# Charlie is going on a diet



## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

Oh boy, am I going to catch hell for this  When it came time that I could no longer mess around with Daisy's weight (ACL injury), I put her on Science Diet R/D (diet food). She lost all the weight she needed to and she was in prime condition for surgery the following year. I didn't notice any ill effects at all. It worked and she was none the worse for wear 

You want your dog to have 10 calories per pound that you want them to weigh. So if you want your dog to weigh 50 pounds, he shouldn't have more than 500 calories a day. 40 pounds = 400 calories. It's a tried and true formula for weight loss and the SD R/D has the calories right on the bad, no guess work.

Good luck. It's hard work but it sure is nice when you can see the benefits of what you're trying to do. I was going to say careful for the counter surfing .... Daisy discovered counter surfing when she was dieting : but looks like your Charlie might be a little too short for that ?


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Jo Ellen said:


> Oh boy, am I going to catch hell for this  When it came time that I could no longer mess around with Daisy's weight (ACL injury), I put her on Science Diet R/D (diet food). She lost all the weight she needed to and she was in prime condition for surgery the following year. I didn't notice any ill effects at all. It worked and she was none the worse for wear
> 
> You want your dog to have 10 calories per pound that you want them to weigh. So if you want your dog to weigh 50 pounds, he shouldn't have more than 500 calories a day. 40 pounds = 400 calories. It's a tried and true formula for weight loss and the SD R/D has the calories right on the bad, no guess work.
> 
> Good luck. It's hard work but it sure is nice when you can see the benefits of what you're trying to do. I was going to say careful for the counter surfing .... Daisy discovered counter surfing when she was dieting : but looks like your Charlie might be a little too short for that ?


Yeh he's to short for the counter..LOL, so should I start with getting him down to 50 pounds and then go on?


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

Omigosh! He's a little sausage. What does your vet say he should weigh? Have you tried a green bean diet with him?


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

mdoats said:


> Omigosh! He's a little sausage. What does your vet say he should weigh? Have you tried a green bean diet with him?


the vet said about 35 - 40 pounds, no I have not tryed the green bean diet. Do you substitude like 1/4 cups of food with green beans?


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

So Charlie has to lose 1/3 of his body weight. I don't know enough about this to know whether it's better to get the weight off him quickly or to do it more slowly. I'm sure others with more knowledge can weigh in.

I haven't used the green bean diet, but have read about it. You substitute a cup of your dog's food with a cup of green beans, so 1/2 cup in the morning and 1/2 cup in the evening. You can use frozen green beans and cook them up or you can use low sodium canned green beans.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

We use the green bean diet for all our rescues that come in over weight..... We cut there regular food back and give them half green beans and half food.. We actually tried diet food with one of our rescues and the other on the green bean diet and the green bean diet worked better....Of course the more exercise Charlie gets the more weight will come off


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Maggies mom said:


> We use the green bean diet for all our rescues that come in over weight..... We cut there regular food back and give them half green beans and half food.. We actually tried diet food with one of our rescues and the other on the green bean diet and the green bean diet worked better....Of course the more exercise Charlie gets the more weight will come off


 
That's just it no exercise right now, he walks for a little bit and then lays down, won't get up, have to call home for someone to get him. Guess it's my fault I baby him to much, after we found out he had heart problems he just gets everything he wants, I know it's wrong not doing him any favor.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Even a little bit of exercise is better than none......He will feel so much better with some of that weight off.....


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## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

I don't know much about the SD R/D. But I wouldn't recommend any SD regular foods.

The green bean diet i didn't do long enough...so I can't say much for it. 

Yes, exercise is good for Charlie. Playing a game of tug can be GREAT FUN!! A little jog, but you keep him going...don't let him decide when he's tired. A walk or a run in the park...w/e floats your boat. 

What I've learned is that it doesn't matter what kind of food they get, it will have little affect on the weight, you just need to exercise.

Dont' feel bad about this, once you get the weight off, and keep it off for along time, you'll feel mighty proud! 

GOOD LUCK!!


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

You're right, we will get him there, exercise is the key, maybe I just keep dragging him along, just kidding


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## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

Thought of selling advertising space on the side of that pooch????


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

TheHooch said:


> Thought of selling advertising space on the side of that pooch????


