Help Chloe lose weight!!

[Denaluvscorgis]

Hi everyone,

Since Chloe had her puppies last October and got spayed she has gotten extremely overweight and I'm getting so worried about her!!! I regulate her food portions, keep snacks to a bare minimum, take her for walks. She has gotten to where she can't walk very far without getting really worn out. My husband took her for a walk 6 blocks from our house and she could barely make it back home to our house. She had to stop and rest a few times. Is there anything else I can do to help her lose weight????

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

How much does she eat every day and how long a day do you exercise her?

Try exercising her fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen minutes in the evening. For treats use a portion of her meal or vegetables such as baby carrots or green beans.

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

I've been feeding her 1/3 cup 2x per day. The vet recommended that I switch her to senior food, so I did. I've only been taking her for one walk per day on weekdays and two on the weekend. I'll try using the healthy snacks for when I do give her a treat.

Thanks

 

[Renee750il]

Dena, what kind of food is she eating?

When my bunch was old enough to switch to the EVO, I saw a huge difference in lean muscle ratio. Shiva, who wasn't even really fat but still had some baby pudge, turned into a lean, muscular creature and her stamina just jumped off the charts.

 

[smkie]

mary can empathize..this is her advice..have an owner that is disciplined to not give in..no matter how much begging goes on..give her itty bitty portions two times a day..no fattening snacks..carrots are good..and walk and walk and walk. Now as Mary's mom i can attest to how hard that is..she is devious..she pleads on everyone's sympathy..she looks for any crumb no matter how small..sigh..but if she was even 5 lbs heavier it would hurt her arthritis..you know what needs to be done..it is the doing that makes you feel so mean. The first time i heard of flavored water i thought oh paweeeeese how silly..now i think how cool..Mary would really like that. Any treat she Could have that didn't add a calorie is a good idea.

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

I'm feeding her Exclusive Senior.

Thanks smkie...I know it's best for Chloe to be thinner, especially with those short little legs. I worry about her back, plus her breathing!!!! I can usually refrain from giving her any snacks because I know they're hurting her more then helping. I've had to quite taking her over to the neighbors because they are terrible about slipping her food when they think I'm not looking, even though I've told them why she can't have them. They're the type of people that their dog ONLY eats what they are eating.

I want to try to make this fun for her. Yeah right....losing weight fun!! LOL

 

[candy722]

I hope she stays healthy and losses weight.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

Try giving her several small portions of food a day and either using her kibble or veggies as treats, with short walks a few times a day.

Tippy was overweight about a year ago...I lowered the amount of food she got and tried not to give her many treats, and I started giving her more exercise and tried to make sure she got a good run every day.

 

[smkie]

My mother thinks that Mary is just starving to death..says no dog should be that hungry but i know that it is 99 percent act..she knows the weak link and pleads with all her might..my mom loves to feed anybody that is willing to eat..when Mary gets off of the floor she has to lift her big black rear end with one leg..it is not the hips but the hocks..one i don't know why is like a big ol bunion and it hurts her a great deal.
Aftre bronki died everyone sympathy fed her..including me. It was the only time she showed any life at all other then that she stayed with downcast eyes and no joy in her soul. The results were that she couldn't get up anymore. So i tuffed it out and Victor came to the rescue (he took ten pounds off of both of us) but i took more of Mary by controlling her diet with a firm hand. She became much more mobile..romped and played..and could get up without assistance. I would still like her to lose 5 more but if it is happening it is awful slow. The vet says she is a grand old gurl and looks great. I don't want any other stress on the other hock. If she loses that her life will be just miserable.

 

[Babyblue5290]

My mother thinks that Mary is just starving to death..says no dog should be that hungry but i know that it is 99 percent act..she knows the weak link and pleads with all her might..my mom loves to feed anybody that is willing to eat..

Sounds like Lucas would LOVE your mother lol

 

[k9dogs]

no food

Hello if she is not sick, I would say give her one day in the week no food. You can ask your Vet he will tell you that it is very healthy for adult dogs to do that.

