Yep this park is bitchy gossip central, luckily the evil w*t*h doesn't just have a go at me its everyone else. she even bougth some tins of dog food for another friend to help with her dogs weight problem. I use steamed green beans apple and stuff like that too Stacia, she loves the steamed beans on a cold day. She just doesn't move so much or so fast now there was a time when it was hard to keep any weight on her at all she was so busy
What a vile thing for that woman to say to you !!! People seem to think that they can say anything they like about dogs. Like Odin's owner in the past I have been asked if George is a pedigree as he was thin and 'greyhoundy' (he's a bit more portly at the mo as he's 'helping' train the puppy - which is code for sneaking training treats). I know it's not on the same scale as the insult you received but it stung and was none of this persons blasted business!
Everyone thinks Rory is a pointer cross. There person in question tends to shut up if directly confronted she does that stage whisper as you walk past to a friend. She tends to leave me alone now after we had a discussion about it, also I stummbled across her taking a leak pants down in some bushes (so wish I had a camera) and I just can't take someones seriously once i've seen their fat bum in the air. She was so upset and I needed sit down I was laughing so much.
Hi FoxyLady, 2 months ago we've adopted two black lab sisters, aged nearly four, and overweight... one was 36kg, the other 34kg. They're fed on kibble (180g a day, Acana) and carrots for treats, but the weight loss, despite reasonable exercise (they're not that fit) is slow and seemingly has plateaued now. Reading some of the comments in this thread I'm realising that we can cut the kibble amount even more, but am considering switching to raw food... was it a difficult transition? Any tips you have would be really appreciated. I'm very keen to help the girls reach a better level of health. Thank you!
There is a whole board on Raw Feeding - I don't do this myself but thought I would point you that way. Lots of info there! http://thelabradorforum.com/forums/raw-feeding.39/
The people at the hydrotherapy pool I took her too for a while, reminded me to feed her according to what her target weight was, not her current weight (although I did keep revising her target weight downwards based on what she looked like!) I was told to aim for between 0.5-2% weight loss per week. The switch to raw wasn't hard for Ellie - she was a natural raw feeder devouring whole (baby) rabbits (fur included only a bit of tail left) with no ill effects (apart from massive quantities of poo!). I feed my other dogs raw too, so it was easier for me. Basically I now feed her 1/3Kg of minced meat and veg from Natural Instinct in the morning and 3 or 4 chicken back carcasses in the evening just the same as my wee "pocket rocket" lab who is only 20KG weight but pure fizz in energy. It might be easier to start with one of the 'balanced minces' from one of several possible companies - its easier to judge how much you've given each day and what the resultant weight loss was.
I have my sister's English Shepherd for the week. She's not obese but sure is overweight. A week isn't going to be enough time for me to whip her into shape. Unless I take one of the two meals a day I'm supposed to feed her and throw it out? Naw, that would be too much too soon.
Thanks for that... interesting to hear about the baby rabbits. I'm sure that one of my dogs would be the same, as she has already caught a pigeon in the garden and was in the process of 'plucking' it when I found her. It was early days then, so I took it away from her, but now realise that she has a strong hunting instinct, so I guess raw food is part of that. I had wondered about starting with one of the ready-made balanced minces, but then read that it's important to have proper raw food with bones etc. At the moment, my main aim is weight loss and good health for the girls, so I guess I could transition them slowly to the rabbits etc! I tend to use strips of raw salmon as recall treats, which draws other dogs as well, but hopefully healthier than some of the treats out there. I knew about feeding according to target weight, and have been doing so, trying to factor in calories for treats, but isn't it interesting how the suggested portion sizes on even what I would call the better-quality kibbles is quite large?! A learning curve, so it's good to be able to share and to hear other people's stories.
just to add - the raw minces usually do have ground up bone in them - they are supposed to be 'balanced' - the disadvantage of the minces is that crunching on real bones is better for their teeth. For recall treats - well I tend to think that good recall is more important than their weight loss diet - good recall = more freedom = more exercise = happy dogs and owner, so salmon is good - whatever works.
I reckon you could safely cut down her food by a third while she's with you. Don't tell her I said that!
Saba was weighed at puppy clinic this morning, and in the 6 weeks since his last visit, he's put on 1kg, grown 3 cms across his chest, but only 1cm around his waist. No wonder he's hard to hold on a harness; he's front-wheel drive!