 
ROFL you crack me up


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## Phoebe (Feb 8, 2006)

As Maggie's Mom suggested, in our rescue we use the green bean diet and some pumpkin mixed it also makes for a good filler. I had a foster here that was 33 pounds (a cairn should weigh somewhere between 12-18 pounds depending on whether it is American or English lines) so my foster was in need of losing half his body weight. My vet said weight should be taken off slowly. I noticed that even after 4 pounds of weight loss, my foster was getting more active, more willing to play and go for walks. Putting dogs on diets should be relatively easy, but here there are too many teens wanting to share pizza crust..I had to be very strict with my kids' friends..you know, the foster looked so sad a pitiful and the kids' friends felt it was mean not to feed him.

Jan, Seamus, Gracie, Phoebe & Duke


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## Bailey & Bentley (Feb 25, 2007)

My vet also told me that using veggies as a filler in the food is a good way to reduce calories. Lettuce, carrots, celery....they are all good fillers. Good luck on the weight loss.


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

Remember by him losing just 10% of his bodyweight,he will gain, 2 to 3 yrs in life so congrats on yr decision!.How much do you feed him,in cups?.I would keep him on the same food and just drop the amount and exercise him,a lot more!.If hungry,I would add some green beans.I wouldn't feed him,more than a cup,a day,and don't give him,any treats!.
Good-luck and keep us posted!.


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## peeps (Sep 12, 2007)

I have a Golden who tends to gain weight easily and needed to lose about 10-15 lbs. After outlawing the dreaded marrow bone and giving my hubby a stern talking to I reduced his diet, cut out all treats except freeze dried liver and chicken breast and started a regular exercise regime! It has slowly come off and he is alot more active! Good luck! You know if he doesn't do walks maybe you could get a game of tag going or if there's a place where you are he could swim that might help!


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

I have a fair amount of experience with my dog and diets. I would never recommend rapid weight loss unless there's a bonafide medical emergency. Gradual is the way to go that's best for the dog, and YOUR sanity !!

Whatever you do, I would follow the 10 calories per pound you want Charlie to weigh. If he is best at 40 pounds, give him 400 calories of kibble a day until he reaches his desired weight.

I want to say again, in spite of the flack I will get, Science Diet R/D works for weight loss. I would supplement with wild grizzly salmon oil. My dog was on this food for about a year, maybe longer. She did okay, and she lost every pound she needed to lose. 

Just my 2 cents.... :wave:


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

He's so heavy he won't even finish a walk? Oh my!

Please do something ASAP. Frankly, you're killing him with kindness! 

I'd cut his food in half and eliminate extra treats unless he'll eat healthy things like carrots, etc. Or if you want to continually hand him something as a "treat", set aside a portion of his daily ration of kibble and use that.

If you know that right now, he can walk for 5 mins before he "parks" then make it a goal to take him on at least two, 4 mins walks every day. Work up from there.

I personally don't use the diet foods - I just use less of whatever regular, heatlhy food I happen to be feeding. You can add some green beans if you'd like.

Please help this dog to become healthy!


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Oh yeah, and no free feeding (leaving food down) for any of the dogs. What about cats? Can he get into cat food somewhere?


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I think you've seen Tucker's before and after photos? Starting him off on a 10 calories per 1 pound diet helped immensely. He eats around 730 calories a day and weighs between 72 and 73 pounds. He's keep the weight off for 4 years now. He continues to eat Canidae Platinum because it is reduced calories and he does not do well with less food. Shadow eats a lot of calories and is a skinny minnie. If you see a dog losing too much weight, too quickly, you increase the calories consumed slightly.

Please note, we gave Tucker a home and he came to us overweight!

Before and after


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

FlyingQuizini said:


> Oh yeah, and no free feeding (leaving food down) for any of the dogs. What about cats? Can he get into cat food somewhere?


No cat's and no free feeding here, they get feed twice a day and it's all gone. He get's 1 cup twice a day, will try the walks, and cut down to maybe 1 cup a day? and veggies to add some filler


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Kimm said:


> I think you've seen Tucker's before and after photos? Starting him off on a 10 calories per 1 pound diet helped immensely. He eats around 730 calories a day and weighs between 72 and 73 pounds. He's keep the weight off for 4 years now. He continues to eat Canidae Platinum because it is reduced calories and he does not do well with less food. Shadow eats a lot of calories and is a skinny minnie. If you see a dog losing too much weight, too quickly, you increase the calories consumed slightly.
> 
> Please note, we gave Tucker a home and he came to us overweight!
> 
> Before and after


Wow Kimm, he looks so much better in the second picture, we will get charlie there


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

That's a lot of food for a small dog!.I would only feed him a cup a day and add to that,a 1/2 a cup of beans!.Yr dog is being overfed and under exercise!.


