# Another Overweight Golden



## jmich24 (Nov 9, 2010)

Ever since our Emma was a puppy she loved food, basically what she lives for. And it has finally caught up with her. She is a 2 year old short stocky golden. She is up to 85 lbs, she is walked about a mile or less 3-4 times per week and was feed Canidae (468/ calories per cup) two cups daily, once in the a.m. and once in the p.m.

We have had had her thyroid checked twice, no issue there.

We are now going to switch to a lower calorie food. So far we are thinking Avoderm, because it was lower calorie (336 per/cup).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Don't forget that treats have calories too 

When you say her thyroid was fine, what were her numbers? Low normal is considered low for a Golden, and most will treat, symptomatic or not.

Avoderm has a lot of wheat, if I remember, although I know people who have had good luck with it. I go back and forth between Canidae and Diamond Naturals.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

She only gets exercise 3-4 times a week? My dogs get that in a day.

I would definitely get her on more walks.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

How far do you walk her every day? And get her outside for free exercise in your yard each day? 

The reason why I ask is sometimes they need a 2-3 mile walk at least every day. If her joints are sound. IF she's not used to getting that much exercise, even doing a mile every day - 7 days a week - should help.


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## Elisabeth Kazup (Aug 23, 2008)

Candidae put 20 pounds on our girl in less than a year. We finally switched to a combination of Premium Edge Weight Loss I and II. 

Just cutting calories isn't enough. You have to replace carb calories with protein. Our Penny gets one cup of each, mixed half and half at each meal per day. At 10 calories per pound of desired weight, her calorie intake from her food is 650 pounds. She now weighs 65 pounds. It was gradual and healthy loss.

Multiply 468 x 2 = 936. Your girl is being fed for a desired weight of 93.6 pounds. After you determine how much you want her to weigh, figure 10 calories per pound. That's how many calories she should have per day.

We keep treats to a regular amount per day and figure those in with her exercise.

Hope this helps. I went nuts reading labels, researching foods on line to come up with a diet that satisfied her and allowed her to lose weight without being hungry all the time.

btw, our vet told us that exercise is not part of the program for dogs the way it is for humans. A study done at Michigan State University, using closed circuit tv, found that test dogs who were exercised more spent more time sleeping in their kennels than dogs who were exercised less. As far as exercise and weight loss, it was a wash. But, regular exercise is necessary to keep your dog's muscles and joints healthy and strong, as well as cardio and lung capacity. It's good for the mind, too.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Penny's Mom said:


> btw, our vet told us that exercise is not part of the program for dogs the way it is for humans. A study done at Michigan State University, using closed circuit tv, found that test dogs who were exercised more spent more time sleeping in their kennels than dogs who were exercised less. .


But how much were those dogs exercised? To exhaustion? 

I imagine that study would not be much different than with peope getting on an exercise routine. People are warned NOT to overexercise or do too much in a single workout, because instead of getting that burst of energy that keeps them moving the rest of the day, they are more likely to vegetate afterwards.

I totally believe in walking your dogs a regular distance every single day. It will keep them healthier and stronger in the long run. 

My current guy gets fed 2 cups of dog food per day... about 360 calories a cup. He also is given handouts and treats throughout the day, so that DOES add up. But he is also a very active dog throughout the day, in addition to our daily 3 mile walks. In his case, I have to be careful to get him weighed every month or so because I do not want him to be too thin. Nothing below 76lbs. 

I'm not sure if I'd switch to Avoderm, simply because I've heard of dogs having mondo digestive issues because of that food. I do agree you might want to look around for a food that's lower calorie - but similar to what your dog is eating right now.


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## MGMF (May 13, 2009)

Are you saying you feed one cup two times a day or two cups two times a day? Also do you feed them anything else like some sort of treats or scraps?


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Penny's Mom said:


> Multiply 468 x 2 = 936. Your girl is being fed for a desired weight of 93.6 pounds. After you determine how much you want her to weigh, figure 10 calories per pound. That's how many calories she should have per day.
> 
> We keep treats to a regular amount per day and figure those in with her exercise.
> 
> ...



