Battle of the Bulge - how drastically to reduce food intake for weight reduction?

I've just been joined by Carbon, my new foster. Carbon resembles an adorable buddha. However, his buddha shape is not so healthy. I'm not quite sure how to go about food restriction and wondered if anyone may have some advice.

Here are the details.

• 1 year old male, castrated by the shelter about 6 weeks ago
• Up until six weeks ago, he was in the local pound (very poor conditions) where food was very scarce
• Six weeks ago he was moved to a private shelter, where the dogs have access to food 24/7
• In the five weeks I've been walking him at the shelter, I've seen him put on about 5kgs
• He is a small boy, only about 55cm at the shoulder
• He is low-count Leishmaniasis positive

I was given a small supply of his regular kibble in a plastic sack, so I don't know anything about the recommended quantity for a dog his size or the nutritional content. I want to switch him over to home-cooked/raw, but his intestines are already doing a number on him just do to the stress of the move so for the moment I'm still (reluctantly) using the kibble that he is used to. He also has very dry skin and is very itchy. So far, I've been giving him the equivalent of a milk glass (about a US cup) full twice a day with added sardines. He also gets training treats and liver paste in his Kong. He thinks he is starving, and maybe he is. On the other hand, maybe he's just being a Labrador.

He will also be getting much more exercise with me than in the shelter as I'll walk with him several hours a day. But that needs to happen a bit gradually as right now when he gets tired he just lays down and will do no further until he's had a rest. Also I'm aware that too much walking isn't good for his joints until we get the weight off.

Any advice, suggestions?

 

I’d wait a week or two until he settles, keep the food the same or a just little less. But I’d cut out the training treats and use carrot or apple - this alone could help a lot. No biscuits or dentastix, they are full of calories.

Tatze is about his size, I think, and she’s on 300g a day - Skinners. Filled Kongs are taken out of this allowance.

No tit bits at all - but you know that already

If nothing changes I’d cut each meal down by 20g. This worked with Keir after he was neutered. Be sure to weigh his food, don’t rely on cups as they can differ by quite a bit (try weighing cup fulls and you’ll see what I mean)

Ignore all ‘hungry’ eyes - Labs have these however much they’ve just eaten!

.

 

Without knowing what the kibble is it's very difficult. I've just weighed a cup (I'm guessing mine are metric cups - I don't actually use them ) of Coco's kibble - 82g. He gets 200g a day plus a tin of rather poor wet food. I cut this to 150g if his blanket covering is getting a bit thick. How much sardine does he get daily? Fresh/tinned - oil/water/tomato? Sardines are fairly calorific. I think you're right, he's a Labrador he's certainly NOT starving.

You'll probably start to see weight loss, and it healthy weight loss should be slow weight loss, soon just by virtue of the fact he is no longer able to free feed. Add his increased exercise with you and he's going to be sleek & happy soon.

 

Don't know much about weight loss, but if you live near a river or the sea I would do some gentle swimming. It's kinder on the joints and friend who adopted a very overweight lab used swimming in combination with short slow on lead walks. They can develop back problems too her dog did but he had been overweight for a long time and was much older.
If his tummy is upset anyway I might be tempted do you home cooked diet now as you know what hes having and can settle his stomach that way. Probably wrong but Rory often had an upset tum and putting him on a bland home cooked diet helped. At least you can get an idea of amounts he's having. Yes labs are always hungry

 

yes, I was thinking of switching over to lean chicken and then only a little bit. I was using those dumb treat 'strips' at the shelter simply because it was easy to transport and keep in the car, but now I can use fresh such as tiny bits of chicken or apples. I bought a ton of apples to include in his fresh-cooked diet that I'm planning so I can give those a try immediately.

My first Rottie was a food-aholic and I had to watch his intake but Brogan was always too skinny so most of my food strategies were all about how to up the calorie content. That's not going to help me with Carbon!

 

I just started him on that yesterday. One small tin of sardines in oil (but oil drained) with his kibble. I really need to help him with the dry skin as he's going crazy biting himself. So I figured getting the itching better was worth the calorie trade off.

 

I know nothing! (as you are well aware).
But Pongo's skin problems (hotspots and itching) were COMPLETELY sorted out when we started adding (high quality) salmon oil to his meals....

