Overweight Dog-any tips??

Have you had her thyroid checked recently? A blood panel?

What does your vet say? When my dog was overweight, I had my vet monitor her caloric intake and weight loss over the course of several months (monthly weigh-ins) and she's healthy and at optimum weight now.

First, take her off Iams. Iams is a mediocre food at best and often contributes to weight issues.

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul adult dog food is a good "upgrade" from Iams. In my area, they cost about the same, but Chicken Soup is an astronomically better quality food. If you start feeding a better quality food, you will see a difference in her weight, coat condition, and overall health.

I would gradually change her over to a different food, and after about a month of feeding her differently, you should start to see a difference in her weight. You can also limit her treats to baby carrots and increase daily exercise by 15-20 minutes and you should see a major improvement.

If after a month or so you don't see any difference in weight, it'd be worth getting her thyroid checked by her vet to be sure there is no other reason her being overweight.

Here are some other good food suggestions:

Canadea

Innova

Blue Buffalo

Merrick

Wellness

Yes! I've dealt with a very overweight dog before and the first stop needs to be to your vet. Hypothyroidism (low thyroid) is very common (I've had two dogs develop it), especially in sporting breeds and in middle age to older dogs and it will cause the pounds to pack on. That was my dog's problem and it helped a lot - he is normal weight now. A simple blood test is all that's needed to diagnose it and all the dog needs is a pill twice a day to control it.

Iams is not a super great food and I'd try to find a better quality weight control formula. I feed California Natural - it has no corn, wheat, gluten, additives, or dyes and is a quality food. They make a weight control formula.

Then measure food carefully and feed twice a day and pick up any food left after about 20 minutes. And absolutely no treats or people food at all.

Gradually increase the walks, but go easy because your dog is packing a lot of extra weight and you don't want to overheat or overexert her or hurt her joints. Increase the frequency and lengths of walks and make them daily.

20 lbs. on a Brittany is a lot for that breed, so you really need to get aggressive. It can lead to joint problems, arthritis, diabetes and all sorts of other problems that can shorten your dog's lifespan.

Spaniels need a lot of excersise, try to take her on 2-3 30 min walks every day, progressing to longer ones; also take a ball or stick so she can get some running in, playing fetch. I personally, take my dog out for an hour in the morning, with my iPod on, trying to get him to run for small sections of it. Then he goes to the park or along the river for a few miles in the evening.

Food wise, I'd reccommend using a bit less of the food she's on, and boulster it up with grated carrots, then she doesn't feel hungry, but isn't getting many calories.

Also, weight loss dog food should be monitored, have you seen your vet recently to see if she should be having less of it?

Speaking of vets, most of them hold some sort of 'Doggy fit Club', where you can get ideas of how to help them lose weight.

Being overweight puts significant pressure on a dog's joints, so it really is best to help her lose weight sooner rather than later

Any more questions?

Jess X

Well, my labX was about 10 lbs overweight after staying at my Mom and Dad's house for about a year and having access to the food their dog didn't finish and the cat food. After I took her back home I just fed her the amount of food for her size, she is supposed to be, and her activity level (which was about moderate at the time) and within a few months she was back down to her optimal size. I also cut way back on her treats and just gave her one or two treats between meals and one or two before bed and fed her 2 times a day (in the morning and in the evening). Take her for two thirty minute walks a day or if she likes to run throw the ball for her for a about 20 min or so twice a day to make sure she gets her exercise in.

My dogs all eat the grain free foods which I like to rotate every 2-3 months. Right now they are eating Horizon Legacy, but the other foods in their rotation are: Wellness CORE, Orijen, and Timberwolf Organics. I would suggest putting your dog on a better food like Wellness, Canidae, Fromm, California Natural, Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Go Natural (just to name a few), any good quality food from your local pet store not grocery store. and just feed her the amount of food for her size and activity level (like my labX is 38 lbs and I only feed her 1 cup of food a day because she is 12 yrs old and isn't very active anymore, she goes for two 20 min walks a day and gets 3-4 tiny dog treats between meals. She's been eating this amount for 3 yrs now and has maintained her optimal weight with no problems. I don't feed her a senior diet, she eats the same food that my 3 and 4 yr old dogs eat and it works for her). I weigh all 3 dogs about every 2 - 3 wks or so to make sure they maintain their optimal weights and so far they are doing great.

Good luck.

Find out from your vet what the healthy amount of food your

dog should be eating is. Try switching to another Weight

control dog food, maybe the one your using isn't working.

If your feeding her more than you should slowly week by week

give her a little less dog food than a week before.

Ask your vet for more tips

Eat 5 6 small meals a day instead of 3

Are you measuring out her food each and every time you feed her? A dog can still get fat on a "weight control" diet if they eat more calories than they burn. You need to invest in a standard 8oz measuring cup (a cheap plastic one from the dollar store will do fine) and measure out the EXACT amount every single time. People tend to guestimate how much "one cup" of food is and they are often shocked to find out just how much more they have actually been feeding when they measure it with a standard measuring cup. Look on the bag and feed the low end of the recommended feeding range for her IDEAL size (Not the size she is now!) and use the chart for weight loss (most weight control diets have two recommended feeding charts...one for maintaining weight and one for loosing weight). You will also want to cut out ALL snacks and treats. If she really loves her treats, you can measure out the total amount that she will get in a day (over the course of both feedings if you feed twice a day) and pull out a few handfuls of kibble and use those for treats. That way, she still gets "goodies" between meals but she isn't getting any extra calories at all. If she's not a big fan of her regular kibble as a treat, you can put the "treat" kibbles in an airtight container and add a few pieces of really smelly treats (like liver treats or hot dogs) so that the kibble absorbs the smell and flavor of the more enticing treats without adding the calories that are in those treats. Just be sure NOT to feed her the smelly treats. You can also try offering her green beans, carrots, or other veggies as treats as these have very few calories in them. If measuring the exact amount of food and feeding her less and increasing her exercise doesn't work, then you may need to talk to your vet about a prescription weight loss diet. I will admit that I am not a big fan of Hills, but their prescription diets exist for a reason and they DO work for many dogs. A prescription weight loss diet will have fewer calories in it than any weight loss food you can buy at the store.

As for exercise, a big back yard is great, but dogs are not really self-exercising. She clearly isn't burning enough calories with her current exercise regimen. Perhaps your walks are not long enough or not fast paced enough for her to be burning enough calories. After all, a human-paced walk is not nearly fast enough to burn off excess energy in a healthy spaniel. If measuring out the food and feeding her an exact amount does not help her loose weight, then you will need to increase the number of calories she burns by increasing the amount of exercise she gets. Swimming, if there is an area where you can take her to swim, is an excellent exercise for overweight dogs because it burns a LOT more calories than walking and it is low-impact so it doesn't make their joints sore. You may also want to consider biking with her. They make special accessories for bicycles (such as the springer) so that you can safely bike with a dog on leash. Just be sure to start off slow and work your way up.

Finally, what blood tests did your vet run? A regular blood chemistry test will tell you that your dog's organs are healthy, but may miss other metabolic diseases that could cause a dog to be unable to loose weight. Hypothyroidism is the most common medical reasons that an older dog would have a hard time loosing weight in spite of diet and exercise and middle-aged females are the ones most commonly affected by it. There are also a few other diseases that can cause a dog to gain weight that require very specific blood tests to diagnose.

50 minutes of shoveling snow

Consume low calorie food