Christina77 Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 MY Bella , Red ACD has been on a never ending round of diets to loose some weight the last few years . She's 11. She's front heavy , has a big chest and still has her 'figure' at the rear , slight incline in the flank and no rolls when she sits . she doesn't have the Cattle Dog 'Coffee Table " look :laugh: Yet she is 32 kilo's. Vets have advised numerous diets , cut back on food etc , no grain dry . some raw and and some dry and the list goes on. Currently I have her on 1 cup dry (non grain) that is divided into 3 so she has it in her treatball outside for exercise ( at the moment it's not safe to walk her here ) and 1 cup brown rice/veg with 1 chicken neck. 1 liver biscuit treat a day. Do some dogs just never loose weight ? She's healthy , apart from a hotspot recently but that cleared up in a few days. She saw the vet on Wednesday to have her nails clipped and she just shook her head when I asked her about Bella's weight . She said she's ok ( Vet also owns cattle dogs) So are some breeds just prone to be chubby when they get older ? I feel like her , we both just have to look at food and we put weight on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpha bet Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Some breeds (and individuals) are difficult to get weight off. However it is worth thinking of easing your dog onto a raw diet... So perhaps if you have not tried, then consider the following. if you check : www.vetsallnatural.com.au - they have a diet complete mix product which you can use instead of dry food and then it you can get hold of roo meat which is very lean. We have had a few dogs (Australian Shepherds) where we have been able to get from around 36 kilos down to 26-28 kilos by using the Weight Loss VAN. This is a much better weight for long term... you should be able to get some of the weight of her and as she looses weight she should become more active. Best of luck and it is worth trying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spotted Devil Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 Bless her. I would personally drop the rice completely and replace with mashed pumpkin. Oh and pics please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 You might want to check that nobody else is feeding her, including foraging... Sometimes that is why a dog won't loose weight - the neighbours feel sorry for the dog and can't help themselves. I figure if the dog is not losing on what I'm giving - then cut that back by 10% for a couple of weeks, and if still no help, another 10% cut... More mashed pumpkin and grated carrot. when you say veg - no potato or corn or peas or beans or lentils? all those will keep the weight on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina77 Posted July 29, 2016 Author Share Posted July 29, 2016 No chance of anyone feeding her , she's never out of our sight . I've tried Roo meat , but she doesn't seem to digest it well usually ended up with her eating grass after . Not sure on the raw diet but I'll certainly have a look , a bit limited to what we can get up FNQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 I had a little porker, a crossbreed mutt, who was much like your girl, heavy at the front, slight waist, no rolls but really should have been 16-18 kilos instead of 20. In the end I just let it go and accepted she was a big girl. She lived to 15 with very little health issues so I figured her weight was right for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted July 29, 2016 Share Posted July 29, 2016 If she by conformation is loaded in front you cant diet that off. Some vets i often wonder about we have a client who was almost in tears because the vet said there dog wasn't feed enough because it wasn't a good weight . This was a Jack Russel that was so long in loin it will never ever look filled out like a dog,we explained to them dogs structure will mean it will never be chubby & no amount of over feeding will solve the issue,We told them to go back to the vet & ask about the fact the dog is to long in loin & would that make it look lacking in weight,apparently there vet was taken back by this comment & had to admit yes & asked who told them that & they where smart enough to say well not you but a dog show person . Some dogs just arent meant to be "that figure" & no amount of diet or feeding will change it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuralPug Posted July 30, 2016 Share Posted July 30, 2016 Shape is more important than weight. If she has a visible tuck up she is probably not overweight at all. From your description she is certainly not obese, and just because she is loaded in front and not rear doesn't mean that she is too fat. Also remember that muscle weighs more than fat and a strongly muscled dog may bow the scales past the breed recommendation - which for some reason, is all that some vets think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Maybe a photo or two - one side on and one top down with something nearby to give scale (bricks or corrugated iron or similar). I thought my dog was just broad chested cattle dog stocky... but she was actually fat dog... it mostly showed in how hard she was to train. she's a lot leaner now, I can feel ribs easily and got good tuck from side on and also tuck from top down. She's not 100% cattle dog but she's around 21 kg or under on the lean side and 23 when she's chubby and she's taller than most cattle dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Has the vet done any bloodwork? Thyroid testing seems warranted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 One of my border collies is pretty chunky. She has good bone and is just solid. Add to that a thick wavy coat and she does look pretty fat. Whilst she could lose a bit of weight she isn't as fat as she appears! I would maybe look at not feeding her dry in 3 lots. I noticed when