My dog is sooo fat

[imahag]

She is a 5 year old yellow beagle/lab and she is so fat. I feed her the minimal amount of food and she acts like it's starving her. She eats it without chewing! Gulp! She loves people food and will do anything for it but she's not allowed to eat it. I try walking her for excercise and she starts this crazy coughing fit and I have to squeeze her barrel and go home. I have another dog that could care less about food and it's a battle to keep her food away from the hefty one. They do play pretty hard in the backyard but it's not enough. I fear for this dogs life she is so fat. Any suggestions? I'll try anything. I love this dog and her legs look like sticks under her big old body.

[Treehugger267]

I had a pudgy pooch at one time too. The doctor said he was obese, I thought he was just fluffyish..lol

In our case, he was getting his dog food plus some table yummies and definitely not enough exercise. We were couch tators. Sooo, he and I both changed our tune. I started cooking for him instead of feeding him bagged dog food. It was during the whole melemine in the dog food scare and I was afraid of feeding him anything I didn't make. I checked w/ the vet and he said it was fine to cook for him. I give him a baked chicken thigh w/o skin, brown rice and veggies for lunch and dinner. We also started exercising more. If we snack at night, I give him sliced apples, he loves them. He lost a lot of weight and looks wonderful. It can be done. My vet also told me that if my dog seemed really hungry I could give him green beans to fill him up.

I know some won't like that I feed him meat, but I'm a veggie, he isn't.

[mlp]

Have you had her thyroid checked? Two of mine suffer from hypothyroidism, and will be on meds for the rest of their lives. It' a not uncommon condition.

I too home cook for our dogs. Toby gets ear infections if he gets any corn, and all except the most expensive pet foods have a lot of corn in them, and I can cook fresh, which is healthier anyway, for the same price or less than the expensive dog food.

Tascha and Toby get ground turkey or eggs, with either brown rice or oatmeal, and whatever veggies and fruits are in season or I have frozen from our garden. Jack, who always has a struggle with his weight and who gets itchy if he eats poultry, gets fish or eggs, plus veggies/fruits. They all get supplements of evening primrose oil, nutritional yeast, and finely ground eggshells, for calcium.

[s0ad]

My beagle easily becomes overweight. He would easily eat himself to death if given the chance. I have to make an effort to feed my two dogs separately or he would eat my other dog's food. I also have to be fairly strict about how much he gets, and what treats he gets. When you take him on walks I suggest getting a harness. I suspect he may get the cough fits because the collar is pushing on his neck. When my beagle is on collar instead of harness he gets them too. I forget what they're called, but the harness helps 100%.

I've seen some dog trainers put dogs on treadmills before. If you have one you may want to try and train your dog to use it.

[cheekywhiskers]

How fat is fat? Labs and beagles tend to be more on the pudgy side, they are also prone to hypothyroidism. Also look at the food you are feeding as well as the amount. Get a measuring cup and actually measure the amount you are giving. You can use the recommended amount on the bag for reference, but keep in mind that amount is for intact dogs. If yours are fixed you need to automatically decrease the amount by about 30%.

What type of collar do you use to walk your dog on? Any that apply pressure to the front of the neck can potentially damage the thyroid gland, especially if your dog pulls. I prefer to use a gentle leader/halti type collar for walks, but the easy walk might also work for you (front hook harness) or a Sporn one.

The best thing to do is talk to your vet first about ideas specific for your dog. Have boodwork with thyroid test done and food evaluated. Good luck, weight loss is possible.

[imahag]

I've made a serious decision to help this gal lose weight. I think I'm feeding her way to much dog food. Crazy. And I walked her tonite and she did okay but I'll be darned if she didn't get right into some leaves by the curb and eat something out of them. I tried to stop her but as I said, she doesn't chew, she just swallows it whole. I'm always prepared to do the Heimlich procedure on her.

[animallover7249]

How often do you walk her?

[mlp]

In your opening post, you said you were feeding her the minimum amount of food, and now suddenly you say you're feeding her way too much?

I think you owe it to her to take her to the vet (a) to have her thyroid checked, and (b) to have the vet educate her about how much and what she should be fed. If she's as morbidly obese as you described, it's high time you do this.

[animallover7249]

In your opening post, you said you were feeding her the minimum amount of food, and now suddenly you say you're feeding her way too much?

I think you owe it to her to take her to the vet (a) to have her thyroid checked, and (b) to have the vet educate her about how much and what she should be fed. If she's as morbidly obese as you described, it's high time you do this.

Also, what brand of dog food do you feed her, and exactly how much?

[imahag]

I feed her a cup in the morning and a cup at night. mlp, straighten up, quit picking. I vet her regularly. The vet knows she a large cart