help again, with weight issue
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| Thyroid? I can't remember which does what hyer or hypo one makes you fat the other (which I wish I had) makes it hard to gain weight.
Members on the board might have some other ideas and information on the thyroid issues. |
| has he had a thorough vet work up that rules out diabetes or thyroid issues?
I have a weight issue dogs - not as bad as your guy but I know how difficult it can be. Two cups of food twice a day sounds like a lot - you feed for the weight you want them to be not what they are, so check the bag he might need less food. And yes he will think he is being tortured!! One thing I do is give Morg what he is supposed to eat and then take him out for a short walk, nothing strenuous. It seems to give his stomach time to let his brain know its full (or the other way around) Green beans and pumpkin don't work for us either. |
| Way too much. My guys get about 2 cups total for the day. OK, they get about 3 cookies a day as well.
Your guy is risking his joints, heart, etc with this poundage. We assume the vet as done the FULL thyroid panel, etc. If all is well, then you'll have to trick him into eating the veggies to fill him up. Puree the green beans...or chop them fine and mix into food then add a yummy...like chicken broth. Start with a tablespoon of green beans and remove an equal amount of kibble, then just 2 TBS. chicken broth over all.....or cottage cheese, or yogurt.....anything that sends his head down and not back up. The after a few days, add another Tablespoon greenbeans and minus kibble..and 2 Tbs. yummy. Yes, he's going to be hungry. If you can find some good thick raw bones....femurs or big knuckles, let him gnaw on those. Also keep his mind off food by keeping him more active physically and mentally. Eating is a nasty habit for him. He has to be distracted and filled with less caloric foods. PS: keep his poop picked up, he might take to snacking of objectionable items. Once again, an active dog (mental and physical) may not become interested eating other objectionable items as well. (I lost a sheepdog to gravel eating because she was bored) |
| My girl gets 1 1/2 cups total for the day. It used to be 2 but with all the cookies and training treats lately I cut it down.
I recently had to cut my cats food down because he was getting fat and he carried on like his throat had been cut, yowling and jumping on benches and trying to steal food. He's better now but it took a few months of annoying behavior  and he still steals the dogs' food out of the bowls while I'm getting it ready for them. 
He wouldnt dare once its on the floor and they're eating it.  |
| This a.m. I actually measured how much they got....ha! Mo and Glacier get just 3/4 cup, the boys only slightly more. So no, they don't even get 2 cups per day |
| We are quite the opposite.
My dogs (even the Sr.Bassets) stay pretty busy and fit. (I wish I did half as well w/ myself!) Chewie is a lean 65 pounds and eats 3 cups/day. 4 cups or more if we are working hard, like when we were sledding in ND a few weekends ago. He is always very warm and burns calories just laying around. (again, I wish that were so for me!) Eating 4 cups plus snacks he actually lost 2 pounds when we were in ND for 3 days! In real life, you need to feed according to your dog and their needs. Some need very little - they are the "easy keepers", some burn calories just sitting and need more. 170 is way too much for an OES - how tall is he? You are killing him with kindness. I understand you got him that way - we see it with the bassets we get in in rescue all the time. People really overfeed this breed!
But, time to get him to a healthier size and weight. I would love to see a picture of him. The place where I train has hydrotherapy as well. They can do wonderful things for dogs. One was a rescue that came into the local shelter - a border collie mix who had to be at least 120 pounds. He could barely stand. He got trimmed down and got the use of his legs back and runs around like a normal dog. That case was quite extreme! There also were recently a beagle and yellow lab who rehabbed for weight loss and they look great now. It was so fun seeing the beagle in her life jacket swimming laps in the pool! Swimming was the only safe exercise for her, anything else was too hard on her joints. Good luck! |
My dogs were both "slightly" overweight 
I cut their food down from 1.5 cups twice a day to one cup twice a day. Garfunkel, six months later has lost close to ten lbs. Simon, six months later has lost 8.5 lbs. Neither one died from hunger(at least to us, don't ask them). Gar's good, Simon needs to lose a little more. |
| I always feel compelled at this point to point out you need to work with a vet, a lot depends on the quality of your food and you also have to be aware of nutrition. getting him to lose 20 pounds in a month is not your goal - he needs to get enough food to maintain proper organ function while reducing caloric intake sufficiently and increasing activity sufficiently to lose weight.
we actually got Morgan down to a good weigfht (well almost a good weight) but you don't want to get it done th eway we did - he didn't eat for nearly three weeks due to pancreatitis and subsided on IV fluids. |
| I second working with your vet.
