# I know this question has been asked before....VERY OVERWEIGHT dog



## goldenmileslv (Apr 11, 2008)

Hello,
I can't seem to find what I am looking for here. Buddy is a very overweight golden at about 115 pounds. He is around 8 years old. He is now eating the Kirkland brand dog food from Costco but he is gaining weight with no loss in site. He has had his thyroid checked and the result was normal. He is just fat! I don't want to to have to spend to much money on his food but willing to do so in order for him to live a happy senior life. I also don't want to buy him the prescription food. I would be willing to try organics or anything with ingredients that are not fillers and something that will help the skin and coat. WHEW!!!! I know I am asking a lot. I really need to do some research. Also do you always feed the instructions on the bag?


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

How much are you feeding him? How much exercise (and what types) is he getting?

Was the T4 thyroid panel done or the "full panel" (sent out to a vet school/hospital elsewhere, take a day or two to get the results)? Was your dog checked for Cushings or other health problems?

How long has he been overweight?

It is important for him to loose a lot of weight, but it does need to be done carefully. 

A few tips:

-Get into the vet every 2 weeks to check his weight
-Measure the food. Seriously, get a measuring cup.
-Feed him in a food-dispensing toy ("Kibble nibble" or "Tug a jug"). No more food bowl.
-Increase your walking every week. Ask your vet how much to start with and how quickly to increase walking time. 
-Exercise in the early morning or late evening if you're in an area that is hot/humid

And you can help him! Loosing weight will help extend his life and decrease the risk or intensity of many health problems


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

I have NEVER been able to feed what the bag says. How many cups per day are you currently feeding? What does your vet think Buddy's ideal weight should be? 

You need to determine the calorie content of the food (how many calories per cup). You'll probably want to be at 10 calories or so per pound of ideal body weight. If you are feeding WAY more than that, you will want to decrease the quantity of food slowly.

Let's say Buddy should weigh 80 pounds. So you'll probably eventually want to get to 800ish calories per day. Let's say his food has 337 cal/cup. That means that you will probably want to decrease his food to 2 1/3 cups PER DAY. Remember that treats add calories too!

That doesn't sound like much, so if he is absolutely starving you can add things like green beans to the diet to give him more in his belly without lots of added calories.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

IowaGold said:


> You need to determine the calorie content of the food (how many calories per cup). *You'll probably want to be at 10 calories or so per pound of ideal body weight. If you are feeding WAY more than that, you will want to decrease the quantity of food slowly.*
> 
> Let's say Buddy should weigh 80 pounds. So you'll probably eventually want to get to 800ish calories per day. Let's say his food has 337 cal/cup. That means that you will probably want to decrease his food to 2 1/3 cups PER DAY. Remember that treats add calories too!
> 
> That doesn't sound like much, so if he is absolutely starving you can add things like green beans to the diet to give him more in his belly without lots of added calories.


*Thank you! For years I have been sharing the 10/1 with people and I've been questioned a number of times. This is how we helped Tucker lose 20 pounds and kept it off now for 6 years.
*


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I would also have a Full Panel thyroid test sent out to a lab for a complete result. The in house test does not give enough information.

Also, be sure your vet know a Low Normal thyroid level is LOW for Goldens and needs to be treated.

(IowaGold is a vet, she gives excellent advice).


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## goldenmileslv (Apr 11, 2008)

I have my other golden that was diagnosed with Cushings disease and because Buddy is so large, we thought he too had the disease. The blood work came back negative for thyroid with Buddy so we just consider him large. I appreciate the advice given on how to calculate the food given. Thanks so much!!!! I am going to try this method and see. We did try the green beans and it was a no go for Buddy. He turned his nose up at it. What else is good to give them if they are still hungry?


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## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

We used the 10/1 to help Tasha lose 30 lbs. We did use green beans as a filler in the beginning. Also after we measured her kibble out we put a little in the bowl for treats during the day.

Good Luck! Let us know how it is going.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

You're probably just overfeeding him. Can you cut back to a reasonable amount?

Also, exercise is really important, but you can't do high-impact exercise with an obese dog. Is there any way you could take him swimming regularly?


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## unclelar (Oct 10, 2009)

Have two that were 94.4 each, Buddy should weigh 75 and lady 70. We went the Science diet lite and feed "bag" recommendation and Lady gained buddy lost. 
We ended up with Wellness Core Low Fat which is high in protein and green beans combination. 
We started with 1 cup wellness and 1/2 cup green beans twice daily and they weren't starving as they seemed on the Science Diet.
Buddy now tips at 75.8 and lady at 76.4 this has been about 5 months so the weight loss of about 3 lbs a month.

