Weight issue

[Spoonman]

Hello everyone. First post in GSD forums. Came to gather some information on why my 3 year old GSD cant seem to lose this weight he gained through winter. I wasn't measuring his food for a while, and excercise was lacking no doubt. It is clear he gained a few extra pounds. I started measuring his food again, and am feeding him the correct amount as far as i know. I have cut his portions down even more. He is now getting 3 cups/day. And every day I take him for a run. The run is usually about 1.5-2 km. He doesn't really "run" though. He will gallop, but rarey have I ever seen him run full speed. He usually just walks. He runs behind me as I drive the truck(on dirt/grass).


I am worried about his weight. There is definitely extra meat on him. What can I do to help him lose this weight? I am currently switching him over from Royal Canin adult food to Canadian Naturals food.

He was looking like this in July 2012-



Don't have a good recent photo but he is not that slim anymore. he has always been a big boy.


Please help.

[Cassidy's Mom]

If he is overweight and is getting as much exercise as he can right now, your only option is to cut back his food. The "correct" amount of food for any given dog is the amount that keeps him in optimum condition, not whatever the feeding guide on the bag says. He is a very handsome boy, but he does look overweight in that picture, although it's not the best angle to tell for sure.

If you're switching between foods, make sure to compare the calories in each. Feeding fewer cups of a higher calorie food won't help because he may end up with the same amount of daily calories as he's currently getting with more cups of a lower calorie food, so you might need to do some math. I'm not familiar with Canadian Naturals, so I don't know how it compares to Royal Canin. If you need some help with, look up and post the kcals per cup of each food and we can help you figure it out.

[Anubis_Star]

Overweight dog means they are getting too many calories for their body's need. Increase the exercise or decrease the kibble.

Some medical issues like thyroid disease can cause increased weight. But in reality it's probably just a matter of too much food

[Nigel]

We were making good progress with Tukes weight for a while, but she plateaued off. Come to find out she was getting into the cupboard while we are at work. Just a thought.

[Spoonman]

Thanks for the responses everyone. He's can't be sneaking his food during the day, so I'll rule that out.



Cassidy's Mom- I'll get back to you with the calories. If I use an actual 250ml measuring cup, there is not much food there. I may have been overfeeding still. Ive got a real measuring cup not, so this should help. a "cup" is a very small serving. I don't know how he could even exist on these serving sizes. But I want him to slim down so I'll do what it takes.

I took him for a long bike ride today. That was two hours ago and he is bugging me with a toy already! After this regular excersize had begun, he has more energy.

I will also weigh him tonight.

[Zeeva]

Zeeva is also overweight. She's a toughy to deal with because when she eats less than I normally give her, she becomes destructive and whines to no avail. I tapered her food slowly to a lesser amount. Try this so that he doesn't feel cheated about not getting his normal amount of food. Unless you can get him used to eating less immediately?

We recently started this so I haven't seen any results yet. She's not as active as a lot of the member's dogs on here but she gets daily walks or walky doggy, the occasional fetch and tug...

What I've been told so that board members can assess your pups condition is to take a stacked photo (or at least an attempt at one) and one from the top so that we can see if your pup has an 'hour-glass' shape...

Good luck! c:

[Zeeva]

P.S. I love white trucks. I used to have Tundra but had to get rid of it since it's not a practical drive for us through the city...

[Spoonman]

Originally Posted by Zeeva

P.S. I love white trucks. I used to have Tundra but had to get rid of it since it's not a practical drive for us through the city...

Thanks....here's a recent pic of my truck.



I weighed Beau the other night. 120 lbs. that is wayyyyyy too much. He should be 90-100. If you guys want, I can get a decent photo of him from the top.

Took him for a sweet run today. Poor guy, I can see the chubs under his neck flopping around. I'm hoping cutting his food down, with this exercise, gets him slimmed down.