# 2 Girls so overweight.Help!!



## TonyRay (Feb 5, 2008)

we have 2 Beautiful light goldens.
[All Goldens are beautiful]
both females/ both fixed.
Savannah Mae, 2/half yrs.. 96 lbs.
Karmin, 4yrs.. 103 lbs.

we feed them 1 cup Iams weight control/ dry in the morning.
2 cup same in the evening with about a spoonfull of Pedigree wet mixed in.
each yr at the vet they are 5 lbs heavier than the yr before.
I would be lying if I said we never gave them any people food from the table which we sometimes mix in with the Iams in place of the Pedigree but it's barely a forkfull just for flavoring as we hate to give them plain dry at night. they really live for suppertime here.
Our friends think we spoiled them because we always heat the food in the microwave..
Even if we moisten with water we still warm the food. Pedigree wet kept in fridge.
Why should they eat cold food?
Our Girls are so loving and we love them back so much but we know they need to loose weight if we want them to be around more than 10 yrs..
Poor Savannah Mae lives for food as she is so darn happy that she just gobbles it down and has that," is there anymore look" but at least we have learned that it won't kill her not to have more which we do not give her. They never got seconds ever....

Doea anyone here have any sugestions because we really need to fix this while they are both young enough as it will get harder as they get older.
IS it the Iams? is it small amount of wet with dry?
Is 3 cups dry too much a day?
Should we skip the 1 cup breakfast?
[vet sugested breakfast because she claims by supper time they are more famished and tend to wolf it down in seconds flat..
We really need some advice here..
thank you.....
treats= ice cubes/ pieces of carrots/ Iams weight control small biscuit bones.. maye 4 or 5 each per week..


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## Jackson'sMom (Oct 13, 2007)

Please have their thyroids tested. If they are hypothyroid, all the dieting in the world won't make them lose weight. My golden ate 1 cup of dry food in the morning and 1 in the evening. He was a big-boned dog and weighed a svelte 66 pounds. I know there are others on this forum who can provide more suggestions about how to help your girls trim down. But ruling out a thyroid problem (which is common in goldens) is a good place to start. Thyroid medication isn't expensive, either. Good luck, and thanks for taking such good care of your girls.


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## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Welcome to the forum. Check out this recent thread.

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?t=27508


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## daddysgirl (Feb 27, 2007)

are they showing any signs of hypothyroidism? Roxy gained alot of weight (10lbs) lethargic, and just wasn't acting right before she was dx. Denise


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I have one GR that can only eat approx. 730 calories per day. The other eats a lot. I would try cutting down to two cups a day and see what results you get. I have a more detailed thread on here on how Tucker went from nearly 90 pounds to 73. He's gained a few pounds and we've cut his food back. I just learned they changed the calories per cup and I never noticed! We give him 10 calories for every pound we want him to weigh. This works for him, but would NEVER work for Shadow.

Testing the thyroid is always the first thing to do.


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## goldenmomof3 (Feb 15, 2006)

I struggle with weight loss on 2 of my girls too. One is spayed and the other is not. It is only about 5-10 pounds, but that makes a huge difference.

There are lots of things to consider. First of all, my girls get 1/2 cup kibble in the morning and 1/2 cup at night. I am adding cooked green beans in their diet right now (less than 1/2 cup each meal making it close to 1 cup per meal). I would cut their kibble back slowly and would supplement with green beans and even some carrots (if they like them). I don't do carrots though, but alot of people have and their dogs love them.

If you don't want to do green beans (or want more options), I also switch out with canned pumpkin, or plain yogurt. They LOVE the yogurt. 

Are they getting enough exercise? They probably don't want to do anything as heavy as they are, but exercise is good for them. Throw the ball, take them on walks. 

If cutting back food and exercise does not help, check their thyroid. Goldens have been known to have thyroid problems and it can cause weight gain. 

