He's gone up to 26.2 kg and is looking a bit tubby so he's on a health kick to get back to 24-25kg. His food packet says he should be on 385g and he was getting about 250g plus about 50g of treats. I've reduced it to 150g plus 50g of treats. Do you think 100g is too much reduction in one go? I don't want him to be hungry
Poor Stanley - I feel your pain, my man, I feel your pain. I don't really have any advice on the amounts, but if you are feeling the 100g reduction is too much, could you try a week reducing by 50g and see how he does? You could also try adding fresh (cooked) veggies to bulk up the food without adding calories. If he'd eat them?
We where told to reduce by 1/3 same as @drjs@5 says. Then after about a week or two if no difference reduce again by 1/3. Then gradually level back out, depending on look. We have just reduced Vanillas food as we are going through treats due to training.
If I had to do this, I'd do it gradually over a couple of weeks. interestingly, I've never been able to feed any of my dogs in accordance with pack instructions. If I'd followed those exactly they would all have been overweight. Good luck with getting Stanley's weight down a bit - that's not a huge amount he's over by x
Have you had any advice from your vet practice? The vet nurses where I take our two weigh the dogs monthly and in Sky's case as she is overweight, note what I am feeding and quantities. 100g reduction and in one go seems a lot to me.
Oh poor Stanley, what did your vet say or are you just doing it because you think he looks a bit overweight?
I just think he looks a bit tubby. He was weighed at the vets on Saturday when he got his worming tablet and they didn't say anything about his weight. My mum and nana both made comments about him looking "bigger" though. His Doggy day care lady said yesterday that she thought he looked OK. He's still got a slight waist and a tuck but definitely not as defined as I would like. I'd rather try and lose a kilo than have 4/5 to lose if we don't keep it in check. My thought behind it was that if I reduce his main meals more he can still have his kongs and treats throughout the day so it wont seem as bad for him and I know OH certainly won't be sticking to it when I'm not there so it should balance out somewhere. His bowl just looks so pitiful and I can feel him looking at it as if to be like IS THAT IT?! I'll try what @Emily_BabbelHund suggested and add some carrots and cucumber to top it up for him
Poppy feels your pain, Stanley. She is on a constant diet - her ideal weight is around 24.5kg and we have got very good at recognizing when she reaches 25kg and adjusting accordingly... As you say, better to keep on top of it than have to put him on a major diet later.
Squidge is a bit too squidgy at the moment, too, so has also had her meals reduced. Like you, I prefer to reduce what she inhales from her bowl, and keep up her training treats (largely kibble) and kongs, as they occupy her so much more.
Monty barely has 40g of kibble morning and night - the rest comes as training treats and to allow for kongs, bits of beetroot, cucumber, leftover chicken / veg from dinner, a few gravy bones in chew toys etc- his meals are probably half, or less, of his daily calories
Am on the same mission with Cassie, she was 30kg 2 weeks ago and vet wants her to lose a kilo off her lumbar region before she's spayed, she's got the tuck from the side and I can see all her ribs, but you can see it when you look from above. She gets very little when it comes to her tea, but I do all the things like scattering it about or putting it in something so it takes longer for her to eat it. Have you tried that for Stanners @JenBainbridge ? She does seem satisfied after.
It depends how quickly you want him to lose it. I cut Tatze's by 1/4 and it took three or four months, but she's slim and lithe now. I use fish cubes as treats which are nice and low cal.
I'll definitely try it with his tea @selina27 His breakfast is on another level. He has to have it straight away and can't focus and does a little dance until he gets it. He's so funny and definitely a typical Labrador
It is so hard keeping the weight off Casper, I totally agree with @JenBainbridge, best to lose a little now than a lot later, as that accumulated weight is not good for their joints, especially as they get older. I just change to a low fat variety from Millies Wolfheart, and add cooked mixed veg or Hermans complimentary tinned food to add substance to his meals. He still has lots of kongs but filled with his skinny kibble and a bit of gravy, plus a few shards of grated cheese. He still gets his tinned sardines and salmon oil added to his food, as I believe strongly in the importance of good quality fats and protein in the diet, especially for older dogs. He lost .6kg in 10 days.