I spilt Poppy's dry into 2 lots (because the other dog has to have small multiple meals) that she puts weight on even though it is the same amount of food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina77 Posted September 19, 2016 Author Share Posted September 19, 2016 Well some months later and she's finally loosing some weight . All treats and human food sharing has stopped . She's on a 4 week course of injections for her joints as they were painfull and prevention her being active . That is working brilliantly . But , she's on a Hills metabolic dry food and after 5 days has decided she'll rather starve and for the first time ever is turning her nose up at food The Hills dry food) Done some research and not happy with the ingredients especially the amount of fillers such as corn and Beetroot pulp. Annoyed at myself for falling for the 20min spiel the vet gave about the Hills dry food and that she ordered the Hills metabolic and joint care dry food which I'm not going to buy unless I feel reassured Hills products are safe and ok . $56 for 2.7 kilos of dry food that has corn etc in it isn't my idea of genuine health care . I'm sure it suits lots of dogs but my dog will eat anything anytime so somethings up . I meant to do photos but forgot so will do a photo session tomorrow ???? I'm at a loss what to do , reducing her food just leaves her starving and begging for food and the Hills biscuits were keeping her full so now I'm back to square one ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trifecta Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 Christina, cooked, mashed pumpkin is a wonderful filler to satiate starving dogs without them putting on weight :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*kirty* Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 The Hills food is fine. There is a lot of science behind the formulas. The joint diet especially is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 19, 2016 Share Posted September 19, 2016 (edited) ....$56 for 2.7 kilos of dry food that has corn etc in it isn't my idea of genuine health care .... ...I never will understand the idea behind spending more money on food when the simplest recipe is to feed less food....?????...nothing wrong with letting an overweight - but otherwise healthy - dog fast for 1 or 2 days per week, just make sure there is always access to water. It might comfort you in your emotional state to feed a begging dog, but FOOD IS NOT LOVE!...and IMHO overfeeding a dog and compromising knowingly his health is as bad as any other animal abuse. http://www.dog.com/dog-articles/help-your-overweight-dog/2115/ Edited September 19, 2016 by Willem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina77 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 The Hills food is fine. There is a lot of science behind the formulas. The joint diet especially is fantastic. Thank you :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina77 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 (edited) This is our Bella , 11 yrs and gorgeous :) Her front is flabby between the breastbone and you can't feel her ribs. She's 32-33 kilo's depending on which scale I use as our vet has 2 offices . Ideally I'd like her to be 26-27 so there's less stress on her joints. How does she look to you ? She's still blowing a coat Edited September 20, 2016 by Christina77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina77 Posted September 20, 2016 Author Share Posted September 20, 2016 Christina, cooked, mashed pumpkin is a wonderful filler to satiate starving dogs without them putting on weight :) Cool , she loves pumpkin ( me too so there's always some in the house) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 This is our Bella , 11 yrs and gorgeous :) Her front is flabby between the breastbone and you can't feel her ribs. She's 32-33 kilo's depending on which scale I use as our vet has 2 offices . Ideally I'd like her to be 26-27 so there's less stress on her joints. How does she look to you ? She's still blowing a coat ...hard to tell from the photos with the unequal coat... I think the legs look a little bit skinny compared to the bigger body...if you can't feel her ribs, then yes, it would be better for her health if she could loose a few KGs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted September 20, 2016 Share Posted September 20, 2016 She's 32-33 kilo's depending on which scale I use as our vet has 2 offices .Ideally I'd like her to be 26-27 so there's less stress on her joints. How does she look to you ? I think she could lose quite a bit more and still be healthy. I got really worried with my dog - she looked a bit lighter than yours when she was heavy, and she's leaner now and i got all worried about her being too skinny - but she's about right now. Ribs are easy to feel - tho still a bit hard to see unless she's got the sun right in front or behind her (not side on). It's the spotty coat. Yours looks like she could use a bit more exercise - but that should be easier as the weight comes off. I had a vet nurse try to sell me hills science diet as better than boiled chicken and rice when my dog had a tummy upset - I got the can, showed her the ingredients and asked her to explain why each one was good for my dog. She could not do it. vets don't get a lot of training in pet nutrition and mostly the info they get is provided by the big pet food manufacturers. The stuff mostly won't kill your dog immediately - but isn't that great long term. There's not a lot of research either - and most of what is out there - is of course - sponsored by the manufacturers - which makes sense they need to know - but has problems when it comes to bias towards more profitable ingredients. http://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/blog/are-vets-nutritionists/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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