Bennett was actually allergic to green beans - well, his ears would get red and gunky when I would feed them to him. So he got carrots instead. Not quite as low calorie, but still helped. |
| 170 pounds I would definately have a thorough Vet visit and definately check the thryoid.
Problem with continuing to cut the food is you are not only cutting calories and your dog is probably hungry, but you are also cutting the daily nutrient levels. Have a vet check him out. Sounds more medical related than anything else. My guy is big and weighs in at 110. But 170 sounds way way too heavy... Be sure also to watch the treats. One small milk bone has over 150 calories...some of the better treats now list the calories. Charile Bears ahve only 5 per treat...Evo cookies have 14...Some of the Mother Hubbard biscuits ahve less than 50...A site called Pet Extras have great pumpkin cookies at only 22 calories...Check the labels. And don't despair. If it is the thryoid, its easily treatable with a small pill twice a day... |
| thank you everyone for your help. we have a vet appt set up for next week, and my baby is currently eating mashed green beans with the chicken broth. its ok so far, so lets hope it gets better! thanks! |
| Mine only get a total of 2 cups a day. Bella was up to 97lbs at one point. She is now a trim 85lbs. They only get 1 cookie a day. I break it in half so they get one half after meals. I alos give them a couple of baby carrots per day.
Good luck!!! |
| Your big boy sure is cute. Hope you can trim him down a bit, he'll last much longer. |
| He is verey handsome....
Maybe he needs a bit more excercise? What are you feeding him? It depends on the food as to how much you feed... Wilby hit 150 when I was feeding Nutro We had to cut him WAY back! (nothing against the food, just very digestable) We have Murph a very tall lean boy hat gets 4 cups of food a day---80 pounds 
He is very active... Quin, an also very active dog was 115 A bit plump but, also very active got 4 cups 
Maybe it would be best to go with a less active dog food? |
| well we feed him purina weight management food. i dont know anything about dog food brands, but i do know that we have to get it at petco, because they are the only store in our area that carry it. is there a better brand? |
| The lady I co-breed with has had really good luck with getting her 2 dogs that were having a weight problem to lose weight & then maintain it by feeding Purina Pro-Plan Lamb & Rice shredded blend. For some reason the shredded pieces must have filled them up & lasted longer in their systems. Both dogs lost a goodly amount of weight & didn't act hungry either. It is not a weight management food necessarily but it did get the weight off her dogs that needed to come off. |
| If he's so mouth oriented, how about some big raw bones to let him gnaw on? Butcher shops, maybe Wild Oats type stores as well, set aside dog friendly bones; femur pieces or giant knuckles, for K9s. If you could get your big boy out walking for longer distances, cooled down and then reward with a bone, it might take his mind off eating. Rather like a cigarette after his walk.... |
| I just did a look-up on the ingredients of your food. Actually they are not the best out there. In the first 6 ingredients four are grains and corn is listed in the top 6 or 7 and corn is a big no-no for digestion and caloric value. You may want to get a higher rated food. Check out this site, it gives a lot of good info on foods. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ |
| well, we got word back today from the vet, its his thyroid. so medicine started today, and we will see! thanks for the comment about the food, we are already considering trying something new. on another plus note, he is still eating his new green bean soup we make him twice a day. thank you for all the wonderful help, heres to hoping for a less bulky dog! thanks! |
iwantanoes wrote: well, we got word back today from the vet, its his thyroid. so medicine started today, and we will see! thanks for the comment about the food, we are already considering trying something new. on another plus note, he is still eating his new green bean soup we make him twice a day. thank you for all the wonderful help, heres to hoping for a less bulky dog! thanks!
Cool-- it's good that you got an answer and hopefully the meds will start helping his weight adjust, too. It definitely beats trying to diet off 70 pounds! Keep us posted how he's doing on his road to getting skinny.  |
| Good news! The improved thyroid function will help. It won't make all the weight fall off, but at least you won't be fighting his body's metabolism to lose the weight. |
Good that you found out. The thyroid medicine did not affect Morgan's weight at all - it did help him get more active, but he actally ended up putting on weight until he got sick this last time. Now I am fighting a losing battle to keep it off  |
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