Weight Loss Question

[Scottea]

Gidday from New Zealand !

 

Just wondering how other BC owners who live in cities/towns managed to help their pets shed the odd pounds they might have put on over winter. I fear that I am going to have to do more walking this winter to keep my gal's weight down. We usually go on up to six quick one mile walks a day as I work from home and find it is good to get fresh air every two hours or so but with icy weather coming I am not that keen on going out yet do not want either of us go pack on pounds.

 

Thanks for your suggestions and hints.

 

Scottea

[bc4ever]

Gidday from New Zealand !

 

Just wondering how other BC owners who live in cities/towns managed to help their pets shed the odd pounds they might have put on over winter. I fear that I am going to have to do more walking this winter to keep my gal's weight down. We usually go on up to six quick one mile walks a day as I work from home and find it is good to get fresh air every two hours or so but with icy weather coming I am not that keen on going out yet do not want either of us go pack on pounds.

 

Thanks for your suggestions and hints.

 

Scottea

 

I have the same issues. Not a winter person, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to just suck it up and take him out at least once a day for a walk, unless it's really horrid out. And being a BC, coming from England and Scotland, he loves winter weather!! It's his time of year! Scooter comes alive as soon as it starts getting cooler. He gets really excited when he looks out the window and sees snow! Hot weather is harder on these guys than cold.

[2 Devils]

I cut back or add food depending on the exercise level. If need be I will substitute some of the food with a filler like pure pumpkin, green beans, etc... something that acts as a filler but does not have calories per se...

 

My dogs rarely get the same amount of food every day because they may not be getting much exercise or they get more exercise. During the winter I just cut back the food as a given and if they played a lot a certain day I just add a little more to dinner. I pretty much do this year round.

[juliepoudrier]

I agree with Kim. I feed my dogs less during times of reduced activity and more during times when they're being really active.... One of my working dogs is currently on restricted activity because of an injury. She's a food hound and went through a period of stealing cat food (my bad for not being vigilant about putting the cat kibbles out of her reach) and put on several pounds as a result. I cut her back to half her normal ration and gave her green beans as filler. I was able to take two pounds off in just a few weeks that way. That's still what she's eating now, and will be until I can significantly increase her activity level. (I will gradually reduce the beans and increase the "real food" as we get her back into working shape.) Like Kim, I continuously monitor my dogs' weight (just by looks and feel) and adjust their food intake accordingly. So the key is to give them low-calorie, high-fiber additives to give them that necessary feeling of fulness while you cut back on the regular food and increase the exercise. Those extra pounds will come off in no time! Next winter, consider cutting her food back at the start of reduced activity (and adding the pumpkin, whatever then) so that she doesn't get a chance to gain.

 

J.

[JaderBug]

How about the opposite problem? My dad's female BC, Sasha, can't keep weight on her at all. The dogs go with him everywhere, even out to the hog farm to do chores, and I think she spends a lot of time running laps around the buildings. She is 6 years old and isn't spayed (though I think I've finally talked my dad into getting her spayed). When we got her, we had planned on getting a litter or two out of her (I know... we didn't know better at the time, ignorance is bliss), but we always felt she never had enough weight on her to support a litter of puppies, she would waste away to nothing. If we got her spayed, would that cause her to put more weight on? Her food isn't the best quality, I'm not sure what he's got her on right now- I believe it's a generic brand that (supposedly) has a lot of protein in it. We've changed their food quite a bit, they receive regular dewormings and vet checkups. We've also tried adding sport dog energy supplement to her diet, which didn't seem to help at all. The other thing is the neutered male we have gets fat on the same food.

 

Would spaying her help her to keep weight on?

[juliepoudrier]

There's no way of knowing if spaying her will cause her to gain weight. I think that's something of a myth, since I have a number of spayed dogs, none overweight (although I think spaying her is a good idea). It may be that your dad just needs to feed her *more* of whatever he's feeding her. I have one dog who is not an easy keeper and he runs *a lot.* Sometimes he gets as much as 4 cups a day (compared to 1.5-2 for most everyone else) to try and get/keep weight on him. Some dogs are just naturally thin, and if the vet has tested for heartworm and parasites and has given her a generally clean bill of health then I wouldn't think her thinness is "illness" related. If she has that much energy, she's clearly not starving. But I think the first thing I'd do is up her intake, even if that means feeding twice a day (I feed just once a day, except for the LGD and a dog I have in for training). I'd probably add more fat to her diet as well.

 

J.

[2 Devils]

If the dog is healthy I would not worry much about the weight. All my dogs are thin and too many too thin.

 

My border collie is around 20-22" at the withers (never measured) and weighs 29lbs - you can feel ribs, hip bones, etc... she gets 2 cups of food a day. She is quite healthy and I won't feed her more than that.

 

My acd is 18.5" at the withers - weighs 28lbs. She is very thin - feel ribs easily, feel hip bones, etc... she gets 1 cup of food a day maybe a tad more depending on her exercise that day. She cannot afford to lose weight but I don't want her gaining. She is 10 yrs old and has had TPLO on both knees. There was a time this dog weighed almost 45lbs and looked thin. As she has aged her shape has changed and she looks as good now as she did when she was heavier.

