PositiveFirstDT Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 Hi everyone, I am new to this board, as well as new to being a border collie owner. I have owned and trained dogs for years and years, but this is my first bc. She is a beautiful red merle who I adopted 3 months ago, and she came to me a little over weight. I have competed in agility for years now and I think that this gal is going to be great, but I need to get her in shape =) My vet said that since she is only around 7 pounds over weight, she should trim up by just giving her more excersie. BUT, is has been 2 months since then, and she does not seem to have lost any weight. I can hardly feel her ribs through the layer of chubb. So my question is, does this seem like a good amount of excersise for a bc who needs to get in shape: Throwing her ball until she is completely exhausted and breathing hard 1 or 2 times a day Training with her a little less intensely but while working her mind once a day. (ie off leash heeling at a run, working on Left/Right with a toy). Training her low energy working her mind with clicker training indoors once a day. She is on a very high quality food (wellness take five), and is given low fat string cheese and dried duck chips (very small ones) as treats for training. What would you all do if you needed to get your dog to lose a little weight? Have you had success with anything in particular? Kenzie 2.bmp Kenzie 1.bmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 The same thing humans do, eat less food while exercising. Cut back her food intake by 20%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Moon Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 The same thing humans do, eat less food while exercising. Cut back her food intake by 20%. I always feed Cerb with the same coffee cup. When he starts to chub up, I just mark a line a little farther down the cup. Works every time. Edit to add: I also watch his training treats and compensate a bit for those during meal time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 Yep, I believe that exercise usually isn't enough, you have to cut their food, too. When she needed to lose weight, I replaced part of my lab mix's food with salt free canned green beans, or canned pumpkin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RigoCR Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 Maybe the food she's eating aswell... you don't specify. I had VERY chubby Rottweilers a few years back and we switched them to science diet for a month and they got in shape, I think they should only have good quality food! Science diet is all my dog eats, lamb & rice actually he loves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RigoCR Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 Ohhh I didn't see the date of the post, hehe, sorry, it's been months.... I bet she's fine now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 Maybe the food she's eating aswell... you don't specify. I had VERY chubby Rottweilers a few years back and we switched them to science diet for a month and they got in shape, I think they should only have good quality food! Science diet is all my dog eats, lamb & rice he loves it. Actually she did mention that the dog was on Wellness, which is a high quality food. I'm not sure what dog foods are available in Costa Rice but, as a rule in the US, Science Diet is only a mediocre food. The Dog Aware website has some great information on why this is the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Maralynn is too kind. I consider Science Diet to be garbage. FYI, it is so bad that we won't even feed it to our animals at the shelter where I work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mariah Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Well if cutting her food and giving her lots of exercise isn't working you might want to check her health. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
border_collie_crazy Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 and some dogs are just..well they remain tubby lol my Toller is 5lbs overweight..with 9 hours of exersize a day and eats 3/4 cup a day..and absolutly nothing wronge medicaly according the about $400 worth of tests I had run lol and yes, calling Science diet Mediocre food is very nice, its expensive garbage lol our shelters and rescues here wont touch it either, and have on their "do not donate" list Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simba Posted June 16, 2011 Report Share Posted June 16, 2011 I have a lab who was 78lbs, is now (still very obese at) 65 lbs. She was down to 61 for a while, but gained weight while I was away. The best thing to do is just cut down the food. Start off by cutting it by 20%, and if she doesn't lose weight then cut it down further. No more than 2% weight loss per week, though. As it turned out the labrador was being fed four times what she needed for weight maintenance. No health problems according to the vet, and plenty of exercise, just a slow metabolism and humans with mistaken ideas of what was appropriate. It does look like a really tiny amount, but then so does the amount she starts to gain weight on. I still get in trouble for feeding her the right amount because "she'll starve" Damn labs, they always look hungry. Came in once after she'd got an entire big big pie off the table, and fed her (before I saw the remains) because she acted famished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobcmom Posted June 17, 2011 Report Share Posted June 17, 2011 On the exercise side of the equation, consider strength training. Cardio (i.e chasing the ball) can burn calories, but strength training can turn the chub into muscle. I'm going to suggest a tip I read from a Frisbee trainer. Find a nice slope or uphill. Throw the ball up hill so the dog has to work against gravity. This will be a good work out and help make the muscles work harder. Always make sure your dog is not overheated or overworked. Strength training should help with agility and other activities. You could also try taking a walk with the dog wearing a doggie backpack with light weights. This will also add another dimension to strength training. Make sure this a part of the overall training plan. Maybe work in strength training 1 or two days out of the week. Also make sure to allow down days for the body to rest and recover. Check with your vet and get their input. Hope this helps. mobcmom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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