Good luck and I hope you get their weight down. It is dangerous and a cancer risk to be so heavy.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

I agree with Jackson's Mom, have them tested for thyroid as a first step. I would change them to a higher quality diet food like Canidae, Natural Balance, Wellness, Innova..., any of these should have a guide for the amount to feed for reducing weight. I would even cut the amount back from the suggested amount and add some unsalted canned green beans to their meals in place of the food you cut. The green beans will make them feel full but has less calories. 

I personally do not like Iams or Pedigree, but if you continue with those foods, cut them back at least one cup less per day and substitue the green beans. 

Then exercise, more walks, more chasing the ball. If you have access to a pool or lake have them swim every day or as often as possible. 

Here is a link to Kimm's thread about Tucker losing weight. http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/showthread.php?t=27508

I hope you find something that works to help them lose weight. Has your vet said what their ideal weights should be?


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## TonyRay (Feb 5, 2008)

No, Vet just says they need to lose weight..
I think we will try a bit of eveyones sugestions here.

I do like the 10oz per pound theory.
We will for sure start this weekend with mixing green beens with there dry..
And we will make another appoint to get the thyroid checked..

btw:
just dropped off picture of the girls in members gallery.
[ friend did picture but spelled "Karmin" as Carmen.
Karmin and Savannah Mae.
Savannah Mae is on the right.
I say that because for a female.,
she sure as heck always looks like a male to me.
Had them both since 7 week pups..
thanks all.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Some dogs ha e several or all of the classic symptoms of thyroid--our Scooter did. Others, like our Buck--full brother, later litter to Scooter didn't have a single symptom and his was caught just about the time he turned 10 when i had a full blood panel done on him before a dental. Scooters was pretty much diagnosed before blood work at age 4 as he had all athe symptoms.

Bucks took us by surprise.

I would have thyroids checked.


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## HoldensMom (Dec 3, 2007)

I've just recently had some success with a weight management formula (Canidae) in taking off a few pounds. I also took much more care to measure his portions correctly. I used the 10 calories per pound of ideal body weight calculations (and gave just a few low-cal treats). If you think about it, an extra 50 calories doesn't seem like much, but it can add 5 pounds in a year. That's an apple a day.


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## Carraig (Jan 4, 2008)

I have a Golden mix who needed to lose just a couple of pounds and a foster who was 81 lbs when I got her. The foster has lost over four pounds in two weeks, on a good chow and green beans.

The beans add fiber and bulk without the empty calories of carbohydrates. If you want to try this, make sure you get canned beans without salt added, or frozen beans. The Green Giant frozen has no salt.

I would go slowly, replace 1/4 of the morning cup with beans, and 1/2 cup beans in the evening with 1 1/2 cups chow. Then gradually cut thte chow back at night until they are getting one cup of chow and the 1/2 cup of beans.

Not every dog will like the beans. My foster has decided to start leaving most of hers, so she is basically eating two cups of chow and maybe 1/2 cup of beans in two meals and she is quite happy with that. I have also frozen ice cube trays with pure pumpkin (not pie filling) and thaw a cube of this to t hrow in the food every couple of days. It is also fiber with few calories.

Exercise is really important to go with the dieting, but they may be too overweight at t his point to go at it gung-ho. Perhaps others on the forum might have a suggestion about how far/long they could walk at a time.


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

You don't mention anything about exercise. What do the girls do for exercise? Do you walk them?


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## daddysgirl (Feb 27, 2007)

TonyRay said:


> No, Vet just says they need to lose weight..
> I think we will try a bit of eveyones sugestions here.
> 
> I do like the 10oz per pound theory.
> ...


just saw the pictures of your girls and they are both beautiful. i'm also doing the diet thing with Roxy, she is 5 yrs old and at her heaviest was 102.6lbs:doh: her last thyroid bloodwork came back fine, so the pills are working. just need to get the extra pounds off of her. Denise


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Hello and welcome,
Your girls are beautiful and there are great suggestions everyone has given you. The thyroid is the biggest test to get done on them. My Beau has struggled with weight and now is on meds and gets 1 cup am and 1 cup pm with green beans. Make sure to get the unsalted green beans. 
I would also do a slow transition to another type of food, like pro plan select weight management. I am not impressed with the Iams food. To much corn. But that is just me. 
Make sure they gets lots of exercise and ball playing and the biggest thing is no people food. That was the hardest for my hubby. 
Good luck and please post some more pictures of your beautiful girls.


