Jane Is Officially A Fatty Boombah!

[tez]

Hmmm...I kinda knew Jane had put on alittle beef lately but 8kg in 2 months

Jane went to the vets today for vaccinations and a check up. She is 16 months old and a high energy full on dog who has 2 x 45 minute walks aday and numerous play sessions with our 18 week old pup, Gus.

Last night she thieved a loaf of bread minus 4 slices and ate the lot. Now one of Jane's strengths is thievery and we have noticed that she has been able to...er...lets say...acquire things from places she wasn't able to reach previously so she has had a growth spurt in the last few months...BUT...2 months ago she went to the vets for an eye problem and apparently weighed 22kg. Today she weighed in at 30kg. She still has a waist and a 'tuck' but she is far too fat and I am responsible

Now apart from what she steals...and mostly its inedible stuff like remotes, phones, glasses and cushions ect, she eats a good diet of Advance kibble alternating with chicken frames and chicken mince, occasional whole eggs and sardines but she has been in a good paddock long enough! I couldn't believe the weight gain and have been thinking all day about what I need to change to help her drop some of this weight!

My first thought is that the chicken frames I was giving her had too much on them so have now changed to much much leaner ones. No more chicken pet mince as this was from the same supplier and was really just minced up frames with the same amount of fat. Half the kibble...one small handful a day on the days she dosen't get a frame and then maybe some brown rice cooked in low salt stock to help bulk up her daily intake.

If anyone has any other ideas I would love to hear them. Also what sort of weight loss should I be aiming for over lets say a 2 week period and if anyone wants to flame me...go right ahead...I deserve it ;)

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Feed more carrots and toilet paper rolls (the empty ones).

Use vicks vapour rub in tiny smears on things she must not eat like remotes, and around the edges of kitchen counters.

I also stack tin cans pecariously balanced around the edges of my kitchen counters - I put them on old cream tub lids to stop any moisture induced rust getting to the counter top. I need more tin cans but it does protect quite a bit.

I'm thinking about introducing a line in the kitchen that shall not be crossed to protect the counters better. Ie she knows if she's not actually up - I can't/won't scold her. So she's quick.

this problem had been gone for ages and has suddenly returned. So I have to return to keeping very clean counter tops. Sigh. I think maybe because it's winter and cold she might be more hungry too. Not that my dog needs any more food either.

A desexed dog needs less food overall than an undesexed one. About a third less than the kibble packet says, but I don't know how you translate that to chicken frames. Things with bones - don't put weight on my dog cos she upchucks them. Usually at some handy hour like 3am. Or just before my dinner time.

Edited June 11, 2010 by Mrs Rusty Bucket

[tez]

Hadn't thought of vicks vapour rub for the counters...but if it got on her paws and she licked it, wouldn't she be destressed???

Toilet paper rolls...check! Thank god we have a constant supply as both doggies love em!

We have only had Gus for a month. Prior to his arrival, Jane would bury rather than scoff food and we would go around and pick up the stash from her favourite hidey holes. Having Gus around makes her much more likely to eat what she takes.

gotta love the timing of the vomits...mind you, if Jane vomited more often she wouldn't be so bloody fat!

[~*Shell*~]

Cut what food she gets in half - she's capable of living on it, but she will lose weight.

If she is distressed by the lesser amount, pad it out with pumpkin. You can buy it in huge lots and it's a great way to fill up their tummies without the calories.

When Z was losing weight, he was on 3/4 of a cup of light kibble. Even now he's only on a cup a day plus sardines or an egg or a chicken frame or something.

ETA: He was 43kgs when I got him, he's now down to 28kgs - a lot better for a sibe!

Edited June 11, 2010 by ~*Shell*~

[tez]

Wow...43kg to 28kg is some weight loss! What sort of loss was that a week or month Shell?

Pumpkin...great idea and easy to cook so thanks! We'll give it a go tomorrow!

[Mim]

Cut down her portions and use carrot, pumpkin, sweet potato to bulk up the meals. Fills them up with no extra calories. I give whole carrots as treats too which the dogs love and I think it cleans their teeth a bit.

Elle was terribly overweight because of overfeeding and us giving her scraps. She lost just over 14kg by cutting down portions, using veggies to bulk up and slowly increasing her exercise.

[tdierikx]

My Rottie/Pittie girl peaked at 41kg a couple of years ago - and her ideal weight is around 28kg (which is what she is now). My Lab girl is also 28kg. I monitor their feeds and they only get what I feed them - no stuff left where it can be stolen...

T.

[chelle~aussie~dragon]

Looking at this post with interest.Dragon is chubby but as I feed both dogs together I always worry about Aussie not getting enough.I am going to try the vegies and start seperating the boys for feeding.With this cold weather I don't really want Dragon to feel like he is starving so filling up with empty calories sounds like a good idea.

[raz]

Hmmm...I kinda knew Jane had put on alittle beef lately but 8kg in 2 months

Holy crap. That's a lot of beef in a short period. I'd probably starve the little pig of kibble and just stick with chook frames and other bones for a while.

[voloclydes]

Hadn't thought of vicks vapour rub for the counters...but if it got on her paws and she licked it, wouldn't she be destressed???

Toilet paper rolls...check! Thank god we have a constant supply as both doggies love em!