Geertings

Alex
K9 Dogs Europe

 

[Athebeau]

First I suggest getting a blood test done just to make sure every thing is in order. If she suddenly developed a metabolic problem then it may not be so easy to lose the excess weight. My intact female has weight problems, before she had pups and after ward..she is just a piggy . I do keep her at an idea weight (but, did manage to put too much on her last heat as we thought she had taken with the AI). Any way...first and foremost just like we humans: Increase activity levels take her for more walks during the day and build her up slowly to longer walks...swimming is great, but, may not be so great for weight loss as the water temperature is usually colder than body temperature and signals the body to store fat for insulation...we humans should keep this in mind as well... . I am not completely for senior diets/or weight loss kibbles for dogs, I believe it was Mordy who mentioned that weight loss kibbles actually have higher Carb content - which is exactly what you don't want.
I would go with a home prepared raw diet to help lose weight...this really helped my porky Rottweiler and Newf when I had to get weight off them. I used lean cuts of meat and lean hamburg, ground Turkey, heart,liver (make sure all organ meats are organic), and ground egg shells for calcium...vegetables, oats, wheat bran or ground flax seeds, low fat yogurt or uncreamed cottage cheese. Some oil of your choice I like Olive oil, Flax oil, Hemp Seed oil.
You can mix this up and use what ever lean meats you want...I had wonderful success with weight loss and natural diets. After my dogs got to their ideal weight I started feeding kibble again...but, still feed natural home prepared meals as often as I can (due to storage space...much cheaper to buy in bulk). You might need to include a daily vitamin/mineral supplement as well.
As Renee mentioned EVO is a good food to put your over weight dog on also...it will help your dog loose weight as you don't need to feed as much. For snacks try only to give lean cuts of meat, or lean hamburg balls perhaps rolled with oats or flax seeds (crushed).

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

So true...mothers always like to feed us...LOL

 

[Athebeau]

Hello if she is not sick, I would say give her one day in the week no food. You can ask your Vet he will tell you that it is very healthy for adult dogs to do that.

Good point K9dogs, I read in Dr. Pitcairn's book that a raw bone fast a day a week is wonderful for a dog's digestion. The dogs body has time to break down old wastes and the organs have a chance to repair and restore themselves. I have fasted my dogs with just raw bones for the day, and a break meal of organic low fat yogurt mixed with berries...and maybe later in the day a small amount of raw lean meat. Mordy will be able to help you with more ideas.

 

[smkie]

athebeau that is very helpful..Mary will thank you! maybe that will take off the last 5 lbs..she is eating innova now.

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

Thanks for all of the suggestions...I do really appreciate it!!! I should take her to the vet and have her blood checked...I did think of that when she started to gain weight after her puppies were gone that she might have a thyroid problem. This gives me some great ideas.

 

[nedim]

Dena, speaking from experience with the little midgets, maybe you could set up am obstacle course or something of that nature in your backyard? I let Peanut do her nightly romps around the house and she sorta makes her own course weaving in between tables, chairs and not to mention people.lol. Hope that helps a bit.

 

[621mum]

How much does Chloe weigh? I ask because I am feeding according to package guidelines and 2/3 cup per day seems like a very small amount unless she is really supposed to be tiny (Is she a Pembroke? What is their average weight? About 25ish?). I know that, with people, sometimes too much reduction, particularly in proteins etc., causes the metabolism to go even slower... just a thought from someone who knows very little

 

[Athe]

621mum, what a great suggestion. I completely forgot to mention that. It's amazing how many people feed their dogs the amount of food for the dogs current weight...you should be feeding for the dogs ideal weight. It's amazing how often this happens...you have a 120lb dog that should weigh 100lb's and the owner feeds for a 120lb dog and wonders why they aren't losing...

 

[Denaluvscorgis]

Chloe should weigh between 25-30 pounds and the last time I weighed her she was 40 pounds.

The backyard obstacle course sounds like a good idea Nedim. I like to take her over to the neighbors house because they have a poodle and they all race around the yard like crazy dogs, but they're the one that feed her things she's not supposed to have. I did take her over there last night anyway, and the only food they snuck her was letting her lick the icecream that was left in the bowl.

Chloe has been actually getting 1/2 cup of her food 2x per day. I thought it was 1/3 cup but was wrong.