I'm not sure I'm totally on board with this theory. Jack weighs about 72-74 lbs and if exercise/activity doesn't figure into anything then he should weigh 160 lbs according to the above formula. He eats 4 cups a day of Acana Grasslands which is 420 kcal/cup. We also have been giving him a high calorie supplement at times which adds about 100 calories to each meal (2x per day) to get some weight on him. So about 1600-1800 calories per day at the moment and we have trouble keeping weight on him. Obviously he is a young dog with a high metabolism at the moment and is very very active, but it just doesn't add up with the theory that exercise has no impact on weight for dogs....


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## jmich24 (Nov 9, 2010)

Any specific low calorie foods you all recommend?

We feed our over weight(subject of this post) golden 1 cup twice daily.

Our other golden is tall and thin and is given 2 cups (canidae), twice daily and weighs a very healthy 65 pounds. Both get the same exercise.

We are honestly stumped and want her at healthy weight.

Is two cups per day enough food? Another concern of ours

Thanks again


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Our other golden is tall and thin and is given 2 cups (canidae), twice daily and weighs a very healthy 65 pounds. Both get the same exercise.

*And I'll bet the dogs come from different breeders and backround/lines, so their metabolisms are going to be different. Our first golden was healthy at 65-70 lbs. He was just lean boned. *

We are honestly stumped and want her at healthy weight.

*One question I have... I glanced back to last year when you asked this same question, you had been feeding her almost 4 cups of food a day and walking her 2 miles a day. I see you cut back on the food, but why did you cut back on the exercise? *


Is two cups per day enough food? Another concern of ours

*Yes. I'm embarrassed looking back at that old thread when I was lightly suggesting cutting back to only one cup a day and supplementing the rest with vegetables. We got advice from our vet on how to manage our dog (Danny)'s weight, but it was irresponsible just telling anyone to drop serving sizes like that. Geez*. :no:

*And on that topic, since 2010, I discovered my dog has thyroid issues and have been treating him for that. There's no miraculous weight loss with thyroid meds, but it does help stabilize a lot of things for the dog. *


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## SeaMonster (Jul 4, 2011)

She is "walked"? How often does she run?


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## MGMF (May 13, 2009)

Two cups is fine. You can even lower the one dogs food to 1 1/2 cup a day. Maybe give her 3/4 cups in morning and 3/4 in evening. Make sure you are not scrapping or treating them at all. This can make it very hard to regulate were they should be with food intake. Depending on a dogs activity level food amount will always be changed. My dogs go from 1 1/2 cups a day to 2 all different times of the year. If lowing the food amount without treats doesn't work I would have them re-evaluated for a health concern. There should be no reason to go to a low cal food.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Calorie requirements vary by the dog. For less active dogs, that 10 cal/pound formula seems to be pretty good. Our dogs eat more like 1400-1800 a day, but they also run or hike a dozen miles a week.

My personal advice on the food is not to switch to something low calorie. Those foods are simply supplemented with low-nutrition bulk, so you end up paying more for the same amount of food with some (metaphorical) sawdust added to make up the difference.

If you're feeding something that works well, simply reduce the amount. You may get more begging, but that's a training issue, not a nutrition issue. The volume of the food is irrelevant. There's no magic amount that's too little. If the dog is overweight, she's getting too much. If she's a healthy weight, she's getting the right amount. Barring health issues like thyroid dysregulation, that's all there is to it.

It's unlikely that your dog should be more than 65 pounds, and it's possible that she should be significantly less. Even being moderately overweight can shorten a dog's life by almost two years, and it hastens the onset of many geriatric diseases by about that same amount of time. A lean dog has, on average, almost TWO HEALTHY YEARS more than a moderately overweight dog. It is the single greatest thing you can do to increase the quality time you have with a beloved dog, and the best part is that you're completely in control of your dog's food intake, so you have all the power you need to keep your dog's weight where it should be.