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## TonyRay (Feb 5, 2008)

As far as execise,
Karmin is a frisbee nut.
she will chase after it way past her head and catch it at a full gallop maybe dozen or more times then comes in the house fine as ever, but if we take her for a walk, 1mile up/1 mile back
she doesn't last long and is wiped when we get back, lays on the floor and pants like she's dying.
Savannah Mae is very hyper. Never stops walking around the house unless she is sleeping. she's like a shark out of water. you could walk her to china..
I know thyroid has been mentioned but both dogs?
Karmins brother sired[ not hip on breeding terms] a litter in which Savannah was born.
Karmin is Savannah Mae's Aunt if there are dog relations like that.
Trouble is we go for walks for a while then cold weather keeps up in for a spell.. Phila area..
but in the summer, they were almost same weight so.....
will try as we said many of your tips.....
Starting with beans and the dry food..
may change from Iams to??


Just another day waitin till suppertime.....


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

They are beautiful girls, it's so cute they both have the lip tucked up against their tooth in the Christmas pic.

Hypothyroid (sp?) is VERY common in Goldens, and since they are related it would not be surprising if they both need thyroid meds. But it is inexpensive and easy to give and solves the thyroid problem, so if they both need meds for it, it really is not a big deal.

I'm sure with you actively looking to have them lose weight it will happen. Being aware of the need is the biggest step forward.


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

You know 3 cups of food is plenty for most dogs. I have dogs that can easily maintain themselves on 1 1/2 cups a day and some on 6 cups a day. All dogs are diffrent I would also suggest looking a switching foods. Iams is a lower quality food the better quality it is generally the less you need. Also decreasing food and replacing it with green beans has seemed to help. How are their coats, breath, teeth, body smell and activity level??


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I think dropping down to two cups a day from 3 you will see an improvement even if you do nothing else.


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

I would agree with cutting back the food and adding green beans. My sister's very over weight female beagle had the same issue. The green beans helped with the food issue and of course, more exercise. Good luck with the girls


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

by the way, those are some attractive blondes!!


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## tintallie (May 31, 2006)

How much exercise do your goldens get? Please be aware that it is 10 calories per lb of dog not 10oz.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

tintallie said:


> How much exercise do your goldens get? Please be aware that it is 10 calories per lb of dog not 10oz.


Yikes! Never thought a person would think 10oz...good call! Tucker would have called the police on me. I usually try to say, "If we want Tucker to weigh 73 pounds, we give him 730 calories."


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Your girls are beautiful and I commend you for wanting to help "get them in shape". Just like humans, their health will benefit greatly by being at a correct weight. You've got some wonderful advice to get you started. And, again, just like humans, it's calories in v calories out. When you change to a quality food, you will probably find that you have to feed less.... it will most likely be higher in calories and be better utilized by the body. You may want to look at Canidae ( platinum is for weight issues), Eagle Pack HOLISTIC, Wellness, Innova.... those are just a few that are high quality foods. If you can access the Whole Dog Journal for Feb, they have their annual dry food review. All that being said, I do think thyroid is the place to start. You may have already been told to make sure to get the complete panel and realize that "low normal" in a golden is truly LOW and may need meds. It's amazing to hear that many vets don't recognize this about goldens. Good luck..... please keep us all posted.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> ... and realize that "low normal" in a golden is truly LOW and may need meds. It's amazing to hear that many vets don't recognize this about goldens. Good luck..... please keep us all posted.


