Quote:
Originally posted by dragondawg
In the absence of any other signs of hypothyroidism there is no need to run expensive diagnostic tests.
My prior dog a Golden/Lab mix did quite well on 2.25 cups of dog food. If I wanted her to gain weight (e.g. from 74 lbs to 80 lbs in the winter) all I had to do was give her 2.5-2.75 cups of dog food. When Spring came 2-2.25 cups took the weight off.
If the picture in your posts is the dog in question then 2 cups may indeed be too much. You should try going to a dog food blend with less protein/fat content as a first try. Then start to cut back on the amount from 2 cups to 1.75 cups. After a week or two, cut back again to 1.5 cups and see what the effect is on the weight. Adjust until you obtain and maintain the ideal weight. If the dog still doesn't lose weight and becomes lethargic then that's the time to revisit the Vet.
As someone else mentioned if the poor thing acts starved - you can try fillers in the diet, such as raw carrots. String beans have been reported to cause diarrhea in some dogs, so be careful about overloading on fiber.
As for exercise, I found it made little difference. With my dog she regularly would swim continuously 20 minutes a day on the weekends, and get half mile walks every day. No effect on the weight. But change the food ration and the weight response was immediate.
i just talked to my mom *the person who normally feeds all the dogs, tikeya included*, and she is on ONE cup a day. half a cup in the morning, and half a cup at night. my dogs refuse to eat veggies.