Fat!!!

[PUPGIRL]

My dog went to the vet yesterday and the vet informed us that he was overweight. I know being overwieght is not healthy, and I don't want him to get sick. What should I do? I can't take him on walks becasue he doesn't get along with other dogs. I was thinking of walking him at odd times or playing fetch with him in the backyard as often as I can. Any other suggestions?

[clara4457]

My first thought is to take a look at the food you are feeding him. Many commercial dog foods have high calorie filler. If you switch to a lower fat food, it will definately help and some of the human grade foods have more nutrients so they have more energy. You can also add things to their food that will satisfy their hunger without adding calories, such as boiled or raw chicken (make sure you cut all fat off) or canned green beans for example.

Of course there is no substitute for good old fashioned exercize. Take him on long walks - if you see another dog, cross the street. Get a Halti or a Gentle Leader collar if you have trouble controlling him. Take him to a park during the off times and go for a run or a brisk walk. Take a ball and let him run and fetch. Make your own agility course in the back yard with cinder blocks and old broom sticks and train him to jump the hurdles.

Just like people the key to losing weight is low fat food and less of it and increased exercise. Then be patient - it took a while to put the weight on - it will take a while to take the weight off.

[binka_nugget]

If you walk him on quiet streets where there aren't many dogs and owners walking, it should be fine. Generally (if it's not a medical problem), less calories and more exercise should do it. I've cut Kai's food by a bit and started feeding in 3 meals instead of 2 to increase his metabolism. I also try to add an extra 5-10 minutes per walk and give the pups more play time outside.

[primabella]

All the suggestions are good, but I think excercise will probably be the most effective. Try and play with your pup as often as you can, but not only playing Fetch. Try playing any game that would require a lot of running/moving. Good luck. :)

[ChattanoogaVetTech]

I would definently look at his diet. Even though exercise is extremely important, diet is usually the main cause of a pet being overweight and even skin condition is closely related to diet.
If the weight is borderline obesity, then consider putting him on a prescription diet like r/d or w/d. Just ask the vet, they usually do have coupons to give you trial size bags to see if your pet will eat it.

[tikeyas_mom]

my dog has the same prob except she gets along witht he majority of dogs ":).

i suggest walking your dog on a leash and keepo him controlled dont let him near any other dogs :)

[Brie]

how much are you feeding and what are you feeding? What's the dogs feeding schedule? what's the dogs excerise routine? how many treats do you give in the day? how many table scraps do you give.... how much do the kids/friends/family members give? ........ all of these things contibute to weight gain.

This iscompletely reiterating what everyone else has said. except one thing. Take a look at the bag of food you're currently feeding... on the back it gives a recommended daily allowance. it will read something like 1 1/2 - 2 cups (this will vary depending on the dogs weight) The measurements listed are total for the day. If you have a highly active dog you'd want to feed the larger portion, if you're dog's less active or (in your case) over weight, you'll do the lesser serving suggestion or even slightly lesser than that. And remember to keep weighing your dog weekly/bi-weekly and adjust feeding when and as weight changes.

Most dogs don't need a reduced calorie food (honestly). Like humans, most of the time it's a matter of eating healthy portions and increasing excerise.

My suggestion would be stay on the same food, just reduce how much you feed and start with some evening and/or morning walks... not only increasing your dogs health, but also yours! (the added perk of having a dog) ;) And if there's a problem getting the weight off that way, then try a reduced calorie.

So, did the vet tell you how much he thinks your dog is over weight by? What's the breed? what's the current weight? Have you checked AKC.org for what the breed standard for weight is (obviously not all dogs fit in the breed standard mold, but, it will give you an idea of about where you should be)

Keep us up-to-date on how you're doin and how the pup's doin!

[wolfsoul]

I agree with everyone else. Did your vet rule out any medical problems? I'd have him checked for hypothyroidism. What breed is he? How old?