 
Yes! I forgot to mention that - if your dogs thyroid test shows a Normal but on the Low side of Normal they still need to be put on meds. Low Normal is actually Low for Goldens.


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## kalkid (Feb 22, 2007)

It's nice you're concerned enough to ask about this. Assuming it's not a medical condition it really boils down to how many calories they take in vs. how many they use just like for people. I don't want to argue where the calories come from although it is important. I'm sure dogs have different metabolisms as well just like people and obviously the slower that is the less calories they burn naturally. I'm a huge fan of exercise for dogs and people and the health benefits are astounding. There's no way a healthy 2 or 4 year old golden should be tuckered out after a mile walk. Of course carrying an extra 20 or 30 pounds of fat most likely would do that. Just as an example I run with my dog around 5 miles every other day and we go at a pretty good clip of 6 1/2 to 7 minute miles. In cool weather we quit because I'm tired not her, in the summer I have to be a little more careful because she'll overheat herself before she'd slow down or stop. In addition to that we throw a ball every day about everytime I take her out which adds up to at least another 30 minutes or so of hard running as well. She get's 2 1/2 cups a food a day and obviously burns quite a few calories with all the exercise.

Obviously you can't change this overnight and most people themselves I realize can't or don't want to run and you don't have to. Long walks and daily good solid fetching sessions will do wonders. I'd do that until they're tired and you'll find they'll start shapiing up. That coupled with a food meant for weight reduction or a food with less carbs and some time ought to do the trick.


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

I would agree it does matter where the calories are coming from. Kalkid, did you watch the same show I did thie morning LOLOL. In adition to the comment about the carb free food I would not want to go high on protein with your girls either. So a grain free may not be the way to go. Protein will aid in building muscel but with very little exercise it can't be built. If you do switch just careful on what you switch to you may be doing yourself more bad then good. Someone suggested the Canidea Platinum the Wellness and ProPlan Weigh Formula are a few more I know people have had success with. But I do think that just cutting the food back to 1 1/2 or 2 Cups depending on the exercise will get them started.


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## TonyRay (Feb 5, 2008)

We started today..
Iams weight control
half cup and some stringbeans in the morning.
1 cup Iams and half cup stringbeans for dinner.

we will weigh them in a month at pet store and go from there.
May switch to Eagle pack also..


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## Jackson'sMom (Oct 13, 2007)

Sounds like you're off to a great start. The girls will be happier and healthier for your efforts.


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

Sounds great, but you may want to feed the larger amount of food in the AM asuming they would be more active during the day. Then use the lesser amount at night when they would be going to bed.


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## TonyRay (Feb 5, 2008)

Actually,
they lay around all day since we are not home.
They come to life when we get home and eat around 5:00.
After that they are non-stop with wrestleing, tug of war with there toys and stuffed animal.
watching a movie or tv is impossible as they are constantly in front of the screen playing.
they get sent outside quite a few times at night,[we have a huge corner fenced yard].
If not too cold, [were in EasternPa] we walk them.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

TonyRay said:


> We started today..
> Iams weight control
> half cup and some stringbeans in the morning.
> 1 cup Iams and half cup stringbeans for dinner.
> ...


If you are interested in Eagle Pack, be sure to use their holistic line. Much better ingredients..... and no corn, wheat etc. Calories are very moderate too... less than even the Canidae platinum. You can check out their site at www.eaglepack.com BTW, my springer LOVES the duck and it's great for his coat.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> If you are interested in Eagle Pack, be sure to use their holistic line. Much better ingredients..... and no corn, wheat etc. Calories are very moderate too... less than even the Canidae platinum. You can check out their site at www.eaglepack.com BTW, my springer LOVES the duck and it's great for his coat.