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## AnimalLuver (Oct 13, 2011)

goldenjackpuppy said:


> I'm not sure I'm totally on board with this theory. Jack weighs about 72-74 lbs and if exercise/activity doesn't figure into anything then he should weigh 160 lbs according to the above formula. He eats 4 cups a day of Acana Grasslands which is 420 kcal/cup. We also have been giving him a high calorie supplement at times which adds about 100 calories to each meal (2x per day) to get some weight on him. So about 1600-1800 calories per day at the moment and we have trouble keeping weight on him. Obviously he is a young dog with a high metabolism at the moment and is very very active, but it just doesn't add up with the theory that exercise has no impact on weight for dogs....


I'm sorry this is totally off topic from this specific thread, but goldenjackpuppy if you're trying to put weight on your boy, I recommend EVO Turkey and Chicken. Trooper was always a very "lean" dog...and we were battling with trying to put weight on him for about 2yrs, this was the magic solution, just an idea


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## Luccagr (Feb 25, 2011)

Lucca gets abt 1200 calories a day. He looks lean and is abt 60 Ibs at 9 months+ so I'm assuming he's about 63-65 Ibs now. I have him on Fromm where the calorie count isn't too high. If I'm not wrong, the 4 star Fromm series has less than 400 calories per cup. Fromm adult is 400 calories/cup and I feed him 3 cups a day. I also walk him about an hr everyday with off leash running on the grass during weekends where possible as I don't have a backyard.


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## desi.n.nutro (Mar 18, 2011)

I agree with tippykayak in that you should try reducing the currently fed amounts. I think you may need to upgrade the walking time for certain. If you still need a Weight Mngmt....

NUTRO has a Large Breed Weight Management. 271 kcal/cup.

Some of the key benefits are 
•For overweight, less active large breed dogs over 50 lbs. 
•Optimized fat & protein levels for large breed, overweight dogs 
•Natural ingredients with added vitamins, minerals & taurine
•Natural sources of Glucosamine & Chondroitin for healthy joints 
•Balanced Calcium & Phosphorus for strong bones 
•Guaranteed to improve skin & coat* 
•Premium Nutrition. Superior Performance

If you think your dog needs more restriction on calories the Lite has 229 kcal/cup but also lower protein so I usually recommend the Large Breed WM. The Lite has similar key benefits though.


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## uat1 (Jan 25, 2011)

Can you feed weight controlled food to a dog that is less than 1 year old?


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Probably, but I still don't understand why folks want to feed a low cal formula (that bulk has to be filled with something, and it isn't nutrition) instead of simply feeding less.


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## uat1 (Jan 25, 2011)

tippykayak said:


> Probably, but I still don't understand why folks want to feed a low cal formula (that bulk has to be filled with something, and it isn't nutrition) instead of simply feeding less.


I think I have decided to keep her on her regular food and cut down her intake to 2 cup/day and fill the other cup with green bean/fruits as filler.
I read someone mentioned feeding banana... isn't banana high in Calories? My dog loves banana, but I stopped feeding her banana long ago due to the high cal presumption.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

One banana doesn't have a ton of calories (75-125), so as long as you adjust the rest of the food accordingly, you can certainly give it as part of the plan.


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## OutWest (Oct 6, 2011)

jmich24 said:


> Ever since our Emma was a puppy she loved food, basically what she lives for. And it has finally caught up with her. She is a 2 year old short stocky golden. She is up to 85 lbs, she is walked about a mile or less 3-4 times per week and was feed Canidae (468/ calories per cup) two cups daily, once in the a.m. and once in the p.m.
> 
> We have had had her thyroid checked twice, no issue there.
> 
> ...


There's a lot of interesting advice here for you to consider. My best offering would be to increase her exercise to at least a daily walk. Two times would be best. If you're not able to do it personally, could you hire a dog walker or take her to a daycare facility? I think all mammals need to move around every day to keep their metabolisms working well.


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