 

My borderjack is 15.5" at withers (on his toes) - weighs 18lbs. He gets 1 cup of food a day and usually a tad more that that because he is too thin. You can literally see all his ribs, feel his hip bones but not as badly as the other girls.

 

My toy poodle is 11 3/4 " at withers - weighs 8.5 lbs. You can feel ribs very easily, his hips can be felt, etc... at one point his dog weighed 10 lbs until a bout of hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. He has back issues so am happy he is thin.

 

All my dogs get treats too so they do get more than just their fair share of food.

 

Everyone claims I starve my dogs. They compete in dog sports and are active. If dogs are extremely active I believe they should be kept very thin. I feel it is better for their joints.

 

If you really want to put weight on the dog, you can increase her food, add satin balls (recipe on internet) or whatever.

[sweet_ceana]

Off leash running and playing is the best thing to keep the weight off. If you are worried about your dog running away you cn always take your pooch to school play areas when there is no one there. I can walk Ceana and Poke until I am dead and it will not be sufficent exercise until they run off leash. Frisbee is great in the snow because you can wear out the dog a lot less time than walking!

[Alaska]

Frisbee is great in the snow because you can wear out the dog a lot less time than walking!

Yep, I have reluctantly had to give in and resort to quite a lot of frisbee and Chuckit action in the winter when walking simply isn't practical (snow too deep or ground covered with a lethal layer of ice). I am very happy that it's summer here now and the walking opportunites are unlimited. I like walking. A lot.

 

Paintgrl: I know thread hijacking isn't a major vice in the grand scheme of things, but really it works better for everyone to start a new thread if you have a different question. Makes it a lot easier for someone who is searching later on for help with a specific issue to find the answers they seek.

[2 Devils]

I will give you a disclaimer about playing in the winter when there is snow on the ground but the top is either covered with ice OR has become hard.

 

We did this a couple years ago with a dog we had. For some reason, breaking through the hard snow actually caused severe bruising along the legs and belly area. Once you think about it is not hard to believe that it could cause bruising. I would be careful playing in that kind of weather.

 

Also, allowing a dog to run wild on ice can cause them to fall, slip, etc... and hurt themselves.

[Alaska]

Agree 100%.

 

The reason we've had to resort to frisbee and Chuckit in those conditions is that we can do those activities in plowed parking lots, the only snow- and ice-free surfaces around (other than tide flats, which we also use at low tide). And we never use paved parking lots, only the kind surfaced with hard-packed sand, which, fortunately for me, are fairly common in my small town. Also fortunately for me, we are well south of the permafrost zone, so the sand is not rock-solid like it would be if it were frozen hard.

 

Still, I could do with a little less winter....

[Bo Peep]

I pack on the pounds also- LOL. I have a rescue dog with a low thyroid that I had to exercise and try and get her to lose weight. Easier on dogs, you just feed less, they have no access to the fridge. I admit, I'm lazy and the chuck-it is great and frisbee. Snow is fun if it's not icy. The dogs love chasing snowballs and peeing on snowmen

Also, be careful of the salt that they put down- they tend to make your dogs pads tender.

[stockdogranch]

I do the same as Julie, times of lessened activity, less food. Hard work, more food. When I need to take weight off one, I use canned pumpkin as the filler--if I cut the kibble by say, 1/2 C, then I add that same amount of pumpkin. I have not yet met a dog who didn't really love the pumpkin. I get it at Smart & Final for $6. for a gallon can,

 

A

 

ETA: Julie--how is Twist doing? We haven't had an update and I've been wondering...

[Mona Howard]

I didn't know how fat my Willy was getting until I took him to a friends house. Her dogs were nice and trim. Standing next to them Willy looked like a blimp. I was embarrassed. I got to thinking about the treats he gets and cut back his chow accordingly. He's at

a good weight now. Maybe a little on the thin side even. It came off slow, about two months. He has more energy now that he's not carting that load around anymore. You don't think you are feeding them much when you dole out the meals but consider the

treats. They add up.

[juliepoudrier]

Anna,

Twist is better. After about three weeks of strict crate rest I stopped seeing any sign of lameness or favoring of that leg when just standing around (even when she wasn't obviously limping, she wasn't putting any real weight on that leg when standing). Of course she is still on the prolo therapy as well, and has one or two more injections to go. When I had her at the vet's last week, he said he probably wouldn't release her to work ("as much as I usually use her" is how I'm interpreting it ) and trial until fall, but I've been using her a little (she did some real cutting horse stuff at Becca's at the NC picnic) and so far she's stayed sound. Well, until yesterday when she sliced a pad on the rocks racing down to the creek with the rest of the pack. Gah! So I'm mostly not working her--only for special cases where she really is the only dog I trust to do the job (like when I needed to get in with the rams and get the wether out to take him to the butcher--not something I'll use the youngsters for since I do value my life) because I don't want to "ramp up" too quickly and have a setback.

 

J.