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

golden&hovawart said:


> That's a lot of food for a small dog!.I would only feed him a cup a day and add to that,a 1/2 a cup of beans!.Yr dog is being overfed and under exercise!.


 
Believe me if I could exercise him like I wanted he would not look like that, he's 13 years old and had heart problem (even more reason for him to loose weight) he also has very bad arthritis, that's what keep him from walking very far. He starts hurting and lays down


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

My beagle mix Sydney was up to 32 lbs. She looked like a little footstool. I put her on California Natural Reduced fat chicken and rice food. She doesn't get much food anyway, so reducing the amount was pretty much out of the question, and she refused green beans. I tried canned (the no added salt kind), frozen, cooked frozen, thawed out frozen but not cooked, etc...she would touch none of them. So I put her on the reduced fat dog food, started making her play more, and I'm happy to say that she is down to 20lbs, which is where she should be. California Natural is a great food, way better than Science Diet (although I was almost desperate enough to put her on that).


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

Heidi36oh said:


> Believe me if I could exercise him like I wanted he would not look like that, he's 13 years old and had heart problem (even more reason for him to loose weight) he also has very bad arthritis, that's what keep him from walking very far. He starts hurting and lays down



Once the weight comes off his arthritis will not hurt him nearly as bad. All the extra weight on his joints is just making the pain that much worse. Have you looked into supplements like Glycoflex or something similar? It can do a lot of good for dogs with joint problems and help him get the weight off because he'll be able to be more active.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

I may have overlooked this, but have you had his thyroid levels checked? Also, if he is in pain from the arthritis, get him swimming when the weather allows. 

Tucker was a very big boy when we brought him home. He was near 90 pounds. The best advice I ever received was from Kristen regarding the calories...Swimming helped take the weight off faster, but knowing how much he can eat per day has kept it off over the past 4 years.


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Taz Monkey said:


> Once the weight comes off his arthritis will not hurt him nearly as bad. All the extra weight on his joints is just making the pain that much worse. Have you looked into supplements like Glycoflex or something similar? It can do a lot of good for dogs with joint problems and help him get the weight off because he'll be able to be more active.


yes he takes one of the Glycoflex every day, the vet also has him on Deramax 50 mg a day


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Kimm said:


> I may have overlooked this, but have you had his thyroid levels checked? Also, if he is in pain from the arthritis, get him swimming when the weather allows.
> 
> Tucker was a very big boy when we brought him home. He was near 90 pounds. The best advice I ever received was from Kristen regarding the calories...Swimming helped take the weight off faster, but knowing how much he can eat per day has kept it off over the past 4 years.


That's what the vet suggested to get him checked for thyroid problems, I'll take him in next week.


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

I'd probably feed 3/4 of a cup kibble and add veggies and split that amount to be fed over two meals. Two cups total a day is WAY TOO MUCH for a dog that size. Especially if he's an older and inactive dog, he's going to burn much less and should be eating less.

Poor guy. No doubt he'll feel much better once he gets some of that weight off.

Good for you for choosing to take this active role in prolonging his life!

-Stephanie


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

FlyingQuizini said:


> I'd probably feed 3/4 of a cup kibble and add veggies and split that amount to be fed over two meals. Two cups total a day is WAY TOO MUCH for a dog that size. Especially if he's an older and inactive dog, he's going to burn much less and should be eating less.
> 
> Poor guy. No doubt he'll feel much better once he gets some of that weight off.
> 
> ...


I added the green beans today and he loves it, only feed him a cup today, but added 1/2 cups of green beans


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Don't add too many green beans at once. You'll be sorry...LOL My two had very loose stools. I found Tucker didn't need the fillers when on a lower calorie food. Although, he would have been happy with a bowl of green beans!


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Kimm said:


> Don't add too many green beans at once. You'll be sorry...LOL My two had very loose stools. I found Tucker didn't need the fillers when on a lower calorie food. Although, he would have been happy with a bowl of green beans!


No problems with the green beans yet...LOL, *but He lost 2 pounds*, don't know how that quickly but he did...yeah


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