
We've been increasing his exercise a bit over the last few days, hopefully he'll get more now the weather is starting to clear up
Re: overweight
Cut down his food.
The recommendations on the sack are guidelines - you/we feed the dog in front of you. That dog is too fat, so needs less food. And manufacturers want to sell more food
The recommendations on the sack are guidelines - you/we feed the dog in front of you. That dog is too fat, so needs less food. And manufacturers want to sell more food
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
Re: overweight
Thats a good point, I never really looked at it that way. I think it was because it used to be a struggle to get him to eat anything and he got very thin that we've kinda gone in the other direction now! the food is being cut down.
thanks for your help
thanks for your help
Re: overweight
Nettle is right on. Overweight is a sign of developing disease, and it needs to be taken very seriously.
It would be super easy to home feed your little Cav, and the weight would fall off with no increase in exercise. In fact, the extra time that you'd spend giving him more exercise would be better spent preparing proper food (altho it's not that time consuming). Exercise is overrated as a weight loss strategy, imo. We humans have made exercise the big health/weight management panacea because we prefer to do ANYTHING besides change what we eat. Dietary change, however, is a far more effective strategy, for humans *and* dogs.
Kibble is so calorically dense that sometimes even very active dogs have trouble burning it all off, especially if the food contains grains, which go right to storage on a dog's body. The natural foods of dogs are mostly water, believe it or not. Dogs can make up for the lack of water in kibble by drinking water, and dogs are natural water drinkers, but their food is supposed to contain lots of water as well.
I'd be happy to advise you on how to home feed your dog. It's much cheaper and easier than you might think. If you're interested, just leave a comment on my blog at www.NoMoreVetBills.com.
Best wishes,
Nora
It would be super easy to home feed your little Cav, and the weight would fall off with no increase in exercise. In fact, the extra time that you'd spend giving him more exercise would be better spent preparing proper food (altho it's not that time consuming). Exercise is overrated as a weight loss strategy, imo. We humans have made exercise the big health/weight management panacea because we prefer to do ANYTHING besides change what we eat. Dietary change, however, is a far more effective strategy, for humans *and* dogs.
Kibble is so calorically dense that sometimes even very active dogs have trouble burning it all off, especially if the food contains grains, which go right to storage on a dog's body. The natural foods of dogs are mostly water, believe it or not. Dogs can make up for the lack of water in kibble by drinking water, and dogs are natural water drinkers, but their food is supposed to contain lots of water as well.
I'd be happy to advise you on how to home feed your dog. It's much cheaper and easier than you might think. If you're interested, just leave a comment on my blog at www.NoMoreVetBills.com.
Best wishes,
Nora