At present Lady is getting 3/4 cup and 3/4 cup green beans. 

you also have to watch the treats we used the Wellness treats.
Wellness is more expensive but when you are feeding 1 cup twice daily it last for a long time.
We used frozen green beans to stay away from sodium. We can pick them up on sale for under 1 per 16oz pack.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

And don't forget...marrow bones have a lot of calories. Supplements can, too. When I called in 2004 both the silver and gold nupro had 100 calories per scoop.


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## JessiBessi93 (Jun 11, 2010)

Reading this thread has helped me learn how to get Sandy's weight under control, she was 90.6lbs last week at her appointment. I'll have to try the 10/1, thanks!!


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

Ranger's on the 10/1 plan too, but he just needs to lose about three lbs. Most days he gets 700 cals ONLY and the other days he gets 700 cals plus a kong or cookies since it's not super urgent he lose the weight. He just can't get heavier than 75 lbs and we're on restricted activity at the moment!


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Daisy's been doing the 10/1 for many years now, it works


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Lucky does well on two cups of Science Diet light or Iams Weight Controll.. One cup in the morning and one at night. With that amount he can get the occassional pizza crust or scrap tibits....or crusts from my kid's toast which they always slip to him..


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## scottie (Oct 1, 2007)

My sisters overweight Bichon Frise gets carrots grated through his food to bulk it out.
My head is spinning trying to work out how much everyone feeds their dog 
Charlie is on Arden Grange which is a dry food, gets 400 grms spread in a kong, and treat ball in the morning and the rest about 5pm, sometimes with sardines or cold meat added. He weighs 35kg and the vet thinks he looks great. 
I'm sure he would like more though!


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## Judi (Feb 26, 2007)

goldenmileslv said:


> Hello,
> I can't seem to find what I am looking for here. Buddy is a very overweight golden at about 115 pounds. He is around 8 years old. He is now eating the Kirkland brand dog food from Costco but he is gaining weight with no loss in site. He has had his thyroid checked and the result was normal. He is just fat! I don't want to to have to spend to much money on his food but willing to do so in order for him to live a happy senior life. I also don't want to buy him the prescription food. I would be willing to try organics or anything with ingredients that are not fillers and something that will help the skin and coat. WHEW!!!! I know I am asking a lot. I really need to do some research. Also do you always feed the instructions on the bag?


 My dog was VERY successful in losing approximately 40 pounds which most has stayed off in the last 5 years. She had Prescription food. I also recomend using "Missing Link" daily for a healthier coat.


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## cathbarrett (Jul 2, 2010)

Here is a link that will help, when you get to the website scroll down to the section "the overweight golden"
http://pets1st.com/articles/00021HowtoFeedaGoldenRetriever.asp

I always find the bags say to feed much more than what they need. We have 2 female goldens Our 3 year old she is pretty big boned 57lbs. Our younger one she is more petit 54lbs. Our breeder told me the females should never get over 60lbs. Not sure what the ideal weight is for a male.

It could be something as simple as to many calories in the costco food.

We had our girls on the Acana Adult Dog Food. They did well on it until they changed the formulas. They started to itchy and soft stools. We switched to the Go Natural chicken formula. More calories than what I like
I have a weigh scale for them, I'll monitor their weight, the same company has a salmon formula which is a lot less calories.

A good tip, make sure you measure their food. I would follow the guidelines in the above mentioned website.

There is another good site for dog food. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com 

Good Luck!

Catherine.


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## desilu (Nov 2, 2006)

Desi is 67 lbs. She gets 2 cups of Purina Pro Plan Select Turkey and Barley each day, 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night. Lucy is 56 lbs and gets the same food, but 3/4 cup in the morning and night for a total of 1 and 1/2 cups per day. The bags generally ask you to feed way too much. Both my girls are in good shape. Lucy is more active than Desi, Desi is thinner than Lucy - on purpose because she has hip dysplasia. Good luck with the weight loss. It is very important!


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## doggymom (May 7, 2015)

GoldenJoyx'stwo said:


> *Thank you! For years I have been sharing the 10/1 with people and I've been questioned a number of times. This is how we helped Tucker lose 20 pounds and kept it off now for 6 years.*


what's the 10-1


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

doggymom said:


> what's the 10-1





> IowaGold said:
> You need to determine the calorie content of the food (how many calories per cup). *You'll probably want to be at 10 calories or so per pound of ideal body weight. If you are feeding WAY more than that, you will want to decrease the quantity of food slowly.*
> 
> Let's say Buddy should weigh 80 pounds. So you'll probably eventually want to get to 800ish calories per day. Let's say his food has 337 cal/cup. That means that you will probably want to decrease his food to 2 1/3 cups PER DAY. Remember that treats add calories too!
> ...


This


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## doggymom (May 7, 2015)

doggymom said:


> what's the 10-1


Thank You. I just recently returned to the board
after not posting for a while. I kind of figured it out after I had posted. Thanks for your reply. I Just Love This Board. I finally have more time on my hands now.


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