 

PS Pongo is on 200g of kibble for each meal (so 400g per day). Plus a few treats during the day. When he starts to carry a bit of timber we cut down on the treats.

 

Wow 5kg! It really is that easy to put on weight with some labs though. Poor Casper has only to look at kibble and put on weight.

When I am feeding Casper kibble it is really a tiny amount. He gets a 1/3 rd of an average sized mug twice a day. (70g x 2 a day) The fat content ranges between 8% and 15%. Protein and meat content high. I tend to cycle between the formulations, but all Millies Wolfheart. He also gets their teeny training treats, and slivers of frankfurter. I also make small low-fat treats ala @snowbunny's genius pyramid trays.

I also sometimes miss out a feed completely and just give them all an extra kong, or training session instead.

Casper has been on home- cooked mostly these days in the evenings, and it is a great way to add volume and fluids, a handful of kibble doesn't look like too much! Maybe though that is a human thing, for me homecooked looks and smells so much nicer to me than a handful of kibble, whether Casper feels any differently I don't know. The home- cooked is varied and contains lots of cooked veggies.

Re: Dry skin - when Casper came out of the pound (he had been there for 6 weeks..) he was not only 3kg overweight but had a roughened dull coat, with dry scaly, scabby skin. It looked like the worst dandruff ever! Salmon oil made a huge difference, it took around a month, a moult, then a lovely soft, shiny black coat grew back in.

Saying all that, he has been free fed? Just having fixed portions twice a day could make a drastic difference, I can't imagine the size my three would be on free- feeding for a few weeks!

 

Yes. The mind simply boggles. Imagine Pongo inflated to Michelin man proportions.

 

He doesn't know how to swim and at the moment is afraid of the water. That's really common with shelter dogs here - they've just never seen the ocean even though it's five minutes away. I'm trying to slowly get him to put his feet in and see that it isn't scary. It would be quite an accomplishment to actually get him to swim!

Yeah, I've been debating about that - very tempted just to switch him over to Brogan's patented bad tummy home cooked diet. Personally, I hate kibble. But I also don't know if switching him immediately will make it worse. His diarreah (sp?) is horrible at the moment. If it gets worse, he'll need to go to the vet tomorrow for her magic butt injection which always worked on Brogan. We'll see...

 

Is that the same as Omega oil that I could get in a human health food store?

 

Yes, this was my thought - bulk out his meals with broccoli and apples, keep the protein lean, then it looks (and feels) like he is getting more, but the calories are much less than kibble.

@Rosie recommended this too, so sounds like the way to go. Thanks!

Yes, all the dogs are free fed. I couldn't believe the amount of weight he put on in such a short amount of time. But all things considered, it is better for the majority of dogs to be free fed. The only ones I've noticed being overweight are the Lab mixes.

 

You could do half-and-half kibble mixed with your home-cooked recipe to begin with. And for losing weight, well you just need to cut the amount down by 25% and ignore the beseeching eyes. Poppy tends to put on weight very easily, especially since she was spayed, and both dogs are always STARVING (so they say...) - I find cooked vegetables are very good for bulking out their food and making them think they have had more than they actually have. I also put a glug of whatever oil I have around in their food for their coat - olive, rapeseed, coconut - and sometimes they get raw sardines (I don't give tinned sardines any more since they are so very salty and very, very calorific with the added oil).

 

Danny had to be taught to swim too, my friend took him to a physiotherapy who used hydrotherapy to gently encourage weight loss. The physiotherapy went in with him first

 

Well yes, EFAs... *essential fatty acids found in fish oil are the ones which help itchy skin. You probably are aware of DHA/EPA. Good quality salmon oil provides high levels of both

 

I use omega 3 fish oil capsules for Coco (these are intended for canine use - from Nature's Best) - I first used them for Scooby - they cleared his dandruff. I had some left over so gave them to Coco - his coat is lovely. He also gets the occasional splash of salmon oil.

 

Yes, Tatze is on these too - one a day

 

Hi, sorry to interupt. Are these the capsules you use? -

https://www.naturesbest.co.uk/pet-nutrition/omega-3s-for-cats-and-dogs/

Bruno's coat has gone dull since being put on a prescription diet so would like to try something that may help.

Thanks.

 

Yes, @Markieee - Natures Best will send you samples if you contact them, you can try them out.