We have only had Gus for a month. Prior to his arrival, Jane would bury rather than scoff food and we would go around and pick up the stash from her favourite hidey holes. Having Gus around makes her much more likely to eat what she takes.

gotta love the timing of the vomits...mind you, if Jane vomited more often she wouldn't be so bloody fat!

um yes we have the toilet roll drama too... leo also drinks from the everlasting well given a chance if we forget to shut the door.

he has also gained weight and is big for his breed (dally). my vet keeps saying 30kg or less. last weight was 33.9kg. so he's now on a diet. he is getting less food than ever before and still not loosing. 1 cup of kibble and veg if i have leftovers. last night he had a big bone from the beast we killed and he ate the lot in an hour nothing left.

tonight no kibble again and a leg bone for tea. he does tend to be a grazer, any thing he can find and being out on acres this is hard to stop. i thought abut a muzzle but i think he would just suck it in round the edges...

[redangel]

We need a pet Weight Watchers thread so we can encourgage these over insulated doggies!!!!

[voloclydes]

:laugh: encouragement he's doing quiet well on his own thanks..... i think he needs the discouragement to eat all those scrummy pickings in the paddock. like horse poo, cat poo bits of this and that!!

we thought stitches might be the solution

[tlc]

8 kilos in 2 months, bloody he'll that seems like a lot, I would not have said she looks any different now than she looked 2 months ago? Did you see the scales? Maybe one of the weigh ins was wrong? Although she may be more keen now to polish off anything in front of her because of Gus! I wouldn't stress too much, she gets good solid excersise and at least you know she is burning a lot of it off.

[J...]

I agree with tlc - I actually don't believe she was 22 kg to start with

Darcy is about 22 kg and Jane's a bigger dog than Darce is.

[tez]

Ahh...well it seems I'm not alone in the chubby pooch department

Lots of good ideas so the lovely well padded Jane will be model material again soon! Thanks for the input everyone!

Yep...Tlc...it is lot in two months and I'm at a loss to explain that level of weight gain in that period of time. Since we have had Gus, Jane has really been active at home hooning around the backyard with him and her sprinting both in speed and endurance has been awe-inspiring. We have actually been giving her far less tidbits and treats too as we didn't want to encourage Gus BUT the frames were awfully fatty when I think about it so maybe they were the culprits.

When she was weighed last time, I was surprised that she did weigh 22kg as I was pretty sure she would be around 25kg but even so... the same scales were used this time and I definitely saw 30kg! ...but not for long!

She really isn't much of a guts either...has never been frantic for food like young Gus is and has been on one meal a day for ages but she is half Labby. Its time we picked up our act though and make it impossible for her to acquire any 'free' stuff!

[tlc]

Well at least you are onto it, getting weight off is so bloody hard. Bron and Lacy are my tough ones, I am going to have to be extra vigilant over winter, I have already noticed that they seem a lot more hungrier despite no change in thier diet and with out as many walks due to the wet days, Im really cracking down. I have just started a thread this morning about changing over to all dry with bones. chick necks/wings etc. So I will see how that goes hopefully it won't be too hard to make the transition. Sean says he will feel sorry for the dogs on dry only but I did say they will have bones etc so it wont be so bad! He thinks about it in human terms he said "what if I fed you the same thing every night you wouldnt like it " I just said well I probly wouldn't but I am human NOT a dog!! Men arghhhhhh!!!

[Guest Pandii]

Just realise that chicken with skin on is fattening, take the skin off first if you have to feed, wings or frames.

If you think are are looking for food, pumpkin is a great filler and no fat

Also try a lite dry food instead of a normal one

[tez]

Don't worry Tlc...I'm sure your dogs won't mind the change in diet. Janes main food has been dry from day 1 and she seems happy enough. Lets face it, when you add in the bones and vegies and occasional sardines its still pretty varied. Lacey and Bron wouldn't have much to loose anyway as they already look pretty fit and they certainly have a high energy lifestyle.

I agree with you Pandii, a lite dry would be ideal but I had just bought a large bag of her normal one at $100 odd dollars plus added Gus to the pet insurance and paid for the vet visit ect so I'm abit strapped for cash at the moment. Jane is going to have to cope with smaller portions with pumpkin until I'm abit more financial...Damn my crap paying job!!!

Jane dosent seem at all worried about having a much leaner chicken frame tonight. I even cut off the teeny tiny bit of fat that was on it so I'm kinda looking forward to her weigh-in in two weeks to see how we go!

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

vicks vapour rub on paws - not had a problem with this since paws only go on counter if something smells good, and fresh vicks tends to be overwhelming on the nose - even in tiny quantities. Lots is probably not good. Same with eucalyptus oil - toxic in big quantities. But no dog that I know is really keen on eating lots of it.

My dog did aquire a taste for chilli - so that was no good as a counter surfer stopper. I'm thinking of buying some "crib stop" from equestrian supplies. I forgot to wipe up some cake crumbs this morning so she helped herself to her reward - sigh. It's hard to make her stop when I forget to do the right thing.

[tez]

Know exactly what you mean Mrs Rusty Bucket...Jane takes any little slip up by us and runs a mile with it!!! Often we only know she's up to no good because A) She is suspicious by her absense...meaning she is already enjoying her little stolen reward or B) she is caught in mid bolt past us in which case we do a quick servalence and realise the remotes missing!!!

I'll give the Vicks a go and see what happens!