Beagle is overweight, no idea why

I posted this originally in the health care thread, but I didn't get many responses -- I'll try my lock here. Mods, feel free to delete in the other sub-forum.


My male beagle has gained about 10 pounds in the past 6 months. He currently weighs about 35 pounds. I'd like to see him around 26-28.

Here's the thing though, I have no idea why he has gained all this weight, especially in such a hurry.

I said this to the vet, so they gave him a thyroid test. The results came back with him being "very low on the range of normal." It's not abnormal, according to the vet, but just low.

Here's what I feed him on a daily basis:

3/4 cup (down from 1 cup) of Innova Evo in the morning
A frozen chicken wing, turkey, or beef bone in the evening.
He gets 1 chip-sized organic liver treat
He gets less than a teaspoon of organic yogurt frozen in his kong.

He gets a 15-minute walk in the morning, a 1-hour walk in the mid-morning, a 1-hour walk in the afternoon, and two 15 minute walks at night.

A bit of other info which may or may not be relevant. In December, he was diagnosed with heartworms which he acquired before I rescued him. He has since been treated and is done with treatment. No idea if that could have messed with his weight.

Also, to lose weight, the vet suggested some Science Diet Light Formula. I'd rather not feed him Science Diet.

Any comments or thoughts? Am I overfeeding him? Are there lite versions of IVO?

I would simply cut back the amount of food you give him. You are probably giving him too much food for his activity level. Walks are good but really are not enough exercise for many dogs, especially athletic ones like Beagles.

Do you have kids around? My sister has an obese beagle who is fat because she is always grubbing for food from the kids. She hardly eats any dog food.

Pics? I haven't seen your beagles

Strange, I have no idea what would be up. Sorry.

Uh what else do you put in the kong? Just a teaspoon of yoghurt? Bought one today, still trying to work the thing out lol.

No kids around, but I have a dogwalker. I'll ask her.

I do plan on increasing the quality of his exercise. I want to take him out for more runs.

I just find it very odd that his weight increased so much in such a short period of time. He eats good, high-protein foods, and is walked quite often.

I'll post some pictures soon. My female is a lemon beagle.

I have a few different kongs ranging from large to small, and one shaped like a bone.

I put a teaspoon of yogurt in the large one and freeze it. I take the previously-mentioned organic liver chip, break it in half, and put one piece in the small kong, and the other piece in the bone-shaped kong.

hmmm..... i would feed him less FOOD and more DOG FOOD or the other way around...my weim i feed less food some days and less dog food other days depends what she gets from my brothers.... they feed her SOOOOO much.... I feed Eagle Pack and it seems to help a LOT!!! I used to feed puppy chow when she was younger before i knew how bad it was.... but the more expensive the dog food the more it seems to control my weims weight... i would feed a lower fat dog food since she doesnt get much excersize... thats what I used to do with my weim just walk her but now we live in the country, have 6 acres and belle is so much more healthier looking.

Our pug is about 25lbs. He's fed a raw diet, but comparing his diet to your beagles, it seems like you are feeding more than we feed our pug. A normal meal for him is something like a chicken drumstick (about 6-8oz) and about 4-6oz of some kind of muscle meat- heart, pork, deer, beef, etc. About 12oz of food per day. I imagine the 3/4 cup of food you give him per day is more than enough, (not familiar with EVO but it seems that many people here have had to cut back on how much they feed of it because it is so rich) and the chicken wing/turkey stuff is what is putting him over. You can't go by the directions on the food bag, you need to evaluate your dogs needs based on his metabolism and activity level.

Ok, thanks.

Do you think a 1/2 cup plus the frozen chicken wing/turkey/beef is too much? Should I go to a 1/4 cup?

I also mix in salmon oil with his dry food. Could that have an effect?

A little EVO goes a long way! My dogs gained a lot of weight on EVO. I think cutting back your dog's kibble to a light 1/2 cup and upping his activity level will help a lot.

If you want a dog with a horribly dry and poor quality coat then I suggest you go with your vet's advice on the Light Science Diet

Good luck.

Thank you very much. I'm actually tempted to go to 1/4 cup. My female beagle eats SG's Barking at the Moon (She didn't like EVO). I assume the same thing here as EVO?

I wouldn't cut back that drastically at first. Consider trying a 1/2 cup and if he's still "hefty" then cut back some more.

Great advice. Thank you.

You could also try Innova EVO Reduced Fat:

http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=%2F%2Fproduct%5B%40id%3D'1402'%5D

(I'm more in favor of cutting her back to 1/2 cup twice/day. Herschel is an extremely active 20lb terrier mix and he gets 1/3 cup of Canidae twice/day, and Canidae isn't quite as caloric as EVO)

Why are you in favor of cutting the food back as opposed to the EVO Reduced Fat? I took a look at the link (thanks) and it said EVO RF had 30% less fat than EVO regular. It also has about 100 less calories per cup than regular EVO and more protein.

It looks like a better food anyway.

Ok..

Listening to what everyone has said...I'm going to do:

A tiny bit less than 1/2 cup of EVO in the morning and a frozen chicken wing/turkey/etc at night.

How does that sound?

I agree; definately avoid the Science Diet Light. Low quality "Light" and "Diet" foods usually end up making dogs gain weight.

I would cut back on the EVO, like you said, to 1/2 a cup instead. I think the 1/2 cup in the morning, and the raw at night sounds good.

i agree- cut down on the kibble to at least half a cup, and increase activity -
not just WALKS but actual get him running and thinking.

i see no problem with the "people" food/raw stuff he gets.

If you are going to cut his food, add something to it so he won't be hungery, because 1/4-1/2 cup is not very much, especially after eating 3/4 cup.

veggies are "free' and add no calories, but help fill a dog up. Try adding things like canned green beans, brocolli, carrots, you can cook them or feed raw.

the last time I checked, all of those veggies had calories. Do they only count for people, and not dogs? Things like carrots are full of sugars/starches.

I wouldn't feed anything to make up for the missed volume of food. The dog will get used to it soon enough.

Thanks to everyone for the great advice.

This morning he received a 1/2 cup.