 
I may try Eagle Pack for my two someday. I'm going to an event and they're going to be a sponsor. I can't wait for the samples. I was told they have a fish formula so maybe even Shadow can eat the food. If it's lower in calories than the Plantinum, I may give it a shot.


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## TonyRay (Feb 5, 2008)

Well,
we decided on Canidae Platinum..
actually started last week..
they get just a small hand full in the morning.
For dinner it's half cup Iams and Half cup Canidae [as we slowly change over to Canidae] and cup un-salted green beans.
we will weigh the poor hungry dears end of this month.
Completely have cut out treats, and any table scraps mixed in with food...
Breaks the wifes heart as they are still looking for food right after they eat but she knows it's for there own good.


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## Carraig (Jan 4, 2008)

It will work Tony. When I got Nikki three weeks ago, she was 81.8 lbs and eating Pedigree. I don't know how much but there was a two cup measure in the bag, so I suspect it was four cups a day.

I have been feeding her one cup morning and night, of a quality chow that has no corn, and two protein sources as the first two ingredients. She also got a half cup of beans at each meal for the first ten days, then she quit eating the beans. So now she gets just two cups of chow a day.

In three weeks she lost 5.6 lbs and that was with almost no exercise because of the heavy snows here. It made a world of difference. The rolls on her shoulders are gone, and she is starting to have a shape. She's friskier as well, and I'm looking forward to Spring and a chance to get her out for playtime.


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## HoldensMom (Dec 3, 2007)

Carraig said:


> In three weeks she lost 5.6 lbs and that was with almost no exercise because of the heavy snows here. It made a world of difference. The rolls on her shoulders are gone, and she is starting to have a shape. She's friskier as well, and I'm looking forward to Spring and a chance to get her out for playtime.


that's fantastic! diet is really the key to weight loss. exercise is important for maintaining weight and of course for overall health, but diet is the most important component to losing the weight initially. 

it makes sense... i mean, if you think in human terms, it's much easier to eat 200 calories less a day (2 tbs peanut butter) than it is to exercise it off every day (1 hour of brisk walking).


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## Carraig (Jan 4, 2008)

I heard tonight on the news that we have had 13 feet of snow since just before Christmas. We had a major storm last Wednesday, another Saturday night and there is once due to hit on Wednesday. My plow man says there is no more room in my yard to push the snow up. Right now, all we have is the length of the driveway, and on the odd good day, the side of the highway for a walk. But Nikki can't walk too much until that hole in her side heals from the growth removal.

I was very pleased with the weight loss though. She doesn't appear excessively hungry, although she's always ready to pick up a crumb or two. Her and Leah do get a couple of small treats a day. It's like dieting for yourself, you got to have something tasty once in a while.


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## TonyRay (Feb 5, 2008)

Well,
the girls have been on there Canidae platinum and green beans for couple weeks now and starting to look like they have lost a few pounds.
Will weigh them at the Pet store end of month.
Cup half Canidae/600 calories/ and half cup beans for dinner.
[_there off the Iams weight control now]_
Half cup in the morning so a total of 800 calories per day.
Our girls weighed in at 104 and 95 few weeks ago so we will see what 800 calories a day does for 6 weeks.
warm weather coming so more time to walk/run them.


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## sharlin (Feb 26, 2007)

Good start on trimming down their intake and hopefully all tests will come back normal so meds can be avoided. I'd probably start a regular exercise program for the both of them also. I do 1.75 mile in the morning with Rusty religiously every morning(at 5:00am) and he went from 96lbs when I adopted him to 81lbs now and has leaned out just right. If caloric intake isn't matched with exercise the body will start to store even more fat as a guard against "getting hungry", but with exercse the body just uses it as energy.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

TonyRay said:


> Well,
> the girls have been on there Canidae platinum and green beans for couple weeks now and starting to look like they have lost a few pounds.
> Will weigh them at the Pet store end of month.
> Cup half Canidae/600 calories/ and half cup beans for dinner.
> ...


Can't wait for your update!


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